Night One in NOLA

While my New Orleans reminisces will be coming through in a mixed up, jumbled up, shook-up order, this one starts at the beginning. We touched down in Louis Armstrong Airport on Wednesday afternoon and shared a cab to our hotel (the W) with a Jazzfest veteran who recommended restaurants we never got to.

We met our friend Jay in the W lobby, and after dropping off our luggage, headed over to Mother's for Po'boys. On our way there (right across the street, yahoo!) Jay told us about the hotel's grand re-openeing party that night. There'd be free drinks (nice) and, while it was a secret, Lauren Hill would be playing there. Double cool.

At Mother's, we soon learned that the Lauren Hill news was common knowledge among the cooking staff. I ordered a debris po'boy (essentially roast-beef shavings with gravy) and Kathy had a Ferdi's special (baked ham with debris overtop). Slow service, but unquestionably good eatin'.

Plus, we learned that Marcia Ball was playing in Lafayette Square down the road in a coupel of hours. So the three of us hoofed it on over (Jay's wife Nicole preferred to nap) and enjoyed two terrific sets and my first Abita Turbodog of the week.

Next came the party, where the beautiful people of New Orleans mingled with a bunch of sloppy tourists like me, all in search of free drinx. It honestly felt like I was back in NYC, to the point that I started texting Jim the Bastard about it. Sadly, we wandered into an area that was not an open bar (but neither was it clearly marked) and I wound up paying eight bucks a drink for us. But I got to try Tanqueray Ten, which was pretty darn tasty.

To be honest, Jay heard a lot more of Lauren Hill's set than the rest of us did. He stayed downstairs with the crows, while we were upstairs with the shorter lines for free drinky. But from what I heard, she sounded good, and Jay was really impressed with how she led the band, several of which she hadn't met until that day.

After the concert, we headed off to Bourbon Street, which was pretty empty in places. We had a drink in a joint on Toulouse called Molly's, and soon after Jay and Nicole went back to the hotel, Kathy & I did, too. We could have walked farther down Bourbon, but like I said, it was pretty quiet. But it was also Wednesday, which could have been part of the reason. And just in case it was, I wanted to turn in. I said to Kathy "I'll be damned if I let myself get all depressed simply because it's Wednesday."

More later, probably not in chronological order.

Rob