Houseman

Evoking both the Iraq war and current conditions at home, Theryl “Houseman “ DeClouet joined Kirk Joseph’s Backyard Groove for Edwin Starr’s “War” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” Both were served up well, but isn’t it time we protested current events with songs less than 30 years old?

—Brett Milano

 

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis is still rock ’n’ roll in every inch of his 71-year-old body, from the top of his pompadour head to the tip of his black patent leather cowboy boot, shown in glorious close-up on the Acura big screen. “Hello, you good lookin’ thing!” he shouted straight to me (okay, to the crowd, but that’s how it felt). Then he turned my whole body to jello with “Sweet Little Sixteen,” rocking my world so hard with that single song that I was able to tear myself away for the one Sunday artist I absolutely could not miss: Gillian Welch.

—Cree McCree

 

Jazz Fest Food

The oysters on the half-shell were once again in the grandstands, and almost every vendor returned this year. The only glaring holes were the bags of cracklins and the Vietnamese dishes. The food was back in full force, but the much-heralded addition of wine and champagne turned out to be foul tasting white and red from Fetzer (“The Miller Lite of wine”) and pink bubbly in a can.

What was good, though, was great. Vaucresson’s hot sausages, despite the loss of his grill (see www.findthegrill.com), were a sentimental favorite. Linda Green’s ya ka mein was rich and salty and her banana bread pudding one of the best sweet treats at the Fair Grounds. Guil’s Gator—bits of slightly chewy, fried alligator mixed with onion and jalapeños—was a tasty new find. Can someone explain, though, why crawfish bread is such a hit? Charred bread filled with a blob of lukewarm, greasy cheese does not represent the city’s best eats.

—Todd Price

 

 

 

Rod Stewart

Overheard by someone walking away from Rod Stewart: “That’s the world’s biggest casino,” and it was hard to disagree. Stewart took songs that once had life and reduced them to simple statements—the Memories of Your Life. He didn’t sing a word that he invested with any personal belief, and he was so irony-impaired he performed the 12-inch disco remix of “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy,” and worse, did it as the encore. That was really his final statement, the thought/question he wanted us to walk away with.

—Alex Rawls

 

Dr. John

Dr. John led his band through an incantatory set at the Acura Stage that Friday, drawling his funk band through a mystical ritual at a tempo that pulled each beat to taffy snapping tensile strength, an extraordinarily hypnotic sound that he can only summon at the height of his power. The band was glistening with the sheer muscle of the beat’s restraint as Mac declaimed a funky “Right Place, Wrong Time,” wrapped up with a square knot of a guitar solo from John Fohl, and rolled a slow mambo through “Mos’ Scosious,” then rolled into an improvised vocal that wielded “St. James Infirmary” like a magic wand. He drew the whole section of music into a dramatic coda as the stunned audience watched in a trance-like state, its usual buzz hushed to a whisper.

—John Swenson

 

Radiators

The lack of a Neville Brothers or Meters presence was a psychic hole in the Jazz Fest lineup, but the Radiators lived up to their role as fest closers with a killer set. As the group relies less on marathon jams and more on its voluminous catalog of songs, the Rads have actually gotten tighter and more focused with age, and percussionist Michael Skinkus and saxophonist Tim Green have become so familiar with the material they now sound like regular band members rather than guest soloists. “Roller Coaster,” a compressed three minute tune that hits like a track from the Nuggets compilation, was transformed by Green’s vertiginous saxophone break.

—John Swenson

 

ZZ Top

Not even May 4’s torrential downpour could dampen the tenacious spirit and sly wit of the lil’ ol’ band from Texas. By the time ZZ-Top hit the stage, the rain had subsided and the diehards were richly rewarded by the bearded ones for toughing it out. There was no shortage of ZZ hits, but they’re a smart and classy enough band to know that playing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is not your average arena tour stop, so they made several nods of gratitude to our town and even did an old Larry Williams tune, “High School Dance.” Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill played with effortless authority while throwing in the occasional bit of subtle unison-guitar-swing stage choreography, just enough to tease and not enough to look like a Vegas act. Gibbons’ guitar solos on “La Grange,” “Tush” and “Just Got Paid” were tonal stunners, a virtual masterclass in getting the most out of the right note, properly milked.

—Rob Cambre