| AudioREVIEW's Forum Archives - Rave Recordings |
|
|   New Orleans Jazz Fest, Day 1 (for me at least) | Swish
May 12, 2001 6:41 PM | | This year's fest set an attendance record, and I was amazed at the size of the park and the smoothness of the operation. They have 11, yes 11 different stages set up for the hundreds, yes hundreds, of different bands that play throught the 7, yes 7, days of music. My first day was actually the 4th of the fest, Thurday, May 3rd. I started the previous Friday, and is always held the last weekend in April (Friday thru Sunday), and the first weekend of May (Thursday thru Sunday).
The Jazz Tent is at the entrance, so we listened to a few tunes by the Jeremy Davenport band. Nice, mellow stuff, reminds me of Harry Connick, Jr. in a way. They did a few originals and some covers (Fly Me To The Moon), and were pretty good overall. All were good musicians, especially the drummer, who was excellent.
Next we hit Congo Square to hear the Executive Steel Band, yes, steel drums. Neat stuff, but we only stayed a few minutes to hit the Acura Stage for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. They really cooked. Hot, funky blues-based jazz, with lots of brass, as the name implies. They are a New Orleans based band with a big following, and they didn't disappoint.
Now we headed for the eagerly awaited Lucinda Williams. She was 20 minutes late, and started with a mellow tune from her new CD that has yet to be released. The highlight for me was her next tune, Right In Time. Then she played 2 more mellow ones from her new CD, and bored the pants off the crowd. We were ready to dance and groove, and she needed to kick it up a notch, and did so with "My Front Door" (Change the Lock?), but it was too late for me. Major disappointment, and I'm a big fan of hers. Maybe the booze and such were starting to kick in.
Next was Widespread Panic, who I don't care for so much. We were so far from the stage, but they do have a neat movie-type screen and satellite speakers so even the remote fans could see and hear. Many extended jams, but not much excitement for me.
Back to the Jazz tent for Randy Weston, a monster jazz keyboard man. I have his "Saga" CD, and it's 5 star all the way. He and his band did a terrific set,all instrumentals, including a couple from Saga that I recognized (sorry, can't remember the names of the tunes). A fitting end to the day.
This place is way cool. Lots of food, beer, and other "things" that make it one fun place. We should arrange for a bunch of "board" members to meet at one of these. Plenty of blues, jazz, rock, and other stuff to please any music fan.
I'll post my next installment, Day 2, in a few days. |
| Waiting patiently for Galactic review | YECH
May 13, 2001 2:14 PM | | They were there
Right?
You saw them
right?
YECH |
| I sure did YECH! They drew one one of the biggest crowds. | Swish
May 14, 2001 5:12 AM | | They were part of my Day 2 experience, which I'll comment on in day or so. I'm getting ready to head to Jersey for a couple days. |
| |
|
|
