“Brigtsen’s Dinner –  Finally”

Monday began with a walk down to French Truck coffee.  Someone did the usual – “Can I have a cappuccino with non-fat milk please?”  To receive the typical hipster coffee retort, “We only have Oat, Almond and whole milk.”  “Ok, I’ll have regular milk.”  Would it be so hard for them to add 2% or non-fat milk to the other three options?

Later in the day we drove over to Louisiana Running and Walking company to see about some new shoes for Diana.  She really likes the ones she’s had for the last year or so, tried on a couple of other options, and decided to stick with the new version of what she’s “been having.”

It seems this business, tucked into a really nice little house on Canal street, would do better with a sign that could be seen from the street and some marketing.  On the other hand, they seem to have a loyal following and I like the non-mall like setting.  And the guys who help are runners, with a treadmill and know what they’re talking about.

Monday night football was a pleasant affair for once.  ESPN and ESPN2 (Manning brothers cast) were all of a sudden available again on Youtube TV, the dispute with Disney apparently resolved.  Dak was able to score many touchdowns and the defense didn’t look as inept as they regularly do.  It was against a losing Vegas Raiders team, but a good sign.

We watched a movie called “Sliding Doors.”  It was entertaining and the ending made no sense to me.  Diana said I needed to understand the parallel planes where things were happening – two dimensions.  Seriously?  She says we need to go back and watch the opening few minutes, with sliding doors on the subway, and her “director’s commentary” to understand.  Surprisingly, we haven’t found time to do that yet.

You should ask me about a funny Gwyneth Paltrow (and her sister) story sometime.

I didn’t make it to trivia on Tuesday.  Here was the final question – put these in chronological order:

First Superbowl, Beatles on Ed Sullivan, First Email sent, Jaws movie release.

I would have gone with Beatles (64), Superbowl (70 ish), Jaws (75), and email (78, 79?).   Seems that’s what the Bayou Boyz decided also and bet 20 points on it.

The first email was actually sent in 1971 – I looked it up to verify.  All teams messed that one up and so we ended up in third place.

“The first email was sent in 1971 by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson, who sent a test message to himself between two computers side-by-side. The message content was likely a random string of letters like “QWERTYUIOP” and the email marked the first time the “@” symbol was used to separate a user’s name from their host machine. “

Diana and Laurie had a night out at “Really Really Nice Wines” while the guys persevered at trivia.   This is a walkable store with good snacks and wine and it seems they enjoyed the couple of hours they spent there.

Wednesday began as usual – run and yoga with Laurie, Kara and Kenny (yoga only – sorry Kenny but no credit for run, but extra credit for coaching the pickleball newbies.)

Then we had an amazing dinner at Brigtsen’s.  I had promised to take McD here before Frank retires (who knows when.)  Denny and Anne heard about our plans and asked to join – why not?

I’ve only been here once before and it was over a decade ago.  I remember having a rabbit dish and being very impressed.

The space is really just a small house in the Riverbend neighborhood.  There are a couple of rooms and you feel welcomed into a home.  The chef, Frank Brigtsen, began at Commander’s Palace and then followed Paul Prudhomme to his new place, K Paul’s.  He ultimately opened his own small place with help from Paul.  Here’s a long, but wonderfully written recap of his life:

Frank Brigtsen biography

If you know me much, you’ll know what point in that story really got to me.  Email me your thoughts.  Here’s a quick summary of a long story:

“Chef Frank Brigtsen and his wife Marna are the owners of Brigtsen’s Restaurant, in the Riverbend neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans. Frank began his culinary career in 1973 while attending Louisiana State University. In 1979, he apprenticed at Commander’s Palace Restaurant under the guidance of Chef Paul Prudhomme. In 1980, Frank became the first Night Chef at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen when the restaurant began dinner service. During his seven-year tenure with Chef Prudhomme at K-Paul’s, Frank attained the position of Executive Chef. Paul and the late K Prudhomme were instrumental in helping Frank and Marna open Brigtsen’s in 1986.”

Let’s move on to the food.  I’ll say up front that this is one of the best meals I’ve had in many, many years.  I started with a “cup” (much more bowl shaped) of the butternut shrimp bisque. This was ridiculous.  Anne tried to order a bowl and our waitress, Amanda, strongly steered her away from that.  If you eat a bowl you won’t be up for anything else – quoting some stat about the amount of heavy cream they used in a day.  A quote from Frank:

“What would he would tell a first-time visitor to order?

“If this is your first time to Brigtsen’s, your first taste should be the butternut shrimp bisque,” Frank says. It’s a dish that brings people back.”

Our server quickly identified Anne as the troublemaker in the group – “I see why you sat her in the corner.”  A discussion of “Nobody puts baby in the corner” ensued and I learned that it’s a Patrick Swayze quote from the Dirty Dancing movie.  I’ve heard it used for years but did not know that origin.

Back to the meal, that bisque was heavenly and a cup was more than enough if one planned to eat anything else.  Meanwhile, Diana had the house salad and pronounced it, “Maybe the best salad I’ve ever had.”  The dressing was sublime.

Denny started with deviled eggs and shrimp remoulade.  Amazing:

Anne had the bisque – same as me.  She followed that with an appetizer as main selection of barbeque shrimp.  Diana said the sauce was incredibly reduced and rich:

Anne said the combo of the bisque cream, barbeque sauce and deserts gave her a tummy ache that night.  Poor baby (as she was delivering freshly caught red snapper fillets for us to cook up.)

I followed my bisque with a crab crusted drum.  The caramelized onions in the veggie side were a total star, and the fish was the best I’ve ever had – that sauce, crust and beautifully cooked.

Here’s what Frank has to say about the curst and the sauce – I think he figured all this out yeas ago:

“In the late eighties, crusted this and crusted that was a buzzword in menus,” Frank says. So he decided to make a fish that had a crust similar to fried fish. Without actually frying it.

He made a crab dressing, then put it really, really thin on top of the fish, cooking it under the broiler to get it brown and crusty. The menu describes it having a lemon crab sauce. Frank lists the components: “Onions, celery, leeks, bay leaf, sliced fresh lemons, a couple pounds of fresh jumbo crabs cooked, cooked, cooked, with crab stock on top to double the flavor, a little turmeric to make it yellow because it’s lemon, and blond roux to give it body. Then strain it all.”

The result? A rich, velvety, buttery lemon crab flavor. Frank smiles: “I’m a sauce guy.”

After her favourite salad, McD opted for the seafood platter.  Here’s the description:

Brigtsen’s Seafood Platter

We had a pecan pie and a lemon ice box creme brulé (wonderful) for dessert.  I think Kenny would love that lemon brulé.

Thursday began with a run in Audubon park – got to work off some of those Brigtsen’s calories.  Then we made a stop at the local coffee shop, Tartine, to read the paper and enjoy a snack.  My quiche and Diana’s bagel with lox were both excellent.  We agree that it might be the best quiche we’ve had – from a hidden neighborhood joint – yes!  Better than filtered in McKinney – definitely.

We made our first visit to a newly reopened venue, the Jazz and Blues Market, on Friday.  This opened a month or more ago and is a real adult jazz club – cocktail table seating, great sound, and a very nice lobby bar.  Another treat – table service with well made cocktails.

“Mike Zito is a top-tier guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter who has become a major presence…”
— ROCK AND BLUES MUSE

“When you listen to ‘Resurrection’ you will understand why Mike Zito recently won a Blues Music Award for Best Blues Rock Artist.”
— BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE (2021 Album Review ‘Resurrection’)

“Mike Zito Unleashes Ferocious Guitar Attack on Live Set ‘Blues for the Southside’”
— GLIDE MAGAZINE (2022 Album Review ‘Blues for the Southside’)

6x-Blues Music Award Winner and 14x-Blues Music Award Nominated Guitarist, Singer & Songwriter MIKE ZITO and 3x-Blues Music Award Winner and 7x-Blues Music Award Nominated Guitarist, Singer & Songwriter ALBERT CASTIGLIA bring BLOOD BROTHERS to the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market! Their most recent individual albums BOTH hit #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart!!

