May | 2007 | Through the Wire

Well, I really didn’t realize how much I had been missing, but now that I’m back from the JazzFest, I am sure as shooting going to be back as frequently as providence permits. It’s just a glorious gathering of people all pretty much united in their intention to have a good time, without being a completely debaucherous mess. More music than you could possibly see.

Huge thanks to Mike and Karen for hosting me for the weekend, and huge thanks to all the musicians and everyone else who puts this event on. It’s definitely a major operation and it’s not like it’s for free or anything — but it is still a treasure.

Selected photos can be found in this gallery, and below, my first two YouTube uploads. Not real great video, but at least with the audio, you get an additional taste of the action.

White Cloud Hunters Mardi Gras Indians

Dancers during the Racines

I’m returning to New Orleans this weekend for the Jazz Festival for the first time in six or seven years. For a while in the 90′s it was an annual affair with a lot of friends; I think we went six-years running, usually convening folks from all around the country for two or three straight days of sunshine and music.

This will be my first time to really spend time in the city since Hurricane Katrina. I finally watched Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke and am a little bit shellshocked. Given how much I enjoyed spending time in New Orleans for a few years, I feel kind of bad that I haven’t really emotionally registered the scope of the devastation.

I am also a bit amazed that the entire affair has kind of slid below the public consciousness so soon. What went wrong was a serious breach of public responsibility, and it seems to me that the public should still be demanding answers and guarantees that problems are being corrected.

The internet world had a little dust-up this week as a concerted group of folks gamed Digg to prominently display a secret key which is used to encrypt DVDs. Imagine if a concerted group of folks could push the question “what went wrong in New Orleans?” to the front like that? Obviously, that’s not the same as getting something on the front page of the New York Times, but it would still be cool.

Heavy thoughts for a festival weekend. Here are some photos from years past to lighten things up a bit… If I have some time, I will come back and try to get the size/crop better…

JazzFest ’96

JazzFest ’97

Through the Wire

"Hey, I'm just happy to be here…"

Monthly Archives: May 2007

Re-Festivated

Jazz Fess-tival