The Bass Geek

The day itself was spent collecting the requisite souvenirs and such from various locations (and wasting some time watching a lackluster Steelers game).  After obtaining the necessary cultural detritus, including a sizable number of snuff bottles (they were on sale), we absconded for pizza and the start of our musical adventures.  Even though there wasn’t anything live at One Eyed Jacks, it was still worth the stop to hear a jukebox that featured Betty Davis, Dio, Turbonegro and Funkadelic.  The red velvet wallpaper and black velvet nudes complemented the place well.

From there, we took in some more Kermit Ruffin at the Blue Nile.  Tight funk and jazz band - well worth a second viewing.  While my wife didn’t pass out early or anything, there was evidently something in the vodka and tonics that promoted zombification.  Not in a drooling roofie sort of way, but in a clawing, constant-demanding-for-brains sort of way.  You have to be careful with such things in this town, but luckily we managed to escape without incident.

Also, Jennifer thinks she might have run into Keith Urban, in all of his tiny, spa-enhanced glory.  So, there you go.  Thank you for that, Sugar Bowl.

We’re trying to decide now what to do with New Year’s Eve - Morning 40 Federation at One Eyed Jacks, Dumpstaphunk and Porter/Batiste/Stoltz at Howlin’ Wolf’s, or the celebration downtown.  Comments? 

The music portion of the night centered around Kermit Ruffin’s mix of jazz and R&B, and I picked up kind of a go-go vibe from him - the music never stopped unless it had to, and you just kept segueing as necessary to make sure the dancers never stopped. Great stuff. I’m going to miss having this amount of groove-oriented music available from just wandering around. Wonder what I could do to make this happen in Fountain Square?

Our tourist-y activity of the day was taking in the New Orleans Museum of Art and one of the St. Louis cemeteries. A good friend of ours also showed us the site where Brad Pitt’s Make It Right project had erected pink solar-powered tents represented the houses that would be built. Our friend noted that there’s more life returning every day, and Common Ground still has a strong presence. There’s still a long way to go, but the outrage is spurring some fantastic efforts.

After a rather rough flight, including multiple delays, birds sucked into intake valves, horribly random seat assignments and a pledge never to fly Northwest again, we finally made it to New Orleans. It’s much as we remember it, except for the absence of mobile command stations on the medians from last year. Baby steps, I suppose. After a quick meal of thai, coffee at Cafe Du Monde and drinks at the R Bar, we took in some of the music. There was the obligatory street brass band performance, and then we returned to the Maple Leaf for an amazing show from Johnny Vidacovich’s trio. George Porter, Jr. wasn’t there this time, but the group didn’t disappoint at all. Grimy funk in the Maple Leaf was exactly what we needed to get over the flight nightmare.

My wife also wishes to inform the readers of this blog that it was I that cried “Uncle” first this night and not her, upsetting the normal balance of the universe and surely foretelling the end of days.

So we’re headed back to New Orleans for the new year this year, and I’ve been looking ahead at the music calendar for some ideas of things to do while we’re there (now that we’ve gotten some of the tourist stuff out of the way, I look forward to sleeping later and enjoying more of the nightlife).  The funny thing is that some of the big shows we saw down there last year are coming around again.  George Porter and Johnny Vidacovich at the Maple Leaf?  Yep.  Eddie Bo and Snooks Eaglin at Mid-City Rock N’ Bowl Check.  Dr. John at House of Blues?  Mais oui, ma cheri.

These shows were good enough to demand a return visit, I’d think.  We were so exhausted that we didn’t get to catch the whole thing, so there’s certainly more to be heard. And watching George Porter play bass is a revelation. These folks are legends.  Plus, there’s a Toadies reunion while we’re down there, and I’d like to relive my college radio days.  This is going to be a lot of fun. 

Part of the idea I had for this site when I created it was to give me enough space to record bass tracks for folks from files they sent electronically and post them for FTP. I’ve done this a couple times with decent results, but I’m also noticing that services are popping up that handle this kind of thing, too. To wit, I’ve signed up on eSessions to see what’s doing over there. Basically, they act as a middleman to connect those organizing recordings and the players. There’s a little real-time collaboration, but most of it is based off of taking the files and recording them at your own facilities on your schedule. Which is pretty damn handy, ’cause it gives you easier access to players like Tony Levin.

It also means that, at least theoretically, I’m up for gigs against Tony Levin, and I know who wins that battle every frickin’ time.

But if you’re looking for cheaper tracks from somebody slightly lower on the low end’s evolutionary scale, lemme know.