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May042009
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Jazz Fest Draws to a Close |
Krystle and I went to the final day of Jazz Fest this afternoon. Again we didn’t get there as early as I would have liked. I was planning on see Lionel Ferbos open the day at Economy Hall but we didn’t arrive until about noon. Having just seen him at the French Quarter Festival I wasn’t broken up about it. We arrived shortly before the New Orleans Jazz Ramblers began their set. The traditional jazz band started the show playing down the aisle in front of the stage with the “Ladies of Unity” second lining behind them.Following their lively performance, I went to get something to eat. I got the pecan catfish meuniere combo. Krystle said she wasn’t very hungry so I just her some crawfish bread. Ultimately that wasn’t a good choice.After lunch, The New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra got started. This revival orchestra is a real treat every year and I was glad Krystle was here to see them as I’ve raved about them in the past. As always they put on a great show with performances of songs like Egyptian Ella. “…if you hear of a gal who can quake and shake ’till it makes you think of a nervous snake, they’re speakin’ … of Egyptian Ella”The next highlight of the schedule was Ellis Marsalis in the jazz tent at 2:55. We got there pretty early and managed to score a couple seats up front, but they were on the left fringe so the view wasn’t spectacular. As always, the jazz family patriarch put had a great performance although I was slightly disappointed that more of Ellis’s sons weren’t present. Drummer Jason Marsalis was present along with a sax and bass player I did not recognize. This seemed to be the high point of the fest for Krystle. She didn’t express interest in taking any other musicians home with her.With nothing else compelling on the schedule after Ellis, we took a walk to get some ice cream. On the way we passed one of the mardi gras Indian parades. With strawberry shortcake ice cream cones in hand, we went to nearby economy hall to sit and relax for a bit. Bob French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band were playing. I wasn’t planning on staying very long but shortly after we got there it started raining heavily and the tent was suddenly very popular.Eventually the rain let up and we walked over to the blues tent where Buddy Guy would be performing in a little while. Even though we were stuck for a bit we still arrived well before the closing act would start. Unfortunately the rain flooded the tent with bodies and you could barely navigate the aisles, much less find a seat. We were not carrying chairs so I was not interested in watching the whole set from outside the tent. However, Buddy Guy is pretty much a legend that I wouldn’t likely have an opportunity to see in the future so I decided we should at least stick around for the first few songs. Luckily it did not rain again so we were able to wait outside without ill effect. Eventually he got started and did sound pretty good but not so much that I felt like standing outside the tent for an hour and a half. Shortly after six, Krystle and I left the fairgrounds and made our way home.Mom, Dad and Andrew were at the house when we got home. They had just returned from their trip to Michigan for Jeff’s graduation. I got to talk to them for a while about their trip. Apparently it was not especially enjoyable but they came home with some good stories.Later this evening, Krystle and I went to Snug Harbor for dinner and a show. We had nine o’clock dinner reservations and tickets for the 11 o’clock performance by Astral Project. I had a ribeye and baked potato which was quite good. Since we were early and it was the late set we had fine seats for Astral Project. Their performance was quite good but we didn’t stay for all of it. By midnight I was quite tired and Krystle didn’t mind leaving. I’ve never left a set early at Snug but I’ve also never stayed out late after a full day at Jazz Fest.