This live CD was initially a 500-copy limited edition for local fans, but after those sold out in five days in New Orleans, it graduated to a bigger and broader release. That often signals something special, but this is one case where the music doesn't really transcend the moment -- you can't escape the feeling that you had to be in the club sweating it out with the band that night to feel the magic. Opening with two songs associated with
the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, "Blackbird Special" and the R&B staple "It's All Over Now," only shows that
ReBirth is still essentially a rawer, less polished version of
the DDBB. The latter's studio version of "Blackbird" 20 years ago still beats this one for expertise and vitality, and
ReBirth has nothing to match the lethal
Roger Lewis-
Kevin Harris tandem sax riff machine.
ReBirth sounds more like
the Dozen when it gets its bad groove thing going on the original "Don't Start No Shit!," complete with what sounds like a variation on
Jimi Hendrix's "Who Knows" riff from
Band of Gypsys. The centerpiece of
The Main Event is a 32-minute title track divided into four sections -- the chop funk drumming on "Tornado Special" sets the groove and
ReBirth rides the funky foundation through a series of OK solos. They blend in enough potent groove variations and dynamic shifts to sustain the musical momentum and toss in Mardi Gras Indian chants and bits from "The Roof Is on Fire" to whip up audience response. It's those spots that reveal
The Main Event to be more akin to a live go-go record by
Trouble Funk than anything. Ride the non-stop rhythm indigenous to a homegrown scene, reference old favorites from local heroes, and toss in familiar chants to cement the audience bond and identification with the sound and scene.
ReBirth fans outside New Orleans can enjoy the disc, but at heart the music captured that night was a local thing. [The set's 2005 reissue via Mardi Gras included three bonus tracks.] ~ Don Snowden