@ZackTeibloom I’d feel bad that Tim Reynolds has to put his personality on the shelf when he plays with Dave … if he didn’t have TR3 as an outet. Reynolds is a goofy dude and puts that persona on full display to great effect with his roaring three-piece. TR3 capped our weekend at Jazzfest the only way the Festival Crashers know how: getting rocked to our core.

Reynolds, looking clean cut with a new haircut, was non-stop entertainment. He put on turned the lights down low, put on night vision goggles and creeped around the stage like a raptor. Speaking of creeping around, his banter was all over the place:

“I’m going to warn you, this next song has the word masturbate in it,” he said and then “Sorry about your virgin ears” after it was over. He said one song was for girls who “like it rough,” but “not like that.” What other way is there?

Reynolds was a on a myriad of guitars, most notably a few slick flying V’s, as he slid up and down the neck with precision. The highlight of the night (and there were a lot) was the nearly ten-minute cover of “Sex Machine” with Winnie The Pooh roaming the stage as Reynolds got funky with his band.

I wasn’t familiar with any of TR3′s catalogue, but it was incredibly easy to latch onto. Then they launched into Led Zeppelin’s “How Many More Times” with these words of wisdom and sent Andy back to Chicago a happy camper: “We’re floating in space. There’s no curfew in space.”

 @AndyShore Over the past year, Dave Matthews Band recorded their new album in New Orleans. So it was almost as a hometown hero, that they took the stage on Sunday at Jazz Fest. They were even introduced as such. I had little to no intention of staying long at their set, with Earth, Wind and Fire taking the stage 30 minutes after DMB. You just don’t pass up the opportunity to shoot someone who is so animated on stage. Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore Robert Cray is probably one of the best guitar players you’ve never heard of. He gets recognition, having played at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival, but not nearly as much as he should. Several attempts at describing Robert Cray’s guitar playing came off like a cheap romance novel. I wrote things like, “Cray gently caresses the notes” (referring to the minimalistic way he pulls off a Miles Davis-esque fewer notes with greater power feel to his playing). Read the rest of this entry »

 @AndyShore This slot in the Blues Tent was a who’s who of New Orleans R&B artists. Along with Deacon Jones and his band the Ivories, were Wanda Rouzan, Robert Parker, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Allen Toussaint. Not to mention John’s niece and a few other singers that while talented, couldn’t even get their names on the bill.

John led his band masterfully through some instrumental numbers, before beginning to introduce the long list of vocalists to the stage. With a band as tight as the Ivories, anybody with a halfway decent voice was going to shine. After the first two, I decided to take a break to run over and shoot The Robert Cray Band. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore This wasn’t James Taylor’s first rodeo. He knows how to work the crowd. From the moment he took the stage, he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Taylor opened his set with “It Grows,” and I could feel the force of the crowd singing along from the photo pit. He followed with a cover of the Silhouettes “Get a Job,” which unless you knew the lyrics, would have been completely unrecognizable.

I made my way out of the photo pit to find a bored Zack, but I wasn’t done with James Taylor yet. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Erykah Badu is somebody that needs to be seen up close to truly appreciate. Her personality shines through on stage. She sings beeps and boops to match the beats her DJ is playing, and even sang the piano intro to the keys player to introduce a song.

Badu strutted up to the front of the stage, and poured some out of her thermos for her fallen homies, and while dancing back, managed to spill plenty of it on herself. She even pretended to smoke the stick of incense she had with her onstage. The woman is a performer in the truest sense of the word, and a fantastic singer to boot.

@AndyShore One of the best parts of Jazz Fest I’ve noticed so far, is that NOLA turns out for it’s local acts. Big Sam’s Funky Nation had a massive crowd early in the day on the same stage, and it had only grown for Galactic. You know they’re going to bring the funk with every performance, but they brought a little extra to Jazz Fest.

Armed with extra horns, Galactic had the crowd boogieing down in the hot New Orleans sun. Ben Ellman armed with his sax had a lengthy battle with the trombone player, Corey Henry, trading licks back and forth. At one point, Allen just held a few shrill notes, totally stumping Ellman and causing the band and crowd alike to burst into laughter. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Big Sam’s Funky Nation was so good, we had to see them twice. Little Sam (@Samifest) used to live with the keyboardist. I’d love to live with Big Sam.

When he’s not trombone-ing, he does the uniquely New Orleans “second lining” dance that commands your attention( and a few giggles) for its endearing, over-the-top energy. I would love to see that man out on the dancefloor without a trombone. Can you say the perfect wing man?

As Andy was pointing out when we saw them the second time at a converted middle , he might be the least talented musician of the bunch. No put down on him, the band is just overflowing with skill. From their guitar players to the horns, drums and keys, it was hard to tell where to focus your energy. (Unless Big Sam was dancing.)

Bassist Eric Vogel blew our minds with a “slappa the bass” solo that seemed to go on forever (in a good way) and the whole band was at full energy whether they were getting thousands dancing in the sun at the fest or playing to a sparse 75 in an old middle school.

It was a constant mix of originals and fun covers like “No Diggity,” “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and the Black Crowes song Andy can’t get enough of. Our only complaint was that if you’re playing two shows in one day, you should probably not play the same cover twice. Even if Andy will sing along to “Hard to Handle” “100 times out of 100,”

@ZackTeibloom I gotta say, Joe Cocker is a pretty lucky rock star. Let me know how this skill set would work out for most performers:  You never write a song, never learn an instrument and exclusively sing covers of instant classics that seem untouchable.

It probably wouldn’t take you too far. Cocker followed that path, opened for The Stones, got Jimmy Page to take lead guitar on his cover of “With a Little Help From My Friends,” got the blessing of The Beatles to cover all their songs, plays Woodstock and got the “Wonder Years” theme song gig. How? He’s just that good. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom As Joe Cocker winded down his encore, I took off my sunglasses as Andy excitedly told me I had one really long white eyebrow hair going on. I definitely didn’t have this brow hair going on this morning, but the real question becomes: how long until I pull it out?

Andy gave me an hour. Two and half hours later, I’m holding strong, though I have had the urge to yank it over a dozen times. I bet him I could go until James Taylor (tomorrow at 7 p.m.) without yanking it. We need something to bet to make it interesting. Suggestions? If I don’t have a good suggestion when I wake up, I’m yanking it.

Until then, enjoy this picture of me in post-Joe Cocker smile with a bizarre white eyebrow hair.