Day 37-38: Rebirth

Rebirth is a band, a staple of New Orleans since 1984, started in 1982, brass, of course, and rad.  But my first few hours there felt a bit like a being reborn process for me.  That knowing, that I'd found another home, spoke to in my last post.

The band, though, the band.  Wow.  They are gods of music.  I thank my host, Dain, for taking me to see them this, my second night.  They play every Tuesday they're in town at the Maple Leaf, in the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown (they are almost on a constant tour of North America and Europe, very prolific).  A longstanding, classic, and heavily attended event, it is considered a good intro for newcomers to New Orleans nightlife and music, but also loyally attended by locals, and super, SUPER, fun.  I stood in that crowded little bar, dancing throughout the while, for hours, jaw dropped at the performance before me.  And the loving-life around me.  That's the thing about New Orleans, that I noticed.  No one was sitting, moping at the bar or standing round the edges--everyone, it seemed, had a smile on their face or were laughing, bouncing, talking boisterous, whether it was at a show or dive bar.  R Bar, where we went later--"R" for Royal St, at Frenchman-- is a real down-home watering hole, where I felt instantly comfortable and made lots of friends.  I went again the next night just to write and hang out and ended up rallying and running around with some folks to see mas musica on the outskirts of the French Quarter.

I did a couple of other predictable, but delicious things, like getting a coffee and beignets (French doughnuts of fried bread and powdered sugar) at Cafe du Monde, and eating gumbo.  But the latter my friend made, and the truth is, most people do make and eat a lot of the traditional foods of the area.  They're proud, and participate, still, though there's plenty that goes beyond that.

On the third day, my second full day, I walked around in the CBD, or downtown, used the library, and ended up at a concert in the park.  Cops passed by as people swirled each other on moving sculptures in a square nearby, and beads were to be seen everywhere tucked in corners.

There was a lot of poverty; buildings, people, processes, that need to be addressed.  But, even as I contemplated moving there, it did not seem as hopeless and depressing as the increasing disparity of wealth which I've seen in nearly every other city.  It's going through rebirth, it's got energy.  And I want to be there.