The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is held over two consecutive weekends (Fri-Sun) at the Fairgrounds, where there are about a dozen stages set up, with music and great food everywhere (I had the alligator pie and fried green tomatoes). Opening day of this year's fest was yesterday. There were 67 different shows there (some acts perform multiple times on different stages). I was staying downtown, and caught a shuttle bus to the fest. One of the bus lines that was providing shuttle service is called Hotard, so, naturally, I'm all
"Heh heh...he said 'tard.'"
After getting there, I saw the Nightcrawlers, a brass band that plays N'awlins jazz, perform a few tunes, then went to see some blues being played, before headin' over to the Gentilly Stage to see The Subdudes. Unfortunately, they were late getting started, so I only got to see a few minutes of their set, since I had to get over to the Acura Stage for Dr. John & Van Morrison. Dr. John is a cultural icon in NOLA, and put on a great show. But without a doubt, Van Morrison was the highlight of the day. It was the first time I've seen him, and he did not disappoint. Most of the songs he played had a blues/country sound to them, but his 10-piece band was first-rate, and everything had that swampy feel to it. He even did a spot-on impersonation of Louis Armstrong during one tune, and was joined on stage by Dr. John and his saxophonist, who was a member of Fats Domino's band for many years, and they played Fats' My Girl Josephine. Besides having that unmistakeable golden voice, Morrison's an accomplished sax player, and also played harmonica, acoustic guitar, and keyboards. I was about 30 yards from dead center of the stage, the weather was perfect, and I was standing next to
and his wife during the show. Today's acts include Rod Stewart, Norah Jones (who I saw here in DC last week), and Ludacris. Some of the other performers there this year are Steely Dan, ZZ Top, Harry Connick, Jr., Bonnie Raitt, Counting Crows, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Rivers, Allen Toussaint, John Mayer, and Better Than Ezra. Lucinda Williams and T-Bone Burnett played yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to them.
I'll definitely try to schedule another business trip next year to coincide with Jazzfest again. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!
