Walter "Wolfman" Washington

Ok, so last night I was doing my usual venture out onto Frenchman Street.  Frenchman Street is THE street to listen to New Orleans music.  Anything from Swamp Style Blues to Rock to Soul to Jazz to good ol' R&B.  I walked into the d.b.a., a bar/club on Frenchman.  Everyplace to eat in New Orleans has a bar....even the local fried chicken place.  This place just had a bar only, no food except for potato chips.   So I came in early, ordered my usual beer, in this case it was Bass Ale but in New Orleans I've been drinking a lot of Abita amber (local brew).  By the way they have a very extensive line of liquor from California Chardonay to my friend Jack Daniels.  It's all listed on chalk boards above the two bars.  Like most clubs the place is very dark except for the well lit stage. The walls had dark wood panel that lined two large open spaces.  It must have been at one time two grocery stores complete with typical glass storefronts that were combined to make one d.b.a. nightclub.

I honestly did not know who Wolfman Washington is.  I knew he played blues by the music listings in the local magazine "offbeat" but that was it.  I had no idea what I was in for.  An older black man reached over my shoulder while I sat at the bar and shook the hand of the bartender, exchanged warm greetings, and left for the stage.  I asked the bartender, "was that Wolfman?".  He said "no, look for the guy with the guitar".  I walked into the second large space which had the stage and the second bar.  People here really like to drink!  There was a buzz in the room and everyone was waiting for the music to start.


The band finished setting up...two horn player, drummer, B3 hammond organ, bass player, and in the middle was the Wolfman, wearing a green decorated dashiki...straight from the protest days of the '60s.  He had a cap on his head and he was holding a nice looking shiny black Gibson guitar.  He looked right (to the horn section) then back to the drummer and started to count off the beat.  This loud sound filled the room with a beat that was pure Funk.  The bass player and drummer were driving the beat.  The horn section added the opening licks with tight chopped notes that reminded me of the soul bands of the 60's.  The organ player was filling in the spaces with soulful phrases and then there was Wolfman.  He was strumming his guitar, smiling, and getting into the music with the his lead vocal.  This was a "tight" band.  No stray notes or beats.  Each transition from the chorus to the bridge was purposeful, accurate, syncopated, and just slightly off the beat.  It was really really Funky.  This is the type of music that reaches your soul and gets you to bopping your head and dancing to the music.  The music didn't stop.  Wolfman would smoothly lead the band from one song to another by the strum of his guitar.  The band would creshedo up and would bring the volume down and then bring it up again just enough.  It was like they were playing to the emotions of the crowd.  People beside me were moving their hips, shaking their shoulders, and moving their heads.  The music was infectious.  How could you keep still?  The band kept going for an hour and a half.  They didn't really know when to stop until Wolfman finally looked at his watch and called the set after someone in the band reminded him.


The highlight for me....yeah I'm not finished yet....was one tune where Wolfman picked up his guitar and played a solo WITH HIS TEETH!.  I am not kidding!  Some guitarist would trick the audience by hitting the strings with the left hand on the frets or they would turn their backs to the audience and pretend to play with their teeth but they are really using their fingers.  Wolfman was really DID play with his teeth.  You could see him pluck the strings right in front of you.  It was totally amazing!