This was one for the ages. Glorious sunny skies, cloud cover, a pleasant breeze and great music everywhere you turned. Smiles abounded and the only way you could catch everything was to keep moving. The biggest surprise of the day wasn’t even on the menu. The set listed as Raw Oyster Cult and fishy friends did include a heaping helping of the Oystermen – guitarists Dave Malone and Camile Baudoin and drummer Frank Bua from the Radiators, Papa John Gros on keyboards and vocals and Dave Pomerleau on bass. They played a series of originals with Malone and Gros trading off on lead vocals, highlighted by Malone’s new tune “16 Monkeys on a Seesaw.”
Suddenly, keyboardist Ed Volker and bassist Reggie Scanlan appeared onstage and the crowd witnessed a full scale Radiators reunion. At the end of their mini set Gros and Pomerleau returned to the stage and the full lineup played “Papaya” and “You Can’t Take It With You When You Go,” the theme song for all things Radiator.
When the dust settled the crowd moved en masse next door to the Fais Do Do stage where Honey Island Swamp Band was kicking ass, setting the stage for Los Lobos.
Jazz Fest really does have everything. Even classical music. The wildly eclectic Tom McDermott, joined by “friends” including Aurora Nealand on soprano saxophone and Michael Skinkus on percussion, played a set that ranged from “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” to a medley of tricky classical piano and percussion pieces. Earlier in the Fest trombonist Craig Klein dedicated the Nightcrawlers Brass Band’s wonderful version of the march from Verdi’s “Aida” (and we’re not talking Verti Marte here) to “the secret society of St. Anne’s.”
Poor Paul Simon picked a rough spot to kick off his new tour, the Acura stage at Jazz Fest. Simon’s set was so lackluster than the crowd was seen leaving the field in droves shortly after the start of his set. The lucky ones might have landed at the Blues Tent, where Elvin Bishop really tore the roof off the place with his day-closing set. “Where Y’At?… Gotta Be New Orleans!” Bishop understands the spirit of Jazz Fest as well as anyone.
At the start of the 101 Runners set at the Jazz & Heritage stage, sousaphonist Kirk Joseph told the crowd: “You’re in the right spot, people! The shit over there (gesturing in the general direction of Paul Simon), you’re gonna hear that on the radio. There shit over there (gesturing in the other direction), you’re gonna hear that on the radio. But the shit y’all are gonna hear right here – this is the REAL SHIT and this is the only place you’re gonna hear it!”
Joseph was not understating the case. The Runners powered through an incredible set of Mardi Gras Indian music with Joseph, drummer Raymond Weber and a three piece percussion section led by Chris Jones on congas powering the beat and June Yamagishi and Billy Iuso playing fiery guitar exchanges behind Big Chief Juan Pardo and four other brightly clad Indian singers. Indians got the Fiyo!