This is a 2 Hour Show where both Mike and Albert will be onstage performing together for the entire show, so fans can enjoy the amazing chemistry and creativity that these two musicians share with each other – and the audience!! In addition to their own Rock, Blues and Roots individual tunes, the set will feature a number of songs from the new “Blood Brothers” album.

MIKE ZITO is one of the most lauded artists in the contemporary blues arena today. Zito has won 6 Blues Music Awards in recent years: 2018 & 2021 “Blues Rock Artist of the Year”; and “Blues Rock Album of the Year” (‘Mike Zito and Friends – Rock ‘n’ Roll: A Tribute to Chuck Berry’, in 2021 ‘Resurrection’ in 2022, ‘Blood Brothers’ in 2024, and ‘Life is Hard’ in 2025). Zito has 11 Blues Music Award Nominations and 7 of them have been for “Blues Rock Album of the Year”!!

ALBERT CASTIGLIA won the 2020 Blues Music Award for “Blues Rock Album of the Year” (‘Masterpiece’) and the 2022 Blues Music Award for “Blues Rock Artist of the Year”. Castiglia was also Nominated for the 2020 “Blues Rock Artist of the Year” at the Blues Music Awards.

Both Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia are celebrating the phenomenal success of their most recent albums: Zito’s double live set, ‘Blues for the Southside’ (2021), debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart; and Castiglia’s latest solo disc, ‘I Got Love’, (2022) peaked at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. With both artists on the exciting Gulf Coast Records label, it only made sense to join forces and give the fans what they’ve long been clamoring for: “Blood Brothers.”

Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia are true “Blood Brothers” in life and in the music they create both individually and collectively. They are joining forces in a collaborative effort of songwriting and performances to create a total listening experience greater than the sum of its parts. “Mike and Albert have a special chemistry together when they plug in and play that few have. They finish each other’s sentences musically,” says Award-Winning Legendary Blues Guitarist Joe Bonamassa.

Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia release their album “Blood Brothers” in March 2023, produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith and recorded at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana. In support of the new “Blood Brothers” album they will bring together their two powerhouse bands for their tour, featuring Matt Johnson on Drums; Ephraim Lowell on Drums; Doug Byrkit on Bass; and Lewis Stephens on Piano/Organ.

“His ability to play any style of guitar with expert skill and sing his artful, meaningful lyrics with soul and passion will put him on top of the blues charts for years to come.”
— BLUES ROCK REVIEW (on Albert Castiglia)

“Albert Castiglia is the best blues guitar player in South Florida and, perhaps, anywhere…He’s a fine player, singer, and songwriter who has forged his own unique brand of rock-influenced blues filled with power and soul…Buy this record [‘Masterpiece’] at once!”
— ROCK AND BLUES MUSE (2020 Album Review ‘Masterpiece’)

“Castiglia does what he does best here – play damn good music…this is Albert Castiglia doing what he loves to do and doing what no one else can. Go get this CD now…”
— BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE (2022 Album Review ‘I Got Love’)

I had a quiet and relaxing day on Saturday.  Diana met the girls at Sunnie’s for morning yoga by the pool and then they hung out and had some good girl time.

Diana met a group for pickleball on Saturday night and seemed to have a good time.  I need to play again soon.

Some kind of a fancy hat parade came by the house on Sunday morning.  I remember this from last year.  Diana looked it up but I can’t remember now what it was all about.  She just reminded me – St. Catherine’s hat parade:

details on St Catherine’s hat parade

The week finished as pleasantly as it started on the football front.  Another Cowboys win on Sunday – beating the Superbowl champion Eagles.

I started a couple of books this week and didn’t make much progress.  More to come in the next couple of weeks.

I really enjoyed this New Yorker profile of David Byrne of Talking Heads fame:

David Byrne New Yorker profile

Another excellent cover from the best pianist performing today:

“Po-boy Fest”

Diana and Laurie played pickleball on Tuesday morning.  Laurie clearly liked it – when Diana suggested that they could play on Tuesday evenings when the guys did trivia, she replied “I can play tonight.”  And they did, running in to some of the other girls there.

The Bayou Boyz had an excellent first half at trivia, finishing in first place (for the half).  Michael has been a helpful recent addition – none of us had any idea what the sorceress Circe turned Odysseus’s men into in Homer’s Odyssey.  Michael immediately knew it was pigs.  Apparently, she offered Odysseus’s scouting party a meal of cheese, honey, meal, and wine. She drugged the wine with her potions, and after they drank it, she turned them into pigs using her magical wand.

The plane started to sputter (you really need Thom’s visual and sound effects) in the second half.

I did help with a banking related question – “The Manhattan Company, started by Aaron Burr in 1799, is now which major financial institution?”  Answer – JP Morgan Chase.

An interesting aside – the company was originally formed to supply clean water to New York City.  Burr included a provision (the banking loophole) that allowed any surplus capital to be used for banking, allowing it to eventually operate solely as a bank.

The lady from Ajun Cajun won two awards, including best of the fest po-boy for the yakiniku.  Made with stir-fried ribeye, this is a sandwich the restaurant family has been serving at Jazz Fest, French Quarter Fest, Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo and other events for many years.

The narrow Oak street got very busy as the day progressed – beautiful weather and no Saints game helped with that.  We parked ourselves at a couple of the music stages to avoid the worst of the crowds.  We started with Eric Johansson at the Leonidas stage, followed there by an all star band assembled by Tony Hall.

After that we rendezvoused with the Kirsch girls at the Eagle stage to listen to a bit of a Ween cover band – Pollo Asado.

And we shouldn’t forget the Piano on a Truck – always fun:

We were reviewing Thanksgiving plans with Will and Christine and received these two funny caricatures – it’s amazing what they can create easily these days.

And I still think it’s too early to see Christmas trees everywhere – particularly as I walked into the grocery store earlier in the week.

I finally finished “The Librarians” this week, and I’m not happy with the conclusion.  It’s like watching a movie that you’re really enjoying and then being left with an overdone and unbelievable ending.  There were many unbelievable elements – I would have survived  a couple.  It seemed like every character that I enjoyed early in the book, ended up with unrealistic qualities.  Maybe that’s why it took me a few weeks to finish this.  I would skip it.

We’re skipping the music section this week as I need to wrap this up.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all.

“Happy Halloween”

We drove over to the Bywater for lunch on Monday.  The focaccia sandwiches at Bywater Bakery are ridiculous – wonderfully tasty and huge.  We barely managed to finish a turkey, Swiss and pesto between both of us.  I really enjoy the feel of this section of New Orleans and here’s an interesting article on the challenges with maintaining that in the face of gentrification and ever changing demographics:

Overview of Bywater by CNN

I think the article has some good recommendations on the bars and restaurants in the neighborhood.

After lunch, we attempted to check out the Pompadour hotel on Elysian Fields.  We saw it in the Michalopoulus (thought I was finished trying to remember how to spell that for a while) documentary last week and were intrigued.  He owns the hotel and has filled each unique room with his original art.

The hotel was all locked up and I suspect one has to be a registered guest to get the entry codes.  It does look like a great place if we have adventurous visitors looking for somewhere funky to stay.

