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Apr292006
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A Windy Day at the Fairgrounds |
The whole family and Jeff’s friend Jenny went out to the second day of the Jazz Fest this afternoon. We got there a little later than would have been ideal. As such, our usual parking spot was taken so it took a little longer than usual. The weather was largely overcast today, unfortunately it was rather windy, which was only a problem because of all the dirt and dead grass around. I walked in with Jeff and Jenny. Our first stop was Congo Square, where a group called Percussion Inc. was playing. They were an interesting group dominated by a couple drums. I think they would have sounded a little better if the piano was more prominent. After listening to them for a bit we walked down to the Acura Stage where Mom and Dad staked out a spot. World Leader Pretend was playing, some rock bank I guess I don’t really remember. Mom left to go to economy hall and a short while later I joined her. Tim Laughlin stared at 1:00. To no surprise, the clarinet player put on a great set. We saw him at the French Quarter Festival about a week ago. The familiar second-liners were there. After Tim Laughlin, I went to get something to eat, Jambalaya, and went to the Jazz tent to go see “Jhelsia’s Tribute to Nina Simone.” I wasn’t familiar with the performer but I am fond of a lot of Nina Simone’s music so I decided to check it out. While it was nice to have a comfortable place to eat, I wasn’t really impressed with the performance. While it wasn’t necessarily bad, it wasn’t especially faithful to Simone. Soon after I finished my jambalaya, I walked to the grandstands to use the bathroom and clean myself up a bit. I took a seat in the paddock where the lagniappe stage is so I could relax a bit. Henry Gray and the Cats were performing. I met up with mom there. Shortly before four o’clock, we walked over to the jazz tent where Herbie Hancock was to perform at 4:10. There was an enormous crowd there already. The best we could do was find a place to stand outside the tent. The set was more than slightly late getting started because the stage manager refused to start the show before the aisles were cleared. While the ever-growing crowd waited, mom got restless and left to join Dad who was still at the Acura stage. When they finally did get started, Hancock put on a pretty decent show. I’ve never seen a laptop in use on stage during a Jazz Fest performance. When they were done I walked over to meet Dad at the Acura Stage for Dave Matthews Band. Due to the nature of Dave Matthews acoustic guitar music, and his talent, it was a pretty good live show. I’m well aware I’m not being especially descriptive about the performances, but I’m not a music critic. I’ll have to let it suffice to say it was a nice performance. After that, the last show of the evening was finished, Mom, Dad and I made our way out of the fairgrounds and back to the car. We must have gotten home some time before eight.