As soon as Phil Frazier blew the tuba on the Maxwell's stage on Sunday night at a sold out show for the New Orleans-based Rebirth Brass Band, the crowd started to yell.
"I feel like funkin’ it up, feel like funkin’ it up,” the brass line sang, while the crowd enthusiastically repeated those words.
Originally formed in 1983 and co-founded by famous New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, Rebirth has become a staple of the New Orleans music scene. Although the band's make up has changed since its inception, their reputation has stayed the same. While holding to the traditional sound of second line brass, Rebirth also incorporates funk, jazz, soul, and hip hop into their routine.
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Rebirth has toured the world bringing their New Orleans sound to the masses while continuing to pack their local joint, The Maple Leaf, every week for their local fans. The constant performances are seen as their showmanship. Rebirth demonstrates why New Orleans is best known for its live music.
And on Sunday night at Maxwell's, it was easy to understand why that is. The mood and beat were infectuous as the energetic crowd danced.
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"I need four girls to come on stage and dance," Trumpeter Chaderick Honroe called out. He refused to start the next song until he assembled enough dancers on stage. After four girls make it up there, more follow and at the end of the night the stage was full of dancers, barely leaving the band enough room to play.
"That’s how we do it in New Orleans," Trumpeter Glen Andrews said, as he pointed out a flamboyantly dancing woman.
Rebirth knows how to get a crowd to throw out inhibitions leaving the motionless looking like oddballs.
Though the dancing and showmanship made the concert entertaining, the music was what brought in the crowd. The set list was a mixture of original and cover songs, infused with just the right amount of New Orleans jazz. They performed crowd pleasers set to the syncopated snare drum, mixing in creative improvised solos. Sax player Vincent Broussard used guitar pedals to add distortion to the otherwise smooth sound, when Chaderick Honroe came in screaming on the trumpet, while the bass drum kept the beat driving. All the while, the crowd cried out for more.
Rebirth's unique sound is a mixture of Louis Armstrong, Michael Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie and heavy funk all under the enthusiasm and driving beat of a second line parade. With that, Rebirth Brass Band made Maxwell's seem a little less Washington Street and a little more Treme. At least for the night.
