Posted by Keith Spera, Music writer, theTimes-Picayune May 06, 2008 8:33AM
Categories: Breaking News, Jazzfest, Living: Arts and Entertainment, Music feature
Keith I. Marszalek / NOLA.comShoe protection was of extreme importance at Jazzfest.
The monsoon rains that visited themselves on this star-studded Jazzfest only served to produce more magical moments. By the time the last note was played on a crystal-blue Sunday, the Fair Grounds was back at the center of the entertainment universe.
The 2008 edition of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell boasted the most marquee talent in the festival's 39-year history. But its success depended on an age-old truism: The willingness of both festival staffers and attendees to adapt in order to keep the party going.
A mallard lays eggs in the grass alongside the Acura Stage field? Organizers erect protective barricades and signs, and fest-goers sprinkle it with dollar bills, perhaps for the ducklings' college fund.
A biblical storm parks itself over the Fair Grounds the first weekend? Shivering fans don ponchos and shrimp boots and dance in the swamp. And by the second weekend, the grounds crew has largely rehabilitated the site with fresh strips of sod, nature's carpet.
Awards, memories, observations and suggestions from the 2008 Jazzfest:
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The Show Must Go On Award: Billy Joel and his audience. The Piano Man continued to play, and thousands of fans continued to sing along, through a monsoon. How wet was it? During "Keeping the Faith," a stage hand squeegeed water off the top of Joel's grand piano.
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The Show Must Go On Award runner-up: Robert Plant. Plant reportedly was so sick the day before his Acura Stage set with Alison Krauss that the duo canceled a scheduled video shoot at One Eyed Jacks in the French Quarter. Good thing he rallied because . . .
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The best set I saw: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. I can't declare it the best set of the fest, because obviously I didn't see everything. But the bluegrass sprite, the grizzled rocker and their all-star Americana band, featuring guitarists Buddy Miller and T-Bone Burnett, were absolutely spellbinding. They tore into a banjo-laced "Black Dog," and built "When the Levee Breaks" atop surging mandolins. Krauss' haunting, sumptuous voice took full flight in "Down to the River to Pray," as Plant and two bandmates harmonized on a shared microphone; the a cappella arrangement induced goosebumps even where I stood, far back on the field. Plant described their collaboration as "new, fantastic and stimulating." No argument there.
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Most flagrantly offensive class distinction: As the wet, muddy masses huddled cheek to jowl on the ground level of the Grandstand the first Saturday, the second-level bleachers, visible to all through floor-to-ceiling glass walls, remained dry and empty, reserved for Big Chief VIPs.
I've got no problem with premium tickets and perks. However, it's one thing to add a new premium benefit, such as covered viewing stands and separate entrances, and quite another to take something away from the average fest-goer. Cordoning off the vast Grandstand bleachers denied what was, for many years, a prime spot to chill, marvel at the expanse of the festival and escape from the sun and rain. Doing so sets an unwelcome precedent and sends an unfortunate message. Festival producers should reopen the Grandstand to all.
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Opinions varied on Stevie Wonder. I thought his show was poorly paced and not tailored for the setting. Given his enormous talents and vast catalog of songs, I expected more. Several readers who posted comments on NOLA.com strongly disagreed with my impression; they believed his set was an example of Wonder's spontaneity, musicality and refusal to function as a human jukebox. Some pointed out that the "backing vocalist" I referred to in my initial review was Wonder's daughter, Aisha Morris. Her noteworthy pedigree aside, I still would rather have heard her father sing.
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The ultimate Parrothead souvenir: Jimmy Buffett's flip-flops. He traded them to an audience member for a T-shirt that read, "Helping rebuild New Orleans one margarita at a time."
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He should have hitched a ride with Buffett: Minutes after Buffett and Allen Toussaint closed down the Acura Stage with a voice/piano duet of "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?" security halted pedestrian traffic on the dirt track behind the stage. A convoy sped from the backstage area, with Buffett himself hanging out a passenger side window in the lead SUV, whooping it up as fans cheered. Moments later, Toussaint, on foot and bound for the Mystery Street exit, attempted to cross the vehicle side of the dirt track. Security guards unceremoniously shooed him back to the pedestrian side.
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Quint Davis' fondest farewell: As the Jazzfest producer bid the audience goodbye on the first Friday, Sheryl Crow bounded across the Acura Stage to give him a big hug.
