tool name

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009

Rigney brings Cajun, Zydeco sound to Newman's West Side Theater

"I seem to be a bandleader by temperament," said Tom Rigney, who helms the immensely popular Tom Rigney & Flambeau, a band specializing in Cajun and Zydeco music, performing Nov. 7 at Newman's West Side Theater.

His leadership technique seems to work. The band was voted Best Cajun/Zydeco Band of 2004 by the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame. It has performed all over the country, swinging along with its signature blend of Cajun, Zydeco, New Orleans and roots.

"Our repertoire is very eclectic, and largely instrumental," Rigney said.

Listening to the band is a toe-tapping, swaying, satisfying experience that Rigney tailors to his varied audiences.

"People can expect a very high-energy, musically powerful show," Rigney said. "All members of the band are musically first-rate musicians with a love of performing."

And perform they do. It all blends into a spicy and invigorating gumbo that reflects the interests of its audiences. The band plays dance music when the audience wants to dance, and slower, more sedate pieces when the audience seems in that frame of mind.

Tom Rigney & Flambeau shows don't follow a script.

Shows usually feature at least 50 to 75 percent original material written by Rigney, and never look the same.

"Our repertoire is huge," Rigney said, "I'm writing new material all the time. I have the freedom because the band is so good not to have to work from set lists. The band finds out what we're playing when it's announced to the audience."

Rigney's path to this band has been what he calls "a twisty one."

His parents listened to Big Band and swing music, and Rigney -- truly a child of the times -- originally found himself drawn to rock and roll.

It wasn't until he started playing the fiddle that he discovered roots music, and immediately fell in love. Trips with other bands through New Orleans gave him a taste for the music of New Orleans and southern Louisiana; "I realized that would be a major ingredient in my sound," he said.

Rigney started playing the fiddle at 24, while in graduate school studying Fine Arts.

"It took just a couple of years between starting learning and putting together a small bluegrass band," he remembered, "I really wanted to do this, and I was the one pushing everyone else. It was my natural bandleader tendency coming to the forefront. I wanted to be on stage before I was probably ready, but it put pressure on me to get my playing up to where it should be."

Rigney said they try to perform at the West Side Theater once per year.

"We're looking forward to getting back," he said. "We really enjoy the venue and the crowd that comes out."

Tom Rigney

& Flambeau

WHEN: 8 p.m. Nov. 7

WHERE: Newman's West Side Theater

TICKETS: General admission is $18, and reserved seating is $21. For information go to www.westsidetheatre.org or e-mail info@westside- theatre.org. Call (209) 862-4490.