Myusic in My Mind

Ed. Note: I updated this post last night (in addition to the pictures) to fill in some of the details regarding Wilco’s mysterious Cow Bell Man. (Those details are now corrected.) Details, of course, are below…

Exhausting day at Jazzfest here in New Orleans. So much good music, often playing in two or three places at the same time. I took some notes and did my best to be everywhere at once, but clearly there are limits.

Paul Sanchez with Sonia Tetlow, Shamarr Allen, Glen David Andrews and others.

First up was Paul Sanchez. The last time I saw him, he was playing in my buddy Mike’s apartment. This time, with a full band, he came ready to rock out. The band featured a sick trumpeter and a great trombonist. In a packed courtyard, the trumpeter played a great song of his own. If you ever have a chance to see Shamarr Allen play, don’t miss the chance. Sonia Tetlow also riled up the crowd with her song, “Summertime.” Glen David Andrews, the trombonist, also played and sang one of his songs, raising all of our spirits with a  heartfelt “Walkin’ Through Heaven’s Gate.”

Shamarr Allen can blow!

Next up was the Rebirth Brass Band with Kermit Ruffins. So good. Rebirth just knows how to bring talent, energy and attitude to the stage. Unlike the Soul Rebels a more hip hop oriented brass band, whom I saw the other night at a club show, Rebirth is equal parts hip hop and jazz. That meant that when a great jazz trumpeter joined them on stage, they could turn in a tight performance that made it sound like they’d been gigging together for years, trading dirty solos and such. (Ed. Note: It’s been pointed out to me that Ruffins co-founded Rebirth. Obviously, that helps explain the comfort-level I saw on stage.) Fun addition: as I was walking out to my next show, they threw in a “Waterfalls” tease. Yes, the TLC song.

From there, we headed over to the Gentilly stage where Ivan Neville and Dumstaphunk was churning out some perfect funk. Felt a great Little Feat-style groove and danced hard the whole show.

After a break for some food, I came back to Gentilly to catch some of Galactic’s set. They were probably the first real jam band that I got to hear at the festival. Definitely rocked out, with Shamarr Allen pitching in. Best part there, a little Gilligan’s Island tease, courtesy of Allen.

Probably the most disappointing show for me was Del McCoury’s set. This wasn’t because they weren’t good, mind you. They’re always good. They’re unquestionably the best straight bluegrass band alive. They own their genre. Who else can you say that about? The problem was that I was sitting in a bad spot at a smaller stage and just couldn’t hear them well, especially given the heavy bass that bled over from other stages.

Now, this is when things got interesting. How do you see three shows at one time? James Taylor, Erykah Badu and Wilco were all set to take the stage at about the same time to close out the day. So, we did the best we could, with a clear priority. We started off at James Taylor, hoping to catch a hit in his first few songs. Sadly, we missed and instead heard some nice songs that we didn’t know as well. Good stuff, but had to run.

From there, we checked out Badu, or at least, we tried. We walked over to her stage, but she was running late. We gave her a few minutes, but had to run.

Close-up of Wilco's own Cow Bell Man: guitar tech Josh Goldsmith.

So, of course, we closed out our day with Wilco. Not a stretch to call them among the top three or four touring bands in the world. We got there in time for the first bars of “Pot Kettle Black,” which they performed in particularly jammy fashion. They followed that with a strong “Shot in the Arm” and then a cut from Sky Blue Sky that rocked. I forgot which song it was, sorry. Then, “Jesus, etc.” was just gorgeous. From there, they played a few songs off Mermaid Avenue and some older stuff. Then it got funny. First off, they decided to begin “I’m the Man Who Loves You” by getting up on their speaker stacks and jumping off. However, one member of the band slipped and fell on his ass, sending Jeff Tweedy into mild hysterics.

The full band with the Cow Bell Man.

Then, something amazing happened. Guitar tech Josh Goldsmith danced out on stage shirtless, pounding on a cowbell. Now, this dude was skinny as hell, gyrated as he danced, and rocked a haircut and mustache straight out of the movie Almost Famous. In fact, for all I knew at the time, it could have been Billy Crudup! Just awesome.

So that was about it. I did catch the end of Erykah Badu’s final song as I was walking out. She has crazy hair, but a nice voice. Hell of a day, exhausting. Final day tomorrow.