O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEW : Capturing a Louisiana Flavor : Despite Rain, Long Beach Crowd Immerses Itself in Bayou Tunes

Neither rain nor gloom nor a competing music festival could keep hearty Bayouphiles from their annual appointment with Louisiana sounds and tastes at the Rainbow Lagoon outside the Long Beach Arena.

The unexpected June rain and the ill-scheduled Troubadours of Folk fest up the coast (review, F6) did significantly cut into the numbers Saturday at the seventh annual Cajun and Zydeco Festival--the estimated 1,000 attending was just half of last year’s showing. But those who did show had enough enthusiasm to make the event an emotional, if not financial, success.

Anyway, for many, the dampness merely served as a reminder of the sometimes-drenched New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the king of such events. Besides, as long as you keep the crowd dancing and eating, you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s no accident that this is officially called the Cajun and Zydeco Music-Food-Dance Festival. The food selection wasn’t as vast as in past years, but the boiled crawfish, though a bit cold, kept people peeling and shucking, and the boudin sausage was admirably spiced.

The dancing pretty much took care of itself, thanks to a lineup that brought to Long Beach some of the best in Cajun (young accordionist Steve Riley and his terrific band), zydeco (veteran John Delafose and C.J. Chenier, son of the late zydeco great Clifton Chenier) and beyond (the eclectic border-rocking band the Iguanas). Each act provided its own distinct take on Louisiana (and Texas, in the case of the Iguanas) traditions in a nonstop string of happy-feet-inducing two-steps and waltzes (and nortenos and rumbas, in the case of the Iguanas).

The two zydeco groups pretty much provided the full range of the style. Delafose, from the small town of Eunice, La., offers the rural branch of the genre. His own raspy button accordion and scratchy fiddle playing anchor a band that is all raw energy, filtering Creole blues and Cajun folk styles into a rough, boisterous brew.

Chenier, who closed the day, is more from the uptown zydeco R&B; school, though he’s not exactly what you could write off as slick. On Saturday, he managed to walk two lines admirably, keeping a balance between the R&B; and earthier folk roots that color the best zydeco, and keeping alive his father’s musical achievements without being slave to them on the likes of “Eh, Petite Fille” (one of Clifton’s first hits) and a party-down Creolization of “Jambalaya.”

For Cajun fans, it would be hard to ask for better than Steve Riley, who in the last few years has emerged as the top young Cajun musician. Though he looks like he belongs on the beach rather than the bayou, Riley’s Cajun accordion playing leaves no doubt about his heritage, schooled deeply in the music of such greats as Iry Lejune and the Balfa Brothers. But Riley’s steadily adding his own twists to the music.

Judging from his set, Riley and his strong electric-acoustic band have recently immersed themselves in Appalachian traditions as well as Cajun styles, adding some fine bluegrass-like three-part harmonies and even taking on a mountain fiddle tune or two, notably the gorgeous “Lover’s Waltz.” Rather than tainting the roots, such additions (as well as a touch of rock ‘n’ roll orientation) deepen the music’s richness.

The Iguanas, on the other hand, seem to live to taint roots--but in an irresistible, unreproachable way. The New Orleans group (signed to a record contract last year by Jimmy Buffett) mixes and matches various Tex-Mex and other Hispanic styles (including a Colombian rumba) with greasy ‘50s-originated rock and R&B.; The group doesn’t show the reach and vision of similarly oriented Los Lobos, but it’s right up there in terms of hip-shaking joy.

Speaking of joy, Cajun and zydeco fans can take heart that neither the low attendance nor moisture has derailed plans for next year. Bay Area-based producer Franklin Ziwacki pledged that he’ll be back for the eighth annual festival--though not on the same weekend as the Troubadours of Folk.