Luke is back at work today so I spend the day mostly shopping around the French Quarter. We get together with Luke and Jackie for drinks at this hotel called 'the Columns' which is this amazing old mansion with probably 25 or 30-foot ceilings. Gerise gets a mint julep, which none of us have really tried before (though I am a huge mojito fan) but it looks like algae-infused lake water, so despite it tasting pretty good, no one else wants one. We sit outside and enjoy a beautiful night, but eventually the mosquitoes chase us into the building.
For dinner we go to a Mediterranean restaurant called "Byblos" and the food is excellent. I love to eat in New Orleans, everything we've had is really wonderful. We drop Gerise at the hotel and hang out at Luke's for a bit… Then Luke drops Jackie and I off at the Maple Leaf to see this amazing band play. I pretty much loved the Rebirth Brass Band from the moment they played their first notes, which happened to be "I'll Fly Away", dedicated to a founding member who had recently passed. I called Charles halfway through the song, it was way too loud to even pretend to speak to him but I just let him listen to the music via my cell phone. We both love that song.
I love the band enough to make up for the fact that there are literally roaches on the walls of the club (just tiny ones, by New Orleans standards) and the fact that they go on about an hour late… But I really wish I could be down here for this music all the time. It is truly an amazing experience. I get back to the hotel about 1am, my ears still ringing, but somewhat disappointed that I didn't stay for the second set…