A Weekend In NOLA...
Guess what I did this past weekend?
You know... if I could do anything I wanted, I would love to be a professional musician... I just LOVE music... I just FEEL it when it plays... but much like being any kind of an artist, one needs to be able to provide for a family, pay the bills, and stuff like that...
So... instead, I helped run my family's scrap metal recycling business... and then I became a stock broker... but really felt I found 'home' when I became a teacher...
Anyway... I digress...
Who did I get to hear and see??
I've never been a really BIG fan of Jimmy Buffet, but I have ALWAYS loved this song...
I just go back to easier times (or so it seems...) plus, it mentions San Francisco... God, I love San Francisco...
This seems to be much of an atypical Buffet song... he played one of the main stages on Saturday...
Another musician I got to see and hear was Marcia Ball... This is a great example of what happens when East Texas blues meets Louisiana swamp music...
She makes me want to DANCE!!! And you know how sad it is when a white man feels like dancing!!
I met her a few years ago when she and a host of other musicians were playing at 'Ground Zero' in Clarksdale, MS... after her set, she came up to the bar where I was sitting, sat down, and let me buy her a drink... and we talked about music and the Mississippi Delta... it was quite a treat for a wanna~be musician like me...
I was at another venue listening to the musician I am going to mention next, when she walks right by me... she stops and says, 'I recognize you, but I don't remember your name...' and we talked for a few moments... I explain to her how we met...
She wears skirts on stage... and plays with her legs crossed... and you can tell when she is really feeling the stage because that leg really gets to kicking!!!
The musician I was watching when I saw Marcia Ball was Jessie Winchester... he is another performer that just takes me back to those places... This is possibly my mostest, most favoritest Jessie Winchester song EVER!!!!!
'Twigs and seeds...' I mean, we've all been there... haven't we???
I've always loved his music... his voice... he also played this one...
I'm in a totally different place and mood today from where I was yesterday when I posted... I feel more retrospective... introspective... wistful...
It's amazing... the power that music has... it can transport us across time in a moment's notice...
~shoes~
jazz fest is magical. i love "come monday" too. such a beautiful song. i share a hometown with jimmy buffett, so i have kind of a visceral connection to his music. and though i could go the rest of my life without hearing "cheeseburger in paradise" or "fins," i do rather adore "trying to reason with hurricane season" and "changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes."
ReplyDeletemusic is my best and most reliable nerve tonic. one of the things i truly miss about being a kid at home with daddy is hearing him play guitar for hours and hours. makes me wanna take time to learn, just so i can hear it, and be able to give my kids that sort of experience someday...
I agree on the music thing. It is one thing that can make me forget all about my problems. It is its own world.
ReplyDeleteWe had a Jass Festival here last year. First time I heard Kyle Roland. Mmmmmm. Plays damn fine harmonica for a kid. That's what my husband always says about me. "Nobody FEELS music like Annie." Looks like me 'n you gonna have a feel-off! Winner gets to be a real musician with a roadie and a groupie!
ReplyDeletesometimes our kids are there as well...
ReplyDelete~ twigs and seeds ~
hmmm....
"Come Monday" was one of the first songs I ever belted out... it was released the same year i grabbed up my first guitar - and it was all 'cause my Dad played it over and over and over... LMBO! I still "listen" to learn vs. "reading" to learn...
it's Jimmy's fault.
Music is balm to the soul. My mood can always be judged by the music i'm playing...
xoxoxoxo
gobbles
What a completely blissful trip you had! I would so much rather go to the jazz festival than Mardi Gras. I'm not sure what that says about my age and outlook on life. I have a soft spot for Jimmy because I was force-fed "Let's Get Drunk and Screw" by my mother all the way to Hilton Head and back when I was a child. I mean...among other songs, but that's the one I remember. Our weeks in HHI were just thoroughly mixed with Buffet, peel and eat shrimp and later, wine. Lots and lots of wine. So even when Mama Virgo goes on to her final resting place, I will still associate her with sand in my crotch, wine in my glass, and Jimmy in the speakers.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have developed an unnatural affection for Melody Gardot and for some reason, I think of down and dirty Delta every time I hear her. Y'all would probably not agree. ;-D
Welcome to this side of the semester.
