Fitzgerald’s Halloween: Fred Flintstone, Willie Nelson, and a rainbow-haired clown (bearing a striking resemblance to a prominent local radio disk jockey) all were in the crowd at Fitzgerald’s Halloween night, but no costumes could compare to the rainbow of feathered headdresses and robes that three generations of The Wild Magnolias brought to the stage. Chanting and shaking tambourines, the troupe of New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians mixed syncopated Crescent City rhythms with their band’s George Clinton-style funk. Guest vocalist Monk Boudreaux, dressed in an outlandish, James Brown-style jumpsuit, sang in an inimitably New Orleans blend of grease and growl, concluding with a righteous version of Professor Longhair’s “Hey Now Baby.” The music continued, though, with Texas honky-tonk maverick Joe Ely leading a virtual guitar army through a set heavy on tales of outlaws and assorted desperadoes. Accompanied by Lloyd Maines’ pedal steel, Jesse Taylor’s bluesy leads and Teye’s flamenco strumming, plus his dramatic rhythm section, Ely delivered Tex-Mex, rockabilly and country ballads with reckless passion.
Fitzgerald’s Halloween: Fred Flintstone, Willie Nelson, and…
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