We walked from there over to Frenchmen Street to see how things were faring there – it’s been a few years since we spent any time there during the day, having just dropped into Snug Harbor for evening shows.  Several joints had live music going in the middle of a Monday afternoon – the blessings of tourist season being with us again – kinda.  The Spotted Cat had Jenavieve Cooke and the Winding Boys playing and we decided to give that a shot.  This was a typical afternoon Spotted Cat ensemble – some brass, a banjo and a few other players.  The lady on the left was very entertaining – a good trombone player and an ace on the xylophone – I haven’t heard anything like her.  By the time we left, the club was pretty full with what I’m guessing were almost exclusively tourists.

Diana was busted on returning home.  Billy (handyman) was finishing up some repairs and immediately spotted her Spotted Cat roadie with the remains of her mimosa.

Tuesday began with an early walk in the park – relishing the cooler, less humid weather.  That was followed by a drive downtown to the Prytania theaters on Canal to watch the “Blue Moon” movie at the $6 Tuesday price.

This is a biopic about Lorenzo Hart (of Rogers and Hart) and focuses on a night in 1943 when he attends the opening night of Oklahoma!  A running joke from Hart is the use of the exclamation point in the title – he would be horrified at the mass proliferation of that punctuation these days.  Rogers wrote this with Oscar Hammerstein, ending his long running partnership with Hart.  Hart (played wonderfully by Ethan Hawke) struggles with his feelings about his career being over, or at least in a rapid decline, and with his feelings for a young Yale student, Elizabeth Weiland.

The movie takes place exclusively in Sardi’s restaurant and I thought Hawke did a masterful job with the fast and dense, and often very funny and clever, dialogue.  You really had to listen and remember what was said, as things arose again later.

We had a fun time at Gallatoire’s last Halloween and snoozed too late for a reservation this year.  That combined with the fact that it’s a Friday and most of the tables have been on standing weekly orders for years.  We decided to go the bar next door and watch the scene from there.  Usually one can order the same food in there, but there was no service on Halloween.  No worries – we had a drink and observed the costumes for a while.  Flamingoes and Pink Ladies:

My favourite outfit of the afternoon – little Bo Peep with her “sheepdog:”

I suggested to “sunshiny fairy girl”, Amy, that this would be a good costume for her next year and this is what I got back:

Butterfly fairy girl and rocker Grace, including classic Pacifica fog.

Here’s what the main dining room at Gallatoire’s looked like – what a party:

We were getting hungry and headed over to Patula where we enjoyed those crazy Turkish meatballs and the mushroom toast.  Such a great new place.

We did manage to avoid the massive spider web on the way:

And enjoyed these high kicking guys that maybe want to be Rockettes one day?

We arrived home in time to see Augie and family heading out to their street party.

As soon as Diana told me Augie was coming out the door as Peter Pan, I knew tony would be Tinkerbell (such a good sport.)  And theater major Britney is such a photographic poser.

Unlike last year, we did get several groups of fun little trick or treaters.   They didn’t last too long – all very well as we had limited treat supplies.

A walk down St Charles Avenue kicked off our Saturday.  I had a visit to Aidan Gill shortly thereafter for a short back and sides, and then we drove over and parked at Kenny and Kara’s home for Freret Street Fest.

This is a really well done street festival with hundreds of booths and several music stages.  I’m good for a small amount of time with that many people trying to move down the street.  Hence, I convinced McD to stop in for a drink and snack at Cure (award winning cocktail bar that the guys always make fun of for being to pompous.)  I had never been before and found it very welcoming with a really quiet and comfy patio.  That was until Anne showed up for a chat and brought in a tiny remaining amount of an outside drink – then I saw how silly and pompous they can be.

We made it down to the Napoleon end of the street and met up with Denny, Kenny, Kara, Nina, Randy, Amy, Brian, and Lisa – the classic festival krewe.  The Creole String Beans, who played Anne’s 50th birthday party at the Chickie Wah Wah and feature Derek Huston on saxophone, played a typically fun set:

The piano truck (last seen with Kyle Roussel at Bywater Bakery) made an appearance – this time with Josh Paxton (last seen at the Broadside Spinal Tap event) on board:

Kenny and I made an early exit to relax and enjoy some college football.  The girls joined a bit later.  Another festival in the book – ‘Tis the Season.

Sunday evening brought a real treat.  I received an invite to attend a tribute to Lillian Boutte at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA.)

The Boutte family has a long New Orleans history – all the way back to Napoleon and Jean Lafitte.  The musical family was headed by Lillian Boutte until her recent passing.  She spent many years working in Germany and launched the New Orleans Musicians Clinic and Assistance Foundation many years ago.

You may have read my previous posts about how much we have enjoyed John Boutte concerts.  He did an excellent song last night right after the family was awarded a proclamation from the city of New Orleans:

The organization does amazing work to support aging musicians with health care, hearing and mental health support.

It was encouraging to hear about a new program where elderly musicians will form a band and perform at senior centers.  This is sponsored by Humana health and requires reporting on how this reduces loneliness and isolation for both performers and attendees. “Music as Medicine.”

Additionally, Sun Pie Barnes has been nominated to be the new cultural ambassador for the group – they receive donations from 29 or more countries and need someone to spearhead those efforts.

The world class Oscar Rossignoli (Honduran pianist making his home in New Orleans) led his various ensembles through some astoundingly high quality music.  The NOMA venue had excellent acoustics, clearly designed for these type of evenings.

Here’s the expanded “International Orchestra” with percussion and trumpet:

That’s the one of a kind Pedro Segura on drums and percussion.

A guest vocalist treated us to a poignant version of her song, “The River:”

Here’s the conclusion of their version of “Caravan:”

How about those percussionist in perfect sync with Oscar and his beautiful piano touch.

They finished up with “Bourbon Street Parade.”  It took the ladies in the audience around us about 20 seconds to get up and start parading up and down the aisle.  So much fun:

I loved this evening and hope to be able to help the organization in some way.

Here’s a funny picture that Denny shared this week.  It’s from 19 years ago and we’re on an airboat for a swamp tour, looking for gators (I’m praying that we are unsuccessful):

Here’s a nice picture of Finn and Holly that I received this week.  They look very happy, or maybe they’re just excited about the yummy barbeque that ‘s coming:

Any of you familiar with Tintin?  Just saying:

I almost finished “Buckeye” this week and still don’t agree with the rave reviews.  It’s a pleasant and somewhat interesting read – and that’s as far as I go.  Looking forward to something meatier and more engaging next week.  I think I’ve found it – more to come.

I read some very bad news this week.  The lovely and hugely talented Marcia Ball has retired from performing due to an ALS diagnosis.  We have enjoyed her so much over the years and she is so important to New Orleans piano music.  Here she is performing with the Preservation Hall Allstars during Jazzfest last year:

You can see the joy and admiration on the faces of the other band members.  And one of my treasured pics:

That was at Poor David’s Pub in Dallas and I believe was during the “Home for the Holidays” Christmas concert.

And now with three of my favourite New Orleans piano players – Oscar (from last night at NOMA), Jon Cleary and John Papa Gros:

I can still hear my Dad snorting with laughter to the Pink Panther cartoon.  I heard on the radio this week that a New Orleans resident, Plas Johnson, played that saxophone solo:

Plas performed all of that in just two takes and received a standing ovation from the other orchestra members and Henry Mancini.  The list of his other well known contributions is vast.

“Please answer the phone and let me inside.”

We visited Sunnie’s on Monday with Kenny.  This is a new place on Freret Street that we found out about from a partial owner that we met at the Batture farmer’s market.  They have some pleasant tables outside by the pool (one can buy a daily or longer term pass to use the pool.)

They were having a special “Still Austin” night and we sampled the unique cocktails created for the event, and several of their snacks.

