 |
| Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews @ the Mountain Winery (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Seats weren't required at the Trombone Shorty Voodoo Threauxdown this past Thursday night at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. From the opening note of the very first opening band, all through the night, this was a party that I've never seen at the Winery before -- and that's been Troy Andrews', otherwise known as Trombone Shorty, objective all along with this Voodoo Threauxdown tour. Shorty's assembled some of the best bands from New Orleans to bring the Nawlins sound to the rest of the country. Can't make it down to Louisiana? No problem, Trombone's brought it to us!
 |
| Trombone Shorty @ the Mountain Winery (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Outside of a real parade, the Voodoo Threauxdown was the closest you'll get to an authentic Nawlins march and we in the audience did our best to become its Second Line. I can't reinforce it enough that if you're coming to this show, you will not be able to sit down unless you go to the restroom. The music will make you get on your feet no matter how old you are and you will be guaranteed to have a blast like we all did a the Mountain Winery.
 |
| Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews @ the Mountain Winery (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
The Threauxdown included not one, but five show openers that consisted of: Tank and the Bangas, Big Freedia, Cyril Neville the Uptown Ruler, George Porter, Jr. and Dumpstaphunk playing the music of The Meters, and The Soul Rebels. Be sure to arrive at the venue early, because the doors at the Winery opened at 4:30pm with the show kicking off around 6:30pm.
 |
| Trombone Shorty @ the Mountain Winery (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
It's hard to say who of the openers were my favorite, but if I had to pick just one, it would probably be Tank and the Bangas. Now just to be clear, the others were all fantastic as well, but Tank and the Bangas were just plain old fun -- in addition to being incredible musicians! Tarriona 'Tank' Ball, the lead singer of the (at least) 7-piece band just exuded pure joy. The band's infectious energy had some in the crowd near me wondering if they were meant to be the headliners! Ultimately, although Trombone Shorty's got the name recognition on the bill, the line-up he's assembled is second to none. This is very much a Voodoo Threauxdown!
 |
| Trombone Shorty @ the Mountain Winery (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
In terms of Trombone Shorty's set, he and his 10-piece band continued with the high energy performance that we saw from Tank and raised it to an 11. Everyone in Troy's band was on fire here at the Winery! His pair of background vocalists not only had soaring voices, but loved to dance around the stage and interact with Troy through a number of songs. Shorty's pair of brass players also crushed with and followed Troy out into the audience during a number early in their set.
 |
| Trombone Shorty's singers @ the Mountain Winery (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
But my absolute favorite moment from the entire night was essentially a duet between Troy and his bassist during either "I'm Standing Here" or "The Craziest Things" -- if you know which song I'm talking about, leave it in the comments below! The two performers pushed each other to hit higher notes on the trombone or lower notes on the bass and played off one another for what felt like 10-minutes. It was absolute extraordinary and I'd love to find a video of the performance.
 |
| Trombone Shorty @ the Mountain Winery (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
That was only one highlight of Troy's show though. His portion of the night was certainly the icing on the cake, but the whole show in its entirety was incredibly special and I'm so glad we were able to catch it! Although this was my first time catching Trombone Shorty live, it most certainly won't be the last. Do what you can to see Trombone Shorty's Voodoo Threauxdown when it comes to your town!
Thanks for reading and while you're at it, you can follow us as well here: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter.
Until someone confirms the line-up above, here's the setlist from the Hollywood Bowl concert the night before ours at the Winery:
