New Orleans: Frenchmen Street

Jazz is a genre of music that’s much better live than recorded.  As Ayk pointed out, when is any music not better live, other than heavily auto-tuned pop singers?  Touché.  Be that as it may, there’s nothing more captivating than listening to truly talented jazz performers on stage.  And there’s no place better to find the best jazz acts than our favorite place in New Orleans -- Frenchmen Street.

Maision, our favorite bar.

There’s a part of me that wants to sing praises about this low-key jazz haven only steps away from the French Quarter, but there’s another part of me that dreads outing the city’s best kept secret.  As one Nawlins native put it, “Bourbon Street is where we quarantine the tourists, so they don't [expletive] up the city."  (I’m assuming CNN censored “fuck,” in case you were wondering).

Booty Trove, a 12-man brass band, playing at Maison.

As much as it pains me to admit this as an out-of-towner, it’s true:  most tourists are obnoxious.  And the tourists who visit New Orleans generally want to get shitfaced.  Far be it for me to judge.  If I were in college, I’d giddily roam Bourbon Street with a drink in both hands.  So by all means, get sloshed; just stay on Bourbon Street and keep Frenchmen Street sane for those whose livers can no longer handle excessive drinking.  We come for the jazz, not the hangover.

A bartender wearing the colors of the Egyptian flag to celebrate Mubarak's resignation.

What makes Frenchmen Street so amazing is you can go into any bar and listen to the best performances without having to pay any cover (don’t be a stingy bastard; tip!).  Some bars do charge cover, but most don’t.  Hell, you can wander the street and find an amazing brass band playing on the corner with people dancing in the street.  Anything goes here.

A band playing in the street.

Even white people started dancing.  Though I wouldn't encourage it.

This guy's cheek puffed out like Dizzy Gillespie's.

The sidewalk is filled with artists other than musicians and singers trying to earn a buck.  There are painters and even poets.  We chatted with Tristan, a former music teacher turned street poet.  He didn’t much care for his boss’s teaching method, so he quit.  Now he’s his own boss, using a typewriter to crank out verses for poetry patrons, passersby, or just piss-ass drunk tourists who lost their way from Bourbon Street.  Poems range from 5 to 20 bucks.  Considering our state of employment, we went with the $5 poem.  Scribbling down a few notes, he asked us what we wanted our personalized poem to be about, and we picked – what else – our road trip.  Cherry on top of the best night of the trip: 

Tristan the Street Poet

The best $5 we spent on the trip.  Actually $10.  Ayk tipped him an extra $5 for booze money.

Chicago: Part 2 (Wednesday Day)

 Wrigley Field

On my first trip to Chicago, I made a point to go to every site featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – one of my all time favorite movies.  I made it to all of the sites except Wrigley Field.  It was too far away by subway.  With a car, it was a quick drive.

Hey, batta, batta, batta!

 

Harry Carey: the patron saint of hot dogs

Athenaeum

We wanted to see an architecture museum, and found the Athenaeum on Google.  Turns out it wasn’t an architecture museum, but an old theater.

In the end, I think this was a better than any museum.

Water Tower

The Water Tower is one of the few buildings downtown that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Inside this historic landmark, we got a friendly tour from Mike.  Ayk was more interested in the mechanics involved; I was more interested in the aesthetics.  Hence why I have pictures and no recollection of how the operation actually works.

Cultural Center

This building boasts the largest Tiffany window dome alongside intricate mosaic walls. 

Here we watched a classical cellist and pianist perform.  For free.  This is why Chicago rocks.

The Bean

Yes, it is as cool as it looks.

Art Institute

When I went in March, I spent 5 hours here.  I saw every exhibit.  This time, we only spent 1 to 2 hours there.  Initially, we weren’t going to go until we found out that weekdays at the Art Institute are free in January and February.  We got to see priceless works of art.  For free.  This is why Chicago rocks.