muddy feet, clear politics at jazzfest.
Politics were in the
air during jazzfest -- literally. While the Neville Brothers closed the event on
the Acura stage, a plane circled above the Fair Grounds towing a banner that
read: "Shell, Hear the Music. Fix the Coast You Broke." Not all the commentary
was so overt, and none as visible, but it was there if you kept your eyes and
ears open. Mind you, it's too easy in New Orleans these days to read meaning
and purpose into every lyric or song choice -- was Sheryl Crow making a
statement by covering "Gimme Shelter," or was she just doing a Stones tune? --
yet some of the messages were timely, pointed, and worth remembering.
Here's my reflection on all that in a piece for the website Truthdig.
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