MARDI GRAS 2015: Sudden Friends & Second Acts

THE CALM AFTER THE STORM

Decorated Step Ladder Children's Chairs Awaiting the Parades

Decorated Step Ladder Children’s Chairs Awaiting the Parades

I awoke around 4 a.m. the morning after Morpheus with a throbbing headache and downed some aspirin and a quart of coconut water. A few hours later I stirred again feeling exponentially better, but still far from well. It was my first serious over-indulgence since last Mardi Gras, and though a pretty good stretch I still cursed at myself. It was Valentine’s Day and I was in New Orleans. I didn’t have time to nurse a hangover.

At the nearby Ruby Slipper we were warned of an hour wait at it neared 11:00. As noon approached, the hostess informed me there were still 22 parties ahead of us, so we wandered a few blocks to Canal for an overpriced but tasty and desperately needed lunch at Palace Café, a Brennan family restaurant.

Our Valentine's Day Catches

Our Valentine’s Day Catches

Aimee was also feeling a bit drained after a full Friday, so with little vigor we perused the shops on Royal and Decatur before catching a bit of Iris (an all female krewe that handed me one of the best medallions of the season) and Tucks (an irreverent krewe throwing toilet paper, giant ‘Blow Me’ whistles, sunglasses with flaps, beer barrel beer koozies, and other silly novelties bearing their name). It was a lovely afternoon and I enjoyed reversing roles to spectator, but by late afternoon we retired to the hotel to nap and read in the tropical courtyard, venturing out only for a quiet Valentine’s dinner at Cochon Butcher and a handful of Endymion floats—the first Super Krewe of the weekend—before calling it an early night

FROM PERRY MASON TO PALMOLIVE & PANCAKES

Sunday morning I awoke reenergized, so we finally made our way Uptown to Slim Goodies. As I eagerly awaited my Creole Slammer (hash browns and eggs smothered in etouffee) and Aimee her pancakes (one pumpkin, one banana), I asked if Gideon was working. Soon a jolly, portly yet quietly dignified man appeared to exuberantly greet me.

Creole Slammer: Diner Bliss

Creole Slammer:
Diner Bliss

A walking library who has read seemingly everything in print, Gideon is another book club friend, and his story is a fascinating one I would love to tell in detail someday. Basically, though, [Read more…]

Mardi Gras 2015: Day of Nightmares, God of Dreams–Part 2

SOPHMORE SLOWING

Perhaps the biggest concern of first-time Mardi Gras riders is “How much stuff should I buy?” There is no set answer, however, because it depends on your personality. Heavy throwers—like Marco beside me with a stash bigger than one of the elephants he trains—constantly fire beads and novelties like a machine gun, often tossing the unopened cellophane packages of a dozen strands that fill 20-25lb vinyl bags, and occasionally throwing the whole dang bag. Conversely, light throwers take plenty of time to sip their drinks and soak it in, tantalizingly dangling favors before the crowd until spotting someone in a sufficient frenzy to warrant the reward. Then there are folks in the middle like me. One of the first bits of advice I’d gotten before my first ride was “See who you throw to,” and that seemed to fit my style.

At least theoretically

Between the haste of our drivers after being stranded behind Krewe d’Etat, the overwhelming newness of it all, and a few too many Jello shots, I’d done my best to spot my targets but that first ride had been a blur. This year, however, as we rounded the corner onto Magazine Street I immediately felt like more relaxed and in control, like a second year NFL quarterback admitting the game has slowed down.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR BIG DUDES & TOURISTS

View Of the Crowd As We Turned Onto Magazine

View Of the Crowd As We Turned Onto Magazine

As we crept down Magazine it was immediately apparent that this crowd was special. After last year’s delay we’d lost many spectators—especially downtown—but this year the crowd remained thick and enthusiastic throughout. Perhaps it was because our delay hadn’t been as long, or our Freaky Friday theme kept them enthralled. It certainly wasn’t [Read more…]

Mardi Gras 2015: Day of Nightmares, God of Dreams, Part 1

GETTING METER MADE

2015-02-13 17.19.23Arriving back in New Orleans for the first time since summer, I did what most returning pilgrims do: went to eat. Although my heart was set on Slim Goodies—my favorite breakfast dive—prudence advised otherwise. It was already late morning and I had to load the beads I’d brought from home, stop by the store, and check into the hotel, all before Morpheus Bash at 2:00. Besides, NOPD shuts streets down early on parade days and I didn’t want to get caught Uptown; thus I exited onto Poydras and headed to my oldest NOLA culinary love, Mother’s. (Yes, critics, it’s overpriced with declining portions, but I stand by her quality!)

