retirement trip of a lifetime...............New Orleans music

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Well, I don’t know about anyone else but I’m getting bored with what’s basically an itinerary – ‘first we did this, then we did that’ – so for our 6 nights in New Orleans I thought I’d write up what we experienced generally rather than any chronological order ......food, history and most importantly MUSIC because New Orleans is like an all-you-can-eat-buffet when it comes to music!!! Actually that’s probably not the best analogy because most all-you-can eat buffets I’ve had promise much but usually end up slightly samey and boring. So perhaps a better description would be a heavenly banquet!
As it’s one of the main reasons we wanted to come to New Orleans, perhaps I’ll mention the music first......also to say that over the past year I’ve loved watching the TV series ‘Treme’ which is all about life in that area of New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina. It’s not just about musicians but that plays a huge part in the series and over the months I’d discovered and acquired albums by a few local New Orleans musicians who I now love. So I was hoping that we’d be able to check out some of them (which we did  ) but also discover some new names (which we did  )
Whilst we were staying at the Bienville we were only a stone’s throw from Bourbon Street and I think I’ve already mentioned we’d been to Preservation Hall where the jazz band that night was the St Peter Street Players with a guest leader called Maynard Chatters, an elderly gentleman who played the trombone. From a bit of research I discovered he was the head of a well known musical family and in fact the young trumpet player had the same surname so I guess he was his son or even grandson. The audience here were very quiet and listened intently....obviously real jazz fans.
The next night we went to a bar on Bourbon Street called Maison Bourbon and the house band there played traditional jazz too and swing and were excellent. It was a boiling hot night yet the band were all dressed in suits with shirt and tie – and yet they stayed cool as cucumbers, just like the music! It was a totally different kind of venue and not quite as ‘reverential’ as Preservation Hall, with people chatting over the music and a bit of a din coming in from the street and the bar opposite, but it was well worth a visit – and no cover charge either.
We moved into a bed and breakfast on Day 3 over in the next district, the Marigny. We were still very close to the French Quarter but the Marigny is really a residential district made up of a network of streets with mainly wooden houses, people walking their dogs, sitting out on the verandas chatting to neighbours.....also there were local restaurants to eat at which were as good as those in the FQ and much cheaper. Also (and this was the biggest drawcard!) in the Marigny is Frenchmen Street which is a couple of blocks filled with music venues, bars and restaurants. I’ve read that it’s more like Bourbon Street used to be and although it’s popular with visitors like us, it’s also where locals go. It is also often featured as a location on the show ‘Treme’ which is why we wanted to go there as we’d got a list of acts to see – and to our (well, maybe mainly mine!) excitement and delight we got to see several of them.
We went to the Three Muses and saw Glen David Andrews. The 3 Muses is quite small and we went early and got a table and had a meal but when the band began people flocked in and stood everywhere so having a table was no advantage as we couldn’t see a thing without standing up. But Glen David Andrews is the kind of musician where you couldn’t stay sitting down for long.....he and his band are so full of energy. He also seemed to know everyone and kept jumping off the stage (or platform) to greet and hug people. Now, I have a secret to share here.....Glen David Andrews is my friend on Facebook!! Of course so are thousands of other people and with good reason as he seems to be a top guy. He’s involved in a charity called Trumpets Not Guns where he tries to encourage young people to play music to replace gang violence which is bad in New Orleans. He’s also a spokesperson for Treme (the area, not the TV show - more about the history of Treme later as we did a walking tour round that area) where the government would quite like to develop the area and encourage people to buy up property and turn it into a more affluent area instead of it being the place where .......well, perhaps I’ll leave all that until later! Suffice it to say I really like Glen David Andrews. Check him out on Facebook, I’m sure he’d be your friend too!!!!!!
We had a great time on several nights at a club called dba. This is more of a concert venue, although still small, but it has a biggish stage and no tables and chairs, just a bar so more room for enjoying the music and having a bit of a boogie........
We saw two new (to us) acts there. First one was Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington – the nickname is obviously because after a couple of his songs he howled (and grinned sheepishly!). He was great – played amazing guitar and was so infectiously joyful. He had a permanent smile on his face and obviously loved his music.
Then the next night we saw a brass band called the New Orleans Night Crawlers, not sure how the walls stayed standing as they had a full brass section and it was LOUD!!! I’d thought that a brass band had to sound like the Salvation Army in the street at Christmas playing carols. That is very lovely but this was something else!!
Then on our last night we went to dba again to see a man who has had quite a lot of mention in ‘Treme’ and actually sings the theme song, and who I have become a big fan of in recent months...John Boutte. He really is worth checking out and has some CD’s downloadable on the Internet. Actually we rather shortchanged ourselves as all the other evenings we’d caught an act at dba at 10pm and had assumed it was the same for John Boutte. So we strolled up at about 9 only to discover that he was on from 8 o’clock until 10. In fact when we arrived there was a female jazz singer and we really thought we’d missed him But after a couple of (very good) songs she left the stage and John came back. So I think we missed half his act.......but at least we didn’t arrive at 10 and miss the lot! And he was as good as I’d hoped but is obviously becoming too popular for such a small venue.
Going to a gig is only the tip of the iceberg in New Orleans and we also saw some great street performers, from a man playing a saxophone on his own one evening in Jackson Square to a band with a vocalist and two dancers who played swing type music. Could have watched them all day!
Then on our last afternoon we were wandering back from doing some shopping and we saw a crowd near Jackson Square and a Brass Band obviously tuning up. It was the official opening of a festival that was happening that weekend and there was a second line parade! This is something that happens in New Orleans, often after a funeral when the religious ceremony is over, the deceased put in the grave and then as a celebration of life everyone parades in the street, family first and then anyone who wants making up the ‘second line’. A traditional song to play then would be something like ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ (which incidentally is only played in New Orleans under sufferance and for a hefty tip. I think most musicians are sick of it!) It’s become popular to have second lines now at weddings and other celebrations, so not really spontaneous – and this one was like that; very premeditated but only as good as people made it, and this one was good with dozens of people dancing down the street led the band and some people waving white handkerchiefs or twirling umbrellas which is traditional....and people coming out onto balconies to watch and wave. There were also lots and lots of people like us, dying to join in but too selfconscious to entirely let our hair down although we joined in a bit. Must admit I was thrilled to bits to have been able to join in a second line parade in New Orleans! Whoooo!!!!!
So that’s music New Orleans style, but there was much more to our visit which I’ll write about next. Like the food and the cocktails and the history and how things are going several years after Hurricane Katrina and how expensive Lush bath bombs are!!! Bet the suspense is killing you.

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