Motorcycle Notes: The Big Easy

N'awlins is just awesome!

"If you play F..."

Yesterday I walked through the French Quarter, taking in the atmosphere, looking at all the awesome buildings, and listening to several of the many street musicians around here. So much talent! Those saxophonists on the left were just standing there, trading bits and pieces, maybe waiting for their turn, and talking about music and music theory, every now and then throwing in

a little performance when they noticed that some people were looking at them expectantly. Other bands were focused on performing. What impressed me about the guys on the right was how young some of them were, and that even though they are young boys, they play this kind of music and "old folks'" instruments. And they do it really well! The evening saw the obligatory visit to Bourbon Street, drinking on a balcony.

Today I started my day with a walking tour, covering a bit of New Orleans' history. And boy, it is colorful! Several stories are told in many different versions, as I found out later. Probably none of them are true. My favorite was about some guy who wanted to kill his rich wife for her inheritance

and fired six shots at her. But since the shots were pellets, she survived. He then got desperate and killed himself. For which he needed four shots! Given that in those days you probably had to reload your gun after each shot, one really starts wondering. I then added a visit to the Pharmacy Museum, which is a nice collection detailing the mixture of impressive medicine, rather dubious treatments and outright and ridiculous quackery

that medicine was at the time (and in a way still is - homeopathy and unproven therapies in academic medicine were around then, and are around now). Then I got some Cajun and Creole food at a rather rustic place, after which I stumbled over a costume and music parade celebrating French Bastille Day, so I just marched and danced with them to the Joan of Arc memorial. After that, I was off to Frenchman Street, checked out the live music joints, listened to some super famous Hammond organist via the broadcast from one club to the sidewalk, and settled on The Spotted Cat, where those boys were playing:

It was another reminder how many truly amazing musicians are around worldwide, with only a fraction of them ever getting famous. Considering how good many unknown musicians are, I think it is a huge amount of luck that determines which musicians get famous. I can't tell whether those particular guys have what it would take to make it, but during a guitar solo I got dumbstruck, standing there in awe and loosing my sense of time and space, just staring, and grinning. "Flying fingers" might be a good way to describe it. Later one of the drummer's soli was the second time I lost control over my facial expressions. The other guests also couldn't stop screaming and dancing, it was just pure fun in there. The trumpet guy in front by the way wasn't even part of the band, just some guest with an instrument who joined the band and improvised. His throat expanded to astounding proportions while playing! I ended my evening with some quiet time in the hotel's courtyard.

Even though my days in New Orleans are quite packed, and I'm limiting myself to the French Quarter, I'm just barely scratching the surface. It's fascinating, and most of all it feels so wonderful. It's hot, it's southern, it's relaxed, the Big Easy, it's colorful, lively, friendly, fun-loving, it's strange and exotic, it's mysterious, it's got a weird obsession with death, you see Voodoo shops and hear ghost stories, there's party, blues and jazz, there's crumbling and decay, and incredible charm. It's just New Orleans. I highly recommend it!