NOJHF 2012 Comanche Hunters Mardi Gras Indians

Photos taken at Jazzfest 2012 on first Friday at Jazz and Heritage stage. The Comanche Hunters Mardi Gras Indian tribe. Enjoy.

NOJHF 2012: More Mardi Gras Indians

Thought I would share more of my photos taken of Mardi Gras Indians at the Jazz and Heritage Stage during Jazzfest 2012. These are from  the Friday of the first weekend. These were actually my first photos of the festival; Each day I rode my bike from my sister's house in Mid-City, parked and locked my bike near Liuzza's By the Track and walked into Fest via the Sauvage Street entrance which brings you onto the Fairgrounds right near the Gospel tent and immediately behind the Jazz and Heritage Stage. Anyway, on Day 1, I headed right for this stage and caught the first "Indian show"-the Semolian Warriors- of the day and then right after, a parade featuring the Black Mohawk and Black Foot Hunters Mardi Gras Indians. The parades start "backstage" from the Jazz and Heritage stage area and continue out onto the Fairgrounds, so if you are at the Jazz and Heritage stage you get the bonus - or lagniappe- of also being around to catch the Mardi Gras Indian parades or the various second line parades that step off from the same place during the day.

Jazzfest Pic of the Day: Indians and Brass Bands

One of my favorite stages at Jazzfest is the Jazz and Heritage Stage..also known as the "Indian Stage","Brass Band Stage" or the "Second Line Stage". As you can tell from the various names this is where each day during Fest you are sure to see Indians  and Brass Bands; it is also the jumping off point for both the Mardi Gras Indian and SecondLine parades that happen throughout the day on the festival grounds. If you want to experience New Orleans music and  culture firsthand this is the place to be. While it does not quite capture the excitement of a brass band in a club, or on the street as part of a second line; and the Indians are not in the "wild" of the streets, it's the next best thing for folks who may not have the opportunity to be in town to chase a secondline on one of the 42 (!) Sundays of the official New Orleans second line season or to see the Indians out in the street on Super Sunday or St. Josephs nite. The picture is not my usual vantage point- I took this either leaving or approaching the stage. I like getting right up close in order to really feel and appreciate the power of the brass bands, the beauty of the Indian suits and to feel the energy, joy and excitement eminating from the stage from the performers and supporting cast of characters that invariably show up to sing, dance and "act the fool" along with the band or tribe up onstage. Yeah you right...

Jazz Fest & NO Photo a Day

So here's what I'm gonna do.. instead of posting lots of pictures of my recent trip down to NO for Jazzfest 2012 I'm gonna do a photo of the day kind of thing. I will post 1 photo from recent trip, offer a brief description or comment and then do same thing next day. At some point will try and organize photos into an edited slideshow/ gallery and provide a link but in meantime gonna try this route..Here is first picture- me at JazzFest posing with props provided at the free photo booth tent sponsored by Shell at the Fairgrounds...see ya tomorrow.

Dis Dat and D'Udder...

Last week was French Quarter Fest (FQF) in New Orleans. I had planned on listening to the WWOZ Live Broadcast but on Wednesday for some reason the broadcast schedule disappeared without explanation from their website- bummer. I ended up emailing the station and only just heard back on Monday that apparently there were technical problems with getting AT&T to install the necessary line to allow for their remote broadcast- just another reason to hate AT&T so add it to the list. So instead of listening I had to resort to reading about fest and looking at photos posted during the 4 days of the festival. I have never been to this festival- and -I can't believe I'm saying this- I'm not sure I would want to go to it. Let me explain. I have been to Jazzfest a bunch of times. Even when jazz fest sets records for crowds, it somehow doesnt feel crowded. I think it's because the grounds are more spread out and especially the stages and major tents are placed in such a way that you dont feel like you are jammed into the middle of a huge crowd. Granted, at the major stages for the major acts it does get crowded, but you always have an option to go to a less crowded area or venue to see some music. You can also move relatively easily from stage to stage which is one of my favorite things to do at JazzFest. From what I read and understand about the FQF-especially in the past 2-3 years- it has maybe gotten too big for it's own good. This year I believe there were 20+ stages spread across the quarter and down to the river that hosted 200+ artists over the 4 days. I also just read that estimates were that there were 574,000 people at the festival over the 4 days. Wow!. I remember reading last year that it was difficult to move from stage to stage and that even the musicians were finding it difficult to navigate the crowds in order to get from gig to gig. It seems to me, that to "do" this festival, you would have to maybe pick a stage or general area and stay there all day b/c trying to do a JazzFest-like stage hopping thing would be almost impossible or just too much of a hassle. Talking to my sister seemed to bear that out- she said she went down to the festival on Saturday for a bit, but left after a while bc too crowded and then didnt even bother to go back on Sunday because of the crowds. Sounds like the festival promoters are going to have to address this soon- its great that its in the Quarter and that it is FREE (!) but at some point it is going to start to have diminishing returns.