2015-02-13 16.52.45Aimee was accompanying me for her second Mardi Gras (though sadly her nephew and his girlfriend couldn’t make it after their infectious exuberance in 2014) so I dropped her off to stand in line and found parking nearby. Digging in my pockets I realized I didn’t have change but fortunately had parked in front of Barcadia so ducked inside to use their change machine. Returning with $2, I pumped it all into the meter advertising $1.50 an hour and watched it register 56 minutes. Grinning, I shook my head. Welcome back to New Orleans, where even the parking meters are on the take!

PUTTING THE FAT IN TUESDAY

2015-02-13 12.34.16Although I recently wrote that I didn’t miss New Orleans food, I only meant as a full-time dietary staple. I fully intended to put the Fat in my Tuesday while in town and give myself a reason to [Read more…]

Top 10 Things I’ve Missed Since Leaving New Orleans

2014-02-28 18.22.47When last I signed off I’d just finished following the Mississippi River from its Lake Itasca source to New Orleans. It was my grand farewell to both the city and my year (and a half) of living like a working writer. I’ve since moved back to Jacksonville where I’ve been scrambling to reenter the professional realm—a much rockier and time-consuming transition than expected. I never expected to fall silent for so long but I was carrying an overdue balance of delayed reality and the ‘real world’ always demands its due.

Successful writers seem to steal a minute here or there while the coffee brews or the washer runs that extra spin cycle, but I typically require blocks of unbroken time to focus and access my brain’s creative center. Perhaps this trait will sentence me to a life of stifled ambition, but I have not been able to write while restructuring and reestablishing my life as a Floridian and occupational therapist.

The Christmas season, however, left me wistfully dreaming of New Orleans. In December of 2012 (while preparing to move) I visited and was surprised by the beauty and festivity of a Crescent City Christmas. I have always associated holiday mystique with snowbound northern destinations, yet found a New Orleans holiday utterly enchanting. Thus, spending the season away spurred me back to the keyboard to reflect upon the Top Ten Things I’ve Missed Since Leaving New Orleans.

10) A CRESCENT CITY CHRISTMAS

A Perfect Kermit Christmas

A Perfect Kermit Christmas

I visited New York in 2011 expecting to rekindle my waning Christmas cheer yet was a victim of my own expectations. I came to New Orleans in 2012 sans expectation and stumbled upon what I’d missed in the Big Apple. If I miss Mardi Gras (which I won’t, barring tragedy) or Jazz Fest (50/50 chance) then these two favorites will surely crack my list; however, for now I’ll include my third favorite NOLA season, having blessed to experience the entire season last year.

When I arrived in 2013 I believed Halloween—my favorite holiday as an adult—would easily assume the #3 position in my NOLA hierarchy, yet what tugs at my heart and fires my imagination are memories of Christmas tree lights cutting through a French Quarter fog in Jackson Square; the elegantly twinkling tree in Antoine’s plush dining room; Kermit Ruffins standing before a tree topped with his signature red hat while playing a jazzy Peanuts style “O Tannenbaum; ordering the special Reveillon menu at The Gumbo Shop after a free Christmas concert at St. Louis Cathedral; and….sigh.

9) PROCESSIONS, BOTH PLANNED & SPONTANEOUS

2013-09-28 18.25.44-1Whether an organized second-line, a Happy Thursday bicycle group, or just a mix of tourists and locals falling in behind a brass band on Frenchmen Street, part of the magic of New Orleans is everyone’s willingness to drop everything to follow a Pied Piper to no particular destination—folks here realize it’s all about the journey. This phenomenon is so interwoven into local DNA that when our weekly bike parades blocked an intersection, drivers waited patiently and often honked in appreciation or offered a friendly wave. In any other city such an inconvenienced motorist would lay on the horn and a middle finger, furious at your impertinence.

