Jazz Fest

It seems a little like we had a three day weekend. Not bad.

What stretched the weekend out was a busy Friday night, that made it seem like two nights. I got home around 6:00, which is super-late for a Friday, but then we grilled steaks with a few others. That seemed like the Friday night activity.

After that, we walked around the corner to a neighbor's crawfish boil. It was a different group with different conversation, so it feels like that happened a different day. Two nights worth of socializing, and we were still home and in bed before midnight.

We went down to New Orleans for Jazz Fest on Saturday. There must have been a zillion people there, many of whom appeared to be out-of-towners. I have to conclude that the tourist influx for Jazz Fest is as high as it ever was. As always, it was sunny and hot, but there was at least a bit of a breeze. As always, we saw good music from previously-unheard of artists. As always, paid way too much for beer and ate good food.

I did manage the whole day without using a portable toilet. I think I sweated the liquids out as fast as I took them in, so my real superpower was the ability to hold my #2 until I got all the way home. This was especially impressive, as my body first reminded me that it was time for my morning elimination while walking toward the fairgrounds. Every hour or so it reminded me, "Hey, don't forget that you need to poop," but they were polite reminders rather than the angry explosive demands that the tail-end of my gastronomical system can sometimes make.

My favorite show was Stephen Marley, who by sound could have been his old man Bob. He looked the part as well -- or at least the tiny spec of a guy I could see on stage was a black guy with long dreadlocks. That's about as much detail as I could honestly give.

Marley is also on the lineup for the Lollapalooza show in Chicago this summer. Have you seen their lineup for this year? It's just fantastic. There are 10 or 11 acts that I would love to see. If I were in charge of putting together the lineup with an unlimited budget, I don't think I could have done better. (Okay, G. Love and Special Sauce is at least 10 years late, but the rest of the lineup kicks ass.)

The people-watching was an absolute highlight. Where else can one see such a collection of ugly people, beautiful people, freaks, the insane, wild costumes, and include everyone from babies to geezers the age of Methuselah?

The headliner Saturday night was John Mayer, but we didn't stay that long. The full day of sun and alcohol is draining, but we were planning to go see Deacon John in the soul tent during the night performance anyway.

My body is indeed a wonderland, but I don't need John telling me so to know that it's true.

Spent Sunday on errands and chores. Nothing special there.