Rockin' Dopsie Jr. at the Rock n' Bowl

                     Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and unidentified woman

Dear George,

One of the exciting things about visiting New Orleans is that we do a lot of things with J and K that we never do on our own.  On Saturday night we all went out for cocktails at the newly renovated Roosevelt Hotel.  The hundred-yard lobby, which housed three bars, was lined on both sides from beginning to end with glittering white Christmas trees.  We wound up the at Sazerac Bar where I had a Sazerac and Katja had a Ramos Gin Fizz, historic New Orleans drinks.  Then we dined down the block at MiLa, a new, elegant downtown restaurant.  The name is a combination of the two chefs’ home states (Mississippi, Louisiana) whose regional food was the inspiration for their locally sourced southern cuisine.  Katja had Sweet Potato Pappardelle, and I had Yellowfin Tuna – delicious and aesthetically appealing.

                               Mila

After dinner, J invited us to go out to the Rock n’ Bowl where a famous Zydeco group was playing.  Katja said she was too tired, and I was reluctant too – mainly because we never venture out after 10:00 at night.  Fortunately I remembered the great time we’d had at the Rock n’ Bowl on a previous occasion, and I conquered my inertia.  J had told us previously that the Rock n’ Bowl is a famous New Orleans institution.  It combines a bowling alley and a live music venue.  The bowling alley began in 1941 as “Mid City Lanes”, and when current owner John Blancher bought it as a failing enterprise in 1988 he turned it into a nightclub featuring local musicians playing jazz, blues, rock, and, particularly, zydeco.  The Rock n’ Bowl was one of the first flood-damaged Mid City businesses to reopen in December 2005 after the hurricane.

J and I got there about 10:30, and the crowd was overflowing into the parking lot.  The audience was youngish – lots of twenty- and thirty-somethings – and ethnically diverse – whites, African Americans, Hispanics.  Maybe a third of the people were dancing, and a lot were standing up front bopping along with the band or sitting at tables near the back.  The bowling alley, at the far end of the cavernous room, was also busy.

 

The band for the night was Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. (pronounced Doopsey) and the Zydeco Twisters.  Rockin’ Jr.’s father, accordionist Rockin’ Dopsie (1932-1993), was one of the kings of Zydeco who had helped make Creole music prominent internationally and who had recorded with Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, and others.   Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., vocalist and accordion and washboard player, took over the Twisters upon his father’s death, and the band also features two of Dopsie’s brothers, drummer Alton Dopsie Jr. and accordionist “Dopsie” Rubin, as well as bass, guitar, and keyboard players.   Dopsie Jr. is a charismatic performer.  He wore a sleeveless vest, sunglasses, and a cowboy hat, and strutted about the stage much like Mick Jagger, exhorting the audience to scream.  He belted out songs which seemed a mix of Zydeco and rock and roll, played his washboard, and engaged the crowd with continual shouted remarks.  Dopsie’s repertoire includes many Zydeco classics, e.g., I’m the Zydeco Man; Jambalaya; Lucille; Ay-Te-Te-Fee.  People loved it, and the whole place was shaking.  J and I moved up toward the front and watched the band and the dancers on the ballroom floor.

                   John Blancher at the Rock n' Bowl

About midway in the set Rock n’ Bowl owner John Blancher took the stage.  He gave an emotional speech about his son-in-law leaving his wife and three children for a year-long military stay in Afghanistan, and he led a prayer for all the young men and women there.  He asked the Zydeco Twisters to play God Bless America, which they did well but which struck me as probably a one-time performance for the group.  Then Blancher himself took off his shirt and did a bare-chested vocalization of “The Star Spangled Banner”, dancing about the stage with Dopsie Jr.  The crowd stood and watched politely.  The whole scene was a little surreal.  After the patriotic interlude, Rockin’ Dopsie said he’d located three people whose birthday it was today, and he invited them up to the stage: a 31-year-old man, a 50-year-old man, and a 72-year-old man.  Dopsie said the band would do a song for them before the break, but they then went on to do five or six numbers.  The birthday guys swayed along to the music.  Toward the end, Dopsie asked for women volunteers to dance with the birthday celebrants, then invited a young women named Mindy (who J and I judged to have a shaky voice) to do an Aretha Franklin song.

 

We left about midnight when the band took its break.  I felt a little euphoric, like I’d participated in something extraordinary – certainly extraordinary for me.  We’ll definitely return to the Rock n’ Bowl, and maybe Katja and I will learn some Zydeco steps in the meantime.  We’re grateful to J and K for helping keep us in touch with where the action is.

 

Love,

Dave   

G-Mail Comments:

-Donna D (1-9-10): O my god David ijust read this.  Very interesting night you had ,huh!?

-Vicki L. (1-5-10):  Heh David......I'm jealous! And who would've thought you would become the family leader in rockin' out? Proud of you - that inertia can exert quite a tug. Love your new format of including pictures. Love, Vicki