Jazz Fest 2006
April 27 - May 1 

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Amy Jones and I try to go to Jazz Fest together every year.  This year when it came time to make plans, Amy had the great idea to use that weekend as her bachelorette weekend. 
See, Amy will be getting married on May 21st - very soon!  

We had a great group of girls: Amy Jones, Amy Kwiatkowski, Laura Faulkenberry, Laura Savalli, Barbara Tillotson, Courtney Middleton, Jordan Jones, and Julie Hannah.  Our only sadness was the absence of Heather Perfetta.  She was going to come but had complications from knee surgery which prohibited her from being able to attend.

During the three days of Jazz Fest we saw:  Los Sagitarios, Bryan Lee & the Blues Power Band, Anders Osborne, Keb' Mo', Cowboy Mouth, Ani DiFranco, Percussion, Inc., Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Galatic, the subdudes, Lighthouse Gospel Singers, The Electrifying Crown Seekers, The Iguanas, Etta James, Sonny Landreth, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Pin Stripe Brass Band, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, and Bruce Springsteen.

Everyone wants to know, "How does it look down there?"  The French Quarter is nearly unchanged.  The restaurants and hotels are short-staffed but the people are all trying very hard and have never been more friendly.  The house where we used to live in the Bayou St. John area is also untouched.  The water did not get over the porch (which is about 3 feet tall.)  I went by to check on it one day and the new owner let me go inside and take a tour.  There are other areas, like Mid-City near the Carrollton / Canal intersection which are completely devastated.  All the old shops and restaurants we used to frequent in this area are destroyed and standing empty.  I did not get to see any closer to the lake than the fairgrounds, but I heard there was a lot of damage up there.  

   

            Sunset as seen out the window of the hotel room

Our room had some bonus features, like our "in-room fountain."  
This is what we decided to call the bath tub that never stopped running!

The courtyard at our hotel - The French Market Inn  

 

 Amy's parents drove over from their home in Pass Christian, MS (which suffered hurricane damage so they are now living in a FEMA trailer.)
Amy's mom brought gifts and snacks, which came in very handy throughout the weekend.

Then Amy's Dad bought us all dinner.  They spoiled us and we loved it!!

 
   
 All smiles after dinner Here we are being abused by the wait staff at Cafe Du Monde - as is the tradition there
   
 Showing the markings on some of the houses

  

These are my friends that I met on the plane to Jazz Fest last
year.  They were on my flight again this year - what are the chances?

I think their names are Don and Mary but I feel bad because I'm not sure!! 

 

 

 
 Setting up camp at the Blues Stage.  This turned out to be the coolest day
 I have ever experienced at Jazz Fest.  Normally it's blazing hot.
Here I am joining a few other music lovers at the Acura stage
   

On the left is my jumbo-tron picture of Keb' Mo, on the right is a picture I got from the Jazz Fest web site (nojazzfest.com.)

Later that night I stood right next to him on the street but I didn't realize who he was until we walked away and someone told me.  Shoot!

   
 

  

 Cowboy Mouth - only one of the very best live bands ever.  (We've seen them approximately 14 times.)

 
   
   

 Happy 

 Festers

   
 

 Here we are out to eat at Cafe Maspero's
 

This was the site of Laura Savalli's attack on a fellow patron.
(Accidental, as part of a story about an attack cat, but hilarious to see.) 
   
   
 Barb "The Mime" Tillman, smiling for the camera  On the balcony at the Cat's Meow
   
Amy & her sister Jordan Amy K on the balcony
   
   

Amy K and Julie went down on the
street to look back up at us on the
balcony.  This guy starting trying to
talk to Julie. 

The picture is dark, but maybe you 
can see that she has declared him
worthy of the universal "Loser" sign.

   
   

 Amy loves Jean Lafitte's piano bar.  Here's the piano player now.

 Amy & Jordan
 

 

 

 You can see the water marks pretty clearly on these buildings.  They say the water got higher than that, but the marks show where it settled.
 There are piles of trash like that on almost every street, still waiting to be hauled away.

  Remodeling generates a lot of trash, I can't imagine where they will put it all.

    

 More water marks

 
   
   
More building markings.  Sometimes you'd see extra
comments like, "2 cats ASPCA"
Here we are back for day 2 of the festival.  This was the windiest and most
cloudy day I can ever remember at the fest. 
   
 Happy girl Crawfish - yum!
   
   

 Clarence "Frogman" Henry

 
   
   
   A glimpse of a passing parade
   

 Havin' fun in the Gospel Tent

 
   
 Back at 'camp', meeting up with more friends
 
Etta James - what a show!  Someone has been giving her
"old lady viagra" or something, she was a character
   
  Under many of the highways are thousands of abandoned cars, all covered in dust.
It has a very creepy, apocalyptic feel to it.
   

On Saturday night we decided to do a fancy dress-up dinner at Arnaud's.
We started the evening with a champagne toast to Amy on her special weekend.

 
   
 Waiting for our table at Arnaud's Being serenaded in the Jazz Bistro
   

Laura S. and Amy K. all smiles, Laura F. being silly

When they heard it was Amy's bachelorette weekend, they did a 
special version of "Making Whoopie" just for her.
 
   
   
Amy & Julie Amy & Me

 

 Here we are in all our glory

 

   

   

Upon leaving, we discovered it was raining.  
The restaurant was kind enough to provide deluxe rain gear (in the form of trash bags.)

 
   

 Here I'm poaching pictures that were being taken with someone else's camera.

 
   
We tired of being soggy so we decided to gather, 
slumber-party style in one of the rooms.
Our last day at the fest - this one was every bit 
as hot as the fests of the past.
 

Walter "Wolfman" Washington at the Congo stage

   
   

 

Hi, I'm Shawnna.  This is my friend Laura, and my other friend Laura.

   
 The Pin Stripe Brass Band The whole gang
   

My jumbo-tron shot of Allen Toussaint
 Galactic (nojazzfest.com pictures)
 
   

Elvis Costello, who performed with Allen Toussaint (nojazzfest.com pictures)


My jumbo-tron shot of Bruce Springsteen

  I know he's a legend and all, but Bruce acted like every note
had to be strained out of him with extreme effort.  It was not 
a pleasant thing to watch.  (nojazzfest.com picture)
   
The gang


 

 The gang again, with Bruce playing behind us.

 
 
  

 Amy, Jordan and I finished the weekend by seeing Cowboy Mouth again, this time at Tipitina's late Sunday night.

   
 These nice boys let us stand in front of them.  Fred LeBlanc, with Sonia Tetlow in the background
   
 Paul Sanchez John Thomas Griffith
   
   
   
 

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