It was a beautiful, but cold afternoon when I walked into the wooden Varsity doors last Saturday to see the Soul Rebels and Bonerama perform. These two brass bands hold quite the reputation, especially in New Orleans, where you can see them perform almost weekly. I didn’t know what to expect, having seen the Soul Rebels only once before, and knowing this to be Bonerama’s first time performing in Baton Rouge. I went to the bar to grab a drink, and there observed the people i’d be enjoying the night with. The crowd was buzzing with all sorts of people, of all kinds of ages; all ready, of course, to hear some funky New Orleans jazz style music.
I was pretty excited, I must admit. This is my favorite type of music, one I’ve appreciated for a long time now. The crowd braced themselves when Bonerama took the stage. They started off the night with “Funky Brown Shorts”, an extremely funky song. All three trombonists played in perfect unison. The crowd’s spirits lifted when Bonerama played a cover of “Helter Skelter”, which everyone could easily sing along to. Mark Mullins’s voice executed the song extremely well, and made the crowd move when he used a special wah pedal hooked to him bone to make synth like/ psychedelic noises. They invited the two trombonists from the Soul Rebels, Corey Peyton and Paul Robertson, on stage when they began to perform “Freddie”. Bonerama ended their set with their version of “The Ocean”, an original Led Zeppelin song, which is a personal favorite of mine.
By this time the Varsity was packed with high spirited fans. There was a small intermission, and then the Soul Rebels took the stage. The eight-peice band began the show with an all time favorite “Sweat Dreams”, an original Eurythmics cover. This got the crowd moving again, and I was back on the main floor dancing. All band members swayed back and forth, pumping the crowd up. Once the Soul Rebels played a cover of “Get Lucky” from Daft Punk’s new album Random Access Memories, everyone knew they weren’t messing around. They performed an amazing version of Bruno Mars’s “Locked Out of Heaven”. The Soul Rebels returned the favor, and invited a few of the Bonerama guys up stage for a few songs.
I was extremely satisfied with the performance I saw that night. It was one I will always remember, from what I actually can. After the show, I hung out with my dad (who is one of the trombonists for Bonerama) and a few of the other guys from the band. I met a few of the Soul Rebel guys, and had a great time. Overall, I had a wonderful time, and would advise everyone to check out both of these extraordinary bands while you can.
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Greg Hicks, Mark Mullins, and Craig Klein from Bonerama
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