Buckwheat Zydeco

He calls it "the #1 blues club, zydeco club in the world, baby," and tonight those words could hardly be truer. Onstage is one of the greatest aggregations in the history of zydeco music. And at the helm is Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, Jr. But tonight he's not playing the close of the Atlanta Olympics. He's not sharing a stage with Eric Clapton or U2. He's not headlining one of the world's great festivals. He's holding court before a full house on his home turf, the fabulous El Sid O's in Lafayette, La.

The occasion is the annual holiday homecoming of Buckwheat Zydeco, a break from the road in the place the band feels most comfortable performing. And they're throwing down. Four horns, three guitars, and a jumping bass-drums-and-rubboard rhythm section provide the backbeat, and Buck's full-throated piano accordion riffs ride atop the propulsive boogaloo, broken up only for surgical strikes on the synthesizer and Hammond B-3 organ.

This is "Down Home Live!" – or at least as much of it as you can fit on a 73-minute CD. The nine tunes here average over eight minutes each, moving straight from the shuffling intensity of "Soul Serenade" into the stripped-down boogie of "What You Gonna Do."

The latter number builds to feature three horn solos and two guitar solos, including a break by the inimitable Creole zydeblues six-stringer Paul "Lil' Buck" Sinegal. But the real star here is the bandleader, driving the song up, down and back again on what may rightly be called the king of handheld instruments.

"This is how it's done right here in southwest Louisiana," Buckwheat says as the expanded ensemble launches into "Hard to Stop." The club is filled with all manner of dancers, lots of local musicians and plenty of curious music fans. There's a mobile recording truck and a smaller video trailer in the parking lot, and extra staging inside the cinderblock music emporium.

The disc you hold contains the best of three-plus hours of full-bore Buckwheat Zydeco, a band that plays with the simplicity of great soul matched to the complex rhythmic pulse of funky Creole party music. Guitarists Mike Melchione, Sinegal and Melvin Veazie churn out slinky cross-rhythms on the fast numbers, fiery blues-rock solos on the rave-ups, and chiming arpeggios on the slower tunes.

By the time they hit "Walking To New Orleans," few fans are thinking about how they're bringing that track, originally written by Abbeville native Bobby Charles, full circle. Sassy brass lines underscore that number and the entire set list, highlighting Buckwheat's brilliance as an arranger.

At rehearsals for this show, the bandleader carefully sounded melody and harmony lines on accordion as his "road horns" (sax man Gray Mayfield and trumpeter Curtis Watson) and "home horns" (Calvin Landry on trumpet and Paul Wiltz on sax) worked out tandem arrangements. The whole group was seated in chairs during the prep sessions, with Buckwheat rising only when tempted to take occasional B-3 solos, always while still wearing his 37 1/2-pound piano accordion, simultaneously playing bass patterns on the chest organ buttons and lead lines on the vintage Hammond.

Buckwheat's fantastically soulful vocals, incredible musical chops and dynamic showmanship are, in this case, a homegrown attraction. The Creole phenom grew up in this very neighborhood, and this disc documents his superlative band's over-the-top performance in one of the smaller clubs they visit.

"That's home base," Buckwheat says of the venue, located in the part of town known as Truman Addition. "I was raised in Truman. Our house was one of the first houses in Truman, surrounded by woods. I used to get in the woods right there around my house and go hunting. I used to walk the fields. On the side of El Sid O’s store, I used to pick cotton right there."

These days, the zydeco legend spends the great majority of his time on the road, treating audiences around the planet to the kind of intricate handiwork heard here.

On a night like this, he plays old favorites and hard-charging originals. All the way through "Beast of Burden," these tracks showcase an intuitive group. Solidly anchored by long-time bassist Lee Allen Zeno, drummer Kevin Menard, and Buck’s son Sir Reginald Master Dural on rubboard, this band is capable of creating ever deeper rhythmic pockets and the kind of layered dynamics most groups only dream of. These guys can stop on a dime, and they spend the better part of any set anywhere taking songs to the limit of elasticity, dancers whirling before them.

Simply put, no southwest Louisiana musician has demonstrated this kind of hands-down instrumental or ensemble mastery since the late, great zydeco king Clifton Chenier. At a time when most accordionists don't bother with the bass side of their instrument, Buckwheat works the left-hand buttons to create a musical depth and power other bands can't even approach.

That's what makes this disc a real live album. It's got good grooves, cool riffing and a great feel. This is a document of the carefree joyride that is Buckwheat's definition of zydeco.

Get ready for takeoff.

-- Todd Mouton

Todd Mouton is a freelance writer living in Breaux Bridge, La