Thoughts, observations, and opinions from the Fairgrounds about Jazz Fest 2015 from Web Editor Stephen Maloney.
Jazz Fest 2015 got off to a great start despite the looming threat of a torrential downpour that eventually occurred in the last hours of the inaugural day.
Photo by Stephen Maloney
Paul Sanchez brought his decades of rock songwriting to the forefront during his midday set with Minimum Rage on the Fais Do-Do stage.
Sanchez and company tore through hits like “Light it on Fire,” “Louisiana Lowdown,” and a slightly reworked “Maggie Don’t Two Step” with bass player Mary Lasseigne’s first name substituted for the Maggie of the song’s title.
Sanchez explained from the stage that his wife convinced him to bring the Cajun-inspired song out of mothballs for the set since he would be on the Fais Do-Do stage.
Since Lasseigne hails from Thibodaux, Louisiana, it seemed only fitting to work her name into the song, he said.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band spread out across the Acura stage for an amazing set filled with Herculean feats of guitar prowess by husband and wife team Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi.
To say the sprawling 11 member outfit was firing on all cylinders would be an understatement.
To close out the first song, which stretched beyond the five minute mark in true jam band style, everyone on stage snapped to a stop at precisely the same time.
Photo by Stephen Maloney
The look on Tedeschi’s face seemed to say “What? Every band isn’t this dialed in? It’s no big deal for us.”
The band’s dual drummers were as locked in as any drummers I have ever seen.
They were close enough for the outside cymbals on their respective kits to touch, and you could see them talking often throughout the first few songs before focusing in on a killer dual solo.
Overall, the Tedeschi Trucks band proved that they are now what the Allman Brothers would have been had they merged with Delaney and Bonnie in the 70s.
Over on the stage that is once again known as Gentilly, Wilco didn’t hold back a bit, perhaps because an announcer took to the stage just before the band went on to announce the impending severe weather.
Photo by Stephen Maloney
They knew they didn’t have time to spare, so they jumped right in.
Jeff Tweedy rotated through at least five different guitars during the first four songs, at one point switching from an acoustic with the name “Bob” emblazoned on the pickguard to a capoed Gibson SG mid-song.
Tweedy appeared much more energized than during Wilco’s last Jazz Fest appearance a few years ago, perhaps because of the weather.
The band certainly hasn’t missed a step, despite having visibly aged a bit beyond their years, and mixed things up with some old and new songs.
On the way back to our car, just before the festival was shut down completely, my wife and I heard Keith Urban break into a shaky and uneven solo rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
WWOZ handled the storm in a much more New Orleans way, playing a live version of Irma Thomas’ “It’s Raining” before the Mac Rebennack classic “Storm Warning” for all the Jazz Fest attendees heading home in their cars.
Let’s hope the weather holds up for Day 2.