On another note, last weekend my wife and I drove up to NYC, actually Brooklyn to be exact, to see the last show of Dr. John's 3 week residency at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). We met up with some of our NYC/NJ New Orleanianophile (is that a word?) friends for dinner before the show at The Smoke Joint which is right near the venue. Company was great- barbecue was just ok (for my money, in NYC, there are 2 really good places for bbq- Blue Smoke and my number one pick Daisy Mays, but thats for a different blog). Anyway, the show was excellent. Dr. John was in fine form-playing piano the whole show and also was in very strong voice- and looked sharp in one of his signature suits-this one red-and hat. He even surprised the audience at the beginning by starting the show from the back of the theater and leading some musicians, singers and dancers in a parade down the center aisle to the stage-he's still got some moves. Once on stage, a steady stream of big name New Orleans musicians joined Dr John and his band for different segments of the show. Guests included the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Nicholas Payton, Donald Harrison, Davell Crawford and vocalist Tami Lynn. (Personally, I was not a big fan of Ms Lynn's vocals nor Mr. Crawford's singing and piano playing but thats just me). Anyway, highlights for me were Nicholas Paytons trumpet playing , numbers featuring the Dirty Dozen, Irma Thomas' singing and the numbers featuring Dr. John along with Donald Harrison on saxophone-especially the Mardi Gras Indian stuff-the song Indian Red being one of my favorites in particular. After hearing that song, when I woke up the next day I had to dig out my copy of Dr. John's 1992 release Goin Back to New Orleans which is -after Gumbo-probably my favorite Dr. John album. Yeah you right.. 

Uptown Super Sunday

Today in New Orleans is Mardi Gras Indian Uptown Super Sunday. This is an annual event and features all of the Uptown Mardi Gras Indian tribes in a festival and parade. I am a big fan of the Mardi Gras Indians- having discovered them initially at Jazzfest where they perform on the Jazz & Heritage Stage periodically throughout the festival. I had never seen them outside of the festival setting until a couple years ago when I had the opportunity to attend Super Sunday. It was fantastic- it was a combination of a parade, festival , second line and featured more Mardi Gras Indians in full costume than I had ever seen. If you ever get the chance you gotta get down to New Orleans for this event. Here are some photos I took of the event back a couple years ago.

New Orleans JazzFest 2012 Music List Released!

It's that time again..the music lineup for the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was released last nite at midnight. Go here for artist list. There is also a great article here by Keith Spera at NOLA.com. He interviews Jazzfest producer/director Quint Davis about this years festival and about the history and logistics of putting on such a huge event. Looking at the list, so far the Eagles and Tom Petty are being featured as major headliners..not a big fan of either, but booking these huge national acts helps bring folks out to the fest and makes it possible to book and feature lesser known acts so bring em on. I spend most of my time away from the major stages anyway, preferring to focus on the smaller stages and tents....Cubes should be out sometime in the spring.

Goin' home

Sitting here at Liuzza's by the Track aka Post-Jazzfest central having my so long New Orleans Lunch: a cup of gumbo, 1/2 a garlic oyster po'boy and of course a Abita draft in their signature frosted mug (actually more of a huge goblet) ..anyway have lots to blog about ...as usual had a great time ..stay tuned for more pix n posts...

Last Day at Fest...Haiti

...This year Haiti is being recognized at Fest via music and culture..some folks believe New Orleans has more in common with Haiti and Carribean than rest of US .. Pix below of Tabou Combo and some Haitian art at the festival..

Fest Last Day ...cont'd..

..chasin' a secondline at the Fairgrounds...

Last (!) day of Fest ...

...and sis back at it .. Kickin' day off in style with Lost Bayou Ramblers...

Tipitinas.com Now: Soul Rebels & Dirty Dozen

...Fest after Dark @ Tipitinas.com ..brass bands early show..Trombone Shorty after that at 2am ...catch it..

End of day at Fest...

...Jimmy Buffet @Acura...CJ Chenier..outside Fairgrounds....sundown over Bayou St John ...see ya tomorrow..

Mo' from Fest...

....Geno Delafose from Fais Do Do. ..

Jazzfest Live..

..Sis back in action Today Saturday from Fairgrounds.. Pfister Sisters @ Economy Hall to start the day.

Live broadcast alert

Listening to 'Oz Fest broadcast today Thursday - caught Charlie Musselwhite earlier and right now Ruthie Foster from Blues Tent-nice. My sister to be back in action live from Fairgrounds this weekend BUT until then you can also check out ( watch and listen) some great live NO music via Tipitinas.com...Tonite sounds great: Blind Boys of Alabama & Gal Holiday- should be some great country & gospel . Also this weekend -same place- Friday Nite: The Radiators and then on Sat Nite a fantastic Brass Band show: Soul Rebels & Dirty Dozen..lawdy, lawdy....

Glen David Andrews.....1st Sunday at Fest

...sis went to see Glen David Andrews- a personal favorite of mine- at Blues Tent.. Among others had Amanda Shaw, Marcia Ball & Trombone Shorty on stage during show...and also GDA did his signature Superman crowd surf across the Jazzfest tent crowd...only in New Orleans & only at Jazzfest ...wow..

Mo' pix from Fest

...and more pix from sis straight from Fairgrounds...Second line parade & Storyville Stompers...

More Pix from the Fest

Sis back in action at the Fairgrounds..Gospel..Washboard Chaz & Hats...

Direct from Fest

My sister- who is a newly minted New Orleanian- at Jazzfest today and tomorrow.. Sending me pix direct from fairgrounds...