Jazzfest - New Orleans Counterpoint

Can you drink the water there? You sure can! In fact, it’s the only water that I drink. That bottled Fiji and Icelandic water costs more than a drinkable Chardonnay, so I stick with what comes from the tap.

We’re talking New Orleans water here, not Costa Rica. We are completely off the grid there – we only drink our own well water and use solar power. And with the rolling blackouts occurring all over Costa Rica right now, our friends might not think we’re so crazy any more.

It’s Jazz Fest and the crowds are big. They’ve come to see

…Rod Stewart, Norah Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brad Paisley, ZZ Top, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Charmaine Neville…

and oh how the list goes on! But if you want to hear the big names, you’ve got to get there early and mark out your spot by plopping down your chair. People with kids bring a blanket. If you leave and take your chair with you, then someone else is going to plop right down in your spot. When you want something to eat, send your husband out for the Muffulettas and Daiquiris – he’s the hunter. Pssst, guys, the hunting is half the fun and your wife will have a blast staying back and talking with all the neighbors.

However, if you arrive late, then you will get caught in the slooooow moving river of humanity. You will get caught in a very slow current going one way or the other and there’s little you can do about it but just go with the flow and bob your head to the music. We saw one woman with a baby stroller actually trying to move counter-flow by calling out “Sorry, stroller…sorry, stroller…” But nobody could do anything. There’s no moving against the flow.

A better strategy is to head over to one of the many smaller stages and listen to incredible jazz, funk and blues by some of the best talent New Orleans has to offer. You will be able to sit down in chairs provided inside the tent and there’s plenty of room to dance and Second-Line around the aisles. At the Economy Hall Tent, the crowd spends the whole day dancing and second-lining to guys like Pete Fountain and Leroy Jones. If all the chairs are taken when you arrive to listen to say, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers, just wait a few minutes. Soon, people will be getting up and moving on – hoping to catch somebody at another Stage, and you can move right in and sit down.

The day goes fast. When you’re moving from one Stage to another, there’s plenty of feasting and drinking to do along the way. There is no better culinary experience than just sampling all the food that New Orleans has to offer at Jazz Fest. It will take the entire two weekends to get through everything and it’s a lot easier than making reservations for dinner. I don’t think there is a festival anywhere in the country that offers better food.

So the day flies by and you soon queue up for the bus ride back to the Sheraton Hotel. Wherever you stay, remember that you need to walk to the Sheraton for the bus to Jazz Fest. It’s the easiest way if you haven’t marked out a parking spot in somebody’s front lawn many years ago. Some people just go to bed after a day at the Fest, but if you have the energy, come on down to the Quarter for the party! There’s music playing everywhere that goes on all night.

Forget about dining at the first-tier restaurants like Commander’s Palace, Brennan’s, etc….they’ve all been booked long in advance. You could try smaller, trendier restaurants of which there are many, but it’s going to be hectic. During Jazz Fest, we head over to our local spots near our flat between Iberville and Bienville.

After dinner, there are music clubs who feature people you missed earlier in the day and then there’s Bourbon Street for the huge, drinking party crowds. I always like a few minutes of Bourbon Street just for the amusement of the goofy costumes and to pet the horses that the police use for crowd control. If your feet ache from all the walking, you could always take a carriage ride through the Quarter and laugh at all the festivities in comfort.

Then it’s definitely time to get back and go to bed. It all starts over again tomorrow morning.

But wait a minute! What about all the crime? Yes, homicides occur regularly in New Orleans but the vast majority of them happen in neighborhoods that you’ve never heard of. One rare and notable exception happened in the Quarter a few days ago. Two apprenticed waiters at Antoines had an altercation and one of them left in an ambulance. The rest of the horrified waiters, nicely spiffed up in their white shirts and black ties, quickly cleaned up the mess before the doors opened for the dining public.

Got to go! It’s already 11AM and the Saturday crowds will be even bigger than they were yesterday!