The Fun That Is New Orleans

New Orleans has conditioned me to a life of fun. I'd been sick these past couple


of days, and had to rest up for a few days. It was nice to get the sleep and the relaxation (although gutting and wearing a respirator with a head cold is not fun), but I was ready to go out again. Thursday night is always a good night in New Orleans. It's the night that the Soul Rebels play at Le Bon Temps Roule. But last night was also featured a spectacular show at Tipitina's, I imagine one of the few jazz clubs in New Orleans most non-New Orleanians have heard of. It was a night featuring three brass bands (Free Agents, Treme, and then ReBirth, who are featured in that photo) with a whole bunch of Mardi Gras Indians. I don't have any pictures from last night--I broke my camera a couple of weeks ago...not the fancy one though--but these are what Mardi Gras Indians look like:

Music always starts an hour later than the posted show time here, so I waited around a bit, and ended up meeting a huge group of Bard students who are here volunteering. One of them used to volunteer at Hands-On, and was Ty Shon's Big Brother back in August, the role I'm now filling. I haven't forgotten about writing a Ty Shon post. I'll have pictures of him Sunday, and I promise I'll write it then.

It was easy to break the ice.

"You go to Bard? I applied there--I was SOOOO close to going!"

They were all hipsters and the girls were all pretty. I don't know what it is about that school, but really, every girl there is alternative, brunette, and attractive. Once the music started they made up the bulk of the dancers, and they were a great crowd: enthusiastic and in motion. And the music itself...what can I say about it. The point of New Orleans jazz is to make you move. Very little of it is cerebral, and the players are rarely masters of their instrument. But they are masters of the groove, and the brass bands are at the top of the hill. The two best were the Treme Brass Band and, of course, ReBirth.

Treme was much more traditional. The tempo was slower and it wasn't as funk oriented. But the instrumentalists were great and they had great harmonies. One of their trumpet players could play two trumpets at the same time. The two highlights of the night were when they played a slow dirge for Darryl Shavers, a drummer for the Hot 8 Brass band who was killed a few days ago. It was done a la jazz funereal. I can't really explain what it sounds like. Just Google jazz funeral and look for a sound clip. But its slow and all the instruments play their own melodies and drunkenly overlap, and it's incredibly emotional and beautiful. At a jazz funeral, a brass band follows the casket and the pallbearers and the crowd as the body is carried to the cemetary. Slow, mournful music is played all the way to the grave, but once the body is in the ground, the music turns up beat and happy, and the slow percession becomes a happy, upbeat celebration of life. It's one of those amazing, beautiful, unique qualities of New Orleans culture. I don't care where I am when I die, but I want a jazz funeral. Treme stuck to the theme. They played slow and wonderfully, and when the finished they broke out and everybody started dancing.

The second highlight was Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, a great New Orleans player who stopped by to play a few songs. He's a circular breather, and he used it last night, going on this funky three note groove and holding it for close to a minute, until finally spiraling out. The crowd went nuts.

ReBirth played afterwords, and they're probably the best brass band in New Orleans. And I could go on and on about how good they are, and the songs they played, but I don't want to get redundant. Besides, I don't know enough about music theory to explain what it is about their sound that makes them so good, why their harmonies are so tantalizing or their arrangements are clever. Then again, I think what makes New Orleans' funk and jazz so great is how accesible it all is. It's all about feeling good and wanting to dance, something I think only the most timid of wallflowers would want to avoid.

I'm off until next time. Saint's are playing tomorrow. Pray for them.