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Archive Files of Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco Musicians |
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Charivari |
Click here for high res photos posted on Flickr.
2005 CD: A Trip to the
Holiday Lounge
Go to LSUE's first page on Charivari.
Anyone who has driven on Highway 13 at night along the outskirts of Mamou has seen the brightly colored flashing lights of the Holiday Lounge, garish and alluring, promising a no-holds-barred Evangeline Parish good time if you are fearless enough to venture in. Randy Vidrine's lyrics and vocals, matched by Mitch Reed's lead fiddle, capture that spirit in "Le Holiday" on Charivari's 2005 CD, A Trip to the Holiday Lounge (the band actually played there on Saturday night in 2004 after their performance at The Liberty Theater in Eunice).
"Knife Fight Reel," another original composition on the CD, describes the consequences of a barroom duel, and Jonno Frishberg's lyrics to "Valse à Jean Billeaudeau" tells the story of a legendary knife murderer. The band also covers traditional Cajun songs by Nathan Abshire, Dewey Balfa, Will Balfa, Shirley Ray Bergeron, Wayne Perry, and the Touchet Brothers. Randy Vidrine's distinctive vocals and the intricate, spirited fiddle and accordion partnership of MItch Reed and Jonno Frishberg give these songs a distinctive sound that belongs only to Charivari. Bergeron's "Quelle Etoile" segues into two Dennis McGee reels, offering one of many examples of the remarkable Reed-Frishberg twin fiddles.
The CD ranges far from Evangeline Parish in the Frishberg-Vidrine number "Cajun Klezmer Breakdown," in Frishberg's haunting "Neitzsche's Waltz" (the title refers to a music club in Buffalo, N.Y.–it's not a misspelled reference to the German philosopher), and in the band's version of Michael Doucet's "Persian/Zydeco Gris Gris." There's a serious message in "It's All My Fault," dedicated to a survivor of incest, and an invitation to dance in "Carollee."
The CD confirms Charivari's reputation as a band that is both highly innovative and immersed in tradition. Like the jukebox at The Holiday, with Charivari you never know what the next number will be, but you know you will enjoy it. The CD was released on Rounder Records.
Photos above were taken in 2004 at the Liberty Theater in Eunice, at Festivals Acadiens in Lafayette, and at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, except for the second photo of Randy Vidrine, which was taken at the Liberty Aug. 27, 2005. It was supposed to be a CD release performance, but the three band members from New Orleans could not reach Eunice due to traffic from the Hurricane Katrina evacuation. Nonetheless, Randy and Mitch and the Lafayette Rhythm Devils captured the crowd with a performance of "Le Holiday."
All photographs and text by David Simpson.