Many towns have summertime shows at woodshop gazebos with Samyo sound systems and underemptied port-olets. With acts like the Ghosts of Memphis or Bowzer’s (from Sha-na-na) cousin, not Westport. This town has a cool shopping area, riverwalk, modern library, ample parking, that houses a beautiful outdoor amphitheater known as the Levitt. Beautiful green space, excellent sound and sight lines, and high ticket backers make for a pleasant, and many times free concert experience. Martha goddamn Stewart is a resident. So it is no surprise that modern soul wailer Lee Fields and his crack Daptone band The Expressions got a chance to tear it up. Septuagenarian Fields is a legit force. He says that he injured his knee and had to cut out twirls and splits. Lee’s bio has him mentoring other members of the Daptone label, Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley (both,sadly, no longer with us). The Brooklyn based label has made a name for themselves by coaxing musicians out of retirement, pairing them with seasoned hipster session musicians and getting them in front of audiences. Lee has had a renaissance with these guys. The band was trumpet, sax, drums, organ, electric bass, and guitar. Fields stature and movements had me thinking of James Brown, he even led the sax man around the stage with his microphone. The setlist included some gems: Never Be Another You, Wish You Were Here, Ladies, and closed with the chestnut Honey Dove. As an old black man soul singer, some of the subject matter and lyrics were cringeworthy in the Me-Too era. What was also startling, Lee Fields appeared to be the only black person in attendance. White organizers, white crowd, even the Expressions were Caucasian. Lee had the crowd involved by exhorting “are you happy?”, and”somebody scream!”. He even had the honkey hedge fund managers counting out the hours for his work around the clock song. I am thankful for the Levitt and the apparatus needed to wrangle these shows. Cultural appropriation? Modern day minstrelsy? Straight up sexism? Or a down home soul stew? Maybe all of the above.
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