The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival wrapped weekend 1 with stormy weather that cleared in time for the Fest to open and Dr. John to play with his band The Gris Gris Krewe; Tom Petty to play a bucketload of hits, and Lorde to note that the crowd danced more than all of Coachella.
Dr. John kicked off his set with Danse Kalinda, and his trio of dancers did just that. Charles Neville, now living in the Northeast, returned home to play soaring sax solos on an abbreviated set with Dr. John's band The Gris Gris Krewe. Neville hand-carved Dr. John's first cane decades ago, so it was truly old home week. Throughout the set the crowd grew, having waited out a total shutdown of the Fest that morning due to the weather Gods. Having played just before the rain last year and just after the rain this year, Twitter fans theorized that Dr. John had some sort of voodoo control over the weather.
Also channeling Captain Jack Sparrow with a bandana holding down his hair, Tom Petty closed down the stage with an array of hits from his mega-catalogue, telling the audience “We'll play as many as we can.” He's told Rolling Stone that this 40th anniversary Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tour could be his last one, which would be a shame as robust as this set was. His audience sang along, fueled by beer and relief at being part of a musical day that almost wasn't. An upside to bumpy weather at Jazz Fest is short lines in booths like Love at First Bite's Cochon de Lait. An increasing number of foodies order the po-boy with lettuce instead of French bread, which is not a sandwich but a salad but why quibble?
Lorde rounded out the headliners, drawing rapt tweens and winning the hearts of locals by telling us “This is my first time here in New Orleans and I love you – you guys have danced more than the entirety of Coachella three songs in!” She also noted that “There's quite a lot of lightning. Is it like this all the time?” It’s starting to seem like it. Lorde’s unbothered dancing and dialogue with the audience had her young fans singing along and taking selfies with her in the background.
Maceo Parker who filled in for George Benson had the jazz tent packed, not just because of the weather but because of his standout rendition of standards like “Stand by Me.” While in the Blues Tent, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes sang about sweating like crazy, drinking cheap whiskey and listening to blues on the radio all night long, which as far as the Blues Tent goes is preaching to the whiskey-buzzed choir.
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Golden Eagles kept the day spiritually correct, New Orleans Jazz Vipers represented for International Jazz Day, and Craig Adams & Higher Dimensions of Praise delivered the longest, most enthusiastic version of I Want to Know What Love Is in the history of mankind.
And with that, Weekend 1 is a wrap. Coming up next weekend are Wilco, Herb Alpert, Earth Wind & Fire, Kings of Leon, Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder and many more - likely under friendlier skies.