Last Friday night, my girlfriend and I went to see the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans in her hometown (I live in Ft. Wayne, she lives in Huntington about 45 minutes away). The concert was AWESOME! Those old jazz fellas really know how to swing. They also had some street performers with them: a young guy on guest vocals and some clowns doing some schtick before and after the show. My feet, hands, head, just about everything was moving the whole time. And on the second to last song, the horns came out into the auditorium and invited the audience to march behind in true Mardi Gras style. My girlfriend and I joined in the line and we all ended up marching on stage with the band! We were no more than 10 feet away from the band and the energy was something else. The last song was really bittersweet, because it was called "You Don't Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" and it was played by the trumpet player, pianist, and bassist. We tried to get an encore from them, but the band didn't come back out for some reason.On our way out, I picked up this CD in the lobby and it's a really good one. Only 1 or 2 of the tunes were played at the concert, but the CD captures the band's sound pretty well. If you ever have a chance to see Preservation Hall Jazz Band live, go see them . . . these guys are keeping New Orleans music alive and well.
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