Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Voodoo Music Experience Wrapup



We got a late start on Sunday. Waking up late, we scrambled off to breakfast. Well, we had breakfast food - but it was really lunch time. I was recalling an earlier conversation with Jane about my affinity for bacon. Seriously, I have problem when it comes to bacon. I love the stuff. If I could eat bacon and pizza every day I'd be OK with that!

TROMBONE SHORTY
Trombone Shorty is a badazz. During his JazzFest set last April, he lept off the stage into the crowd, breaking his leg. Ouch. He got back on to the stage and finished the set, broken leg and all! Needless to say, I was not going to miss his Voodoo set.
Because we arrived late, this was our view of the stage.



This was not necessarily a bad thing, since it was out the mud. I only had one clean pair of shoes left! The show didn't disappoint. In typical TS fashion, the show was very energetic. When you tell people you are going to see a horn band this is NOT what they are thinking of!

I turned and noticed these guys boogy-ing down next to me...(rememeber it's Halloween weekend)



Bacon, egg, toast, and cereal (hiding in the back)!! So there I was listening to Trombone Shorty, bacon had found me! We acutally saw them again downtown that evening. They were pretty hard to miss.

TO SUMMARIZE
The weekend was spectacular. The weather could not have possibly been better. Perfect temperatures, bright sunshine, and an gentle breeze. The music was great, and New Orleans is coming back. Smiles all around...from me, my friend Amanda, and her husband Mason (who's behind the camera)


UPDATED POSTS
I updated several of my earlier Voodoo Fest post with pics and clips.


NEW ORLEANS TODAY
Every time I've been back to New Orleans since Katrina everyone always asks "what's it like now?" In a word - healthy.

NOLA is starting to felt like the old pre-K NOLA. JazzFest 2006 was an emotional roller coaster. You could look everywhere and see reminders of what had happend just a few months before. One place would be open (happy) another closed (sad). In early 2007 things were much better. Many more businesses were open. Still you could see water lines, and a few closed businesses.

But now, just over two years since that b*tch of storm rolled through the city looks better than ever. The water lines have faded. Nearly everything is open again. And the crowds were large downtown. Much larger than they were my last trip down here four months ago.

There are still subtle reminders. Things like this placard on an Oak St. business...


Or a headline in the paper railing against those that are compairing the government reaction in the California fires to Katrina


But let's face it... New Orleans has never been perfect. NOLA is filled with some of the most beautiful architecture, personalites, and cultures of any place in the country. At the same time, there are problems in this city that exist in every other major city in the US.

NOLA is a city on it's way back. As we have read and watched news stories of how little the government is doing for New Orleans, the people here have been making their way back. That doesn't make a very sexy news story... but it is good news.

2 comments:

Jane said...

I refer you to this site:

http://www.iheartbacon.com/

The person does not update it very much, but she has good links to other bacon sites.

No pics of the food you ate?!?

Did you catch the shout out in my post of losing my camera in my freezer? hehe

Dave said...

Oh. My. Goodness.

Bacon Salt, 30-days of pork, and so much more. That rawks!

Nah, no pics. The best food of the weekend was from the Verti Marte, which we ate on the street. There's no real good way to make food in a styrofoam container on a sidewalk look appetizing. Luckily it tastes great!

I *DID* catch that. When I read it and thought... "people are going wonder what the heck she's talking about"... well played!