Baton Rouge, Louisiana: A Second-Line Wedding Parade

Second-line band, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

For your entertainment, some vignettes of a second-line brass band wedding parade in Baton Rouge:

Part 1: The build-up:

Part 2: The climax:

Part 3: The Denouement, with trailing majorette:

The End

Louisiana: Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015

Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana

My report on the 2014 Baton Rouge Blues Fest here and here.

The 2015 Baton Rouge Blues Fest was kicked indoors due to thunderstormy weather. Sadly, this affected the turnout, and the venue's indoor vibe was that of a dull professional conference, which makes sense because it was a convention center. Neither affected the quality of music, however.

Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Arrested Development.

Arrested Development is a high-energy band, I tellya! The muscled woman on the right in the pic above must burn bajillions of calories with her joyous jumps. The woman in the yellow dress - lovely voice. Here's a 2009 video from the band, performing its 1993 hit Tennessee:

You can listen to a version of the song with much better sound quality here.


Then there was Lazy Lester.

Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Lazy Lester.

During his performance, I saw the most remarkable thing. He pulled out a harmonica and the moment he got down on that, women got up and started dancing. It was like magic. Doesn't matter how old the dude is playing the instrument. Lazy Lester was born in 1933.  Here's my video of same below:

Reminded me of this excerpt from the movie, Michael:

Henry Gray, a blues patriarch, performed on his keyboard.

Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Henry Gray.

I've seen him perform twice now. Both times,women felt compelled to shake their butts in his direction. Given his advanced years, I wonder how many women's behinds he's looked at over his keyboard.

Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2015, Louisiana. Henry Gray.

Mr. Gray's not much of a stage talker, but I'd sure like to know his thoughts after decades (he's in his late 80s now) of watching his audiences. A video below:

I guess it's no wonder that some ultra-conservative groups like to ban dancing. A sure road to sin and perdition.

Hellfire and brimstone tract from an Arkansas c-store.

Baton Rouge: Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2014: Old Louisiana State Capitol

Old Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Holy moly, the Old Louisiana State Capitol is a show stopper!

Old Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

I've been in three or ten state capitols - all with the requisite rotunda topper - and the Old Louisiana State Capitol is like a big ol' wedding cake.

Old Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

For the Baton Rouge Blues Fest, the building is home to documentary movies and live interviews with the festival performers. It also offers an intimate space for small ensembles, such as the Fugitive Poets, they of the cool, Mesilla-esque t-shirts. Alas, the acoustics weren't terribly good.  Go listen to them here.

Fugitive Poets, Old Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2014

So what does the current state capitol look like?

Current Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Credit: wikipedia.

To be honest, I wanted to smirk at the looks of the new capitol over the old, but ... I kind of like it. It makes me think of the World War I Museum in Kansas City.

Old Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2014: Jimmy Dotson

Jimmy Dotson. Credit: Gulf Coast Entertainment.

One of the coolest things about southern Louisiana is how accessible the musicians are. Well, not just musicians - all of the artists. (No, I'm not gonna say "creatives.")

Jimmy Dotson plays an impromptu song below:

So at the Baton Rouge Blues Fest last weekend, was it richly cool to wander into a large room at what used to be the state capitol and be able to sit in on an interview with Jimmy Dotson, one of the august performers?

It sure was.

In fact, the Blues Fest impresses me with its multi-dimensional presentation. You can listen to big sound on large stages, big sound on smaller stages, watch documentaries about southern Louisiana's blues artists, enjoy quieter sound in small spaces, and be an audience at interviews with the performers.

Mr. Dotson has cut a new album - doesn't seem to be ready for release yet. 'til then, here's an old song.

Louisiana: The Three States

At the first Louisiana visitor center I hit after crossing over from Mississippi, the greeter mentioned that northern Louisiana was different from other parts of Louisiana, that it was more Mississippi-like than the southern half of the state.

More recently, "Thibodeaux," a student of history, explained to me that there are three states within Louisiana: 

• New Orleans, with its Catholic, French-from-France, Spanish, Caribbean-neé-Africa-and-France, and German roots; 
• North Louisiana, which was not part of the Louisiana Purchase (a delicious, salacious story in itself), predominantly Protestant, and its development more like the typical westward colonization from "Americans" as in Mississippi; and 
• South Louisiana, or Acadiana, with its strong French-from Nova Scotia-expelled to Louisiana culture.

Well, then there's Baton Rouge, added Thibodeaux, which has only one culture- make that "cult" - that of LSU and its high priests of the Church of Football.

More on the three states of Louisiana in the future, I'm sure.