Okay, so I’ve realized that my late night blogging after each street performance doesn’t match with neither coming back home from having been drinking wine with Brian and his girlfriend Amanda, nor with having stopped drinking coffee (at least of the doping kind)… The day after, when the energy from the experiences has diminished somewhat, other projects seem to call for attention, the musical moments reduced to a sea of memories with no distinguishable moments left to treasure.
Well, Brian’s and my experiences playing on Royal this past Thursday were so beautiful and has left such mark on me, that here, four days later, they still want to be told. (I might add that this was Brian’s and my last performance together for the weekend, so it still stands out quite clearly in my memory).
Arriving on my gear-loaded bike at the top of Royal Street, I was already feeling the vibrant energy of the Quarter! I soon neared Brian’s performance spot as he was playing solo on Toulouse. A couple on the sidewalk right next to him was filming him performing and a few people were crouched down on the side-walk across the street outside the souvenir shop listening attentively. It was a quarter to eight, and knowing we might not be approved by the Toulouse Lady, a resident non-fan, if we played past eight, I drove a block further down Royal to check on the St. Louis corner, only to find Jonah playing his 150 string (can’t be far off!) Indian instrument on our favorite spot. However, ss fortune would have it, he was almost done!
Eager out of my own skin to tell Brian about getting our best spot, coming back he was enveloped by people wanting to talk and get his autograph. A lady wanted to know where we’d be performing together and she said she’d find us on the next corner. Reminding myself of just how fast a good spot gets snatched up if left on its own, I packed up most of Brian’s gear and went back to switch spots with Jonah who, on the other hand, was amazingly efficient packing up in spite of just about every by-passer asking him for the name of his funny looking instrument lying there on the ground…
Brian arriving at the spot and a few people waiting for us to start playing (including a gentleman who picked up the CD and hung around for pretty much our whole set), we were quickly into our first song: Landslide. It was a tentative, since we had only just added it to the set. However, the often-played Scarborough Fair fared much better and more people stopped to listen, including the lady from the other corner. Diving into an 90’ies set of Right Here Waiting, Power of Love, and I Will Always Love You, we had a large crowd of people locked in with us, some embracing, every one seemingly enjoying hearing THAT song in THAT moment in THAT place…
Feeling very happy sharing this music and experience with these people from many different states (and probably countries too), another special moment came when 5 kids aged between 1 and 9 sat down on the sidewalk to listen for “one more song”, and could we do one they might know, asked her mom. Turned out they had just learned What a Wonderful World in school and they sang along a little bit and were drawn in with big eyes and ears as only kids can be. It’s awesome when even kids appreciate a good old Louis Armstrong song!
The perfect ending to Brian’s and my street seance came when the music coordinator for the Juan-les-Pins Jazz Festival (by the French Mediterranean) asked if we would be interested in performing there and I handed him my card. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in regards to making these numerable and seemingly interesting contacts while playing on the street, it’s that you’re better off having absolutely no expectations to their outcome. Whichever way it might happen, I know that I’d LOVE to one day perform at this festival, as this is one of the most beautiful spots I’ve been to to in Europe!
The icing of the cake was drinking wine with Brian and Amanda on their street “front porch” in their camping chairs, Amanda jumping out of bed and joining us in her bathrobe (in New Orleans, ANYTHING goes)…. We spent a quality moment sharing stories and being thrilled at the mildness of the night and the ability to just camp out on the sidewalk. Brian had a night bus to Austin to catch, and I rode the bike home thinking once again about how fortunate I am to be living in this city able to share music and life with wonderful people every day.
