THE ICEMEN COMETH

THE ICEMAN SPECIAL MAKES MUSICAL MAGIC WITH A CROSS-GENERATIONAL COLLABORATION AND FAMILY TIES

- John Wirt

ON A RECENT SUNDAY NIGHT AT HOUSE OF BLUES, GOOD vibrations radiated through the room, even though the evening’s headlining act, Arizona jam band Spafford, had yet to take the stage.

Although being mostly ignored is the fate of most opening acts, on this night, the rippling, multi-generational throng on the venue’s Music Hall floor reveled in the songs and sounds emanating from the opener, the Iceman Special. And because headliner Spafford’s instruments and equipment crowded the Iceman Special to the front of the stage, the bond between the New Orleans band and the collectively grooving audience grew even stronger.

As shown again by the Iceman Special’s recent tour with the nationally known Spafford, jam band audiences in the United States have embraced the New Orleans band. They do so even though, in contrast to Spafford’s improvisatory, blank-canvas approach to performing, the Iceman Special usually plays faithful renditions of its original songs. Those songs aren’t long either, typically in the three-minute range. The group’s stylistic reach, on the other hand, sweeps across prog and psychedelic rock, metal, pop, reggae and even disco. The band’s next New Orleans appearance is March 27 at Hogs For The Cause on the UNO Lakefront Arena grounds.

The Iceman Special’s January appearance at House of Blues was the final date of a five-show tour with Spafford that included Houston, Austin and Dallas. On stage in New Orleans, the band would have preferred more time on stage, but its members know that a 45-minute to hour-long set is the normal allotment for an opening act.