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Apr272008
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Still Wet |
My family went to church today and I got a cab to the fairgrounds for Jazz Fest this afternoon. The first act I saw today was Lionel Ferbos and the Palm Court Jazz Band. Mr. Ferbos is 97 years old but he apparently has young lungs because his trumpet still sounds pretty damn good. He and his band play traditional jazz that goes along well with second lines.After the first show I got something to eat and took it to the jazz tent. Today I had the crawfish etouffee in bread bowl and Cajun crawfish rice. The second act at the jazz tent this afternoon was Jeremy Davenport. He’s a fine entertainer with a good band that I’ve seen a few times at the Melange at the Ritz. It was odd to see his act in such a different venue. To be honest, it works a lot better in a more intimate setting.I kepy my front row seat after Davenport finished to watch Jesse McBride and The Next Generation. McBride showcases new local talent at his performances. I recognized a couple of the accompanying musicians from last year’s show. I left there early to check out a group from west Africa, Mamadou Diabate. Suffice it to say, it was unusual performance but very entertaining. Mamadou played a kora and his accompanying musicians played some equally interesting instruments. During the performance it started pouring. He tent got very popular and the aisle behind me started flooding with water. I kept a close eye on the water line so I’d know if I had to pick my camera bag up off the ground. Since it was pouring outside I kept my seat in the tent after Mamadou Diabate finished, as I didn’t want to walk in the rain and my seat was now very valuable. I saw the first half of the next act, Roy Young, an “explosive soul singer with a truly unique and memorable voice.”I left the blues tent at about 4:15 to head to Economy Hall to see Pete Fountain. Whatever needs to be said about Pete I probably covered a couple weeks ago in my French Quarter Fest entry. Suffice it to say, it was a great show. After Pete Fountain finished, I walked over to Congo Square where Al Green was closing out tonight. He was ‘fashionably late’ so I saw the start of the set. Having to contend with mud and overwhelming crowds, I didn’t stay that long. BeauSoleil was playing about 100 paces away at the FAis-Do-Do stage and I saw them for a little while and shot some pictures of people dancing in the mud before I made my way out of the fairgrounds to a cab and home. By six o’clock I was tired and didn’t want to content with what would be long lines for cabs had I waited.