Bit late in reporting this, but well, you know how festivals are.

Trombone Shorty, ex-Kravitz brass man, followed up his Orange Court main gig with a show at the diminutive Crystal Palace. He played one of those short trombones without the slide; you may know it as a trumpet, but still wheeled through the tracks on his new “Backatown” album. I’ve always liked the sound of the trumpet more, so this was a chance to hear the album with extra wallop.

He’s got a whopping 8 members onstage here. Sure, 8 isn’t whopping for a brass band, but it looks pretty cosy on this stage.

Trumpet Shorty plays a funky version of “Let’s Stay Together”, followed by a storming “On Your Way Down” without the help of Allen Toussaint, who appears on the album, and sings “Something Beautiful”, the track that had Kravitz’s voice on the record. Judging from these performances, Trumpet could have saved himself a few dollars and done the whole thing himself.

About halfway through the set, Angelo Moore of Fishbone pops in to take over vocals, leaving Trumpet to stand at the back. Surprise VIP appearances are fun, but, well, I can’t even remember what the difference was.

Fun ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Funk ★ ★ ★ ★
Palace of Wonderness ★ ★ ★ ★