I don’t think Sunnie’s will be on the regular rotation, but is a pleasant stop on a good pool day.

I remember one thing that I learned at trivia on Tuesday evening.  “What is the only state that is unicameral?”  The answer is Nebraska, and it means having just a single legislative body.  Who knew?  Most certainly not me.

After trivia, we went across the street to the open mic comedy show.  The comics are always happy to see us – gives them an opportunity to roll out all their old guy jokes.  I sent Diana a text that I was on my way home, and by the time I got home (6 minutes later), she was fast asleep.  That would have been fine, had the front door lock not been acting up.  It wouldn’t open at all and I didn’t have a physical key.  Thankfully, I did have a key to the side gate in a lock box and so was able to “sleep” on a lounger in the backyard.  It got chilly!  I did call Diana every hour or so, several times in a row, and rang the front doorbell many times.  She ultimately answered at 5am.  It’s a funny story now, but was not when I was shivering outside.

Kenny and Kara joined us at Merry Lee’s pool on Wednesday.  I asked Diana to drive since I was pretty sleepy from my time outside.  We had a pleasant time chatting, napping and reading books until the sun dipped behind the building at 2pm.

Then it was time for a stop at Juan’s Flying Burrito for a late lunch – always delicious.  A good, relaxing day.

Stanley Jordan played the newly reopened Jazz Market on Thursday and Friday evenings.  He was interviewed on WWOZ and it was perhaps the best interview of a musician that I have ever heard.  Cerebral, genuinely kind, and monstrously good at talking about music – just a great listen.  I’ve spent some time and have not been able to find a link to the interview.  Here’s what he sounds like if you’re not familiar:

Open in Spotify

The New Orleans Film Festival opened on Thursday night with a showing of “Michalolopoulis – The Art of Celebration,” and we were fortunate enough to attend.  We are lucky to have one of his paintings and were interested to learn more about his background.  That’s him on the right of the picture.

This is a typical example of his work, and similar to the one that hangs in our dining room:

Here’s what the brochure for the Film Festival said:

“No artist has captured the spirit of New Orleans like James Michalopoulos. “Michalopoulos – The Art of Celebration” traces the evolution of his work—from iconic architectural paintings and celebrated portraiture to luminous French landscapes. The son of a Greek immigrant and architect, Michalopoulos’ wanderlust brought him to New Orleans four decades ago. Drawn to its beauty and decay, he forged a lifelong love affair with the city. From street artist to New Orleans’ icon, his rise in the ’90s led to international acclaim, yet he chose to root himself in America’s last bastion of Bohemia. Here he champions its culture, artists, architecture, and communities – making the preservation of New Orleans’ spirit as much his legacy as his art.”

The Ardbeg whisky “Masters of Smoke” airstream trailer posted up at Martin Wine Cellar on Friday afternoon.  Ardbeg is distilled on Islay, off the west coast of Scotland and is famous for its smokiness, where most of the other whisky from Islay is dominated by a distinctly peaty taste.

You smell five different scents in the airstream, give them each a rating, and are told which of the Ardbeg lines is best for your palette.  Then head inside Martin and have a sample to confirm before purchasing.  What a deal!

I think I enjoyed the “Wee Beastie” the most.

After wetting our whistles with Ardbeg, we met the extended (various kids included) krewe (and a surprise of Aidan Gill out front with a Guinness) at St. Joe’s pub.  We couldn’t stay too long as we had to head over to our final event of the afternoon – the “Walrus” at the Broadside theater outside stage.

This is an excellent Beatles cover band that were doing all Paul songs from either the Beatles, Wings, or his solo career.  They were calling it Paulapalooza ahead of his upcoming concert in New Orleans.

I enjoy most shows at the wonderful Broadside, and this was no exception.  Here are some highlights.  I loved that the band were willing, and even seemed to relish taking on some of the more musically and technically challenging songs.

We joined Denny, Fred, Jack and Brennen to watch the Alabama game at the Rusty Nail on Saturday afternoon.  We bailed out at half time and went around the corner to Plates for tapas and one of those yummy Spanish G&Ts.

Diana was fortunate that they had soft shell crab still on the menu (getting late in the season) and we supplemented that with some perfectly cooked shrimp.

Diana made friends with the lady next to her who seemed to be very knowledgeable about the local hotel and dining scene because of her job.

We left Plates just in time to see Chris Peet heading off the Krewe de Boo Halloween parade:

We didn’t stay for the full parade, but caught all the usual attractions – marching krewes, bands, and the rolling Elvi:

After very busy Friday and Saturday afternoons, it was time for a lower key Sunday.  I wasted some time watching both Cowboys and Saints lose horribly.

I started “Buckeye” by Patrick Ryan this week.  I’m making steady and slow progress.  Here are a lot of rave reviews and an exciting overview, but it just hasn’t hooked me yet:

“A glorious sweep of a novel.”—Ann Patchett
“Captivating.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A once-in-a-decade novel . . . I fell in love with these characters.”—Jenna Bush Hager

One town. Two families. A secret that changes everything.

In Bonhomie, Ohio, a stolen moment of passion, sparked in the exuberant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, to Margaret Salt, a woman trying to obscure her past. Cal’s wife, Becky, has a spiritual gift: She is a seer who can conjure the dead, helping families connect with those they’ve lost. Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving on a Navy cargo ship, out of harm’s way—until a telegram suggests that the unthinkable might have happened.

Later, as the country reconstructs in the postwar boom, a secret grows in Bonhomie—but nothing stays buried forever in a small town. Against the backdrop of some of the most transformative decades in modern America, the consequences of that long-ago encounter ripple through the next generation of both families, compelling them to reexamine who they thought they were and what the future might hold.

Sweeping yet intimate, rich with piercing observation and the warmth that comes from profound understanding of the human spirit, Buckeye captures the universal longing for love and for goodness.”

My favourite Jazzfest performance so far:

I love the “Live from Daryl’s House series, and this one with Robert Fripp is very good:

Fripp played on the original David Bowie version and raved about how quickly Daryl’s band could jump from song to song and genre to genre.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all.

“Fall Weather – must be festival season”

Monday morning was all Diana – she started with a run with Laurie and then the poor thing had to have a root canal done.  Her mouth was sore the rest of the day and night.

I was surprised to get an email for a Rush concert tour presale.  Their amazing drummer, Neal Peart, died several years ago and I really didn’t expect them to ever replace him.  And they haven’t only replaced him – but with a girl.  Who knew?  I’m hoping to be able to see them on this tour – one last time.  I’ve loved every one of their shows that I’ve attended.  Here’s what Rick Beato has to say about the new drummer, who played in Jeff Beck’s band before he died.

Late breaking news – I tried to buy tickets and was abhorred by the price they were asking.  There’s no way I’m paying close to $400 for a ticket when I can see amazing music here in New Orleans for $20.  That doesn’t even take into account the airfare and hotel to go and watch the show.  So disappointed in the remaining two members of Rush – just a money grab.

I watched a documentary about Paddy Chayefsky and enjoyed it a lot.  If you’re not familiar, he is the only screenwriter to win three Academy awards (for Marty, The Hospital, and Network.)  Here’s some more detail:

Paddy Chayefsky Wiki

I smiled when I heard that Paddy, Mel Brooks, Bob Fosse, and Neil Simon used to eat lunch together at the Carnegie Deli every day – can you imagine how entertaining those sessions were?

We made an excursion over to the old Gretna mall (10 minute drive, but on the other side of the Mississippi) on Tuesday afternoon.  I bought a replacement bezel and insert for my old watch and wanted to see if the watch repair guys there could install it, as I followed the instructions and couldn’t make it work.  It’s been a long time since I was in one of these malls – food court, Dillard’s, JC Penney and all the rest of the stores you would expect, and I realize that I have spent waaaay too much time in those over the years.  They couldn’t make the bezel work but did show me that it was slightly the wrong size and told me what model number to try and find.  I think I found one and will give it a try.

