Jazzfest: all that
This weekend f and I went down to New Orleans for the final night and day of Jazzfest. It was a rare 24- hours-plus of fun together. We spent most of the time hidden away from the rowdy French Quarter crowds in a private courtyard of the cottage our friends rented at a great little hotel, which had a leafy canopy thanks to trees growing out of the wall.
We only cared about seeing two acts, and had tickets for neither. We got to the Saturday-night MIA show at like 2 a.m. and people who were already leaving gave us their wristbands to the sold-out show. Not bad. MIA was already on and we'd missed most of the show, but not her hits. So actually it was the perfect time to get there, because the warehouse felt like a sauna.
This was the best picture I could get, but you can see how steamy the joint was. MIA is the bits of neon in the middle. 
Frenchman's Street was in ridiculous form at that hour--balloons of nitrous were openly being sold to a receptive and, I assume, brain-cracklin' crowd.
Sunday morning: I woke up to find a tube of Krazy Glue for my broken shoe waiting on top of the shoes, then two of our co-cottagers left us festival tickets, and not long after, we had coffee and beignets in the courtyard. Perfect.
Then we arrived at the festival grounds of Jazzfest, or as I like to call it, The Parade of Ill-Advised Tattoos. It was prime time for watching The People Show, as my pal Alienwhere likes to call it. There were oh-so-many bad tattoos on display, but one jaw-dropping standout in the center of a young lady's back said something like, "Take me to your tiki bar," in bamboo font, and presumably had been inked immediately following a trip to a tiki bar in which numerous scorpion bowls were consumed.
The act we cared about seeing yesterday was the Raconteurs. I could tell my boyfriend Jack White was happy I made it, even though I was with my fiance. I could also tell Jack is making good use of Nashville's many theatrical tailors and suitmakers, all of whom probably claim to have dressed Elvis. I think for this ensemble he asked to look like he was in a marching band from the Old West, with sparkly bone detailing.
After standing in the full sun for that set, we were ready to take off, but first it was time to try the food. Jazzfest had the best selection of festival food I've ever seen. We'd heard about the amazing strawberry lemonade and we saw practically every third person walking by with a bowl of yellow saucy pasta deliciousness we learned was Crawfish Monica. We split up for wait for our prizes on line. When I turned away from the six-line counter with the Crawfish Monica, people were stopping in their tracks in front of me so they could start eating theirs right away. Both that dish and the lemonade were out of control.
I'd say the Monica was the best food I've tried since moving down here. I figured it was super buttery and fatty, and just found in the recipe that it uses butter and half and half, then the recipe says "look, relax, just don't eat this every day." Damn you, the Deep South. Damn you and your delicious bowls of butter.
By the way, that Miller Lite in the background of the photo wasn't ours, but it did appear to be the official beer of the festival. Everyone was walking around with cardboard cases of it, and one guy we spotted had a beer coozy belt to accomodate a six-pack.
On that note, I haven't been to a music festival in ages, but even when I last did they were much more regulated than this one was. You could bring in your own drinks, cameras, recording equipment, chairs, whatever. And it was all good. With all the people, the full hot sun, the lack of shade, etc., there were so many ways the festival could have not been enjoyable, but it still was. The good times rolled.
wow, that pasta sounds delish! And i looks like you guys had a fab time.
Posted by: JDizzle | May 05, 2008 at 11:07 AM
and the corruption of the innocent former vegan from jersey continues......
Posted by: vl100butch | May 05, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Is the statue in the first picture part of the cottage courtyard?
Posted by: Alexis | May 05, 2008 at 11:39 AM
Yo Co, yer BF Jack is wearing an awesome Nudie suit, just like my BF Gram Parsons used to wear (yeah, I like all the dead ones). They're from California, actually. That's great that y'all got to go to the festival. Did you stay in the Marigny section (that's sort of the feel I got) - I really like it there.
oh, ps, I'm back!
Posted by: Elizabeth | May 05, 2008 at 12:00 PM
jDizz--it was delish. You should make it if you want to gain weight.
Butch, somehow this is all your fault.
Alexis, it was! That place ruled.
Ahh! E welcome back! I suspected that might be a Nudie suit--Pamela Des Barres mentioned them in I'm With the Band (I think in relation to Gram Parsons), but I was never certain what they were. I'm not sure if we were in the Marigny section, we were a few blocks and a world away from Bourbon.
Posted by: cokane | May 05, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Crawfish Monica is deee-lish.
Also, I find the fact that you don't mention any actual jazz music in your Jazzfest post funny.
Oh, and I'm also reminded of Paul F. Tompkin's riff on how he doesn't like jazz on behalf of "the common stupid person." Hee!
Posted by: therese | May 05, 2008 at 02:32 PM
Crawfish Monica is deee-lish.
Also, I find the fact that you don't mention any actual jazz music in your Jazzfest post funny.
Oh, and I'm also reminded of Paul F. Tompkin's riff on how he doesn't like jazz on behalf of "the common stupid person." Hee!
Posted by: therese | May 05, 2008 at 02:32 PM
there was jazz at jazzfest?
huh.
Posted by: cokane | May 05, 2008 at 04:05 PM
Sounds like a blast! How far are you from New Orleans? I need to get a beer cozy belt before summer vacation.
Posted by: Jeff | May 05, 2008 at 04:28 PM
Looks like you had a very helpful ghost at your cottage. I need one of those to leave me things that I need.
Posted by: kartek | May 05, 2008 at 06:43 PM
positively jealous of your weekend. Steve and I went to the Newport Folk Festival one summer three years ago-our kid-less weekend full of music-was not so great because I discovered I was pregnant with the moo. I was sick all weekend. Blah. I want your care-free, drinking coffee and eating beignets, hearing good music, eating bowls of butter weekend.
Posted by: beth | May 05, 2008 at 07:45 PM
I wanted to go to JazzFest, but I broke my foot on Friday dorking around with some Art Car toys, :-(
Posted by: Trey | May 05, 2008 at 08:20 PM
Sounds as if you really actually LIKE it there now! :)
Posted by: Jules | May 06, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Well, food and music are nice and all, but a picture of that Tiki tattoo would have just kept me humored for *days*!
As it is, the description will do fine.
thank you! :)
Posted by: jason | May 06, 2008 at 06:39 PM
crawfish monica is worth taking from an old lady. fuck yeah. you go girl.
Posted by: the cajun boy | May 06, 2008 at 10:04 PM
I WILL get to Jazzfest one day. I WILL (clicks ruby red slippers three times).
Posted by: I Like Cheese | May 07, 2008 at 10:11 AM
OMG!!! I must be slipping.
How did I Not. Not. Not. Comment on this post?!?!!!
And OMG!!! Alienwhere and I Love, Love, Love to watch The People Show quite often!
Posted by: Lioux | May 07, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Miller Lite is a perfectly respectable brew, and we shall be enjoying it this weekend at the official kick-off of STOOP SALE SEASON!
Not as exciting as going to JAZZ FEST....but almost.
Posted by: Kitty | May 07, 2008 at 07:39 PM
Hey, quit makin' fun of my tiki tattoo!!
Posted by: meanieT | May 08, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Some friends from New Orleans were just in town visiting, and when we went out for a beer they ordered Miller Lite-- it's not like the new Abita is it? Maybe they got used to it during Jazz Fest.
Also, I think you and your blog are awesome. The perfect Bust-FMU-Louisiana trifecta.
Posted by: Sascha | May 11, 2008 at 11:19 PM
yay, Sascha, thank you!
Posted by: cokane | May 12, 2008 at 10:10 AM