I also miss, of course, the friends I made during such treks. Upon compiling this list I considered including the peeps I left behind, but quickly realized that all those folks were already imbedded throughout.

8) A WORLD OF WEIRD

DSC02883Before moving to New Orleans I was collaborating with a photographer friend on articles for a Jacksonville publication. We’d eagerly scour other magazines and websites looking for weird or unusual happenings to cover. Upon moving to New Orleans, though, I joked: “In Jacksonville I had to work to find weirdness, but in New Orleans I just walk out my front door and watch the crazy parade pass by.”

It’s common to claim that there are ‘two types of people in the world,’ but on this point I’m thinking in triplets. One type of person (a majority) fears or reviles odd or unusual behavior. A smaller second type tends to tolerate or ignore it—live & let live. Then there are those—a minority for sure—that revel in weirdness. I definitely fall into this third category. I love the strange, novel, and unusual. Although I admittedly can get uncomfortable when someone pushes boundaries too far, I generally admire people who don’t mind going out on a limb and happy live outside the expectations of polite society. And many of those people find an accepting home in New Orleans.

7) DIVE BAR DISCOVERY

Frenchman Street Night Spotted CatThere are thousands of unique and interesting watering holes in New Orleans filled with unique and interesting people, covering the full spectrum from grime to grandeur; thus, a night out always held the thrill of possibility. Some of this is admittedly self-perpetrating myth, and my dive bar explorations were dampened by a lack of company (I made tons of friends, but few whom I could just call on a whim), but, still, every trip out the door felt like a trip of discovery (especially when close friends came to visit), and I miss that constant sense of possibility.

6) CREATING/VEGETATING IN COFFEE SHOPS

Coffee Fight ClubI was in New Orleans to write, so spent more time in the coffee shops than bars. Fortunately there is a funky and unique java joint nearby in every corner of the city. One thing about Jacksonville (and most cities) that drives me nuts is how quickly the local coffee shop fad was obliterated by Starbucks and Panera, so I even devoted a section of my Geaux Local guide to coffee shops.

And this warrants another shout out, for owner Eugene and the rest of the Krewe Du Brew staff became good friends and always made me feel at home. I felt like Norm in a caffeinated NOLA version of Cheers and wish I were typing these words in that stately columned St. Charles café while the streetcars rumble past….

5) MARINATING IN HISTORY

FQF Bourbon 2I was recently discussing my only trip to the U.K. with an Irish friend, noting that this thrilling trip held a constant melancholy undertone because I was deeply affected by the constant weight of ancient history that surrounded me. In America everything is new, creating the illusion that the world is still in a state of creation; in England there is a five hundred or thousand-year-old castle in every town to remind you of the brevity of human life. It was both exhilarating and daunting.

Regardless, I love immersing myself in history and New Orleans is the most European city in the U.S. Every nook and cranny of New Orleans is drenched in history, if not quite so ancient. Perhaps this is why so much of My Year of Mardi Gras was tinged in melancholy, but good or bad, every corner of New Orleans seems significant so simply being there made me feel relevant by default.

4) INTIMATE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES

Robin at Mardi grasWhen it comes to national touring acts, North Florida has come into its own in recent years.  In 2014 alone I saw four all-time favorites (Paul McCartney, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and The Allman Brothers Band), and another, Wilco, is coming in May. I find myself with more options than expendable income these days.

Nevertheless, few if any cities can compare to New Orleans when it comes to a local organic music scene, and Jacksonville is particularly deficient in this area. It is no secret that music is woven into the very fabric of daily life there, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend so many intimate shows in small but iconic venues. Along the way, I befriended a few amazingly talented musicians such as Robin Barnes and her band and Vince Marini and they often visited for Red Beans on Monday. Even though I was burning through savings and barely earning a dime, it was a thrill to feed a few starving musicians and play the role of patron to the arts if even on the smallest scale. And it was a thrill to head out on any random night and support so many unheralded artists making exceptional music.

3) THE LITERARY LIFE

bookstoreIf the music scene in Jacksonville is on life support, the literary scene is DOA. I may have not achieved the foothold I desired in NOLA, but while living there I interviewed nationally known writers, became close friends with several other writers and professors, and could rest assured that even those friends who weren’t writers still read veraciously. (Most of my Florida friends don’t read at all—including this blog—so I can tease them freely!)

