Story and photos by Andy Argyrakis
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,
singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie has called upon his
artist friends for a benefit concert tour inspired by
his smash single "City of New Orleans." Rather than
traveling by bus or plane, he and his entourage hopped
aboard Amtrak's train of the same name visiting
multiple cities along the way, culminating with an all
star jam in New Orleans. ConcertLivewire's Andy
Argyrakis jumped on for the finale leg, which included
a plethora of concerts, public appearances, community
outreach and hang out time. Here's an all access pass
into life with the "Arlo Guthrie & Friends: Ridin' on
The City of New Orleans Tour," including an up close
and personal look at Guthrie and performing pals Abe
Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie, Ramblin' Jack, Xavier,
Jack Irons, Mickey Rafael, Willie Nelson and many
more!
There was a mixture of well rested faces and those who
appeared to have partied way too much the night before
come the 11:30 a.m. lobby call. Rumor has it the place
to be was The Howlin' Wolf where Xavier gave an
opening set before a Kiss tribute act. Apparently the
fake "Rock and Roll All Nighters" were terrible, so
some went bar hopping and out for late night "greasy
spoon" food. Regardless, everyone at least faked
freshness when it was time to board a pair of buses
taking us to Dante's Kitchen.
The ride consisted of
lots of small talk, plus some comments about popular
New Orleans sights, though both the sober and hung
over all complained of hunger pains. Thankfully, the
locally famous establishment fulfilled those needs,
offering up a spread of traditional New Orleans
delicacies, from jambalaya to various fish dishes to
barbequed pulled pork. It was a launching pad for many
great conversations with the Xavier guys and other
Arlo staffers, including rehearsed assessments of the
Gene Simmons wannabes and jokes that a midget group of
Kiss imitators also exists.
Unfortunately those feelings of comfort and comedy
wouldn't last very long on this particular day.
Instead moods streaked with incredible sadness,
intense frustration and complete shock rippled through
our group as we were taken by police escort past the
most severely hurricane damaged areas. Though I had
caught glimpses during a short trip to the city over
Halloween weekend covering the Voodoo Music Festival,
what I and the others saw was a truly combination of
stomach churning, tear jerking, and for some, even
vomit inducing.
What we witnessed cannot be captured
on television or even in photographs, though I can
safely say the sights are worse than the most bizarre
and morbid horror movie imaginable. Certain areas of
the city, such as those in the 9th Ward and locations
next to the broken levies, should not be viewed by the
weak at heart or the frail in mind. At most mild, they
would've received the harshest "R" rating (if scenes
were graded in movie context) and at the very worst,
exponentially beyond "X" simply for the shock value.
The emotional roller coaster started out slow as we
exited the peacefulness of the French Quarter and
downtown area moving past the side streets. Countless
displays of displaced objects could be viewed, from
loads of trash piled along the roadside, to random
stacks of refrigerators, appliances or household
items, to a slew of soggy mattress, blankets and rugs.
The closer we traveled towards areas below sea level,
the more challenging it became, including mounds of
cracked tree trunks resting on power lines, on top of
roofs or straight through windows. Glass was blown out
of most buildings in favor of wood coverings, while
even the sturdiest rock solid brick foundations lay
crumbled amidst some of the most random debris
imaginable. For instance, one car had its trunk open
with its windows busted sitting in the middle of a
yard strewn with house gutters, window shades and
miscellaneous bedroom materials. Imagine having every
item in a house whirled in cyclone like winds and then
carried off in floating water that swelled up to the
second story. From there, it was taken by the waves
and kicked about by the breeze, forcing everyone's
belongings on the block towards other developments and
vice versa.
An incredibly humbling moment for Arlo and company
happened when we pulled into the 9th Ward, most
notably upon the street with Fats Domino's publishing
company, along with the home from which he was
rescued. The buses stopped for the first time on this
depressing journey and security actually let us exit
to walk towards the destruction. Arlo in particular
had a challenging time dealing with the destruction of
Domino's property and the fact that it literally
looked like a junk yard, especially considering the
wealth of musical history once contained under those
roofs. We walked away from the sight together and I
asked him if he and Fats were friends. "I never had
the chance to meet him, but I sure do love him," the
singer said, emphasizing how thankful he was that the
legend's life was spared. "I probably had my first
kiss to one of his songs, so he'll always have a
special place in my heart."
And believe it or not, it only got worse (and this is
coming from me as a faith focused eternal optimist
who's traveled a ton and thought I'd seen it all!)
Given the magnitude of our tour and Arlo's amazingly
helpful presence in town, local officials gave us all
special permission to go where few musicians and media
have gone before. Again under a tightly knit
motorcade, we pulled into neighborhoods where the
levies broke, which was the most sobering and humbling
experience one could ever comprehend. After hopping
off the bus in what was once a half million dollar per
home development, we only heard the sound of silence
since many of the homes themselves had actually blown
away! Much to our dismay, these luxurious compounds
were smashed to smithereens, knocked by the wayside
thanks to the tide's strength and tossed around by
uprooted trees. In one particular plot, nothing but
the concrete foundation of a two story house remained.