Work computer sucks because I can't access any of that stuff but I love Jimmy Buffet and I love music. You could steal my TV, I'd never miss it but paws off my stereo. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are feeling better, my day is looking up too! *huggles*
hmm... i'd like to see some music work its magical powers on my knee. i'm getting damn tired of sitting on my ass. i know it's been less than a week since the surgery but can't we move this whole healing thing along already?
ReplyDeleteA world without music would be like a world without colour.
ReplyDelete@ Magnolia... Hey you. You are right, JazzFest IS magical... even more so, given it's located there in NOLA...
ReplyDeleteYou need to learn to play the guitar, given that you recall your Dad sitting around and playing. I would imagine that he would be honored to know that you did that because of him.
Congratulations on finishing up all of your work!! I bet your Dad is proud of that!!
@ Robin... I KNOW! I can put some of my mostest favoritest music on... and be mesmerized! I hope all is well with you!
@ Wine And Words... a 'Feel-off!?' :oD Oh... that's not what you meant... Phhhfffttttt...
You can have the roadie... I'll take the groupie... I think... ;o)
@ Gobbles... Jimmy says that there's a woman to blame... :op How's 'Twigs & Seeds' doing? ;o)
~shoes~
Music...yeah, can fix a world of woes. it has certainly gotten me through so many tough times, as you know. Glad to hear you are doing well...
ReplyDeleteC
I never got the whole parrot-head thing. And I never heard of any of those other musicians either. But hey! thanks for broadening my exposure,
ReplyDeleteKurt
Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteI love music. It bring such healing to one's mind and soul. Sometimes music can express words we are to afraid to say.
RE:
"It's amazing... the power that music has... it can transport us across time in a moment's notice..."
-Beautifully said. I agree.
Hi Shoes...Thanks for stopping by to comment on my blog. I came here and read this one first and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I read the next one and the next. Needless to say I've clicked follow. Very nice blog. Look forward to more posts and comments.
ReplyDeleteI went to Jazzfest last year and had the most amazing time. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in America. What could be better than good food, lots of booze and music? Not much.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about your daughter and all of you that live in Miss...and La. just seems like everyone there has suffered enough. Sad to me..alot of sadness bout now.
ReplyDeleteC
@ Carol... yes, I know the role that music has played in your Life... most recently, too!!
ReplyDeleteAs for the flooding, the river at Rosedale, Greenville, and Vicksburg has crested, and it's on a slow drop now. It will take weeks for the river to settle back into the channels.
I guess most recently in the sadness are those souls at Joplin, MO... and more severe storms are forecast for that area tomorrow...
@ Cocaine Princess... I SO love music... Thank you for your comments...
@ Bouncing Barb.. Why thank you! I am so glad I found your blog... I look forward to reading more of it!
@ S... YES! NOLA is such a fun place... I always enjoy my visits there! Thank you for stopping by!!
~shoes~
@ 400 Wake Ups... somehow I missed replying to your comment... I'm so sorry... Yeah, I like JazzFest more than Mardi Gras... I will go to more JF... not sure about MG, other than to see some parades with GirlShoes.... I like Melody Gardot too!!
ReplyDelete@ Jaime... I know you had knee surgery since the time of this post... how is your knee doing??
@ Ubermouth... you said it... music does color anything... everything... I have a friend and it seems the only songs he plays on guitar are minor keys... I tell him that I always feel like slitting my wrists after he plays a set...
I remember what happened now... my computer was screwing up while I was commenting... I meant to come back and finish... and forgot... :o(
~shoes~
@ Carol... I can't believe how many comments I missed... I'm normally not this bad... :o(
ReplyDeleteThe news out of Joplin, MO... and then Oklahoma... and just all over. These storms are unbelievable..
They are so sad... I hope all is well...
~shoes~
I'm a fan of Jimmy Buffet. And margaritas. And Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville.
ReplyDelete