Fools Night Out comes from a song by Phil Wiggins | Moon photo courtesy Michael's Photo Gallery.
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I went to the Hot August Blues along with a handful of zydeco regulars. If you haven't been to this show, seriously think about it next year. It is a cool small event. Kind of like the party you'd throw if you had the farm in rural Maryland. They limit the tickets to 1000, and it is never very crowded. And there was a even a little area for children to play in.
I missed Deanna Bogart (I didn't figure she'd be first). But arrived in time to see Memphis Gold just after the heavens opened up and dropped some much needed moisture on the ground. Next was scheduled Dwayne Dopsie. You can guess the next bit, he wasn't there... late getting out of New Jersey(?) was the rumor floating about.
So, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone went up next. Sansone's a favorite of mine and he didn't disappoint. His music treads a line between Blues, Swamp Pop, and Zydeco. Like C.J. Chenier said "It's not Zydeco, but it's something."
Dwayne & his band showed up about midway through Sansone's set. So they got on next. I wasn't overly impressed or disappointed. He is a hell of an accordion player and the band has great energy. But the songs tended to be fast and long. They put on a good show, and the blues crowd had fun. I had to laugh when they announced from the stage that they'd be in Glen Echo at about 10:30.
Carl Weathersby followed. He is a really good guitarist and his band was tight. But a lot of us were tired, and I was looking at a hour and a half drive home. So a bunch of us bailed after a few songs.
And from what I heard on Saturday, I wasn't going to bother. Not when File' was playing just up the road in Leesburg. A couple dozen dancers showed up. And they baricaded up the main streets in downtown. It was a lot of fun, though dancing on asphalt was a bit hard on the joints. The weather was beautiful, especially after the sun went down. I enjoyed File, their sound ranges from traditional Cajun to Nawlin's Boogie and occasionally sound like they've aimed their sights on Steve Riley. And they do a damn good job of it.