Critic's Picks: Partyin' down with Cowboy Mouth

Never mind that it sounds like an oral disease you get from eating too much jerky on the range, Cowboy Mouth is one of the most unabashedly, fist-pumpingly fun bands I've heard in my perusal of this year's Riverbend offerings.

I suppose that shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given where they call home. New Orleans is a city that is known for music with a swinging gait and a bit of bone-deep, raucous joy. After all, this is the place that gave us the Neville Brothers, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Louis "Wonderful World" Armstrong. Even their funerals can't keep a straight face for too long.

There are no brass lines to Cowboy Mouth, but there are hints of Crescent City jangly boogie that creep to the surface on occasion, mixing and melding in true gumbo style with the straightahead rock energy that is the music's main ingredient.

John Thomas Griffith, left, and Fred LeBlanc are the two founding members of Cowboy Mouth, which has been together for more than 20 years.

Front man Fred LeBlanc may be one of the most captivatingly chatty, engaging frontmen in rock'n'roll, a quality he's maintained for 25 years now. He's also a drummer, which means Cowboy Mouth may well be the only drummer-led band at Riverbend this year, barring a surprise visit from Don Henley or Phil Collins.

If you want a good idea of the spirited roll to expect tonight, just take an hour -- almost on the nose -- to check out Cowboy Mouth's stellar 2000 release "All You Need Is Live." Pay particularly close attention to "Light It On Fire" and "Hurricane Party." Keep your speakers close to 10 and maybe invite your neighbors over for a crawfish boil while you're at it.

If you want the full effect tonight, you'll definitely want to get to the Bud Light Stage early and set up near the front to let LeBlanc's energy and excitement wash over you. You may want to bring a slicker, though, because I've been warned by past attendees to Cowboy Mouth shows that he doesn't let up the whole time, and the sweat spray can get intense at times. Consider yourselves warned, festival-goers.

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow his Riverbend coverage on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.

Cowboy Mouth always plays the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival because the band lives in New Orleans

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First Friday Red Party

Vibe Events and Tanqueray sponsor the "Go Red Party" Friday, August 3 at Markham 801.