Jazz Fest – Third Day – Defying the Elements
I left for Jazz Fest about 2ish and on the way I ran into a woman I haven’t spoken with in five months, but in typical New Orleans fashion, the woman picked up our conversation at the same level of intimacy as if we had just seen each other and spent an evening together. I left her still talking and walked toward the Fairgrounds – the air was cool and there was the threat of rain but I thought positively. Then I got inside and went to see Irma Thomas – the Queen of New Orleans, and she sang, “It’s Raining Again,” right as the rain drops started falling. I listened to her for a bit then I decided to head for a tent but in a state of confusion about which to see when, I wound up by some artists stands just as the sky turned black and the clouds squeezed out all their rain – I found myself in a stall with a guy who had painted oysters and banana trees and one big nutria – the oysters and the banana flowers were evocative in and of themselves, and at first he draped a curtain down to protect us, and then the rain came heavier and he asked me if I wanted a beer and then the larger flap was pulled down over the whole structure so we sat and weathered it out inside our rainproof cube – a beer, oyster art on the wall and a few stories about music. He had seen at Essence festival Barry White, Al Green and I forgot who else. Then he said that his sister had bought $7500 worth of his art, so he felt he could relax and so the rain wasn’t getting him down. Then he told me about a friend who was trying to sell his house and he got a good price for it because his child had a special condition that required a machine and so they had a generator and the generator was what really appealed to the buyer so the house sold. The guy was totally charming, cute, and his art was of oysters but suddenly I wanted to go and so I dodged out behind flap after flap and made my way over to Congo Square – and I didn’t go see Elvis down at the Gentilly Stage but instead parked myself in front of the Congo stage ready to hear Al Green. And the Rev did not disappoint – he was fabulous, his dancers and backup singers were fabulous and I felt like I had died and gone to heaven when he sang Amazing Grace. Wow!!! But when he sang Let’s Stay Together, I wanted to call Tatjana up in Zagreb and say COME HOME Right Now…