There are times when I say I dont really know what Im doing and there are times when I really dont know what Im doing. This Ice Cream Man tour has had me on the road for over five months and sometimes its hard to figure out where Im supposed to be next. Last week I was in New York for CMJ but once that finished I wasnt sure where I was headed. I had a ticket back to Orlando where Newt was but I also considered sticking around NYC and also possibly returning home to Long Beach to meet with the Ice Cream Crew to start getting stuff dialed in for next year. I never really came to a clear decision but hopped on the flight south and got a room for the night at the Wynfield Inn for $31total. Next door was the Orena sports bar I had spent some time watching the American League playoffs and I stopped by to watch the Phillies win the World Series. Had they not won I mighta been tempted to stick around Florida to hit up a game in Tampa. As is stood, I didnt have any reason to stay.
Were hitting up Fun Fun Fun Fest this weekend in Austin, TX but I wasnt really in the mood to drive all the way here so quick. Hmmm what better place to stop and hang out for Halloween than New Orleans? As I drove West I tried to get a hold of my friend Gail about a place to stay but wasnt having much luck. Finally, around nine oclock I sent a text to Laura who I couch surfed with before. She already had a couple surfers staying there but said there was plenty of room on the floor. Whew, what a relief. I had waited to eat ’til I got to New Orleans and went straight to Coops to get some jambalaya. I called Laura after and found out the plan for the night was to see Rocky Horror Picture Show at Tulane at midnight. I cant say Ive ever really seen the movie and definitely not with dozens of scantily clad people on stage reenacting it while the film played behind them. I had had a long day on the road but it wasnt tough to stay up ’til two or three with so much craziness going on.
The next day was Halloween and I felt like, with most of the fun from the night before actually happening ON Halloween, I was off to a good start. Since I had no idea where I would end up for the holiday, I had done no preparation for a costume. I headed down to Magazine St. to get a huge breakfast at Slim Goodies then went across the street to Rue De La Course to get some coffee, check some email, and try to figure out a costume. Nothing was coming to mind so I went to a few costume and thrift shops but still couldnt come up with anything good. I ended up buying a nice dark blue silk suit and dress shirt with the thought I could put together some sort of stock broker who had lost it all (or his pants) costume but it never quite materialized. Hindsight, I shoulda just got a Hawaiian shirt and some gel and rocked Ace Ventura or dressed in all black with an invisible dog leash and been a gutter punk begging for cigarettes. It didnt matter too much cuz I was planning on rockin’ it solo for most of the night and just wandering around the French Quarter/Frenchmen Street and hitting up a party or two.
After watching the Krewe of Boo parade that had some awesomely artful floats in it, I was heading down Decatur and decided to have my first beer of the night. I wasnt sure if I was going to need to drive later so I wanted to take it easy. While debating whether I wanted to spend 2 bucks on a Dixie when I could get a Moretti for the same price I ran into John Lennon. With so many people around and 95% of folks dressed up I wasnt really paying attention because I only knew a couple people in New Orleans. Come to find out it was Terry from Long Beach who was there with Karie and some other crew for Halloween. After getting a beer we caught up with the rest of the crew. Valdas and Christina had also flown out from LB and everyone was staying at Chris and Olgas place. I hadnt met them before but they had moved out from Long Beach a year before so we all instantly clicked and spent the rest of the night together. Gail, who used to live in New Orleans, always seems to know the cool stuff going on and she directed us to a party on Ursulines Ave that we wandered over to. We had to walk down this hallway to get to the backyard and once there we found multiple open bars and a brass band was playing in the back. The Soul Rebels were tearing it up and we all gathered on the edge of the dance floor and shook it for a bit before the Rebels had to split to get to their next gig down on Decatur. The streets were completely packed with tons of amazing costumes including a large number of bananas(?) We wandered around for a bit more then I eventually got sucked back into Coops Place for another round of late night Jambalaya before calling it a night.
Thankfully I was able to stay at Chris and Olgas because A) my friends were there, B) Newt was parked in a lot close by C) their loft on Decatur and Frenchmen was unbelievable. I cant do it justice in words and the one or two pics I have prolly dont show how big and nice it really is. We all got up and going in the morn and slowly made it across town to stop by Lafayette Cemetery before chillin in the Garden District for a li’l bit. The cemetery game me some more time to spend with my new Canon G10 camera. I think its the nicest point and shoot cam you can buy and it has full manual controls and shoots in RAW format so there quite a lot you can do with it especially when youre not a photographer by trade and have to do a ton of trial and error shots to learn what the different functions do. It was fun and challenging and I think I shot three dozen pictures of the cat who had the best backyard I could think of. After that, we were walking around Magazine Street and I saw a safe on the curb next to a trashcan. This wasnt the first time Ive come upon a safe in the road. I stopped to take a look and set down my coffee for a minute while I fidgeted with the combo to try to open it. There was a code on the outside but I wasnt sure its work. Sure enough.. .it did. This was a $500 safe that had been marked down to $250 that I was getting for FREEEEEE. I ran over to Newt then pulled her around the corner and threw the safe inside.
As we headed back towards downtown, I had been pondering checking out the opening night basketball game between the Hornets and Cavaliers. The thought of seeing Chris Paul and Lebron play at a sold out basketball game sounded too good to pass up. I knew I could get in for pretty cheap too because I would only need one ticket. Terry offered to drive Newt back to the parking lot and I hopped out and headed towards the Arena. Numerous scalpers were trying to sell me $15 seats for $30-$50 bucks but I wasnt having it. I was paying face or less for a $30 or less seat. I headed over to the will call booth thinking I could find a non-scalper there and sure enough, there was a guy in line with an extra. The seat was good for the price but I was in the upper deck near a corner of the court. As half-time approached, I happened to look down and see the majority of a row vacant at half court. I thought itd be pretty easy to sneak down there but it took quite a while. After some dashing back and forth and avoiding ticket-takers I landed 15 rows up, center court for the second half of the game. Chris and Lebron werent really all-starring it that night but the game was good and the hometown Hornets ended up winning and everyone left in good spirits.
The rest of the time in town I slept a lot, went to the Louisiana Music Factory, drank quite a few beers, and wandered about the French Quarter. I had been to New Orleans four or five times before but had never been to Bourbon St. On the last night I met up with the crew there and was surprised how bad it was. I knew itd be tourist and kitschy but it was just plain bad. Like taking the worst parts about America and dropping them all onto one street. Booze everywhere, corporate strip clubs, drunk idiots (some in packs with cowboy hats on), hustlers, tasteless gift/t-shirt shops, and bad music. PLEASE, if youve never been to New Orleans and decide to go there, which you should, AVOID Bourbon Street like the plague. The locals will tell you the same thing. There are so many cool places to hang out and thats not one of them.
Thanks to Chris and Olga for the place to crash and the pastaand the coffee.. and the tea. Thanks to the Laura for the floor and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Hopefully Dagny figured out her moving situation down there. Thanks to Gail for tipping us to the party and for hanging and grubbing. Mmmm roast beef po boy. You really should visit New Orleans. Its, by far, the most unique city Ive been to in the country and is a great place to party.
