Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen

Walking into the Maple Leaf on a night when Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen are playing is like stepping into the living, breathing heart of New Orleans music. The place is packed — it always is — with bodies pressed together, the ceiling sweating right along with everybody else, and the smell of cold beer cutting through the thick, warm air.

Jon Cleary slides onto that piano bench like he's been sitting there his whole life, which honestly, it kind of feels like he has. He hits the first few chords and the whole room shifts. It's funky, it's soulful, it's got that deep New Orleans groove that you can't fake — the kind that starts somewhere down in your feet and works its way up before you even realize you're moving.

The band is tight. Like, embarrassingly tight. These guys…