so after houston we took the long drive into new orleans. the drive was absolutely incredible, and many parts of the highway were on stilts in water. there were white herrings everywhere, and everyone felt like we were driving into some exotic jungle or far away swamp. most of the houses were raised above ground too.
we accidently drove through the french quarter looking for the venue and got really excited about spending some time there. the venue was just outside there, in a really old looking two-story house among a myriad of gigantic, modern buildings. the bottom floor was the bar and the venue combined which was a very small space. but doable, as is pretty much anything with this group.
bourbon street looks incredibly charming, even moreso than the rest of the city, but walking down it was pretty disgusting. every single place was a bar and/or venue and/or strip club. about 75% of these places were one of three different chains. the streets were filled with tourists, almost completely naked girls, and big guys trying to convince confused people that they were actually supposed to be in this bar, over here. the girls danced around not even half-heartedly with little to no expression on their painted and exhausted faces, luring men to them with their index fingers. nonetheless we got a beer and walked around.
finally we got to a bar that westin had picked out and the mood greatly changed for the better- it was the oldest bar in new orleans. it was lit only by candles and had a grand piano (with a pianist) with a counter built over it so you could sit around it with your drinks. we did, and the pianist was really nice. he asked about our tour and eventually asked dave up to play the piano. we pretty much took over the piano for the rest of the night until they closed and had rowdy sing-a-longs. it made the whole night worth it. we opted to take the van home rather than the trolley and cashed out.
The money-running-low/underage/responsible were wandering home when the others went to the absinth bar. As we got near the street car station there was this mounting sound which filled my heart with jubilence. El Rojo, Will, and I stayed to hear the big brass band out. I danced part of the night away with some surprised and drunk fellas and bought a cd which turned out to be half lame rap, I did really enjoy the other half and now more than ever my dream to play the sousaphone is alive. Anyways, that's what the others did.
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