SMM #52: May 15th, 2023
Part two of my recap of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest's first weekend!
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival: Ultimate Bucket List Music Trip, Pt. 2!
DAY 3: Sunday, April 30 - Decisions, Decisions!
The weather on Sunday was as perfect as you are going to get in New Orleans (as several artists said from the stage) - bright and sunny with temps around 80 and low 40% humidity… a GREAT day for an outdoor music festival!
Sunday’s schedule was loaded and definitely the strongest of the three days so, once again, there were many decisions to make on who to see because with 12 stages and 72 performers lots of set times overlap…
Looking at the schedule, there was nobody I had much interest in during the first round of sets starting between 11:00-11:30… while we were on line waiting to get in I saw someone walk by wearing a t-shirt that said “The Iceman Special”... this reminded me that a woman in my cab back to hotel after the previous day’s festival was raving about how much she loved The Iceman Special! So I asked Mark if he ever heard of them and he said “no” but the young guy in front of us on line said, “oh they’re great… local band… they play psychedelic funk rock… it’s a bunch of younger guys and their music teacher”... well, this piqued my interest and it just so happened they were the opening band on the main Festival Stage so I went straight there and stayed for their entire set! Turns out they were outstanding! Quality material, featuring solid vocals and loads of great guitar playing in what I would call a Southern blues-rock style (didn’t hear much “funk”)... would love to see them again but looks like they stick to touring around the Gulf Coast… anyway, that’s what is great about JazzFest… you are guaranteed to discover a few great artists you never heard of or may have heard of but never checked out before…
Big Stars - Tedeschi Trucks Band were the biggest stars of the day, followed by, Gary Clark Jr… they played the two closing sets at the Festival Stage and the crowd was MASSIVE! We had set up a spot that ended up in the middle of this giant crowd… I ended up passing on GC Jr for other acts and went back to the base for ~20 minutes of TTB… I’ve seen TTB many times and will see them again later this year so I waded out of the crowd to go see Los Lobos…
Old Pros/Favorites - Los Lobos was playing at the other end at the very small Fais Do-Do Stage to a very large crowd… this stage is mostly reserved for local cajun & zydeco bands but Los Lobos was chosen to close it out… the main reason I didn’t want to miss them was because this was the 15th time(!) I have seen them, breaking a tie with the North Mississippi All-Stars for most times I’ve seen any act… they were great - as always - but guess I may be biased! The previous band at this stage was the Lost Bayou Ramblers who I wrote about in a recent issue of SMM… love them too… and to show what a musical “embarrassment of riches” festival week is, Ramblers leader, Louis Michot, announced that a show that night at The Maple Leaf Bar billed as “Louie Michot & Friends” would feature Los Lobos as the “friends”... oh well, couldn’t make that one! One more old pro I saw was local star bluesman, Little Freddie King who tore it up at the Blues Tent earlier in the day…
New Discoveries - already mentioned The Iceman Special… next discovery was a veteran local rock ‘n’ roll band Mark said we should check out, Creole String Beans… great party, dance band with two charismatic frontmen… would be a lot of fun in a small club… got to see the Nigerian “Hendrix”, Mdou Moctar play in a packed Blues Tent (wouldn’t call his music blues though)... definitely wanted to see him since I highlighted his albums in past issues of SMM… impressive sound & technique but unfortunately it was decision time and I was off to another stage after a few songs… hopefully, I’ll get to see him again someday… I happened to be walking by the AARP Tent and heard blues-rock guitarist Eric Johanson and his trio blazing away so decided to step in… was so impressed I ended up watching their entire set! Solid material, great guitar playing… someone to look for if he comes to your town!
As I wrote this, I realized I spent quite a lot of time in the AARP Tent… appropriate I guess! I was told later by a fellow old dude at the Blues Tent that if I showed them my AARP card I could get a free glass of wine… do not carry my AARP card but think I was OK without the wine!
Late Night Shows - Pushing the Envelope!
