Days Two and Three at Fest '05

So yesterday (Friday) was a nice, lazy day. Went for a walk along Decatur Street through the quarter and past Jackson Square, and then took the streetcar down St. Charles to the riverbend, where there's a squishy (daiquiri) bar, where we all got squishies and then walked to the Maple Leaf and played the piano. We managed to get into Jacque Imo's for dinner, which was truly amazing. I ate fried chicken, as I do once a year (:), and was amazed how tender and juicy it was! The beets and corn maquechoux were also wonderful. And we had watermelon mojitos, which was a first for me.

Saw Jon Cleary at the Maple Leaf. He's really really good. Short Englishman with a big cowboy hat, but an excellent pianist and band leader. The band is really together, and all the flourishes and crescendoes and transitions always seem to be just right. Lot of Meters covers (yay!), and some very good original music too.

Later, went to the Blue Nile to see Vinyl. They're a really talented bunch. Yesterday Melvin Sparks sat in with them for a long time playing guitar, and it was quite amazing. He had been playing with Karl Denson the previous night, and with my pounding head, I didn't appreciate it at all. But last night, it was great. The band wasn't always with him, and they're not so good at that jazzier style he likes. They're more Afro Cuban and Latin in their style: kind of laid back.

Today was an interesting day at Fest. It had rained all morning, so when we got there about 2 pm, it was muddy and cold and windy. But the Dirty Dozen Brass Band was a good start. They were playing some of their newer, more hip-hoppy stuff, and the crowd wasn't really diggin' it. Then they broke into "Junco Partner," and the whole place came alive, with hands clapping high over heads and people singing along! The slower beat and the second line drum somehow did it for everyone.

Galactic did their usual exceptional and tight show, but for me the highlight was seeing Walter "Wolfman" Washington. He's a showman. Dressed to the nines in a three piece suit and a crimson shirt, and playing a beautiful guitar and doing stunts (like playing with his teeth :). He was quite the character. It wasn't his usual band, so they played a lot of funkier stuff, which was great. The brass section was really good.

More tomorrow!