Every band has those certain gigs they remember, from the songs they played, to the vibe prior to the show, to the festivities afterward. This show had all three!
We were in the midst of a long week and a half tour of the Bayou, and the meat & potatoes of this trip was a show at Tipitina’s. We were opening for Billy Iuso and Rebirth Brass Band, of whom this show was their 27th anniversary celebration. So, we were just thankful for the opportunity to play this stage and to open for a legendary band like Rebirth. I had played this stage before with the Last Waltz Ensemble, so it was just great seeing everybody’s attitude and excitement about this moment.
I remember eating dinner somewhere around the area and we came back early to hang out backstage, just taking it all in. About 15 minutes before showtime, I needed to get something from the van. As I walked outside, I saw members of Rebirth playing on the sidewalk, and people dancing and having a good time. For someone who was used to being the opener for bands where hardly anybody had shown up to even see the opener, this was a surprise to me. After I grabbed what I was looking for and went back inside, I decided to take a look out front. The entire venue was packed, a capacity crowd, already there, ready for the show! At 8pm! For the first of 3 bands! It was on!
So after our little pep talk with our road manager Daniel Parker, we hit the stage and did our thing. It may not have been the crispest of performances, but listening back, you can tell the excitement we all felt playing that room and the crowd there enjoying the music. In 45 minutes, it was over, just like that. We packed up our stuff, and got lots of nice compliments from the staff and bands after our show. We also checked out Billy and Rebirth for a little bit, and during that time, there was the legendary pic of Dylan and Alex hanging with Colin Hanks (Tom Hanks’ son)!
After seeing Rebirth, since our drummer Phil was originally from New Orleans, we decided to the hit the town for some nightlife fun. Among the drinks we got while in town was the Hurricane, a pretty intense drink if you never had one. We had one, and let’s just say – lots of good times walking the streets of New Orleans on Memorial Day weekend at around 2am! I remember Dylan was nothing short of awesome; he had us all barreling over with laughter. If you could have been with us on that evening, you would have understood why I enjoyed touring with these guys for the past 5 years.
So now that you have some context, let me present to you with this week’s Friday Factor of Lingo live at Tipitinas in New Orleans, LA on Saturday, May 29th 2010!