Month: May 2024

“Jazzfest Week 2”

Denny and Anne returned from Lafayette on Monday, and we met up with them for a lovely dinner at Osteria Lupo.  This was the first time our wedding party had been together in almost seven years.

I loved the campanelle pasta with mushroom ragu.  This relatively new restaurant really is a stand out – great service, food and ambience.

Our new couch finally arrived on Tuesday.  It was in with the new and outside in the driveway with the old.

It really is very comfy and has all the reclining and headrest adjustments to get you in that perfect position.

The Salvation Army came by to potentially pickup the old couch on Wednesday morning.  No go – too worn – they are so picky.  We decided to just put it out on the street and see what happened.  Less than thirty minutes later, it was loaded in a pickup truck and off to a new home.  Diana was at yoga and laughed at how quickly it disappeared.

Chickie was in town for the Rolling Stones Jazzfest day on Thursday.  We met up with him for dinner at N7 on Wednesday evening.  He loved the restaurant and ordered a number of things from the menu.  Here he is experimenting with spreading duck liver mousse on a slice of tarte.

Silly Chickie.

Vince and Lori arrived on Thursday afternoon and we collected them at a very busy airport.  We had packed a backpack for Vince with sunscreen, water, koozie, rain poncho, and a map of the festival.  We also brought a wide brimmed hat for him.  I should mention that we dropped him at the festival on our way home – he was off to see the Rolling Stones.  It felt like dropping a child off for their first day of school.

We had told him about the trifecta food of crawfish sack, oyster pattie, and shrimp beignets – he quickly found them, and we were happy to know he had eaten lunch.

And, a few minutes later, he sent proof that he had found Anne and her group.

The Festival stage had a whole special wrapper for the Rolling Stones – not something we’ve ever seen before.

Here’s one of the special moments that Vince recorded.  Irma Thomas, local music royalty, recorded the song “Time is on My Side” in the early sixties.  The Stones covered it, and it was their first US top ten hit.  There had been rumours that Irma might sing it with Mick – and sure enough:

I’m happy to report that our child made it home safely, after visiting an after concert crawfish boil and concert.

We hiked the six hundred feet to Commander’s Palace for lunch on Friday.  Interestingly, Mick Jagger had dinner there on Tuesday, ahead of the Thursday performance.  This was possibly the best meal we’ve ever had there – a combination of the company and the ridiculously good soft shell crab “tamale.”  We enjoyed the food and company for close to three hours.

That’s the extraordinarily good bread pudding soufflé and strawberry shortcake, before we dove in.

Look at this soft shell crab:

I saw our waitress, Mikaila, walking by the house the next day and told her what a great job she had done taking care of us.

We made a group excursion to Jazzfest on Saturday, setting up at the Festival stage for headliner Neil young.  Vince and I made a quick trip to the Blues tent to see Joe Krown with Papa Mali – excellent as always.  Then back at the main stage, we saw Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show, Cimarron (a very eclectic Colombian band), another excellent set from Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Tab Benoit (sporting a completely different look with long, curly hair.)

Then it was time for the main event, Neil Young and Crazy Horse.  They started with my favourite song, “Cortez the Killer.”

I can go home now – just kidding, because that was followed by Cinnamon Girl and a procession of other great songs.

“Ohio”, just as relevant now with all the college protests, as it was in 1970:

What a great jazzfest day, albeit a very hot and humid one.

The Ogans were hosting a birthday party for Bob after the fest.  Bob is a childhood friend of Anne’s who was staying for Jazzfest.  We had a debate about going home to freshen up, and decided we’d never make it back out if we went home.  So straight to Webster Street for the 60th birthday party.  The entire Krewe was assembled, allowing Vince and Lori to experience what that’s like – they had a blast.  We made a relatively early exit to rest up for the final day of the fest.

We set up at the Gentilly stage for the final day.  Mia Borders performed a great sounding opening set – she had great presence and energy.  That was followed by the super group Dragon Smoke, local favourite The Radiators, Joe Bonamassa, who surprised me with a truly excellent blues guitar set (Mary Lee and Jeff joined for that):

While she was with us, Merry Lee and Diana dug up a couple of old and hilarious pictures:

Diana ran into this krewe with their Bob birthday shirts on:

Bonnie Raitt closed things down with a somewhat strange set.  It just seemed to lack energy – lots of quiet and nuanced songs that just don’t work at a massive festival.  I did enjoy the music and her wonderful voice, but wish she’d brought the energy she closed with to the earlier parts of her set.  Jon Cleary did join her for a song, and the energy immediately increased:

And who can complain about John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery:”

Diana went on a ramble around and saw Irma Thomas performing her own set.

