The first day of the Ottawa Jazz Festival has finally arrived and I showed up with half an hour to spare, sweaty, and ready for a performance from a living legend.
As the sun dropped behind the horizon and the long overdue summer heat began to cool off, everyone seemed ready for Dr. John to take the stage and fire everyone back up with his signature sultry blend of red hot New Orleans swagger.
The majestic grand piano was placed at centre stage and was decorated with a couple of skulls; possibly former victims of the doctor’s “surgery.”
After an appropriately extended entrance song, Dr. John finally appeared. He sauntered on stage, cane in hand, decked out in a purple suit and glittery fedora.
Sparing us a spoken introduction, the doctor got down to it and let his fingers do the talking, sauntering, and wooing.
Dr. John’s powers of funk sent waves of groove through the crowd and even the folks in the VIP area started to shimmy in their seats after a couple songs.
Not to be overshadowed by the doctor’s overwhelming stage presence, his bandmates delivered some knock-out solos. An unbelievable organ, a supreme trombonist, and an on-point bassist got the job done.
When they launched into the hit song,”Right Place, Wrong Time,” the crowd was electrified. People stood up, awkwardly grooved, and surrendered themselves to the power of voodoo. The doctor even rose and shook some ceremonial trinkets around the stage to seal the deal.
As the night grew darker and became more suitable for the Nite Tripper to perform, the solos got longer and the licks got thicker. The doctor showed his multi-instrumental chops and laid down some licks on the guitar and the organ.
After an hour-and-a-half long set, the doctor rose and saluted the crowd, who responded with a standing ovation as he sauntered off stage, shaking his cane as he went, to the tune of an extended funkalicious jam. Not bad for the first night.
