Mardi Gras Highlights: Best Dirges Ever
Mar. 2nd, 2006 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
infrogmationNew Orleans Mardi Gras is always something astonishing.
I doubt there has ever been one more heart felt.
I have a sore throat and fear I'm running a fever, so I'll only share a few disjointed observations.
This Carnival had fewer parades than seen for decades, many of the parades were less elaborate. Some days the weather was cold, other days rainy. It was still one of the best in history.
Despite the much reduced population of the city and number of visitors in town, along some of the parade routes for the big parades on St. Charles Avenue, crowds were significantly LARGER than usual. Because so many of the folks here who might otherwise decide to miss parades NEEDED Mardi Gras.
Has it been made clear in the national media how much many people who have suffered have insisted in participating this year? Many parades rolled with a majority of riders whose homes were severely damaged and are still either living upstairs with a gutted downstairs, or not able to inhabit their home at all. The riders and float makers are generally in the same situation of the majority of the city. I talked with one float maker who sometimes slept in the float den (warehouse) which still has yet to get electric power restored; they built the floats from the flood damaged hulks of last year, reportedly sure that the ghosts of collegues who died in the disaster were there with them.
I've never seen so many tears of joy at the parades.
Many floats were thick with many more inside local jokes than usual that left the locals laughing and the visitors puzzled. That's okay. Understand that as always, we invite the whole world, but it's still a party we throw for ourselves.
The weather Mardi Gras Day could not have been more beautiful. Morning and mid-day I paraded through the Marigny and French Quarter with the Society of St. Anne, a walking group that always has some of the most splendid costumes of the season. I again had the priviledge of playing with the band as a guest with the Storyville Stompers, one of the finest and tightest groups in the city. They are above my league, and usually I hold back to make sure I stay out of their way (I can let myself go with the Tumblers or in jam sessions later in the day). This year there were many more musical guests marching with the band, a number of us with lips not as up as they could be, and honestly it did have an adverse effect on the cohesion of some of the Stompers head arrangements. However everyone so wanted to play for this, and there were shouts of encouragement "We're family!" "Cut loose!" "Let them hear this up in Washington!", that the sometimes rough around the edges had a fine feel and a 100% New Orleans sound. But the dirges-- Oh my. Every year we play at least a few dirges for those gone. This year the dirges were of astonishing magnificence. With all due respect to some of the fine bands in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere who can produce a good aproximation of a New Orleans Brass Band sound from study of old recordings, this was a sound of celestial music could be heard no where else in the world.
Much use of blue FEMA tarping in costumes.
Many fine group costumes drift by which I got no chance to photograph, including Dick Cheney, a peppered Harry Whittington, and a couple of Quails. Groups of Heck of a Job Brownies (girl-scout style uniforms), chocolate Nagins, comatose US Army engineers, blind levee inspectors, and devil Bushes.
The Pussyfooters dance troupe dancing in parades doing call & response couplets like:
"Levees fail and break break break!
Pussy-footers shake shake shake!"
I saw a number of people wearing something flood damaged, my favorite being a still muck encrusted old K&B nametag.
I doubt there has ever been one more heart felt.
I have a sore throat and fear I'm running a fever, so I'll only share a few disjointed observations.
This Carnival had fewer parades than seen for decades, many of the parades were less elaborate. Some days the weather was cold, other days rainy. It was still one of the best in history.
Despite the much reduced population of the city and number of visitors in town, along some of the parade routes for the big parades on St. Charles Avenue, crowds were significantly LARGER than usual. Because so many of the folks here who might otherwise decide to miss parades NEEDED Mardi Gras.
Has it been made clear in the national media how much many people who have suffered have insisted in participating this year? Many parades rolled with a majority of riders whose homes were severely damaged and are still either living upstairs with a gutted downstairs, or not able to inhabit their home at all. The riders and float makers are generally in the same situation of the majority of the city. I talked with one float maker who sometimes slept in the float den (warehouse) which still has yet to get electric power restored; they built the floats from the flood damaged hulks of last year, reportedly sure that the ghosts of collegues who died in the disaster were there with them.
I've never seen so many tears of joy at the parades.
Many floats were thick with many more inside local jokes than usual that left the locals laughing and the visitors puzzled. That's okay. Understand that as always, we invite the whole world, but it's still a party we throw for ourselves.
The weather Mardi Gras Day could not have been more beautiful. Morning and mid-day I paraded through the Marigny and French Quarter with the Society of St. Anne, a walking group that always has some of the most splendid costumes of the season. I again had the priviledge of playing with the band as a guest with the Storyville Stompers, one of the finest and tightest groups in the city. They are above my league, and usually I hold back to make sure I stay out of their way (I can let myself go with the Tumblers or in jam sessions later in the day). This year there were many more musical guests marching with the band, a number of us with lips not as up as they could be, and honestly it did have an adverse effect on the cohesion of some of the Stompers head arrangements. However everyone so wanted to play for this, and there were shouts of encouragement "We're family!" "Cut loose!" "Let them hear this up in Washington!", that the sometimes rough around the edges had a fine feel and a 100% New Orleans sound. But the dirges-- Oh my. Every year we play at least a few dirges for those gone. This year the dirges were of astonishing magnificence. With all due respect to some of the fine bands in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere who can produce a good aproximation of a New Orleans Brass Band sound from study of old recordings, this was a sound of celestial music could be heard no where else in the world.
Much use of blue FEMA tarping in costumes.
Many fine group costumes drift by which I got no chance to photograph, including Dick Cheney, a peppered Harry Whittington, and a couple of Quails. Groups of Heck of a Job Brownies (girl-scout style uniforms), chocolate Nagins, comatose US Army engineers, blind levee inspectors, and devil Bushes.
The Pussyfooters dance troupe dancing in parades doing call & response couplets like:
"Levees fail and break break break!
Pussy-footers shake shake shake!"
I saw a number of people wearing something flood damaged, my favorite being a still muck encrusted old K&B nametag.