The 2024 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is in the books.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all.

 

 

 

“Jazzfest Week One”

My hand surgery was early on Monday morning.  The anesthesiologist told me she would do a “nerve block” on my arm.  I didn’t think too much about it.  The surgery was all smooth, and then I tried to move my arm to put my shirt on – no response, it had a complete mind of its own, swinging around like a windmill.  I found this very disconcerting, and it lasted until the next morning.  Now I just have a big splint on my hand for over two weeks.  Yes – I’m whining.

We picked up Kris and Cat on Wednesday evening and then enjoyed Diana’s yummy jambalaya.

Thursday dinner was at N7-always a wonderful experience.  We braved it and sat in the garden – always a risk depending on the weather.

All the food was amazing – particularly the octopus and scallops:

After dinner we made a visit to Madame Vic’s – a nearby music club.  It’s a bit of a drive, so we rarely make it there.  An excellent Latin band was playing and musicians trickled in over the time we were there to sit in with the band – all great players.  We had to drag Kristina out of there – early start tomorrow.

We were in line for Jazzfest early on Friday morning.  Kristina was amazed at a conversation Diana was having with the lady next to her.  After a few minutes they had arranged a potential house swap – Holly wanted a house in New Orleans for kids graduation in the Spring, and she lives very close to Campbell and Molly – that could work.

 

We set up camp at the Gentilly stage and the first band we saw was Los Cumbria Stars – a Colombian band.  Each year a different country is showcased.  They were very upbeat and talented:

Including an excellent clarinetist:

After that we saw the Zigaboo Modeliste band – original drummer for The Meters and still performing at a very high level, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Preservation Hall, and finally Jon Batiste.  What a show Batiste gave.  I suppose this is what it looks like when you absolutely love your job:

Here he is on the New Orleans classic “Big Chief:”

The entire Lusignan clan joined us for this excellent closing show:

Diana captured this video of Shamar Allan on the Congo Square stage:

Diana took Kris and Cat for a French Quarter Ramble on Friday, while I relaxed at home.

Saturday evening music was the Jon Cleary Funk Review at the Broadside, with guests John Boutte and James Rivers.  Some of the best music I’ve seen since…oh yeah, Jon Batiste 24 hours earlier.  Cleary’s extended band was excellent, as heard on “Walking to New Orleans”:

John Boutte had fun performing his theme song from the “Treme” TV show – the Broadside fittingly located in the Treme section of New Orleans.

And then came James Rivers – an absolute beast of a horn player at the age of 87.  He played on a plethora of famous New Orleans songs released before I was born.  Just amazing!

We drove over to City Park (larger than New York’s Central Park) on Sunday morning and walked to Café Degas for brunch – great as always.  Diana pointed out Anders Osborne sitting on a bench – I said “Hello, Anders” just to make sure it was him.  Confirmed.  Kris and Cat enjoyed Cafe Du Monde beignets as desert.  We passed by Liuzza’s on the walk back to the car:

Another week in the wonderful city of New Orleans!

We’re skipping the book and music sections again this week, and probably for one more week.

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!

 

 

“More Music”

I had an x-ray of my hand and then a visit with a hand surgeon on Tuesday.  I’m all set to have my Ganglion cyst removed next Monday.  Oh boy – something to look forward to.

A group of us attended the “Hayes and the Heathens” show at Tipitinas on Thursday night.  This was a new collaboration between Hayes Carll and The Band of Heathens – two of our favourites.  The combination worked very well and we all loved the show.  Here’s the opener, “L.A. county blues:”

This was my favourite of the Hayes songs, “Beaumont:”

An excellent guitar jam:

Anders Osborne joined for a song – he and Hayes were scheduled to do a tour when Covid shut things down, and they hadn’t seen each other until this show.

Finishing up with the Levon Helm classic, “Hurricane:”

I had an ultrasound of my cyst on Friday – not sure why I couldn’t have had that with the x-ray – it was at the same clinic.  Oh well.

Diana tried out her new power tool on Saturday morning.  Works well:

Saturday evening was another busy one of music.  We enjoyed the Iguanas at the Kingpin outdoor series:

We drove directly from the Kingpin over to the Broadside for a Yacht Rock cover show.  We both enjoyed it very much:

Here’s the Phil Collins classic, “In the Air Tonight:”

And finally, the Eagles, “One of Those Nights:”

My hand is getting tired and so I’ll skip the book and music sections for now (plenty of music already).

Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!