The Fest does so many great things, and one of them is that they honor those who have given to the city and it's culture and passed on to their greater reward. This year, they unveiled a monument in their Ancestors exhibit to honor Blues Queen Miss Marva Wright, who tragically passed in March of this year.
Thursday started a little slow for me. After a little lunch, which was badly needed after my forced fast of the day before, I joined Bob to watch a Canadian folk-pop duo called Dala, who I must admit, were complete unknowns to me. The two singers, Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine (thus dala) perform a combination of original and cover tunes. They were a mixed bag for me. Some of the originals (Lennon McCartney for example) really fell flat. On the other hand, their original song, "Horses" was terrific, and they did a very intriguing piano based cover of Neil Young's "Ohio", fitting given the upcoming 40th anniversary of the tragic events at Kent State. All in all, not bad and it's always good to hear some new voices!
Canadian duo Dala cover CSNY's "Ohio"This turned out to be another of those days where I ended up staying in one spot most of the day. Next at this stage was Amanda Shaw. This Covington, Louisiana native (just across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans) is known for her Cajun fiddle playing and has become a regular at the Fest despite being only 20 years old. She and her band, the largely misnamed Cute Boys, had the crowd on it's feet dancing for their hour-long set, and I must admit, I was one of them!
Amanda Shaw
Party at the Gentilly StageI'd really planted myself here at the Gentilly Stage to see a couple of performers doing shows that were a little out of their usual comfort zones.
The first was a Fest premier appearance by Steve Martin-------yes, that Steve Martin, the wild and crazy guy comedian of yore. Unknown to many, Martin also happens to be a very accomplished banjo player and Bluegrass afficianado. He has teamed up with an established Bluegrass band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, from Asheville, North Carolina and hit the road to feature songs from his 2010 Grammy Award winning (Best Bluegrass Album) record "The Crow: New Songs For The Five String Banjo". Like the record, his Jazz Fest set featured almost exclusively original songs penned by Martin. And while he didn't always seem completely at ease in front of this large crowd, his playing was impeccable and his band mates talent was undeniable! While most of the songs were serious (with the notable exception of "The Atheists Song and the unavoidable albeit faithfully Bluegrass version of his comedic hit song "King Tut") between song banter was vintage Martin self effacing comedy, making for a great mix of chuckles and music.
Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers
The acappella "Atheists Song"The other artist stretching out from his usual comfort zone was Britain's own Elvis Costello! Elvis has become a bit of a regular character on the New Orleans scene since he recorded the terrific "River In Reverse" album with Allen Toussaint after Hurricane Katrina. In recent years he's done performances with Toussaint and also with his recent backing band, The Imposters. He recently put together a new band consisting of a number of incredibly talented bluegrass and country players, including Dobro master Jerry Douglas (most famously from Alison Kraus' Union Station), Fiddle player Stuart Duncan, and Country singer/songwriter Jim Luaderdale. While some things worked better than others (I must admit the new material from the Sugarcanes record left me cold) there were magical moments like his version of "New Amsterdam" that morphed into the Beatles "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and a terrific transformation of the pop hit "Everyday I Write The Book" into a gorgeous bluegrass ballad. All in all it was a good way to close out day one of weekend two!!!
Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes.
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