Jazz fest!!! And a whole lot more….

Posted bybrantdyer6929Posted inUncategorized
Beautiful flowers from Keela’s garden

So lucky we are to have an international airport about an hour a way with a great park and fly that changes your oil and washes your car. And lucky Brant bought the Jazz Fest tickets as soon as he saw that The Rolling Stones would be there. And lucky once again that Charlotte is a quick flight away for visiting family. Sarah and EB once again got us a great room at the Pines that they fully stocked. And wonderful to get to visit Brant’s brothers family. Nothing is better when your family and friends are happy and well—-and most of all enjoying life. And very best of all is getting to see the grand nephew, happy, health and very humorous. We wore ourselves out just watching him.

Sitting on the steps of John Coltrane’s home. Traded phones with a guy who has a pop up record store (black music) that he drives around the country. Says it’s doing much better than brick and mortar.
Important to find the very best barbecue!

New Orleans is a special place for us because we went there 41 years ago for part our honeymoon. Like everywhere it has changed, Bourbon street is no longer quaint, but the food remains excellent. And with the Jazz Fest in town music was everywhere (usually its just all over the place). Seriously I mean EVERYWHERE…lobbies, airports, sidewalks, stores and of course every bar and restaurant. Lots of people, lots of music, food and did I mention drink/ but not one problem with pickpockets, fights, crowd pushing, violence of any type—-not even vomiting! Just 500,000 folks listening to music and eating and drinking….and lots of walking about 14,000 steps a day.

A group along the street on Frenchman Street
This was more than enough for me and it was a quarter of a sandwich. What makes it is the olive salad (muffuletta)
And just like Mazatlan they fill every nook and cranny with a restaurant.

This is a difficult blog to do because New Orleans is so diverse and it’s really more about the sounds and smells and the conversations …and of course the history that stands out in contrast to much of the south and yet is enmeshed in southern tradition as well… a French Cajun southern blue city. My favorite conversation was with an Uber driver who told us about her experience with Katrina—-a 2 year ordeal for those who got through it successfully. She spoke of the night of the hurricane and not realizing there was extensive flooding until she put her foot down on the floor next to her second story bed and realized the floor was flooded. A helicopter rescue was followed by multiple shuffles around to various centers. She spoke about the beautiful kindness of people in the hill country of Texas (where one hotelier let them stay for free)—-so many stories of the community coming forward to supply them with what they needed. And funny stories about missing the music and food of New Orleans (she describe New Orleanians as being a little fussy and demanding in that category) —-and really missing that drink as they all began to realize how much (and how many) they had lost. Seriously one glass of wine would not even scratch the surface would it? And she spoke of some of the racism encountered —-especially when they were referred to as “refugees”—-even when she was simply trying to book a room in a hotel. A year (or perhaps it was 2 ) when she returned to reestablish her life in New Orleans—- there were still no hotel rooms available any where. Nonetheless she was shocked when I intimated that Katrina was worse then COVID. No, no no—-they can not be compared! She said. COVID was far worse ….it took down the whole world—-and so many with it.

Interestingly the Marigny (our favorite area) and French Quarter did not have a great deal of flooding as they were on higher ground and also built up a bit)
And here is the hotel we stayed at 41 years ago…. We stayed on the very top floor which I remember because brant kept hitting his head on the sloped roofs.
And here is a restaurant we ate in 41 years ago as recommended by gourmet magazine. Back then it was pretty empty…. This is 9pm … crowded and quite a bit more expensive.

Maris and Gabe had travelled to New Orleans the year before and did an excellent job of scoping out unique spots with excellent food. (And gifting us with visits there). At one place, they let you grab a bottle of wine and everything needed for a perfect charcuterie cheese board that they plated for you and brought out to their well-umbrellaed back yard where a band was playing. The other spot was the “Country Club”… a beautifully renovated home with a pool you could soak in while sipping a drink, or you could sip on the veranda overlooking the street or you could sip while enjoying a crab filled beignet. Or wait … you could sip in the bar while playing trivia with a drag queen (but that’s only on Wednesdays). I love that the food here is a wonder combination of complex dishes like shrimp etoufee and simple oyster po boys.

