Ardent Music

Last weekend I traveled to NYC to attend Ponderosa Stomp, a usually New Orleans based gaggle of musicians that founder Dr. Ira Padnos calls "the unsung heroes of soul, rockabilly, swamp pop, blues and R&B" which included Roy Head, Ray Sharpe, Tamie Lynn, Tommy McLain, Bobby Patterson and Willie Tee.

The plan was to have a warm-up gig at famed Hoboken bar Maxwell's on Saturday night and then blow Brooklyn away with an afternoon show at McCarren Pool on Sunday afternoon. Before arriving in New Jersey, after riding the Path train in circles because my photographer, Drue Deihl and I stupidly got in the wrong car, I was well aware of they hype surrounding the show. However, I was hardly expecting the show to be sold out at 10:30. My companion and I were expecting to be on some sort of list as we had traveled a great distance and knew a few people in the band, however when we got to the door our names had been left off a guest list that easily had over 200 names on it.

Now, I am not above arguing my way into a club, and since there was a huge "Sold Out" sign next to the door, that was really the only way we were going to get in, but since the folks we were going to see were not really my "buds", I decided it might be better to not embarrass them or myself...

Anyway, Sunday we headed to McCarren Park Pool, a huge empty pool in Brooklyn that hosts weekly concerts on weekend afternoons and screens films on weeknights. The park was full of sun bathers, slip 'n' sliders, hula hoopers, dodgeballers, water volleyballers, and people of all colors and ages. The line-up this summer has already included some of the hippest bands around, including Superchunk, Man Man, Illinois, Octopus project and tons of DJ's including Mark Ronson.

We entered the park to the sweet sounds of Tamie Lynn, backed by the Ponderosa Stomp House band which included Memphians Scott Bomar on bass, Teenie Hodges on Guitar, and Mark Franklin on trumpet. Lynn, who is originally from the BIg Easy but now resides in NYC, is known for her song "Mojo Hannah," which she recently performed at the South by Southwest Stomp.

Since we were accidentally forgotten about in NJ, we were very well taken care of on Sunday and given VIP status, which basically meant free drinks and we got to watch the show from the stage - very nice!!

Up next was Bobby Patterson who seemed just as excited to be up on stage as the crowd was to see him. While Tamie Lynn sang the crowd seemed to be just settling in, when Patterson took the stage the hipsters began to make their way down to get their groove on.

According to Sundazed.com:

From 1966 to 1970, Bobby Patterson was likely the hottest soul singer in Dallas. That's when he was recording for insurance mogul John Howard Abdnor Sr.'s Abnak and Jetstar labels, the latter logo founded primarily to showcase Bobby's output. Patterson and his combo, the Mustangs, waxed a string of sizzling sides that spotlighted his dynamic, versatile vocals and
prolific, witty songwriting. Sundazed's exhaustive, specially-priced two-disc overview of Bobby's early waxings contains everything the two imprints issued on him, plus much more—four splendid 1965 demos, the previously unreleased answer song "Mama's Got A Bag Of Her Own" (Patterson was a whiz at such retorts, teasing Wilson Pickett on "Broadway Ain't Funky No More" and informing his hero Joe Tex "I'm Leroy, I'll Take Her"), and a shimmering, previously unheard alternate "Trial Of Mary Maguire" produced by the great Chips Moman in Memphis. Barely out of his teens when he signed with Abnak in 1965, the still-musically active Patterson cracked the national R&B charts for Jetstar in 1969 with his rollicking "T.C.B. Or T.Y.A.," one of many gems occupying this mother lode of vintage southern soul!

The crowd sang along with "T.C.B. Or T.Y.A.," they knew every word! Patterson's "She Don't Have To See You To See Through You" was covered by roots-supergroup Golden Smog (Jody Stephens is an alum).

Next up it was time for Mr. Roy Head to take the stage. The crowd loved him and he loved the crowd, getting down and dancing up a storm. You can find read a some background on Mr Head here. By the time he finished his set, the crowd in front of the stage had doubled and he left them screaming for more.