Mingo Fishtrap funks up the place in Fort Worth - 7/13/07

If you could make a pot of gumbo with The Meters, Galactic, Ozomatli and a helping of James Brown,  the result would taste a lot like Mingo Fishtrap.

Mingo Fishtrap made a stop at McDavid Studio in Fort Worth,  just a short distance from Denton where they got their start back in the mid-90’s at the University of North Texas. Now located a few hours down I-35 in Austin and working on a new album, they came out of the side door next to the stage in an upbeat jazz funeral-like procession. That was the most somber moment of the night.

Made up of 8 guys that are one the tightest bands I have witnessed in quite a while, Roger Blevins Jr. leads this troupe on guitar and vocals with his Dad on bass. "Pops" was staying back in the shadows behind the 4 gentlemen on horns that were as about as close to perfection as you can get. I was even trying toward the end of the night to hear a errant note…it was a waste of time. 

They played a variety of melodies, from covering the aforementioned Godfather of Soul with "I Feel Good" and "It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World", then heading down to New Orleans to do a respectable impersonation of Aaron Neville with "Use Me". But they brought their own material also, and that is what had the crowd on their feet and heading to either side of the stage to do a bit of boogying.

From the Motown sound of  "Get Ready" and "Let The Games Begin" to the funky "4 Sho’ "even a small 15 minute break in between sets could not stop the rhythm. They continued with a bit of salsa and more New Orleans jazzy blues before ending up the night with a great rendition of  "What Is Hip?" from the Tower Of Power.

These guys certainly deserve the SXSW awards they have received for Best Jam Band, Best Keyboardist, Best Horns and Best Funk Band…twice . Even more should be on their way if they can garner the national attention that is deserved.

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