Day: June 9, 2025

Week in Review – June 1st, 2025

“Happy Birthday, Alex – Good Lord!”

Kenny came over and hung his lovely gift for me on Monday – he’s much better on steps and ladders than I am.  I think it sends a great message to everyone entering our home.

Denny shared his freshly caught red snapper with a group of us on Monday evening.  This included a yummy ceviche and fish from the grill.  Chef Denny did his usual wonderful job.

Folks look so serious, but not in this one:

Our streak was broken at trivia on Tuesday – we were winning until failing on the last question and wagering the maximum amount.  Bad strategy.  We did get this question correct – one of the easier ones.

Alex and Laura welcomed a bunch of us to their home on Friday to celebrate Alex’s birthday.  Everyone brought a dish and there was a plethora of great food to enjoy.  Our hummus with lamb ragu from Saba was well received – so good.

It was lovely to see Frank and Alicia.  This might be the first year that I didn’t run into Frank on the track at jazzfest.  Alicia was feeling and looking the best I’ve seen her in years.  We also met Jack E’s girlfriend – very nice young lady.

Diana and I met a bunch of guys, and Jack E’s girlfriend, on Saturday to watch Paris Saint Germain (PSG) play Inter Milan in one of the various European championships.  We started at Tracey’s to give them some business on their last day before closing permanently.  Unfortunately a lot of other folks had the same idea and they had run out of most things.  No issue – we walked across the street to the Bulldog and enjoyed the patio.  The match was very one sided with PSG winning 5-0.

The afternoon got much more exciting as we relocated to a Laurel Street porch concert.  We enjoyed an allstar band of the finest musicians in New Orleans.  Herlin Riley was the band leader on drums, the wonderful Kyle Roussel played keyboards, Shannon Powell was posted up against the house playing some funky bass, Chucky C sang, played saxophone and other instruments, and Erica Falls (previously with Galactic) sang vocals.

That was the band doing a Stevie Wonder classic.  Then a pleasant surprise as Chucky C took over on vocals for “What a Wonderful World.”

We were not familiar with Chucky – some research shows he’s fronted multiple local bands, and has at least one album on Spotify and many good online videos.  We chatted with him as he packed up to leave, and he was a lovely gentleman.

Dave Jordan was playing a concert at the Broadside Pavillion on Sunday early evening – we love a show that starts at 5pm rather than 9pm.  I was not familiar with his music, and some research showed he created music that I might enjoy.  Indeed I did – the band was doing a last show before they hit the road for the summer, and seemed to be having a lot of fun.  The guitar player was a real treat.

A special guest fiddle player joined for a quieter song:

I’m glad we took a risk on someone that we didn’t know well.

My book this week was “The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore.  This is a very cleverly constructed mystery, with great characters and pacing – hard to put down and highly recommended.

The online review:

“Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.”

Something interesting from Karl Denson (saxophone player with the Rolling Stones) who regularly plays tiny clubs in New Orleans:

A more laid back and bluesy offering:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!

Week in Review – May 25th, 2025

“Birthday Music Week”

Bryce the piano tuner came on Monday.  He was impressed with how well our piano had survived storage, moving, and settling in to a new home.  As is typical here, he was quite the character, sharing stories about tuning Paul Simon and Harrick Connick’s pianos, and videos of rock concerts that he attended in the 1970s.   Here he is testing out his tuning job, while I stay out of his way in the living room:

Denny and Anne were headed out of town, so took me for an early birthday dinner at Husky.  As a special treat they brought me some meat pies from a butcher in Lafayette.  We followed that with a visit to Dos Jefes to listen to John Fohl – always a treat.

And now we move into the heavy music rotation part of the week.  On Thursday we joined Kenny, Julia and John for a singer songwriter night at the Broadside Pavillion.  The artists performing were Gregg Hill, Mia Borders, Alex McMurray, and Johnny Sansone.  The highlight for me was Alex McMurray’s solo set, with Mia Borders as a close second, particularly the song she did with McMurray.

On Friday we met at Kenny and Kara’s house for a birthday drink and they presented me with this lovely gift from the local artist, Simon.  We could easily walk to his gallery from our home.