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Most rampant unsubstantiated rumor: that Stevie Wonder would guest during Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews' late-night Thursday show at Tipitina's. All week, well-meaning and well-informed people assured me this was a done deal. It would not be without precedent: On Aug. 30, 2006, the night after a Hurricane Katrina benefit at the New Orleans Arena, Wonder arrived unannounced at d.b.a. on Frenchmen Street and spent 45 minutes onstage with Walter "Wolfman" Washington's band.
The sit-in, alas, did not happen. Tipitina's, however, was packed for the show's 3 a.m. start; at least one prominent New Orleans trumpeter and his entourage reportedly showed up specifically to see Wonder. Shorty played until 7 a.m. Friday morning -- 90 minutes before Wonder called in to the WWL-TV morning show for a brief chat with the show's hosts and musical guests The Dixie Cups.
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Where were they? With a finite number of performance slots and a nearly infinite number of Louisiana musicians, some deserving artists are bound to be left out of Jazzfest. But this year's roster omitted at least two acts with strong new CDs: Eric Lindell, the soul-blues guitarist and singer; and north shore acoustic-blues singer and guitarist Owen "Big Daddy O" Tufts. Someone in Jazzfest's office should pencil in these guys for the 2009 festival now.
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Most ubiquitous nonmusical celebrity: actor John C. Reilly. From the "Ponderosa Stomp" to Aaron Neville's Gospel Tent show, he was everywhere.
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Second most ubiquitous nonmusical celebrity: actor Jude Law. He checked out Preservation Hall on Thursday and joined his buddy Irvin Mayfield onstage during the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra's set at the Fair Grounds.
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Best New Orleans music lesson: the T-shirts worn at the Jazz & Heritage Stage by the Midnight Disturbers. The black shirts with red lettering urged people to "Listen to . . ." someone. Drummer Stanton Moore's shirt named James Black, the late great architect of modern jazz drumming in New Orleans; Moore's 3-year-old daughter sported a pink shirt advertising Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters. Galactic saxophonist Ben Ellman's plugged the late Fred "Shep" Sheppard. Bonerama trombonist Mark Mullins' shirt remembered his late bandmate Brian O'Neill. Trumpeter Kenneth Terry saluted Dave Bartholomew. Trumpeter Shamarr Allen called out Henry "Red" Allen. Trombonist "Big" Sam Williams memorialized Frog Joseph. Taking an existential approach, saxophonist Skerik's shirt said, "Listen to yourself."
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Most radical three hours of guitar heroics: Sonny Landreth's mind-bending slide guitar excursions on the Gentilly Stage the second Sunday, followed by the Raconteurs' fractured, feedback-laden blues-rock freakouts. Raconteurs guitarist Jack White also wins the Best Dressed Rocker award: He sported a brown suit stitched with sequins and bones, a Halloween variation of the classic country-rock Nudie suit. Even the band's guitar tech wore a tie and vest.
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Let's hear it for Harvey: Raconteurs singer Brendan Benson reminded the Gentilly Stage crowd that he grew up on the West Bank. That explains why he named one of his solo albums "Lapalco."
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Most timely plug: On Sunday at the Gentilly Stage, guest rapper Chali 2na announced that he and Galactic would perform "Think Back" on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" tonight.
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Most unexpected delight: the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a young trio that specializes in 19th- and early 20th-century rural African-American string music. They were no novelty act, nor were they stuck in the past. They ended their Blues Tent set with "Hit 'Em Up Style," a sassy, contemporary anthem by R&B singer Blu Cantrell. The Drops' Rhiannon Giddens tore it up with a focused, resolute wail and the cadence of a rapper, backed by Dom Flemons on banjo and Justin Robinson on a microphone as a human beatbox.
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Lady Tambourine's best moment: Rosalie Washington arrived 40 minutes late for her own show in the Gospel Tent and was denied entrance to the same tent while Aaron Neville was singing. But she ambled onstage during Texas soul-funk singer Ruthie Foster's set at the Blues Tent and absolutely elevated the room. "Tambourine Sister, you rock!" Foster shouted. The overflow crowd roared its approval.
VIDEOS::::
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=96398
"Fortune Teller":
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"The Battle of Evermore":
"Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)":
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