Keith Robertson

“Phew!”

After the excitement of two weekends of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, we were very ready for a quiet and uneventful week.

Diana entertained me with some ” Birthday Month” surprises.  First was a box of Whoppers and a card.  Yes – they’re all gone already.

Then I was treated to empanadas from Empanola.  They are so good.  The mushroom one was great for lunch.  And then the next day the Argentina Beef was even tastier.  Thanks for spoiling me, Diana.

Next up was an invite to Happy Hour on Friday.  Of course I checked the correct box.

Happy Hour was at Chaise Delachaise, one of my very favourite spots.  They have excellent prices on drinks and snacks and the service is always good.  It is a bit far away – which is probably a good thing.  When I say “a bit far away”, it’s a solid 13 minute drive – funny how our perceptions change.  We would have thought nothing about driving 30 minutes to Happy Hour in Dallas.  There are just so many good places in walking distance here.

The mussels are wonderful – and such a big serving at a very good price.

And the dry, crisp white wine that McD loves is not hard to find here.  Don’t the cheeses sound tempting?

Steve Gleason is a New Orleans hero of the first order. He played for the Saints and blocked a punt to win the first game played in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina tried to wipe this city off the map.  In 2011 he was diagnosed with ALS, and has been a massive advocate in encouraging folks living with the disease.  At this point all that he can move is his eyes, and he wrote a book using infrared technology that tracks his eye movements.

He did a book event at the Garden District Book Store, just across the street from us.  This was a real tear jerker.  He had recorded a message talking about the book that was so life affirming and heartbreaking at the same time.  His wife, Michel, had a stamp she was using to sign the books.  If you have a box of Kleenex that needs to be used up, watch the movie “Gleason” and you’ll get more of the story.

If you look into Steve’s eyes you will see an indomitable life force shining back at you.

Colleen invited me to join her, Greg, and her brother Hugh, our across the street neighbour, for the Echo and the Bunnymen concert at the Joy theater on Saturday night.  This was a new venue for all of us.  Our tickets were downstairs standing room.    We arrived a little before 8pm, the band advertised to start at 8pm.  The place was packed and we waited for the start, and waited….  The stage was all set and we didn’t understand the delay.

The band finally took the stage at 8:35pm.  Not a big deal – they sounded good and the music was well mixed and produced.  And then, at 9:05pm, a solid 30 minutes into the concert, Ian McCullough, the lead singer, mumbled in an unintelligible northern English accent, that they were taking a 20 minute break.  That was it for me.  Rude and disrespectful of their audience.  Never again.  I hopped in an Uber home.  If the Rolling Stones can play for 2 hours straight at 80, then Echo and the Bunnymen can do more than 30 minutes at 60.

And another thing…what’s with the back lighting only?  We couldn’t see anyone’s face – just their silhouette – again, just rude!

Oh well, lesson learned.  Here’s my favourite of their songs:

I’m back to reading again, finally.  My book was “Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera.  I haven’t chuckled as much at a book in a long time.  Wonderfully written.  I suppose when Stephen King is gushing about a book, it’s worth reading.  Here’s some online chatter about the book.

“A world-class whodunit.”
―Stephen King

“An extremely successful high-wire act, balancing between dark comedy and darker thrills.”
―Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Laugh-out-loud funny, thrilling and twisty…”
―Liane Moriarty, #1 New York Times bestselling author

What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn’t matter?

After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.

But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast “Listen for the Lie,” and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.

The truth is out there, if we just listen.

Something tasty from the wonderful Robbie Robertson:

Something poignant from Loudon Wainwright (such an amazing songwriter):

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

“French Quarter Fest, and other musical highlights”

Oh no, it happened again.  I’ve fallen behind on these posts.  And now I have a cast on my right hand and struggle to type.  So…the next few posts will be short on words.

Our flight attendant friend, Amy, was in town on Tuesday for a layover.  We met up for a delicious dinner at Kingfish, and then a cocktail in the lovely Peychaud’s patio.

We experienced a large storm on Wednesday – tornadoes doing a lot of damage in nearby towns.  Our only casualty was the jasmine plant on the side wall – blown down by high winds.

The weather improved significantly on Thursday, and we enjoyed French Quarter Festival – a free music and food festival with stages around the Quarter.

We started with Lena Prima at Jackson Square.  She’s the daughter of Louis Prima, a famous singer from the 50s and 60s.

Her Tom Jones medley was a crowd pleaser.

We walked over to a river front stage and saw Alex McMurray put on a great show:

That was followed by the Cuban Latin fusion of Los Guiros.  Such a great variety of music:

Chris Thomas King’s blues skills were the last offering we caught at that stage:

We moved to the large stage and caught fun sets from Bonerama (4 trombones) and Ivan Neville and friends with a fun Talking Heads cover:

We spent a bit of time at the festival again on Friday, catching the wonderful New Orleans Suspects:

Diana attended our neighbour, Augie’s, 3rd birthday on Friday afternoon.

