Jazz Fest Part 2

Trying to get on a more postitive track here, I decided to finish up my Jazz Fest recap. Monday was my only "free" day. I don't think I did anything that day, other than work. I think I got home and collapsed. Although part of me feels like I did something, but I have no clue what. I knew that Tuesday was going to be crazy and it was. Tuesday I went to work at the normal time of 6:30 AM. When it was done, I ran home and cleaned up the house a bit so it looked like a tornado hadn't gone through it. I then ran out to LMF to see Matt Perrine's instore. I then had some time to kill so I had some dinner then went and hung out at the hotel the management team was staying at. Bonerama had a gig that night out at Ray's Boom Boom Room on Frenchmen's street. The guys didn't start until after midnight. It was an interesting gig. Definetly not a bad one, but not one of my favorites.


I slept in a bit the next day since I didn't get home until about 4:30 AM. I didn't think I was going to be that functional. As it was, I got there before 10. As soon as I got off at work, I met Jessica at our normal meeting place for a cocktail. We then wandered on over to the Wednesday in the Square, where Paul Sanchez was the opener. He had a couple of the guys from Bonerama playing with him, it was a really nice set....after it was over Jessica got to try her first boiled crawfish over at Lucy's. We then ran home, and freshened up a bit. We checked out a bit of Eric's set at Chickie Wah-Wah's then it was out to Carrollton Station where the Bonerama Horns were sitting in with Twangorama. That was a fun night!! Thursday I just couldn't do the work thing. I needed some sleep!! Jessica went to the airport to pick up Mike then they went out the quarter. I caught up on some Tivo. We eventually met up in the quarter, I believe for some instores going on. That was another crazy night if I am recalling correctly! We went from the instores, down to Molly's to see some Storyville Stompers, then to d.b.a to catch some of Grayson Capps set. We then headed out to the Maple Leaf. Of course we did find some time to catch a power nap!!!
Friday it was out for some more koozie fun. I think we ended up being there for about an hour before the deluge of rain came down. We ran for the car and I sat there for a minute deciding do I go into the fest or not. I went back to the hotel with everyone where we relaxed for a bit. Jessica and Mike came to pick me up from there, and we weren't even sure if music was still going on. We knew that they had stopped the bigger stages. We found out that it wasn't for long and we ran out to the grounds were we caught the last of Better Than Ezra, some Amanda Shaw, and ZZ Top. For ZZ Top we were standing in a "lake" that came up mid-shin. By the time they were done the water was all gone!! I then headed out to the Quarter where I met up with some more friends in town, we had a quick bite to eat. I then had to go and clean up a bit before going out to Chickie Wah Wah for another night of the Bone.

Saturday we handed out a few hundred more koozies and then went inside to the fest. I saw the Storyville Stompers. I also attempted to see the Allman Brothers, however the crowd was just toooo insane. I do not do good walking through extremly crowded areas, so I found a patch of grass out by John Mayer's stage. That night I was going to go to Carrollton Station, but after a shower, I decided to just stay home and sleep. The next day was going to be early. The day had dawned. It was the last day of the fest. I was not handing out koozies this day. In fact I got up at 6:30 or so and was waiting at the gates by 8 AM. It is kinda crazy being there that early....I was with the Jazz Fest die hards. As they started taking out tickets, people started to RUN for the stages. I was going to get a good spot for Harry Connick Jr, so I started to run as well. Once I got to the stage, I realized why they were running. They were trying to get the first spots for in the seating section. They wanted to set up their camps. I however was the first person in the standing room only section. I chose to go center stage. People eventually filled in the area, some of them brought water and other cooling off goodies with them. It was amazingly hot that day. Finally sometime after 6 PM I was rewarded for my day of holding my spot. Harry and the big band hit the stage. It was an amazing set, short but amazing.
I definetly didn't regret anything that day!! It was over way to soon, and we took our sunburned bodies home. I think there was a quick meal and a half hour nap. Then it was time to head out to the Maple Leaf for the last set by the Bonerama boys. I was amazed by the amount of people there!! So many people there that I knew. It was a great way to close out the fest. The boys finished and I got home around 4:30. I promptly fell alsleep for an hour. Then it was time to go to work. What you may say?? I don't have that much vacation time at that point, so I had to go to work. It wasn't actually hard to work that day. There were a few minutes that sucked, but not too horrible. After work, I met up with Jessica and Mike in the Quarter and we went to the LMF for the Paul Sanchez instore. I eventually got to bed about 9 that night. I had been in all sense up for 37 hours. I am still recovering from that. It was the most amazing Jazz Fest.