By Mike Rego
Fittingly with "Fat Tuesday" and Mardi Gras just a week away, the locally-renowned Catnip Junkies made their highly anticipated return to the area Sunday afternoon, Feb. 23, at the IMAGO Foundation space on Market Street.
The Junkies brought their "Bourbon Street Jubilee" to town, featuring what the band describes as a show to "transport you to the heart of the Big Easy with bold brassy trad jazz, swing, tap and aerial art," while being "immersed in the pure joy of the French Quarter."
The sly, seamless sextet put its twist on "New Orleans-style Swing" with a setlist that included traditional standards, modern classics and some tasty pub tunes.
The typically rousing and, at times, bawdy show featured the Junkies' renditions on such songs as "Big Bad Bill," covered by many including Van Halen; "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover," by Paul Simon' "Ripple" by The Grateful Dead, "When You’re Smiling," known to most as being performed by Louis Armstrong; and "Five Foot Two," the Dixieland version popularized by Bing Crosby."
Learn more about the activities sponsored by IMAGO at imagofoundation4art.org. For more information about The Catnip Junkies visit their site, bourbonstreetjubilee.com.
Editor's note: The location of IMAGO was incorrectly noted in the captions with photos from The Catnip Junkies' shows that appeared in the February 26 print edition of The Times-Gazette.