Kenny and Kara joined us at the Maple Leaf on Friday night for the South Austin Moonlighters.  A very talented band from Austin.  Their guitars and harmonies were awesome:

What an amazing few days of enjoyable and varied music.  One of the big reasons that we live here.

Saturday was a rest day, and then we met the Krewe to celebrate Denny’s birthday and watch the Pelicans basketball.

My book was “The Comedians” by Graham Greene.  Here’s an online summary:

“Haiti, under the rule of Papa Doc and his menacing paramilitary, the Tontons Macoute, has long been abandoned by tourists. Now it is home to corrupt capitalists, foreign ambassadors and their lonely wives—and a small group of enterprising strangers rocking into port on the Dutch cargo ship, Medea: a well-meaning pair of Americans claiming to bring vegetarianism to the natives; a former jungle fighter in World War II Burma and current confidence man; and an English hotelier returning home to the Trianon, an unsalable shell of an establishment on the hills above the capital. Each is embroiled in a charade. But when they’re unsuspectingly bound together in this nightmare republic of squalid poverty, torrid love affairs, and impending violence, their masks will be stripped away.”

I really do enjoy some of the descriptions very much:

“Mr. Smith, who wore a shabby raincoat turned up to guard his large innocent hairy ears, was pacing the deck behind us, one lock of white hair standing up like a television aerial in the wind, and a travelling-rug carried over his arm.”

An exchange that reminded me of all the hassle associated with Louisiana and the Napoleonic law structure:

“Then he ought to be brought before a magistrate and put on bail.  i will stand bail for any reasonable amount.”

“Bail?” the Minister said.  “Bail?” He turned to me with a gesture of appeal from his cigar.  “What is bail?”

“A kind of gift to the state if a prisoner should not return for trial.  It can be quite a substantial amount.”  I added.

“You’ve heard of Habeas Corpus, I suppose,” Mr. Smith said.

“Yes.  Yes.  Of course.  But I have forgotten so much of my Latin.  Virgil.  Homer.  I regret that I no longer have time to study.”

I said to Mr. Smith, “The basis of the law here is supposed to be the Code Napoleon.”

“The Code Napoleon?”

“There are certain differences from the Anglo-Saxon law.  Habeas Corpus is one of them.”

“A man has to be charged surely.”

The origin of the title:

“There’s something about him I don’t believe, not altogether.  I was reminded, when I talked to him, of a time when I was young and I persuaded a London restaurant to take me on because I could talk French – I said I’d been a waiter at Fouquet’s.  I was expecting all the time that someone would call my bluff, but no one did.  I made a quick sale of myself, like a reject with the price-label stuck over the flaw.  And again, not so long ago, I sold myself just as successfully as an art expert – no one called my bluff then either.  I wonder sometimes whether Jones isn’t playing the same game.  I remember looking at him one night on the boat from America – it was after the ship’s concert – and wondering, are you and I both comedians?”

The ambassador said, “Come on, cheer up, let us all be comedians together.  Take one of my cigars.  Help yourself at the bar.  My Scotch is good.  Perhaps even Papa Doc is a comedian.”

“The ambassador said, “We mustn’t complain too much of being comedians – it’s an honourable profession.  If only we could be good ones the world might gain at least a sense of style.  We have failed – that’s all.  We are bad comedians, we aren’t bad men.”

I always enjoy Greene’s work, and this one is pretty relevant now, given the disaster that is Haiti.

No more music this week.

Coexist peacefully, with patience and compassion for all!

“Freret Street Fest”

Monday and Tuesday were quiet days, and we relaxed with a couple of good movies.  “Tyson’s Run” is about an autistic child who takes up running and wins a marathon race.

“Mending the Line” is about the healing effect of fly fishing for soldiers with PTSD.

I recommend both of these.

My barber, Derek, had mentioned they were going to be filming some of Spinal Tap II near the shop on Wednesday afternoon.  Diana and I took a wander down and, sure enough, they had converted a store front into a “cheese and guitars” shop.  I think that’s the director, Rob Reiner, that you can see inside the shop.

Kenny joined us in Lafayette Square on Wednesday evening for the regular concert series.  A couple of bands perform every Wednesday for a couple of months until it gets too hot.

Trumpet Mafia opened for RAM de Haiti.  I had heard a little of Trumpet Mafia and was interested to check out some more.  Impressive jazz musicians with a little bit too much noodling to show off skills that didn’t feel overly musical to me.  When the group played as an ensemble it sounded good.

DJ El Camino, Anne’s friend Marlena’s husband, performed during the turn over between bands.

