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 Billy Joel |
 Jill Scott |
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Review and photos by Mary Andrews FOMS (fear of missing something) is a term coined by the Jazz Fest chat board. As Fest gets closer and the stage schedule is released, FOMS turns into ROMS (reality of missing something). Now that Fest is here, the race is on! My particular dilemma was seeing Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Joel, and Jill Scott who were playing at the same time! I'll start at the beginning of the day first.Voice of the Wetlands is a group of some of the most stellar musicians in New Orleans. The group consists of Tab Benoit, founder, The Meters and Neville Brothers, Cyril Neville, fiddler Waylon Thibodeaux, Johnny Vidacovich, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Anders Osborne, and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux. They played a rousing set as usual. Pictured is Chief Monk and Johnny Sansone. Next on the Acura stage was Allen Toussaint's set. He has such a huge catalogue of music going back to the 60's and 70's that his set only scratched the surface of his music. The legend gave us a flawless performance. A highly anticipated Billy Joel was next. The crowd was ready to see and hear their favorite song from the tune master. They had spent the majority of the afternoon listing the songs that they wanted to hear. Needless to say, Joel did not disappoint. The last time Joel played, after Katrina, the rains poured. Someone with a long-handled squeegee pushed the water off his piano between songs. This time the rain gods worked for him. No rain today. The piano man has been on a performance hiatus for three years. The only exceptions were the hurricane Sandy benefit and a recent festival in Australia. He commented that with hurricane Sandy, we New Englanders know how you felt during Katrina! Joel delivered everything that the crowd expected and more! Onward to the Gentilly Stage for some Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite. They were promoting their new album "Get Up," but you would think that they had been playing longer together. The critically acclaimed album sounded even better live! They broke away from the album to do "When the Levee Breaks" and "We Can't End This Way." Finally, I caught Jill Scott at the Congo Stage. Ms. Scott has undeniable stage presence! She reaches out to the audience like they are her best friends and keeps it going. In other words, her concert in front of thousands of people felt as intimate as a backyard barbeque concert. So, ended another wonderful Jazz Fest Day! |
 Ben Harper |
 Charlie Musselwhite & Ben Harper |
 Billy Joel |
 Jill Scott |
 Billy Joel |
 Allen Toussaint |
 Jumpin' Johnny Sansone & Chief Monk |
 Jill Scott |
 B.B. King & Allen Toussaint |
 Billy Joel |