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Jan072005
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Ellis Marsalis ‘Quartet?’ |
I went to work today with arguably barely sufficient cause. I did a couple reports but I played more FreeCell than anything else. We left the office around four, late for a Friday. A little before six, Dad gave me a ride to the quarter, as I had a date with Melanie this evening. He originally intended to drop me at the ferry landing but there was a chance I’d be late and he could drive across the river and back about as quickly as he could lumbering through old Algiers. I was dropped off on Conti, a stone’s throw from the Old N’awlins Cookery, we were having dinner at. I got dropped off around six, about a half hour early. I didn’t really feel like walking around at the moment so I decided to just take a seat in the restaurant. I had a glass of orange juice, the menu and a cell phone to occupy myself, sufficient as I don’t bore easily. Melanie showed up a few minutes late and quite quickly decided on what she wanted, jambalaya, which I also picked out for myself a while earlier. We didn’t wait long for our food, which was quite good. The dish was a little drier and not quite tasty as Dad’s jambalaya, which I’ve become accustomed to. Following that, we had a serving of bread pudding. This particular place arguably makes the best in New Orleans. Melanie had said she didn’t like bread pudding, but had also not tried it in quite a while. I think her opinion has been altered in this matter. I believe we left about an hour after she arrived. Having left the restaurant we walked down to the far end of the French Quarter to Frenchman St. and to Snug Harbor. We went to see the Ellis Marsalis Quartet perform. While we were here last week, Melanie expressed a desire to see Ellis Marsalis so we went. We arrived shortly before seating began at eight for the nine o’clock show. I was somewhat surprised at the line which formed over an hour before the show starting. We were at the head of the line, as I originally went up to the counter for a reason I can no longer remember. Being at the front of the line afforded us the choice of any seat we wished. We picked a back corner at the stage lever of the rather small venue. We had an hour before the show stare, affording us time to talk and such while we watched the club quickly fill up. Ellis Marsalis, Jason Marsalis and a base player whose name escapes me took the stage at nine. After some applause and the first number, Ellis made a joking remark about how the bandstand seemed crowded for only three people. Delfeayo Marsalis and a talented sax player whose name I can’t remember then took the stage for the remainder of the performance. Delfeayo seemed merrily confused throughout the performance as though he had no idea as to what songs would be performed. He seemed to pick on things rather quickly though. Later on, a Xylophone player and a new bass player took the stage, replacing the gentleman who was manning the Bass. The performance ended shortly after 10:30. It was a fantastic show with more talent on the stage that I thought I would see. Melanie was especially pleased with the show. After making a tedious exit of the crowded club, we walked down Decatur to Cafe Du Monde for beignets. We came here last week but it was far too crowded. We had no trouble finding a table this evening. We shared an order of beignets and then made our way back to Frenchman St. to meet my dad at the Spotted Cat. He had agreed earlier to provide us a ride home. When we arrived the Jazz Vipers were about to conclude a set. We waited outside briefly as a couple folks were dancing and taking up a lot of precious floor space in this tiny bar. Dad walked up while we were waiting outside. I thought he would have already been there for a while but he had just arrived. The musicians took a break and the crown inside thinned out considerably. After taking some seats we got some drinks and waited for the music to resume. I believe the Vipers took a 30 minute recess. We remained for a short while afterward for a couple more drinks and to hear the band. I think we left around midnight but I’m not sure. As we were about to leave, we saw that rain was pouring rather hard. The large umbrella I was carrying all evening was finally given purpose. We waited at the door briefly but that didn’t make the rain stop. Dad took my umbrella and went to retrieve his car while we waited at the door. He pulled up a few minutes later and we quickly got in the car to go home. We took Melanie home first. Luckily the rain had largely stopped by the time we got to her house. After saying goodbye, Dad and I drove back home.