Buddy Guy

Buddy Guy

big fan, but had never seen him before. Ever.

jfpotd 11

I like a band with a washboard.

(See bottom of picture above)

[click on the picture to view a larger image]

{turn head sideways...no, the other way}

werds

The lucky people who fled and survived Katrina and Rita were call called "Refugees" or even "Survivors" for a while, but most people settled on "Evacuee".

This t-shirt with "Returnee" caught my eye.
My guess is that this person had returned to New Orleans since the storm.

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 10

Big Chief Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias
This was almost an accidental 'see' as we went by on our way elsewhere.
See http://tinyurl.com/JazzFestMay3

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 9

This is a typical shot of the Festers looking at the Acura stage from the parking lot fence at the end of the day. This was Friday, May 1st.

Concert hall or church model using cool wooden blocks on the upstairs porch

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 8

The Iguanas

One of our favorite bands at one of our favorite stages, Fais Do Do.

I think the picture on the right of the stage is Clifton Chenier.

Short clip of The Iguanas

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 7

One of the really cool things when people-watching at the Fest are the t-shirts.

Check out the names!
Of course, maybe they don't mean so much to all you all.

IN 1994 I WORKED WITH

DR. JOHN

ERIC CLAPTON

BOB DYLAN

THE NEVILLE BROTHERS

ROBERT CRAY

BUDDY GUY

WAR

TITO PUENTE

BO DIDDLEY

SOLOMON BURKE

LOS LOBOS

CLARENCE GATEMOUTH BROWN

GEORGE THOROGOOD

BOBBY BLUE BLAND

JACKSON BROWNE

SHEILA E.

KOKO TAYLOR

TAJ MAHAL

THE FUNKY METERS

AND

MACEO PARKER

AT THE

HOUSE OF BLUES

NEW ORLEANS

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 6

We were in the Blues Tent listening to Eric Lindell when the wind started to pick up. The tent flap was bopping us in the back. I turned around and saw that one of the integral parts of the whole setup seemed to be a package of carrots tied into the structure.
Had to take a picture.

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 5

Planning session

Shopping, listening, eating...

not necessarily in that order

A couple of Jazz Fest posters shown below

Fess

We move this one to put up our Christmas treeDr. John

In the guest room

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 4

How do you get to Wal*Mart?

Easy, go to the corner of Religious and Nuns. Seriously

well, surely

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 3

Tony Bennett at the Jazz Fest? Yes, that Tony Bennett!
While I don't usually go to the Fairgrounds to see the 'big acts', the Festival feels that they need to bring in some big names to get the gate. We don't necessarily eschew the big acts, and usually catch some of the set, but it's not why we go.

This year, some of the acts that I would consider having been booked not so much to reflect the Heritage of Jazz in New Orleans (the reason behind the awkwardly named event), are Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, Pete Seeger, Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, Etta James, The Robert Cray Band, Sugarland, Bon Jovi (or is that Jon Bovi?) and Neil Young and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly (a very popular Festival closing act at Congo Square).

Some of these people I feel we should see because they are music icons, and who knows how long they will be with us, at least performing. Some because you can say, "Oh yes, I saw Neil Young/Bob Dylan/Phish/Paul Simon at Fest"

My story of this Jazz Fest happened right before Tony Bennett came on. We headed to the Gentilly stage before the start and headed along the track toward the front of the stage. There are entrances along the track so that you can get into the infield at many points. We chose to go in right up front. I was leaning against the railing of the ramp that the VIPs use to get to the very front of the stage, a place for the photographers and other posers to watch. So we were about 10 feet from the side of the stage. I watched as lots of people came up, showed their stickers and badges to a weary guard. The show wasn't going to start for 10 minutes or so, a long time in Jazz Fest terms, but we needed to rest.

A guy came up the ramp and exchanged some pleasantries with the guard, then came back to right about where I was standing. Now this guy had something about him that just didn't really fit the Jazz Fest crowd, or even the Jazz Fest VIPs. He had some sort of covering over his head shielding him from the heat. My guess is that he was not used to being out in the daylight. He looked out over the crowd, back to the stage and then back out over the crowd. Turning to me, he remarked, "It's a big crowd". I wasn't sure what I should say, so I said, "Yes, it is. But that's a good thing (isn't it?)" He nodded and looked at the stage and then this gathering crowd. Before he walked off, he turned to me and said, "Enjoy Tony." Ah. All I could think to do was nod. This confirmed to me that this was a big guy in the entourage. Maybe the guy. I felt he would have taken a rather dim view if I'd indicated that I was not going to enjoy Tony.
After a couple (three actually!) of songs by Tony's semi-talented daughter, Antonia, the big man came on and was great! Unfortunately, since Antonia took up so much time, we only stayed for a couple of Tony's songs before we headed off for more.