After that excitement, I stopped by the New Orleans Athletic Club (NOAC) for a pleasant swim and steam.

Diana started Wednesday with her usual run and yoga routine.  Meanwhile, I worked on the guitar part of “Centerfield” by John Fogerty – there is a lot of work to be done.  This is the first time that I’ve picked up the guitar in a while, and I’m looking forward to getting into learning some new songs.  I’m amazed at all the different way YouTube teachers tell you to play the same song.  And none of them seem to match up with what I watch Fogerty playing on his videos.

In the afternoon, we made the short walk down to Aquila Bistro for a coffee and a chat (crossword already done.)  I regaled Diana with stories from the “Perfect Tuba” book that I’m reading – discussing how the two perfect tubas created by the York company in the 1930s have not been duplicated after all the major and specialty manufacturers have tried.  Just like the difference between a Stradivarius and all comers.

We tried the NOAC pickleball court on Thursday morning.  It wasn’t useable, even for warm up rallying.  There were too many dead zones where the ball didn’t bounce at all.  I have since talked to the owner of the club who told me he’s having the stones re-laid and flattened to provide a better court.  We look forward to that happening.

I had a swim instead of pickleball and Diana walked on the treadmill.

After that, I twisted Diana’s arm and we drove over to 1,000 figs for a delicious Mediterranean lunch – sharing the falafel platter (more than enough for two.)

In the evening we watched the movie “What Happens Later” starring Meg Ryan and David Duchovny, and directed by Ryan.  This was a quiet movie – the two characters had a relationship many years ago, and meet randomly when attempting to catch connections in a small airport.  A snow storm delays their flights and they have an opportunity to catch up on their lives.  I enjoyed this one.

After that, I watched “Famous Last Words”, an interview with Jane Goodall that she made to air after her death.  She is so straight forward, open, and clear in her feelings.  One that made me laugh is when she talks about putting Musk, Trump, Trump’s lackeys, and Putin into Musk’s spaceship and launching them off into oblivion.  A very engaging watch.

Friday began with some time in Audubon park.  Diana and Julia met up for a walk and I had a short run and then walked with them.  Julia always has some entertaining news to share – this time that her husband, John, had just made his first hole in one on the golf course.  Had to happen at some point for someone who plays golf four or five times a week.

After that I drove Diana around on various errands – over the Mississippi (again) to the Harvey Target for some returns, over to the NOAC to pick up the fancy water bottle she forgot on the treadmill yesterday, and then to the Whole Foods on Broad Street to pick up some supplies for the weekend.  Quite the tour of New Orleans area hotspots…

John Prine’s (likely my favourite song writer) birthday was celebrated at the Broadside on Friday night with Dave Jordan and an amazing band that he assembled.

Rurik Nunan was the star of the band for me – wonderful violin and a great voice, and seemed to be keeping the band on point and organized.  Here he is doing the hilarious “In Spite of Ourselves” with his wife:

I think she did a great job of hamming up the Iris DeMent part.

Lynn Drury did a great job with “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”, followed by “Hello in There” and finally “Angel from Montgomery.”  The emotional impact of those three in a row was almost too much for us.

Dave Pomerlou did a good job on a couple of songs and was very solid on the bass:

Jacob Tanner was a star on the pedal steel and slide resonator:

What an amazing band playing some of my favourite music!

Saturday started early so that Diana could vote in the local election before meeting Laurie for a run.  I walked down to the Magazine Street firehouse with her and had a coffee while she voted across the street.

Walking in the newly arrived fall weather is a treat.

After the walk, I spent some very pleasant time reading on the front porch.  Tourist season is picking up rapidly and there were many folks walking past to meet up with walking tours or to enjoy jazz brunch at Commander’s Palace.

Tommy showed up to change out the air conditioning filters and do some other minor A/C work.  I had expected him yesterday, but was happy he came by.

We drove to Jeff and Merry Lee’s place on Saturday afternoon, parked there, and then walked to the Blues and BBQ festival at Lafayette square.  Carolyn Wonderland, a favourite from our time at the Kessler theater in Dallas and at various venues in Austin, got things started for us.

I learned something new in Carolyn’s intro speech to one of her songs.  She was the lead guitar player in the John Mayall Blues band from 2017 until he retired in 2022.  That’s the same band that introduced us to Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and many others.  Here’s some more details from Carolyn:

Carolyn Wonderland in John Mayall Blues Band

And a performance with John Mayall:

Kara and Anne met us at the festival and the girls enjoyed a chat on our blanket:

After Carolyn, Leo Nocentelli did a set on the opposite stage.  This festival is run by the guys that do the Jazzfest and everything runs to the minute with no downtime between stages.  Leo was a founding member of the Meters – the famous funk band from New Orleans that created a whole new style of music.  Leo wrote “Cissy Strut” – part of Diana’s introductory course to New Orleans music.

Leo Nocentelli bio

And here’s the 1975 Meters song, “Fire on the Bayou”:

Diana organized food – bringing me yummy garlic shrimp and noodles from the wonderful Vietnamese “Magasin,” and a pupusa for herself from the batture farmer’s market guys.

The Devon Allman Blues Summit were the headliners.  Devon is the son of Cher and Duane Allman – looks somewhat like his mother and sings like an even more soulful version of his father.  I loved this entire set – alternating Allman Bros songs with their own band and other covers.

My favourite from the Summit was “Little Wing”, the Jimmy Hendrix song that was covered by Duane Allman (Devon’s uncle) on the Derek and the Dominoes album.  Here’s the start of the Dominoes version:

And the end:

Larry McCray, a special member of the Summit, did an amazing version of Soulshine:

I love the Les Paul guitar sound on Mellisa:

And the band finished up with “Midnight Rider:”

What a great afternoon and evening of music.

Sunday brought a whole change of pace.  We started with a long walk down St Charles Avenue (the streetcar line) to the Jefferson intersection, approximately 2 miles, stopping for a coffee at the Columns on the way back home.  Such luxury in such nice weather.

We went to a new country and met the people with their different language and customs on Sunday afternoon.  What Kenny calls “the Bahamas of the 9th Ward.”

Trey lives in Venetian Isles – I had no idea that it was a 30 minute drive from our home.  The annual Fishing Rodeo was a hoot – not our normal group of folks but a great time.  Trey’s friend Nina provided the great music:

Denny participated in the competition but didn’t win the flounder category he was betting on:

A quote from Trey – “No sharks on my boat, you can go to Popeye’s for dinner and it won’t bit you back – absolutely no sharks on my boat.”

Look at these keen fishermen:

And this guy with the hat that Will gave me from his Wolf clothing line – the guys were calling it my “rapper hat” because of the straight bill:

I oscillated between a few books this week.  The first was “The Perfect Tuba: Forging Fulfillment from the Bass Horn, Band, and Hard Work” by Sam Quinones, a decorated journalist who had focused on drug issues until now.  Here’s an online summary:

“The tuba’s sound is mighty, emerging, it seems, from deep in the human body. Very little music has, up until recently, been written to play to its strengths. The best the tuba seems to promise is a seat at the back of the band. No stadium shows, no Internet adulation. And yet, this horn-the youngest of all brass instruments-has captured the hearts of an inspired group of musicians ever since its invention in 1835.