New Orleans is a literary city to its very core. Although it was hard to stand out in such a sea of talent, it was easy to join in, such as with the monthly book group at the sadly defunct McKeown’s Books & Difficult Music. Owner Maggie was one of the first people to show genuine kindness to this frazzled outsider when I stumbled into her shop looking for a way to connect with the local literary scene, and I still miss those meandering and sometimes unruly discussions with a lively cast of characters at the monthly non-fiction book club.

2) CONSCRIPTIVE COMMUNITY CONNECTION

StompersOkay, perhaps no one is forcibly drafted into community life in New Orleans, but there is a strong affirmational social pressure to participate.  If you’re a native, it’s bred into you. If you’re a transplant, you probably didn’t matriculate because you wanted to sit in your basement and play X-box (besides, there are no basements below sea level!)  Whether it’s a Mardi Gras Krewe (and I miss my Morpheus and Chewbacchus peeps and those crafting sessions assembling bandoliers and Wookie merkin panties!) or a bike club or a an ironic dance troop or an amateur brass band or a social aide & pleasure society or whatever else floats your eccentric boat, there is something for everyone.

It doesn’t matter what the outlet, nearly everyone plugs in somewhere. People in NOLA are proud of their city and, more importantly, are part of their city. In a world of gated communities and Facebook friends and hyper individualism bordering on social disconnect, it was refreshing to experience a place where people still value connecting on a human level and working towards a common goal—no matter how absurd or frivolous.

1) HOPE & PURPOSE

2013-09-28 18.43.02This is the biggie.  When I decided to get a second Master’s in Occupational Therapy rather than pursue my Ph.D. in literature I quietly admonished myself for giving up on my dream. And for half a decade I did.  But over time I gradually sought out more and more writing outlets until I finally pushed all my chips onto the table and moved to New Orleans to devote my full attention to figure something out. Over a year and a half I experienced a ton but made little visible headway towards practical goals, so was faced with a difficult decision. I never realistically believed (we all dream) I could ‘make it’ in a year, but hoped for signs of progress or visible markers along the road. Instead I was financially floundering, having seen my early inroads (published in Offbeat, connecting with a couple of nationally known authors) quickly fade. My closest friends were far away and the sacrifices I would make in staying just didn’t seem warranted.

Still, as long as I was in town I felt like I was in the game, much like the NFL team belonging to the city I’d left. Although the Jaguars have been the laughing stock of the NFL for years, at least they can say they’re in the league, and that means there’s always a chance. Only 30 U.S. cities—and cities in the world—can say that. Similarly, as long as I was in New Orleans I was striving for something more—paying my dream due respect—no matter how futile the endeavor. I was losing but in the game. Since moving back I have been necessarily focusing on more immediate financial and personal goals, but I miss that grander if hyperbolic sense of hope and purpose.

Of course, everything wasn’t always rosy in New Orleans. ‘The Big Easy’ is a despised nicknamed coined by outsiders with no idea what daily life is truly like in the nation’s most quirky and challenging city. If everything had been Big & Easy I’d still be there. So my next post will surely be the one to irk the friends I left behind (for residents tend to take NOLA criticisms quite personally): Top Ten Things I Don’t Miss About New Orleans One Bit!

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Mardi Gras Marches On: The Gravitational Center of the NOLA Calendar

THE NOLA NEW YEAR

Me, Aimee, Reid, & Mark at the Morpheus Captain's Crawl

Me, Aimee, Reid, & Mark at the Morpheus Captain’s Crawl

I have written many time about how Mardi Gras is a year round event. Even though 2014’s Carnival Season ended with Ash Wednesday on March 5th, minds immediately turned to 2015’s festivities. In fact, only a handful of days into Lent my ever enthusiastic float mate, Don, posted the first of his now regular countdown updates on Morpheus’s Facebook wall: Only 342 days until we ride! Mardi Gras—not New Years or Christmas—is the epicenter of the New Orleans calendar, drawing all other days and events into its orbit.