The four of us decamped to a restaurant called “Pigeon and Whale.”  This place specializes in seafood and we shared a number of dishes.  They also have a large selection of different negronis.  Kenny and Diana insisted on dessert, and I’m glad they did as the lemon thing was delicious.  Thanks for a lovely dinner with wonderful friends, Diana.

 

After dessert, we met the boys at NOLA brewing.  Alex McMurray, who we saw the previous night, was playing with his band.  It was nice to hang out with the boys for a bit, and we had to call it a relatively early night as I was taking Diana back to the airport at 5am on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, my old Executive Committee team was enjoying dinner at Phil’s place in the Hamptons.  I miss that krewe.

The music continued on Saturday.  This time it was the second annual Bob Dylan birthday tribute at the Broadside.  I thoroughly enjoyed it last year and so was quite excited for the show.  Anne, Mason, Jack E and Peggy all joined.  The show was excellent all around!  Excellent backing band, singers, and venue.  Gal Holiday performed my favourite Dylan song:

I enjoyed the opening song by the organizer of the music, Sam Price:

I drove Anne home after the show and we passed a restaurant called “El Pavo Real.”  I had seen it many times and never been there.  “We’re going there tomorrow,” said Anne.

She picked me up and we enjoyed Sunday brunch.  This is a great Mexican place and wasn’t busy at all.  Excellent chilaquiles and palomas.

Meanwhile, in Redwood City, California, Diana had made it in time to dress up and attend Olivia’s high school graduation celebration.  The pictures would say that they had a great time.

Have I had enough music yet?  No – it’s my birthday week, I want one more night.  Sunday brought “Rock for Aegis,” a benefit for Scott Aiges who was the music journalist for the local paper and is fighting aggressive brain cancer.  The power was out in Uptown New Orleans, apparently part of a necessary rolling brown out due to unforeseen demand.  We had planned on meeting at Fred and Kelly’s home for a drink before the show, but they had no power.  I invited the group to meet at our home, as we still had power, and worst case a generator.

The show was local musicians playing Tom Petty songs.  And for the third night in a row, Alex McMurray was involved.  The highlight for me was Samantha Fish (excellent blues musician) covering “American Girl.”

Meanwhile, in Pacifica, California, Diana was hosting a party for Alicia’s 25th birthday.  She always loves that our birthdays are just a few days apart.  Look at the spread she assembled.  It looks like everyone had a good time.

Interestingly, the “end pieces” of the sourdough loaves were all that remained.  Olivia noticed and realized that Grammie used to eat those first.

A subset of the group enjoyed the sunset on the beach:

Meanwhile, somewhere off the coast of the Florida panhandle, Denny and Jack were catching pleny off red snapper:

My book this week was one that I’d been waiting on for a while, “Run for the Hills,” by Kevin Wilson.  I’ve enjoyed all of his previous books, so uniquely creative and funny.  This one didn’t disappoint.  Here’s the summary:

“Ever since her dad left them twenty years ago, it’s been just Madeline Hill and her mom on their farm in Coalfield, Tennessee. While it’s a bit lonely, she sometimes admits, and a less exciting life than what she imagined for herself, it’s mostly okay. Mostly.

Then one day Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and informs Madeline that he believes she’s his half sister. Reuben—left behind by their dad thirty years ago—has hired a detective to track down their father and a string of other half siblings. And he wants Mad to leave her home and join him for the craziest kind of road trip imaginable to find them all.

As Mad and Rube—and eventually the others—share stories of their father, who behaved so differently in each life he created, they begin to question what he was looking for with every new incarnation. Who are they to one another? What kind of man will they find? And how will these new relationships change Mad’s previously solitary life on the farm?

Infused with deadpan wit, zany hijinks, and enormous heart, Run for the Hills is a sibling story like no other—a novel about a family forged under the most unlikely circumstances and united by hope in an unknown future.”

We’ve had a lot of musical discussion this week and so I’ll leave you with just one sample.  Sansone played this at the singer songwriter show:

Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!