After six fest days and two nights of Stomp with only Monday off, I’m ready for Jazz Fest to be over. Yesterday was a good day, and I remembered that I made a second food stop at the Jamila’s booth for the Tagine – a lamb stew over basmati rice – after the success of the Merguez. It, too, worked, but it didn’t blow me away.

Another follow-up on yesterday’s post – the main reason I didn’t go into much detail about Art Neville’s set is John Swenson nailed a thought on it that he plans to write for OffBeat‘s post-Fest wrap-up, and going more into my thoughts on Art’s set would steal some of his thunder.

Saturday was a light day because I had to work, with an interview with Ruthie Foster and Alejandro Escovedo. Escovedo’s six-piece band was delicate enough for the beautiful “Rosalie” and muscular enough his stomping tribute to Iggy Pop, “Real as an Animal” from his upcoming album. In front of the chair line, the show was moving people; behind it, where Jimmy Buffett fans were setting up base camps, there were few signs of engagement. He sang “Chip and Tony” from Real Animal as a parrothead with a foam flamingo lashed to the front of his floppy hat walked by, and it was clear that Escovedo’s musical galaxy was a far different one than his, one populated by country punks in San Francisco, junkie artists in New York City and Mexican immigrants in California, and one where more is at stake than shows up in the Buffett universe.

At the Pine Leaf Boys’ set, guitarist Jon Bertrand played hatless and let his tightly trimmed mohawk show.

I hit the Guil’s Gator for the first time this year. It occurred to me that after recommending it to people, I should check and see if it’s still as good as I remember. The chunks of gator meat, jalepenos slices and onion ribbons were lightly fried, and stabbed on a fork together, they made for a nice bit with a little spice and a little sweet to accompany the alligator meat.

Ruthie Foster’s set was a little up and down. When it worked, it did so for musical reasons, such as when her all-woman band played a rave-up gospel soul groove accompanied by the ubiquitous Lady Tambourine, or when Foster held a note for a minute or so (I didn’t think to time it until it was too late). Less successful was her musical treatment of Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman,” which may have rocked the women’s studies majors in the house, but it was a forced statement, and one for which the music was slightly ordinary. Woman power is good, but the obvious joy in the best of her set is better.

Others can comment on the interview, but there was a moment that reminded us where we were. In the middle of a song by Foster in the Music Heritage/Lagniappe Stage in the paddock at the Fair Grounds, a roar went up on one side of the room that ended in cheers before the song came to a close. It took a moment to realize that the Kentucky Derby was running at Churchill Downs – the company that owns the Fair Grounds – and the race was on the grandstand’s closed circuit TVs. I’m told it was also shown on the big screens at the Acura Stage as well.

… and I hate to be catty about other writers in town, but after Keith Spera told readers they shouldn’t boo or hold up signs that say “Never Brothers” at the Neville Brothers’ set today, did The Times-Picayune really need Chris Rose to rewrite Keith’s essay?