In the opening pages of this blog I asserted:

Mardi Gras isn’t a few weeks of planning followed by a big blowout.  It’s a year of preparation and perspiration that unfolds over several weeks like a military campaign hell-bent on spreading heaven throughout the darkest months of the year.

This thesis was confirmed last summer during my visit to Mardi Gras World—a tourist attraction that provides the public a behind-the-scenes view of how Mardi Gras is built. During my tour I learned most krewes hand the facility’s conceptual artists their theme for next year’s parade on Ash Wednesday—or sometimes before. Even in the more informal and DIY Chewbacchus my sub-krewe of K.R.A.P. was bouncing around plans for a Jabba the Hut’s Barge float next year before the final parades had rolled. (Since I’d yet to embark on My Low Carb Lent to shed my ‘transplant twenty-five,’ I offered to play Jabba but co-leader Rachel Unger shot back that [Read more…]

Volunteering at Jazz Fest: The Whackiness & Rewards Of Assisting Behind the Scenes

A BARGAIN DON’T MATTER WHEN YOU’RE PINCHING PENNIES

Taking A Break From My Labors

Taking A Break From My Labors

I’ve attended Jazz Fest for many years now, but for 2014 I had a chance to peek behind he scenes and earn free admission in the process. Although the daily price continues to climb–$70 at the gate as opposed to $20 when I first came in 1998—it’s still a bargain when you consider that not only do you get to see headliners like Bruce Springsteen who charge over $100 these days for nosebleed seats, but you get a full day’s worth of music on eleven stages beforehand as opposed to some lame opening act you didn’t even choose. Still, I’ve been pinching pennies the past year so when a friend suggested I volunteer in exchange for free admission I jumped at the chance.

THIS IS NEW ORLEANS, THOUGH

The orientation material I received a week before Jazz Fest sounded very strict: you must arrive fifteen minutes before your shift or you won’t be admitted, you must return your signed slip and volunteer pin to the trailer immediately upon the end of your shift, no loitering at your station afterwards and drinking the water provided for staff and volunteers, your bag will be thoroughly searched, etc. Uncertain if they were serious, I worried about being late—a bad habit of mine—as well as completing four five-hour shifts on both Saturdays and Sundays; I didn’t want to wear myself out working in the sun before my day began. I should have known, though… [Read more…]

Jazz Fest 2014, Weekend 2: Cut Loose Like A Bruce & Fogerty Reborn On The Bayou

THE THUD BEFORE THE STORM:

The String Cheese Incident…or Minor Happening

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String Cheese Incident Plays To A Deserted Fairgrounds

After a muted first weekend, the Thursday that opens weekend two of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was perhaps the lamest day of Jazz Fest I’ve ever attended. I was puzzled when The String Cheese Incident was chosen to headline the main stage, especially considering Robert Plant and John Fogerty—leaders of two of the most wildly popular bands in popular music history—were relegated to the secondary ‘Gentilly’ Stage (no free advertising here!) Apparently my sentiment was shared, for String Cheese drew a crowd more appropriate to Fais Do Do stage. I’ve never seen the big stage so deserted that late in the afternoon! Across the fairgrounds Lyle Lovett drew an equal and perhaps bigger crowd at Gentilly. Considering it wasn’t his looks that snagged Julia Roberts I thought the show may have potential. I like intelligent, progressive Country in the vein of Dwight Yoakum but Lyle just wasn’t doing it for me. A solid set by the always dependable Marcia Ball and Galactic drum wizard Stanton Moore‘s jazz trio where he put on a rhythm clinic weren’t enough to save the day so I left early, glad that I’d volunteered that morning on a rare day when Jazz Fest wasn’t worth the cost of the ticket.

String Cheese Was Solid But Didn't Wow

String Cheese Was Solid But Didn’t Wow

Not Loving Lovett

Not Loving Lovett

After four inconsistent days I was a little worried, but I knew I could count on Cowboy Mouth to interject some soul and energy early Friday afternoon before Bruce Springsteen saved all Saturday. Local rockers Cowboy Mouth has often been mentioned on this blog for lifting my spirits just at the right moment, and Bruce never phones it in anyhow, but has had a love affair with New Orleans and Jazz Fest that began with his 2006 post-Katrina show that locals still speak of in reverent tones for how he lifted the entire city on his spiritual shoulders and helped carry it through its darkest hour.