Another feature of JazzFest are the dozens of late-night shows at the various music venues, bars & clubs all over New Orleans… since you usually don’t get back to your hotel until ~8:00 and then it’s get ready to head right back out for dinner, it takes some SERIOUS motivation to venture back out for an 11:00pm or later show… the one we had bought tix ahead of time for, though, turned out to be well worth pushing the endurance envelope for…
Daniel Donato’s “Cosmic NOLA” + special guest, Bill Kreutzmann (Republic NOLA)
Daniel Donato is an artist I have touted many times in the newsletter but have never seen live so when I saw he was playing this show, I bought tix right away… Daniel calls his music “Cosmic Country” so this night it was “Cosmic NOLA”... it was a packed house at the small club Republic NOLA and Donato started off with a couple of his country-rock songs but there were no real fireworks… yet! The next song, “Chore,” which has not appeared on his studio albums, started off as a regular rock tune and then took off! Donato turned it into a phenomenal 35 minute jam featuring jaw-dropping playing by both him and his keyboardist… Mark said it was the “best live song he’s ever seen!” and I wouldn’t dispute that… every time you thought it was going to end it just kept rolling with more creative, dazzling playing from Donato… after it ended, we barely got to catch our breath and Donato brought out a surprise special guest, original Grateful Dead drummer, Bill Kreutzmann! They launched into the Dead staple “Dire Wolf” which was followed by a monster “Dark Star” that went on for 43 amazing minutes with Donato again providing one great solo after another… at this point it was 1:30 so we had to leave with another day at JazzFest coming up… turned out they were just getting started when we left… they played for almost 2 more hours!
Very long jams might not be your thing but if it is, you need to check out Donato… I’ve been on board for a couple years and he’s now getting noticed by rock royalty like Kreutzmann and the band recently opened for jam stalwarts, Widespread Panic…
Leo Nocentelli and “The Meters Experience” (Zony Mash Brewery)
Saturday night, via Mark’s friend Ian’s daughter who bartends at the brewery, we were able to get in to see guitarist Leo Nocentelli of the legendary band, The Meters… Nocentelli & The Meters “defined New Orleans funk” (AllMusic Guide)... Zony Mash is a fairly new brewery and a huge facility, specifically designed to also host concerts with a big stage and plenty of room to spread out and watch the shows… after catching the end of the opening act’s set it was quite a while before Nocentelli and his veteran all-star band took the stage… when they did they laid down some great funk instrumental jams with Nocentelli showing what has made him a major funk influence… unfortunately, after a very late Friday night we weren’t long for this show and we departed about 30 minutes into the set…
Notes on NOLA: Eating & Drinking around the Crescent City
New Orleans is as good an eating and drinking city as you will ever find… the options are endless and if you stay in or near the French Quarter you can walk to countless fine establishments…
I am a big fan of good old dive bars and NOLA is loaded with them… managed to hit a couple in the Quarter, Old Absinthe House (put an SMM sticker on door there… spread the word!) and The Chart Room… went on a solo mission to The Chart Room… it’s cash only - and there are signs everywhere letting you know! It was appropriately dumpy, had a great jukebox, friendly bartender & patrons and ice cold $4 Coronas… can’t go wrong! We also had dinner at a divey Irish pub called Finn McCool’s… excellent draft beer selection and a small but delicious menu…
NOLA is not really known as a beer town - a lot of Bud, Bud Light, Miller Light and local favorite Abita, which is a solid beer - but I did some research and the local brewery scene appears to be on the rise… one called Brieux Carre sounded up my alley… I’m not an IPA guy but they specialize in pilsners and lagers… sampled a couple and they were excellent! Brieux Carre is in a great location, right near Frenchmen Street which is the main spot in the city for all kinds of live music…
We also ate dinner at two great restaurants in the Garden District, Atchafalaya and Coquette… highly recommend both of them!
Well, that’s about all I have and hopefully I have inspired some of you to venture down to New Orleans if you haven't been there - or to return if you have! — SL