Ok...so how about day 2 of NOLA?
Friday: I woke up fairly early (for me) and got dressed. Took care of the whole money fiasco at the front desk. Then I walked into the Quarter. Whole time I'm walking I'm taking pictures. I just adore the architecture there. And how people have flowering plants on their balconies. Just gorgeous.
I bee-lined to Cafe du Monde and boy,was that place busy. It was about 11am and I guess everyone wanted some brunch of beignets. Outside was completely filled up but I went into the wonderfully air-conditioned part and found a table right by the window. Score! I ordered my beignets and a cafe au lait and just proceeded to people watch. This old guy was loitering around, obviously trying to find a table. He comes up to me and says "Do you know if you're going to be leaving right after you eat or are you going to stay a while?" I paused and just said "Um..I really don't know". He replied "Oh,ok. I just have a large party coming and I'm trying to get a table." Whatever,dude. I just sat down! So I hear this voice next to me say "I can't believe the gall of that guy!" I turned and there was this cute young guy with his little brother at the next table. We talked about the guy's rudeness and the young guy was all upset for me. Hah. Love it. He said that he had been planning on leaving but he didn't want to give up his table to the old guy. I just loved how the guy was peeved at the old guy's rudeness. He eventually got up and we said goodbye to each other.
I got a phone call from Farley who was the one I was meeting up with before the show that night. We confirmed the time we'd meet up later that day. Then my beignets and cafe au lait arrived. Heaven. Absolute Heaven. Oh my Lord. Powdered sugar everywhere but I didn't care. And the cafe au lait was so wonderful,too. I spent some time finishing up eating and then played around on my phone and took a few pictures. I ordered a cafe au lait to go and then left. Cafe du Monde is right next to the Mississippi on Decatur Street. I walked over the walkway that's there and took a few pictures and just took in the scenery. Sometimes you just have to reflect on how you got there,ya know? How the hell was I in New Orleans by myself? I was kind of awesome. I remember thinking "Remember this moment when you're having a hard day."
After that I browsed around the street and then walked back up to the hotel. It was about two hours after I'd left but the heat was really starting to get to me. Record heat was happening just for my visit. Oh,joy. And since I get heat exhaustion pretty fast I decided to seek refuge. Plus,I wasn't that flush with money that day. So I went into the hotel room and watched some tv, played on the internet (using my iPhone and the wonky wifi of the hotel). I took a shower and then napped for a couple hours. Got up and started getting ready. I wore black jeans, black shirt that was fitted and had hook & eyes all the way up where you could really let the boobs show, my black boots. I wore some jewelry and I have to admit that I think I looked pretty good. And that's what counts. I needed some confidence to get me through meeting up with Farley and his friend.
I got a taxi called to take me to Tipitina's at 6:15. I was going to meet Farley and his friend at the bar nearby but I wanted to see if the band was doing sound-check yet. Sure enough I could hear something. I called Farley but just got his vm. While I was standing there trying to figure out what to do, these two cute 20-something boys came up to the front door. They noted to each other that the box office wasn't going to open till 9pm. I spoke up and told them I had an extra ticket to sell. I told them I could sell it for $15 instead of $20 which was the cover price. They jumped on it and we talked for a few minutes. At first they were going to leave but then could hear Greg singing doing the sound check. We lingered together (there was nobody else around) and listened. I told them I was meeting up with people nearby at a bar which was on the cross street. A street name I could not pronounce at all but one of the guys told me how (which I still can't duplicate now). NOLA and it's funny names.
I left to meet up with Farley & his friend but went the wrong way at first. Turned around and then found the place. Farley and his friend,John, were sitting at the bar. Both were about 5 years older than me. Farley had obviously been drinking most of the day because his demeanor was very sleepy-like. Or maybe that's just him. John was more gregarious and was very interested in learning about me. Though he was married with a kid. I remember thinking "I could so easily get laid". Anyway, we went in search of food and found a place nearby that was a bit more expensive than I wanted. We had to wait for a table and ate an appetizer of fried shrimp. I ate so much seafood that weekend.
We got a table and realized how crunched for time we were getting. Our waiter was a bit of an odd duck but he got us our food pretty quickly once we let him know we needed to leave soon. John and Farley paid for everything. I was not about to decline. That has to be one of the best things about being a woman sometimes.
We walked over to Tips and the crowd was there. Got in pretty fast and I could tell it was a great place to see a band. Not small but not very big. Just right. (That's what she said) John bought Farley and I a drink and then we did lemon drop shots. Wandered to the front and shortly after that Margot and the Nuclear So and So's went on. This was my 3rd time seeing them in 4 weeks. The lead singer's voice was wearing out and he mentioned that he wanted to come back when his throat didn't feel like he was swallowing glass. Poor guy. After they were done I looked around for Farley and John and didn't see them. But I didn't want to give up my spot near the stage. I managed to get myself right up to the barricade and was dead center in front of Greg's mic stand. Woot! And my cleavage was ready.
The Twilight Singers hit the stage and man, I couldn't believe the reason I was in NOLA was finally happening. They sounded fantastic. Greg looked maybe a bit tired but he was still into it. He lives in New Orleans so he's totally at home. I could feel him looking down at me once in a while. I think my breasts were distracting. And the bass player kept looking over at my way. Anyways...they did two encore sets. The last set had Greg bringing a guy out to play guitar and a few of the Margot guys to play guitar,too. They played Neil Young's Hey Hey My My which rocked hard. Then they finished up with a Rev. Horton Heat song "Remember Me" where Greg booted the drummer to the guitar and he sat down and played the drums. It was freaking awesome. Such a great way to end the show.
Once it was over I once again looked around for Farley and John but didn't see them. Oh,well. No big deal. I loitered for a few minutes. Went up to the merch table that the Margot guys had and spoke to one of the band members. Told him it was my 3rd time seeing them on this tour. He explained that the lead singer had gotten sick that week and wasn't feeling too great. I also told him that I'd bought a cd from him the last time I saw him. Didn't he remember me?! I was joking, of course. I rarely remember people I wait on.
I went outside where a bunch of people were standing around. Most were probably waiting to see if Greg was coming outside. After a while I decided that he had probably already left. I got a cab with two other girls which took us back into the Quarter. They had flown from Seattle to see the show. The man really has a devoted following. Seeing him live is just electric.
Once I got dropped off at my hotel, I decided to get a soda and snacks from the vending machines. I vegged in my room while munching on junk food and played on the internet. Finally probably dozed off around 4am. What a day.
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