Diana got us some food from “Plate” restaurant, a tapas place we’ve been meaning to try.   The smoked fish dip and lamb skewer were both very good.  We listened to a couple of songs from RAM (horns mixed at a much better level than at Fete Francaise) and then headed home.  It’s always good to travel downtown with Kenny – we get VIP parking at the closest fire station.  “Always got a spot for you, Chief.”

Neffie and Shaun arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning, driving from Dallas after work.  We let them sleep in and then had a late lunch at the Columns.

Probably the best  burger in town at the Columns.

Diana convinced Shaun and Neffie to join her for some oysters at Superior Seafood and I relaxed at home and regrouped for the evening.

We enjoyed Tom Fitzpatrick’s Sax and the City at Dos Jefes cigar bar.  A really good group of musicians.

Saturday was Freret Street Festival – about 10 blocks of Freret, a unique shopping and dining street, are closed off for three stages and many arts, crafts, and food tents.

We wandered down to the far stage on Napoleon to see some of Valerie Sassyfrass – always hilarious.  Here’s the T-Rex song:

The krewe assembled during those performances:

I enjoyed the band after Valerie, Beach Angel:

We wandered down to Val’s for some lunch in the calm, inside section, and then retired to Kenny’s porch for a while.

Tootsie, Neffie’s dog, did provide some entertainment.  Weighing in at about two pounds, she really is hilarious.

We’re having a quiet Easter Sunday.  I’m cheering for Purdue as I write this – the game is a lot closer than I would like it to be.

A great song about New Orleans from Steve Earle:

Something new from New Orleans born Mary Gauthier:

I hadn’t heard this early Steve Miller song before – can you hear the start of him working out “Fly Like an Eagle?”

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

“Vampyres and Fete Francaise”

I took cousin Colin to the French Quarter on Monday, while Diana had an appointment around lunchtime.  He really wanted to try the Vampyre Apothecary and so we stopped there to check it out.  I didn’t believe they were selling a dozen oysters for $6 during Happy Hour – but it is legit.

Colin was in search of Vampyre souvenirs for friends back in Greenville.  So we visited the store so he could pick up t-shirts and blood bags.

We rambled through the quarter a bit, down Bourbon with a stop at Jean Lafitte’s blacksmith shop, back over to Royal, stopped into a gastro pub for a light snack, and decided on where to meet Diana for lunch.

We did make a quick stop into the Dirty Coast t-shirt store:

I chose Saint John and Diana met us there.  They were actually serving a brunch menu – unusual for a Monday.  Diana was able to talk them into giving her the steak tartare from the dinner menu, and Colin enjoyed a breakfast po-boy.

We tried to visit the “Almost Rock ‘n Roll Gallery” that Steve, Andy and Jude’s friend, runs just down from the restaurant.  Alas – a sign in the window saying they are closing and everything is 50% off.  We do have a few weeks to make a purchase if we find something we like.

An Uber home to rest up a bit, and then off to Dos Jefes in the evening for John Fohl.

Here’s John performing “Bet you didn’t see it coming:”

I think Colin really enjoyed the casual Dos Jefes vibe.

We dropped him at the airport early on Tuesday morning and then really “enjoyed” the rush hour traffic back into downtown.  Diana enjoyed Happy Hour with the girls at Wine on Oak in the evening.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty mellow work days.  We did watch the new movie “Irish Wish.”  This was a corny and predictable Lindsay Lohan vehicle that I found strangely funny and enjoyable.  Must have been in the right mood.

On Friday, we decided on Elizabeth Street café at the Saint Vincent hotel for Happy Hour.  This is the sister restaurant of the Vietnamese place of the same name on First Street in Austin.  I always loved their banh-mi sandwiches.

Happy Hour here is a good deal, $5 off cocktails and half off all food. We enjoyed French negronis and chili oil dumplings.  The garden outside seating is very relaxed and pleasant.  It’s about a mile stroll from our home – just right.  On the walk, we noticed “Molly’s House.”  I texted a picture to my future daughter in law.

Reply:

“You bought me a house.”

“I knew I was your favorite.”

Funny Molly!

Next on our agenda was Wild South.  This is a brand new tasting menu restaurant that has been open less than three weeks.  I read a rave review from the newspaper food critic.  You can reserve bar seating and order from an a la carte menu, if not prepared to commit to the full tasting.  It was a bit of work to find the place, which does not have a sign.  We persevered and were welcomed in by Brian with a complimentary cider that he has been enjoying lately.  The tasting menu was very inviting.  Diana tried to convince me, but we would not have been able to do it justice after our earlier snack.  See what you think:

The a la carte menu includes a couple of the lighter dishes from the tasting one.  We enjoyed tuna nduja, shrimp salsa, and fish pieces.  All excellent.  We’ll certainly have the full menu next time.  Alex was a lovely bartender – very patient and knowledgeable as Diana selected a white wine.