In another instance, the entire front half of a house
was ripped off, leaving only dirt from the garage and
a single flat screen TV standing. Every other piece of
furniture, clothing and household item was 100% gone
and likely to never be found again.
As we sat stunned and choked up, we saw one of the
most unbelievable gestures that could ever be
considered. Two teenagers, along with an adult couple,
were prowling the premises just outside a fenced in
area attempting to get close to a fallen estate.
Authorities held them back in between sniffles, though
it was clear they wanted something from the scene. Who
were these people and how were they allowed in to this
apparent disaster zone? We found out later that all
four people lived in the subdivision at some point and
were coming back with the hope of finding just a
single memento, perhaps a family heirloom or merely
one personal photograph. As it stood right now, they
had no personal belongings whatsoever but the clothes
on their back upon evacuation. Though a picture's
worth a thousand words, in this situation we refrained
out of respect to their grievance and to avoid
sensationalism of the subject. There were many other
times when this rule of thumb applied, and as a
result, some of the most tragic displays could not be
shown in this context. Obviously no one on this site
or many musicians on the tour support censorship, but
on certain occasions, it was simply so sickening that
publication would be disgustingly inappropriate. All
we could do was toss up a prayer, send our well
wishes, embrace one another and somberly re-board the
buses.
If there was one shred of good news to be gleaned, it
was that clean-up crews were out in full force. In
fact just before boarding, Arlo had the chance to chat
with one of the project engineers responsible for
rebuilding the levies. The vote of encouragement and
confidence seemed to be just what the doctor ordered
for him and the extensive crew, who were busy working
day and night since the storm to restore even some
sort of order. These people are truly the unsung
heroes and saints of the city who provided a shining
glimmer of hope- that although the city may never be
the same- can at least restore it to some degree.
Eventually that traumatic visit came to a close and we
had to transition back in concert mode. Although this
was a challenging feat (especially as death and
destruction loomed throughout conversation) we all
knew it was essential, since after all, that was why
the "Ridin' on The City of New Orleans Tour" started
in the first place. 
And thankfully the matinee gig was
at the Ogden Museum, a beautiful environment
chronicling New Orleans' rich heritage and glorious
history through pictures and exhibits. The unique
element to this shortened show was its audience,
comprised of children in New Orleans hoping to be
uplifted by the arts. The line-up of The Burns
Sisters, Sarah Lee Guthrie, Johnny Irion and John
Flynn courageously complied, turning their
sulk-filled, emotionally draining visit into an
educating experience that introduced pro-active
messages to the youth. Highlights included Sarah Lee
Guthrie's take on "This Land Is Your Land" and
everyone's combined tag team on "Keep On the Sunny
Side of Life."
Believe it or not, there was still one more major
event in an already marathon itinerary and that was a
late night concert to warm fans up for the forthcoming
grand finale. This engagement was actually scheduled
just under a week ago when tickets for Saturday's sell
out yielded an overwhelming overflow demand. Though
full coverage will come in a subsequent journal
chronicling the send off show, a similar line-up
provided over three and a half hours of entrainment
with a handful of surprises. Ramblin' Jack offered a
short but stellar two song set, Folk Uke (comprised of
Arlo's daughter Cathy and Willie Nelson's daughter
Amy) made a several song appearance, including a pair
with Arlo. The duo is known for their mightily
irreverent but highly enthralling folk spice, which
included titles like "Shit Makes the Flowers Grow" and
"Mother F******" I had the chance to speak with Nelson
after the set, quickly learning she was extremely warm
hearted and humorous despite the crassness of such
titles. "We used to call our music 'slightly
offensive,' but then I watched MTV and learned what
that really meant," she said. "But we do have a
'parental guidance' sticker on the CDs just to warn
people."
In keeping with the free flowing vibe of the tour,
those hanging in the VIP lounge had the opportunity to
chill with actor extraordinaire David L. Lander, best
know for his role as Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman on
"Laverne & Shirley." The music lover and New Orleans
supporter told me he was in town for a Muscular
Dystrophy benefit but wanted to take in all the
concert action prior to his engagement. After snapping
a few shots of the famed entertainer, I headed
backstage and literally ran into Arlo at the dressing
room door. He asked me how the shots were coming and I
gave the thumbs up. I soon whipped open my laptop and
found him sitting next to me, asking to see my account
of the destruction. "I didn't take any shots myself,
but those look great," he said, much to my
appreciation. "That sure was quite a day, wasn't it?"
Of course the night couldn't be complete without the
most fitting final song of the evening "City of New
Orleans," kicked off by Arlo and then joined by all
the other acts. It was a prelude of what was to come
when partner in crime Willie would be joining him,
though it the meantime, it was the closest we had come
to all out jubilation since our previously terrorizing
trip.
New Orleans despair |
New Orleans despair |
New Orleans despair |
New Orleans despair |
New Orleans despair |
New Orleans despair |
Amy Nelson |
Cathy Guthrie |
Fats |
Arlo & David L. Lander |
Friday Finale