In The Perfect Tuba, Sam Quinones embarks on a trek to get to know American tubists. He tells the astounding stories of two men who set out to replicate the “perfect tuba,” an instrument made by York & Sons in the 1930s and never since equaled; of Big Bill Bell, whose 1950s album rearranged the tuba landscape; and of Arnold Jacobs, a tuba guru at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who studied the physiology of breathing and offered rune-like nuggets of wisdom to his legions of students. Quinones also takes us through the tuba scenes of New Orleans, Orlando, Knoxville, New York City, and, most importantly, Roma, Texas, a dusty town in the Rio Grande Valley where a visionary high school marching band director fashioned a program that now regularly wins state championships and sends its students off to college.

After nearly a decade on the front lines of America’s battle with drug addiction, Sam Quinones delivers another story of our nation, this time brought together by the transformative power of shared joy and humble achievement.”

I remember the first time that I heard Arnold Jacobs and the Chicago Symphony on a piece where the tuba was somewhat prevalent – I was amazed at the depth and resonance of the sound and assumed it was related to the location used for the recording.  Turns out he was playing one of the two “perfect tubas.”

There’s a quote in the book about a tuba student who sees John Fletcher play with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble for the first time and is astounded when he breaks out the “Flight of the Bumblebee.”  I vividly remember Dad taking me to see these guys and being amazed at the versatility and quality of the playing.

Here’s my favourite John Fletcher and overall tuba recording:

A recording called “Big Bell and his Tuba” from the 1950s was mentioned in the book as the earliest album to feature the tuba as a solo instrument.  This is a very entertaining album:

My second book was “The Common Good” by Robert Reich (of the documentary that we watched a couple of weeks ago.)  This was an insightful and frustrating read.  I agree with most of Reich’s points and we are moving so quickly away from anything resembling what he advocates for.

Reich’s premise for why something needs to be done about “The Common Good”:

” I WAS AT the impressionable age of fourteen when I heard John F. Kennedy urge us not to ask what America can do for us but what we can do for America. Seven years later I took a job as a summer intern in the Senate office of his brother Robert F. Kennedy. It was not a glamorous job, to say the least. I felt lucky when I was asked to run his signature machine. But I told myself that in a very tiny way I was doing something for the good of the country. That was a half century ago. I wish I could say America is a better place now than it was then. Surely our lives are more convenient. Fifty years ago there were no cash machines or smartphones, and I wrote my first book on a typewriter. As individuals, we are as kind and generous as ever. We volunteer in our communities, donate, and help one another. We pitch in during natural disasters and emergencies. We come to the aid of individuals in need. We are a more inclusive society, in that African Americans, women, and gays have legal rights they didn’t have a half century ago. Yet our civic life—as citizens in our democracy, participants in our economy, managers or employees of companies, and members or leaders of organizations—seems to have sharply deteriorated. What we have lost, I think, is a sense of our connectedness to each other and to our ideals—the America that John F. Kennedy asked that we contribute to.”

A definition of “The Common Good:”

My third book didn’t last long – I gave it one chapter and was thoroughly bored with the quoting of names, record labels, and recordings with no through story or narrative.  Absolutely not my thing.

I love this song that I heard on a recent TV show.  Is it sampling Leon Russell?  I think it has to be but haven’t confirmed yet:

I just listened and can confirm that the vocal is definitely sampled:

This band is playing at the newly reopened Jazz Market soon and may be worth a visit:

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all.

“New Orleans – amazing music on every corner”

Monday was a day of rest and recovery after a very busy previous few days.

We invited Kenny to join us to see the documentary “Last Class” on Tuesday.  This is about the last semester that Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, taught his “Wealth and Poverty” class at the University of California in Berkeley.  The class is about the widening income and equality gaps, but I think the most poignant parts of the film are when Reich reflects on his teaching career and what it means to retire.  As the son of two highly dedicated educators, this film really resonated with me.  I strongly recommend seeing this film if you can find it.

If you’d like to know some more about Reich’s life and the positions he held in government over many, many administrations, you can check out this blog post that I put together after watching the film:

My Robert Reich blog – biography and links to his writings and podcasts

Trivia Tuesday was a mediocre performance.  Thom had some correct answers that we didn’t use for various reasons – mostly that he wasn’t emphatic enough that he really knew the answer.  We did get the last question correct and added twenty points to our total, breaking one hundred:

Do you know the order, North to South?

It’s Oslo, Ottawa (we had a lot of debate over which was further north), Oklahoma City, and then Ouagadougou.  If you’re like me you’re wondering where the heck that last place is.  Well, it’s the capital of Burkina Faso.  Not helpful?  I know.  Here’s the location in West Africa:

Don’t forget that for the next time it comes up in trivia (ten years from now.)

Diana began Wednesday in typical form – a run in the park followed by yoga.  She always seems pumped and energized on return.  This time she stopped at Whole Foods and brought me some delicious Indian food for lunch.  That might have been my reward for attempting to strap the silly Halloween spider to the porch column – I realized it was a two person job after my third attempt.  It took about a minute with Diana’s help.

Having completed “project spidey”, we took on replacing a can light in the kitchen.  The hardest part was hauling the very heavy “little giant” ladder in from the three car garage (small ToughShed) and setting it up for McD to scale.  She had the replacement installed very efficiently.

In the evening I half watched the “America’s Got Talent” show while reading – that was until this crazy trapeze performance.  I’ve never seen anything quite like that.

A street singer busker from New Orleans, Jordan Blue, won third place in the finals.

I started watching a Netflix series, Black Rabbit, with Jude Law and Jason Bateman later in the evening.  It’s very dark but very good.  Most episodes are directed by either Bateman or Laura Linney, with somewhat of an “Ozark” feel.

We tried to play pickleball at the New Orleans Athletic Club on Thursday morning.  It’s outdoor and it had rained a bit in the morning – so it was a no go as the court was too slippery.  We decided to take a look anyway and it took some work to find the thing.  Make a turn at the vending machine by the stairs to the pool.  We did and it didn’t seem right – no signs and an outdoor walkway that customers would never be allowed to use in other states – and there it was:

The hidden joys of a very old athletic club – we’ll be back to play in a few days.  I do have to wonder why they have big speakers spaced every few feet around this courtyard space.

Kenny invited me to go to lunch and shopping for Kara’s milestone birthday.  He very efficiently procured something from Kiki Huston, one of Kara’s favourites.  Kiki is quite the artist with silver and gemstones.

The Dutch Alley artist co-op was an interesting place – painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelry and others all in one place.

Next stop was Port O’ Call for lunch.  Your choice is a burger or a big steak.  I opted for the mushroom cheeseburger.

There are no fries, salad or other side choices.  Only a baked potato and choice of toppings – cheese, chives, bacon, mushrooms, sour cream.  It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a baked potato.

The burger and potato were both delicious and I had nice leftovers for post-nap afternoon snack time.   The newspaper had their “Best of New Orleans” issue this week and I wasn’t surprised to see Port O’ Call with a few mentions:

I really enjoyed this Diane Millsap canvas painting of Port O’ Call:

Looking into her other works, I found this very nice St Charles streetcar painting:

Diana had read something online about a “one day only” tasting of five different sashimi grade tunas at GW Fins on Thursday evening.  I shuddered to think how much that would cost, but decided to go with it.  We’ll sit at the bar and if it’s ludicrous then we can just have a drink and leave.  I was still pretty full from the burger and tater but would try something if forced to.  It turns out the sashimi was reasonably priced and amazing.

Diana declared the cognac French 75 that the bartender created for her “the best I ever had.”  Seems like we were off to a good start.  She loved all the sashimi tuna.  I tried her favourite and it was very fresh and delicious, albeit not my go to food group.

I gave into pressure and ordered the fried oyster “Bahn Mi.”  I put quotes on that because it was brioche toast and not a steamed bun.  This was ridiculously tasty:

Diana, not having sucked down a burger and tater at lunch, was still hungry.  She had the tuna tartare tarts – I sampled one and they were also ridiculously good.

