When it was all over, and our "work was done", Joe and I realized we were late for the Keb Mo set at the HOB stage. Once we got there, the place was jam packed full of smiling people, singing along with Keb to "She just wants to dance" - so we stood where we were, and joined in with the crowd, singing and dancing, till the end of his set. After Keb-Mo finished, we found KinderKitti right where I knew she'd be - front and center stage! We chatted for a few minutes, then grabbed a couple of heaping plates of boiled crawfish and headed over to the Poloroid Stage to catch Marcia Ball.

Marcia Ball was a performer that we've been trying to see for a few years, but keep missing somehow. Apparently, she was on a lot of "Must See" lists, because the place was packed. We headed for the track to get around the outside of the crowd. Suddenly there before us on the track, stage right, were the Kats - Perfect! We decided we were close enough and so we hung out chattin' and dancin' with George and Marisol & Pony Dancer and Phyllis & Pete. We even bought a couple of spare Fest tickets from Pony Dancer for our two "virgin" friends who were coming into town the next day.

Long Tall Marcia Ball was a sight to see - clad in a bright red dress, seated cross-legged at her piano, swinging that top leg in time with her mean left hand. At one point, she noticed the Totem for the Shaque de Legge Krewe (some Montana Kats). She was so tickled by their totem, which consisted of a long, female mannequin's leg, that she promised to toss them one of her high-heeled sandals at the end of the set, to put on their totem. Sure enough, as promised, Marcia stood up, the shoe went sailing, the totem went down, only to arise moments later clad in her shoe. What a moment! Afterwards, we all decided to go to the Langiappe stage for a some cool, raw Oysters. After woefully slow service on the oysters, we sat for awhile and visited. While we were there, we caught some of Doreen's Jazz New Orleans. They turned out to be a perfect backdrop– playing lots of New Orleans favorites.

Around this time, my old trick knee decided that I had been having entirely TOO much fun dancing. So Joe & I stopped by a first aid tent where some incredibly helpful, friendly folks rigged me up with an ice pack. Joe meanwhile went for some big-ass cups of sweet iced tea (Atlanta elixir). Then it was time to brave the crowds and head to the Ray Ban stage to hear one of my all time favorites – Bonnie Raitt. I'd never seen her live, and was hoping for a great experience, but unfortunately, it was not to be. By the time we arrived, it was too late - the crowds were overwhelming! We looked for the Atlanta U-Betcha's flag – no luck. We tried hanging out by the back bleacher area, where we had grooved out to the Meters last year – but the sound was poor. Bonnie was a tiny speck across a sea of sweaty humanity, and the sound was muffled and disappointing. I decided that this was NOT the way to see her – so we gave up. But disappointment is always short-lived at Jazz Fest, because there's so many alternate possibilities! After a quick check of our handy PDKK cube sheet, it was an obvious choice - - - to the Jazz Tent for Zawinul Syndicate (after a quick stop for Spumoni and Bread Pudding). We've seen several incarnations of Weather Report over the years, and were curious to see what was up with Joe Zawinul these days. He had lots of his old Weather Report buddies with him and they were out of control! First they played feverish, latin rhythms at insane speeds, then they'd follow it up with spacy, jungle-sound groove tunes. It was entertaining as hell and the tent was packed with loyal fans loving every minute of it. We stayed till the last standing ovation – enthralled and inspired. Another great ending to another great Fest day!

Joe, being the gallant guy he is, walked me over to Liuazza's and propped me up on some chairs with ice on my knee and a big glass of red wine in my hand, then walked over to move the car. I sat there groovin to WWOZ on the bar speakers, watching the crowds, as the Kats started to trickle in. First came Shady Kitty, on her way to a date with the hot tub. Next came Heavy D and Little J – flushed and happy from a great day at the fest. Eventually, almost the whole first weekend gang showed up again. It was unplanned, but ineveitable - Liuzza's had become the meeting place for every night, not just Friday.

Phyllis was amazing - all of you Kats would have been proud!
She jumped up in her tight white shorts, with her PET DE KAT t-shirt tied at the waist
and proceeded to blow the place away.

We were all hoarse from screaming for her. She won her "division" and then it was time for the "Butt-Off". The three division winners got on stage and started shakin butt, while the winner was judged by audience applause. Phyllis, without a doubt, had the funkiest Kat butt on stage - - - butt one of the other contestants stole the top prize away, by turning around and shaking her braless chest instead of her butt. The guys in the audience roared - what can you expect? So Phyllis wound up taking second prize, along with a free Funky Butt t-shirt, but most of all she won our everlasting admiration!

We all hung out for while, standing outside on the second floor balcony and watched Kermit's barbeque smoking away in the back of his pickup. Henry Butler finally started his first set around 3:00 am. We'd seen him play some amazing jazz, but tonight he was in a bluesy mood, and went at it big time, just him and a drummer. After awhile, I started to seriously fade, so we headed home around 4:00 am, to see if our two "virgins" had arrived from Atlanta yet. They pulled into the hotel a few minutes later, and we made plans for the morning before finally passing out.

DAY 3

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