Mardi Gras parades were always a special treat when Fat Tuesday lined up with a Bay Area Dead show in the band’s later years. And to have the great grammy-winning band BeauSoleil add their spicy Cajun flare to the Grateful Dead’s 1990 Mardi Gras show made such a celebration all the more remarkable.
BeauSoleil has been playing some of the best Cajun music since they formed in 1975. And while their music is deeply based in the traditions of Creole Louisiana, they also mix in elements of rock and roll, jazz, and blues. And that mix of folk roots and contemporary influences has gained BeauSoleil a die-hard falling both in Louisiana and beyond. The band’s stellar playing has also garnered them over a dozen Grammy nominations, taking home two of the awards for their 2008 release, Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and L’Amour Ou La Folie, released in 1996.
The band has traditionally been a sextet anchored by the legendary Cajun violinist Michael Doucet. But over the years, a cast of folks have been members of BeauSoleil, which typically includes, along with Doucet on violin, an accordion, various percussion, and a mix of guitar, mandolin, and banjo.
It is a little hard to tell if all the members of BeauSoleil are on stage with the Grateful Dead on February 27, 1990. But an accordion, probably played by Jimmy Breaux, punctuates the Drums segment during the Mardi Gras parade. And there is no question that Michael Doucet and Al Tharp are out on stage with the band for the two tunes, Aiko and Man Smart Woman Smarter, that come out next; on the video, you can see Jerry smiling from ear to ear as he rocks out with Doucet on violin and Tharp on clawhammer banjo while Brent pounds away on the keys just beyond. And for their part, Doucet and Tharp look like they are having the time of their lives.
It’s too bad BeauSoleil did not play some more with the Dead, though it is a little hard to imagine their contributions on the Standing on the Moon that comes after Man Smart. Doucet’s fiddle – especially in a fiery little solo towards the end of Aiko – really adds something extra to the Dead’s already hot mix. It would have been a treat to have BeauSoleil, with their Cajun energy and spirit, push Jerry and the boys a little further and really explore the range of possibilities. But these three tunes in 1990 serve as another memorable moment in the long history of the Grateful Dead.
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