There's nothing like a Hoodoo Man show to shake off the impulse to hibernate, release old, stale energy and ring in the New Year on an up-beat. Jesse Moore, AKA the Hoodoo Man, says his audiences often seem to need the release. "Sometimes it looks like they're gonna blow up dancin'," says Moore. And with good reason. His band holds it down, really owning the good-time feel of it's originals, plus classics by heavyweights like Bonnie Raitt, the Neville Brothers and Dr. John. "There are great artists who express angst, and that's important," the Hoodoo Man says. "But I'm one of the guys who says, 'Let's have a ball, a fall-down party, and deal with that other stuff tomorrow!'"

The New Orleans-style R&B of the Hoodoo Man and his Sweet Magnolia Band will storm the stage to wow diners and revelers with a heady mix of blues classics and originals aimed at lightening your burdens and opening minds at New World Home Cooking's New Year's Eve bash which runs from 8p.m., Tuesday, December 31 to 3 a.m., January 1, 2003.

When he speaks, lifelong musician and former actor Jesse Moore has a certain timbre in his voice wherein lives experience. His voice is lively and inspired, but you can tell he's been places.

"I grew up on the mean streets of Sarragut, Brooklyn," says Moore, reminiscing about his early days. "One way not to get killed was by having the best voice on my street. I'd sing on the corners and older people would leave me alone because they liked it."

At thirteen, Moore won the Apollo Theate talent night, and he's been involved in music and theatrical arts non-stop ever since. Of that fated talent night contest, Moore states, "I was scared to death, man. People before me were getting booed and had popcorn thrown at them." Still, he got up there and did this thing, opening a door tthat would eventually lead to working with people like John Lee Hooker and Jackie Wilson in the pit at the Brooklyn Apollo. Older musicians would look out for him there, too. "I was eager to learn, soaking up everything," Moore says pensively. "One day, when I was 14, a guy was walking past me and he got shot. Bobby Bland (the R&B star) dragged me inside the theatre while it was going on."

Moore toured the world at a young age and recorded as a session boy at the famous Brill Building, offering vocals for staff demos. A lifetime of music was inevitable, though he took a break for a few years to act, including an appearance on Law & Order, before returning to his first passion. Such a rich amalgam of life experiences continue to instill Moore with a desire to heal through music, combining rich traditions of R&B, funk and Motown smooothness into what he calls a "gumbo approach." He likens his incorporation of traditional Hoodoo elements and his own spirituality into the music to the Aboriginal belief that rhythm, light, sound and the frenzy of a beautiful release are the fastest route to a healing state. To a place, as he puts it, "where the world, concerns and wars are outside of you, and you're just healing."

For reservations to the New World Home Cooking party, call [845] 246-0900. The venue encourages everyone to "dress your best." For $95 a person, you can reserve your table and party from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. General admission for music and late night snacks is $20 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., with snacks and sweets after midnight. New World is located right outside Woodstock at 1411 Route 212, Saugerties.