It’s always pleasant when a place that is delivering such high quality is also casual, relaxed and welcoming.

On our hike back home, I pointed out District coffee, one of my places for a yummy breakfast biscuit.  They had an ice cream banner out front, and so..

The ice cream was really good.  Just as well, as we think it’s been over a decade since Diana had any – would be a shame to break that record for something average.  We walked home up Philip Street – so many pretty, historical houses lit up at night.  We’ll call our Friday afternoon and evening activity a “Lower Garden District ramble.”  Our first of many.

Saturday began with a couple of laps around Audubon park.  Then we parked the BBB at the Kingpin and walked over to Fete Francaise, the annual fundraiser for the local bilingual French school.  Most of the krewe met us there, and we enjoyed some moules frites and a set by local heroes, Galactic:

Galactic were followed by a very interesting group called RAM de Haiti.  Thom has seen them a couple of times at an old hotel in Port du Prince in Haiti.  They are based here just now due to all the trouble in their homeland.  Polyrhythms, punk guitar, big horns like the annoying things at soccer matches, and a saxophone – quite the entertainment.

Here are the horns:

Next up – a short walk back to the Kingpin for the free Saturday afternoon show featuring John Papa Gros.  I really enjoyed his solo piano set:

What a lovely day of excellent free music.  Time to relax on the couch and enjoy the NCAA basketball tournament – Texas versus Tennessee.  I did manage to walk over seven miles on Saturday.

Diana decided to play tennis with the girls on Sunday morning.  In a weak moment, I volunteered to drive her over – for an 8 am start.  I picked her up around 10am at Kenny and Kara’s home, and then we did a run through the grocery store.  Now I’m watching Purdue versus Utah State – I have Purdue to win the entire tournament in my pool.  They seem to be pulling ahead nicely.

Finn shared this picture of Holly’s Iranian New Year table setting.  New Year was on Wednesday and it is traditional to set a table with little things that symbolize good fortune for the year ahead.

Nothing much to report on the reading front this week.  I did add a lot of exciting upcoming new releases to my list.  I’m also going to revisit the Graham Greene book that features the hotel where RAM de Haiti played for Thom.

The Black Crowes are back with their first album in fifteen years:

I haven’t listened to much of it yet, but this one sounds good.

Some old and great stuff from the same band:

And finally, from a band co-founded by John Fohl:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!

“Watch out for cabbages”

We made a fun trip to City Hall on Monday afternoon.  In order to get a homestead exemption for property taxes, both homeowners need to show up with driver license and an electric bill (water bill doesn’t work.)  A lot more work than in Texas.  We entered the building via a side door and chuckled when walking past all the metal detectors and security at the main door – typical New Orleans.  Once we sat down, the whole process took less than five minutes.

I had my teeth cleaned at the new dentist we found through Kelly on Wednesday.  I was pleased with the thorough job.  Kenny met me for lunch afterwards.  We tried Mint on Freret (Vietnamese) and I was very happy with my lemongrass chicken banh mi.  The French bread was wonderful.  Cooper Manning was having lunch there – making it two sightings of him in a week.

I finally dropped off the four bags of Mardi Gras throws that have been in the trunk for a while at Whole Foods for recycling.

I watched the Netflix series “The Gentlemen” by Guy Richie over a couple of days – didn’t love it but it was entertaining.

We picked cousin Colin up at the airport on Thursday evening and fed him jambalaya to welcome him back to New Orleans.

I worked on Friday morning and then we took Colin for the Commanders Palace lunch experience – including the 25 cent martinis.  They had a corned beef special for St. Patrick’s day – served on brioche bread with a poached egg on top.  Colin wasn’t able to pass that up and really enjoyed it.  I had my usual turtle soup, stuffed quail, and bread pudding soufflé.

In the afternoon, Diana and I worked on preparations for our St. Patrick’s parade watching party.  Three full trays of cottage pie, haggis, dips, etc.

We had a great turnout on Saturday afternoon for the Irish Channel parade.  There must have been thirty or forty folks through the house.

They still drop cabbages from the floats:

Some of the silly boys thought they would entertain Diana with hats decorated with silverware – reminding her that they swapped the drawers around on their last visit, and causing a squeak.  Kenny appears to have fixed the squeak for now.

It has been very rainy so far today, so we just gave Colin a quick driving tour.  Very few people out at the Tracey’s and Parasols block party so far.

I started a collection of Flannery O’Connor short stories this week.  The first one is “The Geranium”, a pretty controversial story due to the racist views held by Old Dudley who moves from the South to stay with his daughter in New York.  I ready strong articles for and against the story.  It was originally published in 1946 and was part of O’ Connors’ Masters thesis.

Let’s start with the Irish classic:

Charles Lloyd released an excellent new album this week, at the age of 86.  He has such a massive discography.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!