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Dr John: The Night Tripper
By David Smyth Last updated at 00:00am on 01.08.02
If you failed to recognise Dr John by his long grey ponytail, pointed beard, cane, beads, earring, fancy hat and fancier shoes, you might spot him thanks to his piano. It's an ornate thing, draped in plush red cloth, upon which is scattered various voodoo paraphernalia, including a human skull.
For on stage in Hammersmith, as part of a week of North Sea Jazz concerts, was Mac Rebennack, the man who had to come up with a whole new persona for himself in order to escape a successful career as a session musician and become a success in his own right. His slurred, drawling accent and fancy outfit as Dr John, The Night Tripper, is an image socarefully contrived that when he goes off stage you half wonder if he peels off his beard, puts on a smoking jacket and starts talking like Noel Coward.
He had to play particularly well to outshine superb support act the Blind Boys of Alabama, who gave a showstopping performance of surprising energy. The three elderly gospel singers looked as if they could barely be heard across a Post Office counter, but each summoned up powerful barks worthy of Moses on Mount Sinai.
Dr John played an upbeat set featuring plenty of tracks from last year's 'Creole Moon' and 2000's 'Duke Elegant', an album of Duke Ellington covers, including a smokily funky 'It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)'. 'Now That You Got Me' was a particularly infectious boogie woogie, during which he played piano with one hand and an organ with the other.
Occasionally he would break off from playing, get up and jiggle around in a manner which suggested he was either lost in the groove, or rearranging his underpants. If he was dancing, he was far from alone.
Dr John was playing at the Apollo, Hammersmith. Call 020 8748 8660 for details of forthcoming events.