THE BEST OF FEST

Bruce Springsteen Cuts Loose Like A Deuce & Brings Thunder to the Road

Bruce Brings The Thunder

Bruce Brings The Thunder

For decades I said I didn’t really [Read more…]

New Orleans Jazz Fest 2014, Week 1: From Zoso to So-So

FROM ZOSO TO SO-SO

Day 1 of Jazz Fest 2014 Was Brutally Hot

Day 1 of Jazz Fest 2014 Was Brutally Hot

Weekend 1 of Jazz Fest 2014 was a rather muted one. There were many big names but few big performances—at least that clicked with my tastes. While volunteering at the Access Station for guests with disabilities I chatted with rap, hip-hop, and bounce fans that were excited about Public Enemy, Big Freedia, and Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band, but Robert Plant (the singer of Led Zeppelin, mom!) and Eric Clapton were the only names that enticed my rock, blues, jazz, and alternative sensibilities…though I would have loved to have seen Branford Marsalis headline the Jazz Tent if he weren’t scheduled opposite Plant. Fortunately, the former Zeppelin front man more than lived up to expectations if not delivering an all-time Jazz Fest performance. Clapton, however, was good but nowhere close to the legend his reputation ‘Promises.’

THE BEST OF FEST, WEEK 1:

Planting New Roots

Robert Plant

Robert Plant

Three years ago I saw Robert Plant with his Band of Joy at Wanee Fest in Live Oak, Florida. This folkish roots outfit spun charmingly soft and nuanced versions of hard-rocking Led Zeppelin classics, and as Plant purred through a mix of stripped down classics and new discoveries I figured [Read more…]

French Quarter Festival 2014 In Pictures

SAYING FAREWELL TO AN OLD MUSICAL FRIEND

2014-04-10 18.52.00In 2013 I posted detailed daily reviews of French Quarter Festival, the second largest New Orleans music festival after Jazz Fest (though Voodoo Fest may beg to differ) and one of the largest free music festivals in the nation. This year, however, I am around for only the first of this four-day event. I am loath to leave when so much wonderful free music is filling up the city’s tourist core, but I was granted a reviewer pass to cover Wanee Fest in Florida, The Allman Brothers‘ annual festival and campout on the Suwanee River. The Allman Brothers are one of my top five all-time favorite bands and they announced in January that they were calling it quits after this year; thus, iI can’t pass up the opportunity to say farewell to an old musical friend.

Fortuitous Timing

Fortuitous Timing

As consolation, I made it out to the river front today to enjoy some wonderful music on a sublime afternoon. The crowd was as quirky and engaging as always, so I thought I’d let the pictures do the talking and give you a glimpse of the wonderful time you’re missing if you’re not in New Orleans this weekend!

 

 

BONERAMA, BABY!

2014-04-10 17.45.35

2014-04-10 17.44.48 2014-04-10 18.17.07

2014-04-10 17.53.29

Selfie With the Crowd [Read more…]

Fat Tuesday 2014: The Curtain Falls On My Year of Mardi Gras

WISER THAN WET

IMG_3911

Later That Night At Blue Nile….

After a joyous and unforgettable climax to a momentous and often tumultuous journey, My Year of Mardi Gras ended with a whimper. Granted, I still live in New Orleans and this ‘year’ lasted nearly thirteen months as my journey began with my arrival in town on February 7th for Mardi Gras 2013 on the 12th while Fat Tuesday fell a month later this year on March 4th; however, in a narrative sense my self-selected year-ish time clock wound down on a cold, rainy, muted Tuesday.

The Purple, Green & Gold Pirate at the French Market

The Purple, Green & Gold Pirate at the French Market

Carnival Season 2014 had seen some of the most dramatic temperature swings in New Orleans history, and the excellent weather of the preceding weekend had turned chilly on Lundi Gras. Then that night a heavy, frigid rain began to fall. The rain had stopped when I awoke Mardi Gras morning, but the ground was damp and the sky heavy with gray clouds threatening the next deluge.

Lovely Lady Pirate Sidekick

Lovely Lady Pirate Sidekick

I only had one guest left in town by now, and we were planning to walk with the KOE, an online organization that used to parade as [Read more…]