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24 Apr 98
air-conditioned grandstand Lagniappe stage (and real bathrooms), Panama pavilion, overhead "...it's common knowledge in the office that's she's been reading books..." soft-shell crab po'boy, mandarin orange tea, jambalaya. briggs buys 152 (+30 shipping) willow endtable. lemonade (fresh squeezed), bbq oyster po'boy (took off some onions). overhead (of 3-year old): "she didn't want to step on her shadow." new character name: Ginger St. Vitus. "...turn you lamps down low," R & B = Ruth Brown (overheard: "low down & dirty") on the Ray Ban stage, started 20 minutes late @ 2:40. woman in totally diaphanous dress with a g-string causes a stir as she walks past the grandstand. crawfish sack - lots of sauce, just one crawfish, Galactic at House of Blues stage lives up to their rep but unfortunately the "scene" near the backstage area full of sideburned fratboy stoners. first two tunes instrumental. almost enough second-hand pot smoke for more than a contact high. never seen a hawaiian shirt tucked in before, now seen two. both last years' (which i bought). i like this year's better (red beans and rice). b sez the reefer is in cigars ("blunts"). galactic a real find. b showed up and we shook our booties together - i was proud to "represent" Zero in that audience (wearing my "It's Toasted" shirt). we stayed past the start of Dr. John's set, leaving only during the last number (the previous showed the first real guitar histrionics - g is mostly a bass, organ, and sax band, far as i can tell). we "took the interstate" (the track) back to the ray ban stage to catch most of dr. john. he breaks into a funky take-off on st. james infirmary. touch of "pray for the dead" on the outro. dedicate set to alvin "red" tyler (died this past march) - we say him in the jazz tent last time. jazz was his calling but he made his bucks doing session work and, eventually, touring with dr. john's crack band. diaphanous lady walks by again, i try not to stare at her not-bad-actually tits as mac breaks into his hit: Right Place, Wrong Time. A Whole Nother Zone (title track from his album upcoming in June). Such a Night (the other hit)... dedicated another one to red tyler - Indian Red. then we left a little early as mac threw in a chorus of Down by the Riverside, got some italian sorbet (Louisiana strawberry), which we ate listening to the odd, exuberant N.O. Klezmer All-Stars. We each bought a bandanna and then caught the second half of Anders Osborne's set. "thanks for cumin over this side" (Fox/Polaroid stage). b remembers RB saying "I may be old but I ain't cold." AO ends with Jesus on the Mainline. I walk B over to the Cox Economy Hall tenet for a set with Nicholas Payton and wander back to the Ray Ban stage to catch Fogerty launching into Born on the Bayou. Between songs he avers that he's usually out in the audience at the Fest, enjoying the good music "and the beautiful women." Then he plows into Green River. Next he mentions that this is nearly the same guitar and indeed the same amplifier as on his first hit record. "If yo' name is Suzie, then this song is for you" he says to introduce Q. Oh, and I saw Gatemouth puffin' his pipe, posin' for a picture with three sorority sisters - couldn't find the popcorn shrimp - thinking of starting tomorrow at the Cafe du Monde stand for iced coffee and beignets - so gave up, circled back to Fogerty (Who'll Stop the Rain, everyone singing along), succumbed to (a small) crawfish Monica, picked up a large, unsweetened rosemint tea and returned to the Economy Hall tent to rejoin B and catch the last half of Stardust (with some fine clarinet), dedicated to Doc Cheatham. Next, Al Grey came out with a walker, spoke of learning New Orleans tunes from Doc in New York when he (Grey) played for Gillespie there, tunes such as Struttin' with Some Barbecue and then a very sultry, brassy St. James Infirmary. Eventually we head our way back to Fogerty in time to hear him play Heard it Through the Grapevine (he still doesn't know the words) and Fortunate Son. We tried to meet the Pet de Kat Krewe at Liuzza's but found the frat atmosphere (jello shooters) oppressive, so we had salad, paté, & Abita drafts ($2 ea. x 2 ea.) at Café Degas, where I read this to B, up to the second line above. |
yester
morrow
day one
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| xian
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