Jazz Fest 2013 Day 2

Saturday April 27, 2013

Day Two of Jazz Fest..

Steve made us a nice breakfast of Eggs and sausage at home.  We picked up Michael at the Quality Inn on St. Charles.  Jess dropped us off at the Gentilly Entrance and we're off on Day 2, just the boys.

First stop, Lagnappe.  Michael gets a doz oysters and we enjoy the performance of Alex and the Samurai.  Great performance. 

We stay at Lagniappe to hear the Panorama Jazz Band, a great multi cultural, local band.  The clarinet player was 10' tall. :)

Next is Jon Cleary and funky NOLA blues.  Steve goes off to hear Michael Ward and then meets us at  Fais Do Do for the highlight of the day.  Which is:

Andrew Bird... oh my oh my.  The master of the Loop Station, whistler, guitar player, fiddler, blue grass singer....  An amazing eclectic amalgamation of virtuosity.  Wonderful set!

   

Jess picked us up on State Street after a little walk and we all went to dinner together at Midway Pizza. 

We dropped Michael at his hotel and back home we went.

Jazz Fest 2013 Day 1

Friday April 26, 2013

Jazz Fest Day 1!  It's moving day for Michael.  Steve, Miri and I had a quick breakfast at Satsuma Cafe, bought Michael a muffin and coffee to go and picked him up at his hotel.  His room was ready at the Quality Inn Belle Maison on St. Charles, so we took him there, dropped off his luggage and took off for Jazz Fest.  Steve dropped us off at the Gentilly entrance.

We headed first for the Liagnappe and the Oyster Bar.  We enjoyed the first of several oyster feasts during our time in NOLA.  A nice Pilsner Urquiell washed it all down.  If there was ever a dessert for breakfast, this was it!

   

There was no music going on, we arrived too early for the first show, so we went on down the row to the Gospel Tent.  We sat in on the Zulu Gospel Male Choir as they finished their set, just enough to get a taste of the Gospel tent.  We never made it back.

We walked through the grounds checking out the sights and sounds, finding the venues and checking out the food courts and craft stations. We picked up a couple of beers and headed to the Peoples Economy Tent for our first set. 

The weather is warm and sunny, we are in short sleeves and shorts… Little did we know that this would be the exceptional day and not the norm!

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band.  Michael saw his first second line and got some nice pics.  This was original, traditional, and a perfect beginning for our Jazz Fest.

Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners - Lagniappe

We stopped by the food court for a taste of the fine New Orleans cuisine.  Michael had Crawfish Pie and I got the Red Beans and Rice.  We sat and ate outside the Peoples Economy Tent.

Blues Tent - John Mooney and Bluesiana

On to the Fais Do Do.  We stopped first at the Fest T-Shirt Store and bought our Festival Shirts.  I bought this year's shirt "Brass in the Grass," and "Nome de Plume" from 2008.

We were treated to the highlight of the first weekend.  Le Vent du Nord (The North Wind).  An amazing French Canadian band from Quebec gave us a very energetic set of folk and original tunes and couldn't get off the stage until they had played three encores!  This is a very rare occurrence at Jazz Fest because of the time factor… It just never happens, but it did for this fine group!  I was right up front for the whole gig. Amazing!  Instrumentation was Bass, Hurdy Gurdy, bouzouki, guitar, fiddle and foot percussion.  WOW!

We finished day one at the Gentilly Stage in the Wayyyy back watching Band of Horses.

We walked back out the Gentilly entrance where Steve picked us up and we all went to dinner at a nice burger place called TruBurger.  We dropped Michael at the Quality Inn and went on home. Steve and I tried to watch Bill Mahr but I fell asleep on the couch (with my shirt open, jaw sagging and making strange sounding snoring noises or so says Steve.. :)  It was gross, so Steve woke me up, turned off the TV and we went to bed.

Arriving in New Orleans

Michael and Brent on the way!

Thursday April 25, 2013
The Amtrak picked up Michael at 6:00 in Toccoa, Georgia and we met and found seats together.  We munched on a breakfast bar and then decided to work a little on Michael's new book.  We tweaked some of the visuals and reviewed the text.

I had downloaded a movie for the trip down, so we put away the book and watched "Les Miserables."  In interesting premise…. "How about we do a movie opera with actors who can't sing… " It was a compelling story and the crummy singing didn't really affect my enjoyment of the movie.

We spent the rest of the trip chatting, reading, and napping.  We almost missed dinner as we waited until 6:00 to eat before we arrived in NOLA.  The had one cheeseburger and one plate of chicken left so we got to eat a little before we got off the train.

We arrived in NOLA at 7:30 PM.  Son-in-law Steve picked us up, we dropped Michael at his hotel, The Belle Maison Wyndam, and went on home.  Daughter Jessica was away on a field trip, so Steve, Miri, and I had a nice visit.

To Jazz Fest in New Orleans

Wednesday April 24, 2013
To Jazz Fest!
I'm riding the train to NOLA this year, meeting up with my good friend Michael Nichols, for Jazz Fest 2013.  We'll be attending both weeks!  Here we go!

Amtrak C'ville

Ariana Grill Kabob House

Karen dropped me at the Amtrak in C'ville at 5:30 PM for an 8:52 departure. With that much extra time on my hands, I walked back into town to a great little cafe, The Ariana Grill Kabob House.  I had a nice dinner including chick peas, brown rice and spicy chunks of chicken.  A couple of mugs of Starr Hill Amber on draft washed it all down..

Starr Hill Amber Ale

Wild Wing Sample Tray

I walked back to the station and still had some time to kill so I dropped by The Wild Wing Cafe next door to the Amtrak Station and sampled some more of the local brews.  I found the train and away….