JAZZ FEST 1999
THURSDAY


Thursday was our last day of fun. We slept in a little then headed over to the Fairgrounds. We found an even better, closer parking spot and headed in for breakfast. It was another wonderful day of food and music and fun - in fact for us, it was the best Fest day of 1999. We ate tons of great stuff, including a Cochon De Lait Po-boy, Creole's stuffed bread, Crawfish Monica, chocolate dipped strawberries, mini -pies (apple & pecan), gyro sandwhich & greek salad, pear tarte, and gallons of iced coffee & tea.

This was the first time we tried camping out at one stage for most of the day - but it was an easy choice, considering the lineup at Ray Ban that day. We headed to the sound booth, where we had all agreed to meet. We found Drew and his Krewe of Mystic Knights and Sluts Deluxe already set up. So we spread out our tarp nearby, and other kats showed up with blankets and tarps until we had a large area set up. I got to meet lots of other 2nd Weekend Kats that were new to me - including the loveable Da Ve from Boston.

         
Big Joe w/totem flags


      
Katlanta, Bill/KC & Marilyn at the kat tarp
Da Ve grooving


The music was amazing all day long - first Sonny Landreth then Taj Mahal then Los Lobos then Little Feat - unbelievable! We setup camp and caught Sonny Landreth. Then Joe and I went for boxes of beer and ice to hand out to the kats before Taj Mahal took the stage. We've seen Taj play many times, and he's always a delight. But he was a the peak of his abilities on this day. He played good time r&b and boogie-woogie with an amazing band. Lots of the songs were off my favorite cd of his - Dancin' The Blues.


      
Katlanta & Big Joe
Newlyweds Mike & Luci


After Taj finished up, Joe and I took a stroll over to the Jazz Tent to catch some of Steve Masakowski. Then we went to the grandstand to wash up and heard a bit of Julio & Ceasar at Lagniappe before loading up on boxes of bottled waters and ice for the kat krewe back at camp. We got back just in time for Los Lobos, my personal favorite of Fest 99 (mainly because I'd never seen them live before). My mind is filled with memories of dancing happily in the sun, surrounded by dozens and dozens of kat faces, including so many of the ones from Atlanta that I love - like Pete & Lisa, Steve & Kathi, Julie, Pam & Steve. At one point Los Lobos played "Hey Mr. Fantasy" and I felt like my body was being levitated off the earth. Sometime during the set, someone handed me a huge, sweet, pink lemonade and said "Personal Delivery to Neen from Char (who was off at a different stage). I was grinning my head off at her thoughfulness!


      
Lisa & Pete from Atlanta
Mark/Atl, Xrisma Jan, Steve/Atlanta


After Los Lobos, Joe and I decided to walk around the fairgrounds one last time, and do a little shopping too. We heard Rare Connexion Band w/Big Al Carson at HOB stage, stopped briefly at Rosie Ledet at the Fais Do Do stage, and lingered with Lillian Boutte at Economy Hall. We spent some time shopping at Congo Square, where Joe bought a most amazing shirt by a woman who is hooked up with Taj Mahal and makes the shirts that he wears on stage. The one Joe got is light and silky and loose and colorful and gorgeous! We also picked up a Gator print fest shirt for me, and a Red Beans & Rice apron for Suzan back in Atlanta who was taking care of our dogs for us.


      
Da Ve catching some shade
      
Steve/Atlanta
Jersey Jim


We decided to drop the stuff at the car before heading to Liuzza's when bad karma suddenly caught up with us. We were locked out of the car and I had somehow lost the car keys during the day. PLUS we had a parking ticket on the window - apparently there was a no parking sign up the block that we had somehow missed. It was a tense time, but then Kat Karma came through to save the day. A kat we hadn't even really met -Oscar from Florida - volunteered to drive us back to the LaSalle to get our extra set of keys, and then take us back over to the car. Talk about a good samaritan - this was an amazing gesture from someone we didn't even know. Oscar avoided a lot of the traffic and got us back to our car in no time. We headed to Liuzza's finally for one last happy hour and drinks with some lingering kats, before going back to the hotel.


      
Robert/Atl, STeve/Atl, Neen
Xrisma, Big Joe, Harmonica Joe
Jersey Kats
Star Wars Ed, Karen, Juls/NJ


      
Mystic Knights of U-Betcha
Mark, Kathi, Steve, Leslie & Robert
Steve/Atl, Big Joe
and Harmonica Joe


Friday morning it was time to head home. We had a little snafu at checkout, where the hotel tried to charge Julie some high phone bills to New York. We got lucky, because the hotel guest who made the calls happened to come down to the desk during this time and got it all straightened out. Then I had a little bit of a mess trying to fit all of our stuff, plus Julie & her suitcase into the car. But we finally got it all set and turned the car home to Atlanta. I drove half-way home, 'till I finally got too sleepy and Joe did the rest while I napped.

        
Joe's modeling his
new hawaiian shirt
Joe's fabulous new
Taj Mahal shirt


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