The Main Event: Live at the Maple Leaf

by Rebirth Brass Band

Overview

This live CD was initially a 500-copy limited edition for local fans, but after those sold out in five days in New Orleans, it graduated to a bigger and broader release. That often signals something special, but this is one case where the music doesn't really transcend the moment -- you can't escape the feeling that you had to be in the club sweating it out with the band that night to feel the magic. Opening with two songs associated with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, "Blackbird Special" and the R&B staple "It's All Over Now," only shows that ReBirth is still essentially a rawer, less polished version of the DDBB. The latter's studio version of "Blackbird" 20 years ago still beats this one for expertise and vitality, and ReBirth has nothing to match the lethal Roger Lewis-Kevin Harris tandem sax riff machine. ReBirth sounds more like the Dozen when it gets its bad groove thing going on the original "Don't Start No Shit!," complete with what sounds like a variation on Jimi Hendrix's "Who Knows" riff from Band of Gypsys. The centerpiece of The Main Event is a 32-minute title track divided into four sections -- the chop funk drumming on "Tornado Special" sets the groove and ReBirth rides the funky foundation through a series of OK solos. They blend in enough potent groove variations and dynamic shifts to sustain the musical momentum and toss in Mardi Gras Indian chants and bits from "The Roof Is on Fire" to whip up audience response. It's those spots that reveal The Main Event to be more akin to a live go-go record by Trouble Funk than anything. Ride the non-stop rhythm indigenous to a homegrown scene, reference old favorites from local heroes, and toss in familiar chants to cement the audience bond and identification with the sound and scene. ReBirth fans outside New Orleans can enjoy the disc, but at heart the music captured that night was a local thing. [The set's 2005 reissue via Mardi Gras included three bonus tracks.] ~ Don Snowden

Product Details

Release Date:	01/11/2005
Label:	MARDI GRAS RECORDS
UPC:	0096094109026

Tracks

1. Intro
2. Blackbird Special
3. It's All Over Now
4. Don't Start No Shit!
5. Just the Two of Us
6. The Main Event: Tornado Special/Waterfalls/Ooh Nah Nay/Rebirth on Fire
7. We Come to Party
8. (I Feel Like) Busting Loose
9. Carnival Time
10. I Ate Up the Apple Tree

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rebirth Brass Band   Primary Artist
Henri Smith   Primary Artist
Phil Frazier   Tuba
Glen Andrews   Trumpet
Keith "Bass Drum Shorty" Frazier   Drums (Bass)
Tyrus Chapman   Trombone
James Durant   Saxophone
Shamarr Allen   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Michael Montero   Engineer
Kevin Harris   Composer
Benny Jones   Composer
Charles Joseph   Composer
Efrem Towns   Composer
Gregory Davis   Composer
Johnny Guarnieri   Art Direction
Roger Lewis   Composer
Phil Frazier   Composer
Glen Andrews   Composer
David Farrell   Mixing
William Salter   Composer
Frenchy   Cover Painting
Keith "Bass Drum Shorty" Frazier   Composer
Kirk Joseph   Composer
Jerry Brock   Mixing,Producer
Ralph MacDonald   Composer
Tyrus Chapman   Composer
Diana Thornton   Graphic Design,Layout Concept
Tom Thompson   Art Direction
James Durant   Composer
Jenell Marshall   Composer
Parker Dinkins   Mastering
Shamarr Allen   Composer
Geraldine Wyckoff   Liner Notes
Al Johnson   Composer
Henri Smith   Performer
Bill Withers   Composer
Bobby Womack   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Shirley Jean Womack   Composer