A musical Rorschach test is conducted on a Westport sidewalk when The Loose Cannon Brass Band play their Friday matinee show at the open-air upstairs bar at Blayney's.
Passerby are assailed by the blare of a New Orleans street party. Many people stop dead in their tracks as wide smiles form on their faces. These are the people I want in my life. Others stop and stare, unsure what to make of the improbable scenario. I'm cool with this cautious approach. Finally, there are the haters- people who are visibly contemptuous of the spontaneous party.
The most uninhibitedly joyous sound on the planet may be the sound of a New Orleans-style brass band. Raucous, funky and celebratory, it's balm for the soul. With the exception of high school jazz band offshoots, it's been years, if ever, that I've encountered a locally-based brass band in Kansas City. The guys in Loose Cannon may not be changing the world, but I intend to squeeze into this tiny space to become a part of the music every chance I get.
(Original photos by Plastic Sax.)
3 comments:
i tottaly know thoes guys! my dad was friends with them! his name was jack allen! i see duck and jack in that one picture! ah man...i miss thoes guys!
"it's been years, if ever, that I've encountered a locally-based brass band in Kansas City"
If so, you've missed out on the Necessity Brass Band, which had many of the same players but has passed into history, I think, and Dirty Force, which isn't so much a band as a mob of in-your-face performance artists with garage-sale instruments.
Loose Cannon is a step (or a couple flights of stairs) above, though. Pay particular attention to the interplay between the drummers, which gives this band an authenticity you seldom find.
Steve has certainly been a part of several great acts, Anon #1.
I did miss the bands you reference, Anon #2. Thanks for filling in the gaps for me.
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