We planned to camp out for most of the day at the Gentilly stage, alternating turns walking around to hear other music. Dr. John and John Cleary were playing back-to-back at Gentilly, so we got there as soon as the gates opened to set up our spot.The weather was awesome: cooler than usual and breezy (it's rare to be in NOLA and not sweat and 'stick'). We got our chairs and blanket set up before the stage crew finished the sound checks for the first band, so we took that time to walk up to the stage and hang out so the kids could see some of the music up close. (Chairs, etc. were not allowed past a spray-painted line in the grass. We had our stuff at the front of that line, but it was a good ways back from the stage.) The crowd was still pretty thin, given that it was a weekday and still only 11AM. This meant Eli and Maddux could watch and wander around without much worry of them getting into trouble. We didn't have to worry about that once the music started though. The Revivalists kicked off the show with an AWESOME set. Maddux loved the lead singer because he wore pink socks. Eli wants to play the drums like the drummer (of course). At one point, Rebirth came onto stage with the guys....awesomeness. And then for another song, three burlesque dancers joined the band....Lehr was able to distract Eli with the trombone on the opposite end of the stage. (Safe for now!)
The coolest thing was there were little 'holes' in the barricades up front. Just big enough for a smaller person to peek through and see straight to the band. Of course, as long as Eli had two straws to use as drumsticks, he was content.We saw another band before we opted to start the gorging for the day. Eli went with Lehr and came back with a huge bowl of craw fish. He was SO excited to eat them. Maddie was unsure of eating them, but she loved playing with them. And later, when we met up with William and Russell, Maddux figured out that William was a little unsure of the crazy crustaceans, so she chased him around with one.
Unfortunately, just before the main acts (for us), the storms came through. Big rain drops, lightning and thunder for a few hours. We made it to the Economy Hall tent (traditional dixieland jazz) before getting too drenched, thankfully. It was packed tighter than any even we'd been to in a while in there, but at least we were sheltere
d from the elements. Eli and I did a few Second Lines and then danced on the dance floor. He was fine in the Second Line until the guy behind us started yelling instead of clapping. His loud voice took Eli by surprise; when I asked Eli later if he liked the Second Line his eyes got wide and he said, "No, Mommy".Maddux fell asleep in the madness of the rainy tent. She snoozed in the BOB for about twenty minutes before rejoining us. When she woke up, she and Eli traded about forty kisses. So sweet...no clue what prompted it, but they were very amorous with each other.
When we tried to go to another tent, it was still drizzling. Despite Eli telling me he wouldn't melt, as soon as we left that tent to find another, it started to pour and he started to complain. So we camped out in the music 'store' tent for another twenty minutes before meeting up with the Overlys in the grandstands. The boys had discovered a 'shower' of rain water coming off of a tent and all four kids got themselves sufficiently soaked while we watched one last performer.Despite the great time we had, as Eli and I walked back to the car, he told me, "Mommy, today was NOT a good day. It was rainy and cold and not fun." I beg to differ.
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