Mike and I met up at Logan after work and hit Lucky’s in Terminal A for a few pops before we boarded the jetplane and flew to NOLA to start this run of shows. Max and Colin had been driving our tour bus, affectionately dubbed “Precious”, down the eastern seaboard for the past few days. The plan was to meet up and catch some late night music right away. We found Colin at the Louis Armstrong Memorial Airport when we arrived, and the roller coaster began immediately. The next few days for the hi8us boys were to be spent in the soul drenched chaos of this amazing city during its showcase event of the year; Jazzfest! Our only obligation was to be in top form for our gig at the Old Town on Friday night during their annual Crawfish Boil Party. After a night of Boogaloo perfection at Tipitina’s, and sleep into the late afternoon, we emerged from our bungalow to set up and drop some music on the Old Town. The whole vibe of this party was perfect. With a packed house of Old Town patrons and friends stuffing their faces with Cajun boiled crawfish and crispy fried chicken, all washed down with sangria and an abundance of macrobrews, we jumped into it and rocked three sets under the outdoor patio.
The Rosen Bachelor party crew showed up, as well as my mom’s favorite doctor, Andy, that she works with back in the Commonwealth… a long time New Orleans resident. The whole place was charged up, and the feel good vibe of the city and Jazzfest was palpable in the hot humid air of this Friday night.
We were all sweaty by the end of the night, and everyone in the place was feeling good. The band was charged up after the gig, and we carried our momentum out into the city for a late night of music and boogie. We kept it going into the wee hours before heading back to the Old Town to recharge before hitting the Fairgrounds on Saturday. After the fest, we had another great night out at the music clubs.
We repeated this whole ritual again on Sunday, but started the day off over at an excellent brunch party in the French Quarter with the Geniass Productions crew.
John Mooney and Alfred Uganda were playing the party, and Mike and I were mixing Bloodies in the kitchen. It was the perfect start to the last day of Jazzfest in New Orleans. We closed out the fest that day with a set from the Wayne Shorter Quartet and then a little bit of BB King in the Blues tent. Colin caught Aaron Neville’s set to close things out… a Jazzfest tradition for many.
After one last night of music, and late night café au lait and Beignets at Café Du Monde with Daki, we crashed in anticipation of the rock n’ roll sprint around the USA that we were about to embark on. Our souls reloaded, we hit the hay and closed out our time at Jazzfest 2010. Thank you New Orleans! Shout outs to everyone who shared this amazing weekend with us. Darren, Jon, Jay, B-Dog, Rodney, Daki, Sue, Andy, Kurt, KP, John, Al,
jim
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