Springtime beckons...
(March 10, 2005) As I write this, the magnolia trees are in
bloom and there are hints of spring in the air. The winter
goldfinches and chickadees have almost disappeared, but the
herons, egrets & rosette spoonbills are building nests
in Lake Martin. And in my yard, the tomatos are growing
next to the swiss chard (a vegetable that the clerk at my
local supermarket has never even heard of!)
Mardi Gras came early this year, with its requisite influx
of visitors from round the country. As usual there was too
much to do... dance, go to parades, attend parties, play in
jams... sometimes all at the same time. My house guest and
I deposited all the beads we had into a basket and at the
end of Mardi Gras. It weighed almost 15 pounds!! And we
weren't even trying that hard! I visited festivities in
Breaux Bridge, Church Point, Iota and Eunice as well as
Lafayette this Mardi Gras season, each of which had local
variations to their traditions.
Among the winter's musical highlights were watching the
rapid emergence and musical-coming-of-age of young Creole
fiddler, Cedric Watson & the Creole Cowboys, which in
addition to Cedric includes Jeffrey Broussard (from Zydeco
Force) on accordion and D'jalma Garnier (formerly with
File) on guitar. The Lost Bayou Ramblers, with Louis and
Andre Michot, continue to draw diverse, enthusiastic crowds
as they bring youthful energy to Cajun music, as do T-Sale.
And on the zydeco side, Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble,
definitely impress all those who see them, with their mix
of original zydeco compositions, Sam Cooke covers, hip hop
and classic repetoire. Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys
are back in the recording studio, their live shows are now
featuring some of the songs that will be on that CD. For
those interested in historic Cajun master works, David
Greely has been performing tunes by legendary fiddler
Varise Conner, along with members of the Conner family. And
for those curious about how traditions evolve, Celjun is a
local band, featuring Cajun fiddler extraordinaire, Mitch
Reed, plus transplanted Irishman, Tony Davoren, and
transplanted Yankee, Linda Handelsman, which mixes Celtic
and Cajun music together in very interesting ways. Local
slide guitar legend Sonny Landreth held court at Grant
Street Dancehall, which was packed for the CD release of
the excellent recording he made there last year. Plus most
weeks you can also find those stalwarts, Geno Delafose and
Keith Frank packing 'em in around town.
Right now, things are settling down (maybe resting up is a
better phrase) for the next explosion of activities which
means that it is April in Acadiana: I'm talking that yearly
marathon of events that includes Dewey Balfa Cajun-Creole
Heritage Week, Festival International, New Orleans Jazz
Fest, and the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. For those of
you who will be in town and haven't visited for a while,
you might want to check out the resurgence of Lafayette's
downtown, the Sunday brunch with live music at Blue Dog
Cafe, anything at the Blue Moon Saloon, the Saturday
afternoon jam at Louisiana Heritage & Gifts, the new
art museum at U-L, & Lake Martin at peak birding
season.