Bourbon Street on Friday Night

Wow, what an interesting place Bourbon Street is. I've never been here and associated it mostly with Mardi Gras and Jazz music. I wasnt' too far off, but there was a whole lot more going on. I guess the crowds weren't what they were pre-hurricane but it was still pretty busy. Jazz Fest was going on so there were alot of tourists in the area. The police presence was large, mounted, walking, patroling. When we first arrived we walked a bit then went into Cafe Beignet, which was a quint courtyard with tables, a bar, 3 piece jazz combo, and the coffee shop where I indulged in beignets and chicory coffee.

My favorite part was the music. Steamboat Willie and his New Orleans Jazz Band were fantastic.

This guy could sing just like Louis Armstrong. and play that trumpet....ohhhh,I could have sat there all night. I was the ultimate tourist that night, buying beignet mix, coffee, and jazz cd's. He was giving away one cd that had only one song on it, "Bring Me Back", but if you took one your were asked to go to their website and make a donation to the New Orleans International Jazz Club. Check out their site here. The song is awesome, about bringing back the musicians to New Orleans. They are fundraising to build an immediate home for displaced musicians. Musician's Village is being constructed in the Upper 9th Ward by Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, but it will be some time before that is finished. I was able to drive by that new structure on Saturday, and it was basically just the poured footer and wire that is used for the foundation. Anyway, check out that site and check out Steamboat Willie at www.steamboatwilliejazz.com

Ok, here I am. As I was telling the story to Sam she looked at me and said, "you did not get up on stage did you?" Welll, yeah I did! It seems to happen to me, ya know. I was just sitting there with my friends, we sort of had a front row table. I loved the music and was the first one to put a tip in the bucket. This led to the banjo player asking me where i was from, why we where there, etc. Out comes some apparatus and he calls me up to the stage. I should have known better. Being there with a group of photographers...the next thing I know, it looks like the paparazzi kneeling in front of me with cameras pointed at me. Now I don't know what else will show up out here, Dave was proud to tell me he shot video. That could be real scary....and expensive. LOL. So as long as i didn't have to blow into an instrument or sing, I would be fine. The apparatus was a steamboat horn. I had to stand on it like a bicycle pump and plunge up and down twice, all whilst keeping time to the music. All I can say is that I'll keep my day job. :-)

During their break, Steamboat Willie came over to talk to us. He was telling stories about Louis Armstrong and how he came to get the nickname "SatchMo". It was very interesting stuff but I have to admit, the man scared me a bit. N.O. was a rough town back in those days. After reading Steamboat's bio on his website, I found out that he is a music historian. It's his mission to bring it all back to New Orleans.

After this we walked a bit more through the French Quarter and stopped for dinner and a neat little restaurant that was a renovated old home. I had Jambalaya, while my friends were more daring and dined on crawfish and gumbo. It was a nice way to wind down from such a busy week. I hope you all enjoyed my blog. I will return later with some images of the storm damage that I was able to see with the help of a wonderful lady named Claire Orth. Claire has lost all of her belongings and her home is a moldy mess. She currently is living in a FEMA trailer in her backyard. She was so gracious to drive with us all day on Saturday and show us where the levys broke and the damage in so many of the neighborhoods. Stay tuned. Much love.