LLTS. Ladies Love Trombone Shorty. And quite a lot of men also.

Church, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, a rock/R&B/funk concert – Trombone Shorty is all that and more.

Before the show I stopped off at the Grand Central Centennial Quilts exhibit at the New York Transit Museum Annex in Grand Central Station. It’s free and there until July – go see some beautiful artwork.

I got to Port Chester early and got a Texas hot dog at a chili place up the street, which was very good. Then I met rtb and violaleeblue at Inca Gaucho where they ate and I had a shot of Patrón.

When we got to the Capitol Theatre The London Souls were on stage. The trio – Tash Neal (guitar/vocals), Chris St. Hilaire (drums, vocals), and Stu Mahan (bass) – took me way back. Back to dances in church basements in late 1960s/early 70s and back to concerts in school auditoriums or at the dome in Forest Park. A good but not great band playing psychedelic blues in a smoky room with a light show – all that was missing was the smell of cigarette smoke and maybe a hint of weed.

The St. Hilaire’s style was very Keith Moon – animal flailing and never quite on beat. Neal used only one pedal and both he and the Mahan relied heavily on feedback. Unlike a band like The Black Keys, The London Souls does old school without making it modern.

Probably my favorite part of the show was their slowed laid-back medley of “Magic Bus with “Get Back”.

The crowd was interesting – it was split evenly between old and young; black and white. The older black crowd was not into The London Souls at all. The younger and older white crowd were more into them – the younger enjoying this kind of music as a kind of nostalgia/hipster thing and the older reliving their youth, like me.

When Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews entered the stage the crowd went crazy – rock star celebrity teenage girl kind of crazy. His band Orleans Avenue had already started playing – Michael Ballard (bass), Pete Murano (guitar), Dan Oestreicher (baritone sax), Joey Peebles (drums), and Tim McFatter (tenor sax) – when he entered with arms raised looking great in a white jacket, black shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Andrews plays trombone (duh), trumpet, sings, and dances.

The show was high energy from start to finish. Andrews barely catches his breath before he switches from trumpet to singing to dancing and back to trumpet. He took off the jacket and we could admire his biceps. He let each member of the band shine and then it all came back to him as he jumped and danced and blew and blew and blew to the end of the song.

When the audience offered Mardi Gras beads, Andrews held his hands up so he could catch them and then put them on. Later he went second lining with a black towel.

“St James Infirmary” is always a highlight of a Trombone Shorty and that was no different Saturday night.

Andrews went looking for love with arms wide open and we gave it to him over and over.

By Carene Lydia Lopez