I Have a Confession

I'll just say it... I'm a Jazz Fest virgin. How would this be? I play music. I love music. I love to travel. I love N'awlins. With as many times as I've been to New Orleans, how did I miss this event? I've always wanted to go, it just never happened. I guess it's because I could never afford the price of a hotel here at Jazz Fest time. I still can't...let's say I'm "camping out" at the moment.

Arriving at the festival after another 4am outing and very little sleep, there were a few things to navigate. Parking for one. I lucked out at finding a secret spot a few blocks where I wouldn't be ticketed and towed. There were only a few residents back in this area which took on some water during the storm.

As the music wafted over from the festival, a hanging lamp on the porch of a deserted home blew back in forth in the wind as the front door open and shut with each gust. I felt a flood (oops, sorry, wrong word) of emotions as the prevailing sadness seemed to compete with the nearby festivities.



Besides Jazz Fest, I have two other words: Cowboy Mouth.
I must have been living in a cave having never heard this band before. Their emotional, fired-up set was perhaps one of the best live performances I've ever seen. Definitely check them out. Eerily, the power went out in the middle of "Hurricane Party." Jazzfest personnel are trying to get to the bottom of this one. They say it might be a typical Cowboy Mouth publicity stunt, since the Fest generally runs flawlessly and has the coolest production team ever.



Penny Grisamore, friends with the famous frontman Fred LeBlanc, was emotional while listening to "The Avenue", an amazing post-Katrina song on Cowboy Mouth's new record. The first time she heard tune was when Fred played it live at her house. I hear Ellen DeGeneres also cried when they played it on her show. I did too.



Also caught funky bad boy Dr. John for the first time as well...There were so many amazing acts at the fest that I needed to clone myself 20 times over. Locals say this is the busiest Friday at the fest that they can remember. Each note played was a step in the continued healing of this wonderful city.