One has to wonder why we have never been to this restaurant before.  We loved everything about it.  Answer – there are just too many amazing places in this city.  Look at all these “best of” awards this place won this week in the newspaper polls:

You’ve read my musings about number 2, Peche, and I do think for pure seafood, GW Fins is superior.

Ahead of Galatoire’s?  I have so many wonderful memories of number 2 – bachelor party, Cowboys-Saints game with the maître d wearing my Cowboys jacket, Halloween with Diana.  I don’t agree that GW Fins comes out ahead of the overall Galatoire’s experience.  And that is just what it is – my opinion versus the readers.  They can’t get them all correct.

Another disagreement so soon?  Yes!  Commanders is the place to get dressed up and go and do the fine dining with fun.  GW Fins was certainly fine dining but without the je ne sais quoi (pizzaz) of Commanders .

I’m going to let this one slide.  And if you’re not from New Orleans, I know you’re tired of reading these debates already.  I love the garden at N7, as you would have read last week.  Diana did mention the semi-circular booths at GW Fins that she thought were “very romantic.”

One last “best of” – Diana’s favourite New Orleans place, Cafe Degas, was voted best French restaurant.  And it’s the antithesis of what that term might evoke – very casual and reasonably priced with wonderful food.

I awoke Friday, picked up my phone, and noticed the cards in the back sleeve sliding around unusually – where’s my usual credit card that locks them in there?  Oh no – I left it at GW Fins.  How could that have happened?  I have a system, a best practice even – put the card away before signing the check.  Ugh!  I locked the card and went about my business for a while.  We had a walk and run in Audubon park (humidity down now and almost bearable.)  After that we went to Martin wine store to put together a gift basket for Kara’s birthday on Sunday.  While waiting on Diana to choose things, I made a call to GW Fins – yes they had my card and, although not open, would be happy to bring it out to me, if I called them on arrival.

We decided to go and get the card while the basket was being assembled and shrink wrapped.  They always say fifteen minutes and take at least thirty.  I was so excited to drive up Bourbon Street and into the French Quarter for a second time in two days – it’s a lot of work to avoid all the human obstacles.  I retrieved my card and we drove back to Martin to pick up the gift basket.

The basket was not to D’s standards – they had a package of something with a big price tag in the middle.  Everyone agreed it obviously needed to be redone.  Said Andrew, “they gave me a lot of wine training and not much gift wrap training.”  We sat in the parking lot and waited for the redo – nicely done.

I went for a haircut on Friday afternoon, and was looking forward to hearing about Derek’s (barber) update on his trip to a wedding in Australia.  I was surprised when he told me that the Australians tried to ruin his trip – they see Trump on TV all day and assumed he was a disciple – such a sorry global situation.  I felt badly for him as Diana and I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with the Australian population.  Times change.

I had a coffee and picked up a “puzzle” for Diana on my way home.  Aquila bistro has these “blind date with a puzzle” offerings.  I was hoping the “surreal” piece wasn’t going to be another Salvador Dali puzzle.  Let’s see:

No, not Dali, but a lot of detail in that tiger’s neck.  The puzzle has already been started with pieces being organized in the drawers of the puzzle board.  I predict significant progress while I’m watching football today.

Due to the summer humidity, it’s been a while since we spent time on the Columns porch or patio.  The evenings are now great for patio sitting, and so we decided to support the NOLA x NOLA music week offering of River Eckert and Matt Perrin on the Columns porch.

River is fifteen and plays and sings like an old veteran, and has for a couple of years now:

Here’s one of my favourite of his videos.  That’s our favourite New Orleans artist, Frenchy, painting away behind him:

For more about River Eckert, check out this post:

River Eckert – videos and biography

I love this video of Matt Perrin doing the “Baby Elephant” walk in a club on Frenchmen:

We started Saturday with a trip over to the Bywater Bakery.  This is about a fifteen minute drive from home, and close to Elizabeth’s.  As previously discussed, we thought fifteen minutes was “close by” in McKinney, while in New Orleans it’s almost outside the acceptable drive circumference.

Kyle Roussel, genius level local pianist, was advertised to be playing at the bakery.  I expected an old upright piano, a la Booker session at the back room in the Maple Leaf  (Andre Bohren last week.)  No – this was the grand piano in a pickup situation.  Note the ladder to get in the bed and sunshade.

The bakery is amazing.  Always in the running for best King cake and with some amazing looking sandwiches and pastries – I’m coming back for lunch soon.

Kyle is one of my favourite pianists – so creative and with such a unique touch and style:

Here’s a track from his album, “Church of New Orleans”, with John Boutte:

Diana, Kara and Nina enjoyed the cabana and pool at Merry Lee’s condominium on Saturday afternoon – early birthday celebration for Kara.  Diana took two kinds of Chantilly cream cakes from Bywater bakery to the pool.  Apparently they were well received by all three girls.

I saw a piece about Major General Joseph McNeil on a Sunday news program.  He was one of the “Greensboro Four”:

“On February 1, 1960, McNeil and his fellow activists, Ezell Blair, Franklin McCain and David Richmond, walked together from the university’s library to the Woolworth‘s store in downtown Greensboro.^[12] Once there, the men purchased some items, and then sat down at the “whites only” lunch counter, where the group was refused service. McNeil and the group stayed until the store closed, and then left to return the next day.”

I visited that Woolworth’s on a trip to Greensboro while working for AIG.  Such a sense of history looking at it.

More here:

Major General Joseph McNeil

I’m watching football now – the Saints are actually almost hanging in there with the Buffalo Bills.  I had predicted a massive blowout for the Bills.  Football is so slow with so many commercials that I usually catch up on my magazine reading during a game.  The cover of the New Yorker this week made me laugh:

I finished up “I Might be in Trouble” by Daniel Aleman this week.  Lots of entertaining twists in the tail.  I really enjoyed this read, but be careful if you don’t like the dark and different stuff.

This showed up on one of the final pages:

““How is—” “Listen, I was thinking,” he says. “Would you want to go grab dinner? Or drinks? I just… wanted to celebrate with you, unless you have other—”

Begin rant – When did the “grab” verb insert itself into these kind of phrases?  I don’t ever want to “grab” dinner or drinks.  I want to sit down, relax and leisurely enjoy them.  I see it in buttons to click to buy tickets for a movie or a show – “Grab your tickets now.”  I’m fine with “buying” a ticket but not really interested in “grabbing” one.  Rant over.

I also read “Kermit Ruffins and Vaughan’s Lounge” by Jay Mazza, inspired by his turn as an interview host for the book talk at Octavia last week.  This was wonderful and reminded me of my first night in New Orleans and is a short manifesto on why we moved here.

A quote prior to my first visit to New Orleans:

“Kermit’s gig at the tiny Bywater club has become the spot for up and coming and established jazz stars to jam in a low-key setting to a truly appreciative crowd.  You never know who’s going to show up, and this night proves to be incredibly special.  Pianist Henry Butler sits in for the entire second set and leaves the keys burnin’ and smokin’ with his monstrous chops.  Probably the single best soloing of the entire year.  Kermit was good too.”

On my first ever night in New Orleans, Henry Butler sat in with Kermit.  I could not believe the piano virtuoso I was hearing in this tiny dive bar – not to mention Kermit on the trumpet, the ridiculous bass, and the strong drumming.  After reading this book, I understand a bit more of all that went into creating that.

And thanks to Anne for stopping to introduce Mr. Butler to me on her way to getting him a cab (he was blind.)

I’m glad I finally made it to the city I knew I should be in after that first night.