Here is “The Country Club” and you can see how raised up it is. A perfect sipping veranda.
This is hand painted wall paper inside
And here is Bachanal… both places were great.
Or you could just wander around… this place had terrific music
Love how the shine pops out… clever artist

My only complaint about New Orleans is that as much as you want to relax, you 4 want to see, hear, eat and drink more. Until finally all you can do is stretch out on a blanket and with an mango freeze while you listen to jazz or gospel or blues or rock or folk or zydeco or reggae …. (But not rap we pretty much skipped that). The festival lasted 4 days…. And every day we gained a pound or two… soft shell crab po boys, crawfish etoufee, and beignets. The list is endless (nearly) but the frozen espresso martinis were helpful.

It is important to dress right for jazz fest so that means having the right hat….
…. Not exactly sure if this one’s exactly right
….. but perhaps if she threw this on her back it would offer a good counterbalance
And if you have hair like this you do not want to cover it up… seriously was very pretty
All this attendee festival ware means the performers really had to step up their game. And they did. I was concerned she was going to accidentally fly away
It was very difficult to figure out where to go. This is one day’s schedule. We were there for 4 days.
This is Irma Thompson who sang with Jagger 2 days earlier. About 50 years ago they noticed Irma’s recording of “Time is on my side” and decided to record it. A big hit … so they came back 50 years later and sang it with her. She also has good taste in fabric and sews a new dress (or gets it made) every year using the Jazz Fest’s annually released fabric. Very cool idea which enticed me to buy a pair of boxers.
There are another 20 but just to give you an idea of the fabrics
And finally you need to have the right boots…. Ones that are made for walking.
I took this pic about an hour before The Rolling Stones started….
It was worth the wait!
But so so many wonderful performers. Columbia was featured in the cultural exchange tent.
Though the Foo Fighters were a bit deafeningly loud.
And Earth Wind and Fire was so crowded you could barely see the stage.
And if it got too crowded you could wander around the neighborhoods next to the fairgrounds….
Our last show was Bonnie Raitt which happens to rhyme with great.
There is Mick… the little guy up on the stage
This was an interview with the Coral Reefer band about the life of Jimmy Buffet. He wrote this song while in the hospital. Turns out he learned how to be a performer in the bars of New Orleans even if it meant refilling their beer pitcher for free to get them to stay. He went every year (nearly) to Jazz Fest with a cap and aviator glasses and no one recognized him.
I always like to think this song made us change the way riot police work? (or at least the National guard)
I really loved listening to Hozier. In this song he hears people shouting (which is at first is for this big hit) but then he realizes someone is down. If you crank up the volume you can hear him say medic as he points into the crowd (and trust me this was a huge crowd). He stopped playing and did not continue until given the ok. I should also point out that the audience often knew his music so well that it was entirely unnecessary for him to sing. (Fortunately we were standing with older folks … those who could afford VIP… who did not know the words as well. ) actually it was pretty cute. I will be listening to him more often so next time I can sing along.
Of course I do know the words to this. maybe I should grow up and learn Hozier.
And a little rain did not stop the fun.
It took me a bit to figure out the last of video…didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but.. …

I am driving myself crazy trying to find the perfect video to end this on. So much great music. I can send a list of our favorites that are lesser known if you wish but this is a song that runs through my head every week. I wanted a straight shot but I got some bald heads instead (intermittently). I’d say Mick and I share this: we both got most (and oftentimes far more) of what we want… and most definitely everything I need. I loved how he sang with Irma Thompson…. He showed so much love and respect and clearly doing everything he could to make her comfortable on stage. I think you tube would have better video of that. We left New Orleans at about 5 am…. Shocking how crowded the airport was but I guess that’s what happens when everyone leaves at once.

And here is the way a ukelele should be played! Jimmy Buffett helped introduce him to the world by having him play with him. We heard these kinds of stories all week. Sadly a well known performer in the area died a couple days (mva)before his slot … another band of his friends jumped in and through tears they played in his honor. They gave a beautiful eulogy —- followed by crazy wild Cajun music. So very sad, so very kind. We saw lots of that at Jazzfest. Maybe that’s why people come back every year for 30 years

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