Dr. John Wooten(holding a Dos Equis), Director of Percussion Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi, joined members of SPI Pan in a very eclectic set at the Crescent Moon Friday night. It was perhaps the most magical night at the cantina since last year when Henry Lee incarnated the spirit of Jimi Hendrix in performing Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."The crowd was evenly divided UTB/TSCish and middle-aged until the Brownsville Bike Brigage came and bridged the generations.
The steel pan is a chromatically pitched percussion instrument with the range of an organ keyboard. It is played with either 2 or 4 sticks and must be tuned with a strobe tuner. Striking it incorrectly or with too much force can take it out of tune. The instrument originated in Trinidad and Tobago with many early prototypes made from 55 gallon drums. Now they are carefully fabricated with precise thickness. The larger the pan, the lower the tone.
The set was heavily reggae with Bob Marley tunes like "Stir It Up", "No Woman, No Cry", but also included Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World." Whooton's vocals were effective, utilizing audience participation.
The Crescent Moon is located at 722 E. 11th St., Brownsville, TX and generally open on Thursday and Friday nights from 9pm till 12am.
"No Woman, No Cry"
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