I enjoyed this piece in the New Yorker by Zadie Smith about writing essays for tests and otherwise:

Zadie Smith – on the impersonal essay

I like to read “five albums that I can’t live without” on Spin magazine’s site.  This week made me smile.  The comments on Springsteen’s Nebraska from a metal guy were so on point with my feelings and so well articulated ahead of the new movie about this album starring Jeremy Allen White (of the Bear):

His second choice reminded me of a night in New York with the late Greg Holowach.  We arrived at a cigar bar and the bartender put on this album.  I started talking to the guy next to me about it and he went DEEP into the  musical technicality of it.  I can’t remember a good example.  I finally asked him what he did for a living.  “I write symphonies, and my latest is being premiered by the New York Philharmonic tonight.  I’m too nervous to attend.”  Huh – feel free to critique Radiohead with me then…

And lastly, the third choice from this metal dude, I listened to extensively in my bedroom, fascinated by how these guitar and jazz parts went together:

Weird that all those three parts were in different sizes and different fonts on the same technology – not my IT problem anymore.  I did remind Diana that we saw Johnny Depp perform with Jeff Beck shortly before he died (Beck, not Depp).  “Isolation” was the song they swaggered through together.

I love the trombone rhythm section on this:

And finally something from the master:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all.

“Good Friends + 4 Days in New Orleans = Priceless”

When I left you last Sunday, the Cowboys and Saints were both losing.  The Cowboys did finally manage to eke out a win with an amazing 64 yard field goal by Aubrey – he is certainly a bright spot on the team.  The Saints were not so fortunate either that Sunday or particularly the most recent Sunday.

Augie was busy for several hours decorating for Halloween:

Diana had a routine medical test on Monday that required fasting for a while.  I gave her the choice of where to have lunch afterwards.  “Let’s go to Shaya, we haven’t been there in while.”  It was shortly after 11am and there were two other folks in the place.  The temperature was set to very cold and so we asked to sit on the patio.  Apparently opening the patio door to serve us was going to be too much.  So we left for plan B.

Red Dog Diner was happy to sit us outside.  We missed the 8-10am morning Happy Hour but I had a frozen Irish coffee anyway (a meal in itself.)

I entertained myself in the afternoon with the Americana music awards while Diana napped.   John C. Reilly hosted and did a nice version of Tom Waits’ “Picture in a Frame:”

Mary and Chuck finally arrived in Scotland on a trip that Mum helped them plan a while ago:

I’m looking forward to hearing about it.

I met my friend Fred from Plano (really from New Orleans originally but now lives in the Dallas area) for Happy Hour at the Evangeline on Tuesday afternoon.  I picked the location so that Fred could walk from his sister’s house and that worked out very well.  This is one of Kenny’s favourite bars and I felt guilty going for the first time without him, but had a great visit with Fred.

Trivia on Tuesday night – all good through the first half and then we took a  nosedive.  We were close on this final question.  You had to guess within five of the total and we were just a few outside that.  The only one we knew with certainty was the hockey goals – seven.

Diana began Wednesday in typical fashion – a run and then yoga.  Then we went to look at a house on Nashville Ave that had a nice pool, pool house, and way more rooms than we need.  Too much upkeep and maintenance on that place.

We got some culture on Wednesday evening at a reading at Octavia books.  Here’s what their email said about the event:

“From the legendary producer of Nick Drake, R.E.M., Toots and the Maytals, and Pink Floyd and author of White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s comes a riveting, world-spanning tour de force illuminating the artists, histories, controversies, and collaborations that shaped global music.”

I enjoyed the stories and music that he played.  I picked up a book by the interviewer, Jay Mazza, about Kermit Ruffins and Vaughan’s lounge.  Mazza attended over 300 Thursday night shows at the venue with Kermit and band.  That’s where I ended up on my first ever evening in New Orleans and I was sold.

One of my favourite songs that I heard that night:

Back at the house we watched an episode of the new “Morning Show” series – not too exciting yet.

April and Jason, friends from Austin, arrived on Thursday morning.  We had a nibble on a breakfast casserole that I made for the first time – yummy, and then it was off to Commander’s Palace for lunch.

After the usual trio of small soups, I passed on the usual stuffed quail and tried the cochon de lait tostada – a good new option.  And of course, you can’t finish without the whiskey souffle:

Next up, Booker Sessions at the Maple Leaf.  This week was Andre Bohren and he was strictly classical – none of the hybrid style that Booker is famous for creating.  Lots of Chopin and Liszt.

A brief stop in to Jacques-Imo’s for alligator cheesecake and a hello to Debra, and we had day one of the visit in the books.

Our guests had not spent time in the French Quarter and so we rectified that with a brief ramble on Friday afternoon.  We stopped in the lovely Peychaud’s courtyard where Jason fell in love with the Hurricane cocktail.

We had the obligatory wander down Bourbon Street and back up Royal Street, then caught a car over to N7.  This is always such a lovely place to take guests when the weather is nice.  The garden seating worked out very well, and we were able to share several menu highlights: tomato salad (the popping flavours), octopus, duck liver pate, tarte flambee traditionelle (always a highlight for me with those lardons and caramelized onions) and steak au poivre.

After that N7 feast, we regrouped and made a visit to Dos Jefes to watch the Joe Krown trio.  After a bit of a late start (actually 30 minutes late is pretty much on time for New Orleans) we were treated to one of the best performances that I’ve heard from Joe.

We met the local krewe (Jack, Alex, Thom, Laura) at Oak and Ale to watch football on Saturday afternoon.  That gave April and Jason a chance for a repeat French Quarter visit and another Hurricane.

We enjoyed dinner together at the Bouligny Tavern.   How did they get that smoky char on the broccolini with the burrata?  The deviled eggs were also very fancy:

We planned on Elizabeth’s in the Bywater for brunch on Sunday.  I had a last minute thought that it would be nice to invite Chris who lives close.  Diana did not he was joining until she saw his bike parked in front.  Nice surprise!

They always have such a good selection of brunch specials – hard to decide:

The Cowboys and Saints both lost their games in the afternoon – the Saints by the worst margin since the 1970s – going to be a long season for them.

I’m a little over half way through “I Might be in Trouble” by Daniel Aleman.  I’m finding it well written and funny so far, albeit a bit dark.  Here’s the online summary:

“A “hilarious, suspense-filled” dark comedy about a struggling writer who wakes up to find his date from the night before dead—and must then decide how far he’s willing to go to use this as inspiration for his next book (Entertainment Weekly).

A few years ago, David Alvarez had it all: a six-figure book deal, a loving boyfriend, and an exciting writing career. His debut novel was a resounding success, which made the publication of his second book—a total flop—all the more devastating. Now, David is single, lonely, and desperately trying to come up with the next great idea for his third manuscript, one that will redeem him in the eyes of readers, reviewers, the entire publishing world…and maybe even his ex-boyfriend.

But good ideas are hard to come by, and the mounting pressure of a near-empty bank account isn’t helping. When David connects with a sexy stranger on a dating app, he figures a wild night out in New York City may be just what he needs to find inspiration.

But after one of the best nights of his life, David wakes up hungover but giddy—only to find prince charming dead next to him in bed. Suddenly faced with the implausible idea that he may have actually killed his date, David calls the only person he can trust in a moment of crisis: his literary agent, Stacey.

Together, David and Stacey must untangle the events of the previous night, cover their tracks, and spin the entire misadventure into David’s career-defining novel—if only they can figure out what to do with the body first.”

The passing of Robert Redford brought to mind this song from Allison Moorer that she performed in “The Horse Whisperer:”

Take a listen to this gorgeous cover of “Dancing in the Dark” that Jason shared with us:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!