Jazz Fest video-o-the day

Cactus bloom in small cactus garden on the table

Listening from the upstairs porch

Jefferson Parish, LA
May 4, 2009

Bonus Jazz Fest pic - Domilises

Domilises after Shrimp and Catfish Po-Boys and Dixie beerz

5240 Annunciation St

New Orleans, LA 70115

(504) 899-9126

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day 2

How's My Drinking?

Call (504) 945-0xxx

Jazz Fest pic-o-the day

Upon arrival at our first Jazz Fest day and N&D's last day for 2009.

Ancient Greek perspectives

"They saw the future as something that came upon them from behind their backs with the past receding away before their eyes.

When you think about it, that's a more accurate metaphor than our present one."

-- From the Afterword of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, 25th anniversary edition, Copyright (c) 1974, 1999 by Robert M. Pirsig

Anthony's Pier 66 and Bell Street Diner

2201 Alaskan Way
Seattle, WA 98121
ph 206-448-6688

Table: 108 - 2 Guests
Your Server was ken P
4/11/2009 6:26:23 PM

Crab Cocktail
Absolut - As Martini
Burnt Creme
Crab Salad
Halibut Chargrilled
Thurston Wolfe PGV
Top & Scampi Prawns

Since when...?

Girl Power: Filly Rachel Alexandra makes history

When did they water down the phrase to "make history"?

Maybe it's my aging brain, but I remember distinctly that making history meant that something had NEVER been done before. Somewhere along the line, someone had the (not so) bright idea that they could add punch to something that legitimately wasn't "making history" as in, boy, this hasn't happened since...

Seems like everything that is truly "history making" has been lessened by this.

Conga-rats to Rachel Alexandra for being the first filly in 85 years to win the second leg of the Triple Crown. But is it history making? I think not.

imho

Jazz Fest - May 3rd

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (presented by Shell)

Sunday, May 3rd listening list

On the last day of Fest we tried to be efficient in 

order to see as much as possible.  

In the morning, knowing the layout of the Fairgrounds, 

I mapped out the order of the acts I wanted to see, 

starting from the end of the day. First I looked at 

each stage or tent to see who I might want to see 

and then ran over the list again to remark who I 

must see. Starting with the Nevilles to close at the 

Acura stage, I scheduled backwards. After about 

7 acts, I was only back from 7 PM to 5 PM.  

In the order in which we listened, here are the 

groups we saw.

Coming in we caught Allen Toussaint at Acura.

We went over to the Blues tent where we met up 

with Spike and Ann's friend, Lamar, to see his 

recommendation, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' 

Malcolm. Cedric is the grandson of the legendary 

R.L. Burnside.

A special gathering of artists were on the 

Gentilly Stage as The Voice of Wetlands

Allstars featuring Tab Benoit, Dr. John, 

Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne,  Monk Boudreaux, 

Johnny Sansone and Waylon Thibodeaux.  

It was a most excellent lineup. We stayed for much 

of that. Sallie and I had gotten separated from the 

rest of the group before heading over. Nancy, 

Spike and Ann were able to snag some food including 

a crawfish and jalepeno po-boy! I was along the track 

walking back and forth listening and looking for them.

Nice.

Then back to the Blues Tent to hear Eric Lindell.  

We'd listened to him on the Blues station on XM on 

the drive over from Tucson.

On the way back to see Los Lobos at Gentilly, we 

heard Chuck Brown on Congo Square

and caught the end of a great set by 

Big Chief Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias at the

Jazz & Heritage Stage on the infield.

We listened to Los Lobos at Gentilly before heading 

to the opposite end to hear

Neil Young at Acura. None of the group heard Neil 

play Cinnamon Girl, which the paper later said he, 

of course, did play.

I wanted to hear most or all of Dash Rip Rock at 

the Lagniappe Stage inside the Grandstands area, 

which we did. We had great seats that turned out 

to be out of the light rain that fell for about 20-30 

minutes.

Buddy Guy was to start at the Blues Tent at 5:45 

so we went over. The tent was full with people 

hanging out three or four deep at the entrances.  

We acted as if we had people saving seats inside 

and wended our way in. Got to a point with a 

great view of the stage. After 5-10 minutes, 

Buddy and his band came out and blew everyone 

away. Amazing!

Down to the wire now.

We didn't see Benny Grunch & the Bunch, a 

victim of too much going on, but we caught

The Radiators at Gentilly before walking back 

toward Acura and the car. On the way, we

popped in at the Fais Do-Do Stage to hear 

Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas. Heading back

to hear the Neville Brothers close the show we 

encountered a large group listening to Maze

featuring Frankie Beverly. After getting around 

the mass of people, we made it back to

hear the Nevilles in the middle of their set. They 

sounded pretty good in spite of the slight scattering 

of the sound owing to the breeze. Our goal was to 

beat feet before the bitter end to beat the traffic.  

We ended up leaving about 7, which was about 

5 minutes before Quint Davis announced the end 

of the Nevilles set and the 40th annual Fest. Maze 

continued on until about 7:30, the Nevilles usual 

closing time. All of that helped us get out in record 

time after a GREAT DAY.

Pictures to follow.