Dax Riggs with special guest, Brother Dege

Upon arriving at the venue, I suddenly remembered why Chelsea's
in Baton Rouge is among the top spots in town. From the back entrance over looking the pool table, to the art gallery decor of the front cafe, it paints a picture of local flavor, spiced with music enthusiast of all ages. A blue lit stage and the sounds of clattering beer bottles serenaded the room. I grabbed my table next to the side of the stage where I noticed Dax Riggs drinking beers and talking with friends. He wore dark aviator sunglasses which paired with his black jacket. And he seemed to blend in, mysteriously enough, even though his charisma gave his identity away. As the cigarette smoke cleared and cuisine disappeared, the opening act, Brother Dege, hypnotized the audience with his Dobro Swamp Blues.

Brother Dege was solo this night, but has been accredited with collaborating on bayou rhythmic scores in his other bands Santeria and Black Bayou Construktion. Each slide lead and rhythm strung hit the heart and soul, a tribute and innovation of early railroad & delta blues pioneers. Dege was very interactive and knew how to work the crowd, often holding up his drink to a toast, and encouraging us to do the same.

The set progressed like a lit flame to a blazing fire. His song writing is hauntingly beautiful, powerful, and intellectual. The Brother Dege used a stomp box creating a rockabilly kick drum sound and manipulated guitar loops and reverse feedback through his Line 6 Guitar processor. This added an almost psychedelic influence, and the set ended with The Battle of New Orleans. As intense as the title suggested, the song dealt lyrically with the Katrina after math and its brutal realities. Beating out percussion's on his guitar, brother Dege's epic got the crowd into a roar of applause.



With only a short pause for a monitor sound check, Dax took to the stage around midnight. With his glasses still intact, he opened the set with a cover song from Fred Neal, one of Dax's influences, which also seemed to stump the crowd. The second in line was Night is the Notion, from 2007's critically acclaimed release We Only Sing For Blood or Love. Chelsea's was filled with fans singing word for word. Some of the crowd even sat on the stage making a bit of a obstacle for the artist to move around.

Mr. Rigg's played a few covers through out the set which included numbers from The Grateful Dead and Ray Charles. But Dax, unfortunately, did not play his version of the Misfits horror punk classic Skulls. Crowd favorites included Demon Tied To a Chair In My Brain, Living Is Suicide, and the sing along anthem Radiation Blues. This was an acoustic set but it had every bit of energy as in a full on rock show. Dax hits every song with enthusiasm and vocal perfection. I had the opportunity to see Dax earlier this summer at a sold out show in New Orleans. One similarity between the two shows was the diversity of the crowd to which he appealed. Tracing back to his roots as vocalist for legendary Nola metal heroes Acid Bath, to his later band, Dead Boy And The Elephant Man, the crowd ranged from metal heads, Folk fans, Indie rockers, and beyond. The music has dimension and depth, and this is very relevant to the turn out at his concerts. The set ended a little over a hour later with a cover from Van Morrison, a tune which Dax has never played live. He went on to tell a great story before going into the song, stating that he went to see Mr. Morrison play live, and in a silent part of the set he screamed to him and said, "the baby Jesus of white soul!", which Dax went on to say was a complement. Van Morrison replied to our local musician by saying to him "Fuck off". I'm Ryan McKern, please check the links below to support these artists and find more information on when they are playing next.

-Cheers-
(Brother Dege)
http://www.myspace.com/degelegg
http://www.degelegg.com/

( Dax Rigg's)
http://www.myspace.com/daxriggs


Article by: Ryan McKern for Neworleansmusicians.net
myspace. com/ryan_mckern

Photographs by: Vera Alen for Neworleansmusicians.net
myspace.com/veraellen1