Well it’s less than two weeks to Jazz Fest and in NEw Orleans that about 13 days too long to wait for a party so this weekend we had the French Quarter Fest.
An entire weekend of free music on stages set up on the streets of the Quarter, at the old U.S. Mint on the Esplanade, all along the Riverwalk, Jackson Square, the French Market …well you get the idea.
The Radiators, Tin Men, The Creole String Beans, Los PoBoyCitos, Trombone Shorty, Coco Robicheaux, John Boute …well you get the idea.
And speaking of John Boute, last nite was the debut of Treme on HBO and The Treme Song by John is the opening theme. Greta job on the show, IMHO. First of all, they got the accent right. Second of all, they got the Indians right. Third of all, they used a Hubig Pie in an episode. Fourth of all, John Goodman. Fifth of all Kermit Ruffins. Sixth of all the shout outs: the reference to Shorty in the funeral scene. Ernie K Doe, Master of the Universe, at WWOZ. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux. St. Josephs Day.
And on and on and and the opening scene of the first second line after the storm … the toe tapping, the hand clapping, the strutting, kids running, people dancing on car tops and the finale under the hiway on Clairborne … where Indians have been gathering for years, since before the hiway was built and ruined the neighborhood …it caught the echo of the horns banging off the concrete overhead exactly the way it sounds on Mardi Gras and St. Josephs.
Oh yeah … Steve Zahn screaming at the Tower Record execs. Yeah you’re right.
So now we’re resting up for the fest …..
But here’s one last shot from the weekend. The legendary Treme Brass Band … and see if you can spot Uncle Lionel Batiste in the middle. He’s on the official Congo Square poster at the fest this year and if you see him at the Fairgrounds be sure to say hey.
Oh, almost forgot. Here’s how things look today ….
