Ivan Neville, JazzFest 2005

In certain respects, it’s incorrect to describe the JazzFest experience in terms of individual days. A city defined by its late-night festivities, New Orleans is the perfect backdrop for all-night improvisation with countless shows gently segueing from late-night to early morning. With choice bills overlapping like interlocking jams—and certain breakfast sets scheduled to start after sunrise—it’s often difficult to tell when Saturday ends and Sunday begins. Instead, it’s easier to organize the final 48 hours of JazzFest in terms of its marquee acts, who have remained the weekend’s ever-steady metronome.

Along with a few inches of unwelcome rain, Saturday’s festivities saw the infusion of an entirely new type of concertgoer: The Dave Matthews Fan. In 2002, the Virginia-bred band helped set a JazzFest attendance record with a guest-laden performance that featured cameos by Paul Simon and Lenny Kravitiz. While the inclement weather quickly ruled out any chances of a repeat record, Dave Matthews Band’s appearance still drew the weekend’s largest crowd. And, along the way, the jam-pop quintet managed to shape the personal schedules of each and every JazzFest attendee. Some used his performance as an excuse to stay home, while others used it as a reason to brave the early morning rain. Some stopped by hoping to catch a high-profile guest, while others used his set time to checkout the festival’s 12 other often-overlooked stages. Greeting both devotees and critics with a relatively crisp set, DMB arrived in full force, kick-starting the American leg of its 2005 tour.

Opening with “The Stone,” off 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets , Dave Matthews ran through a fairly straightforward set, focusing mostly on his pre-millennium setlist staples. While completely ignoring the material off his last two albums, Matthews used his JazzFest appearance to debut a pair of new compositions off his upcoming album, Stand Up: “Louisiana Bayou” and “Stand Up.” An average performance, Matthews’ crowd was overrun with talkative fans, now dirtied with more than a few inches of mud. Meanwhile, across the fairground’s sea of vendors, Elvis Costello offered a competing set with his band, The Impostors. Appearing loose and energetic, Costello let his band boogie, also dusting off a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Berta.” Stacking hits like “Allison” at the end of his show, Costello reserved the first portion of his set for rock-star theatrics, dancing with his axe as he dipped deep into his canon. Other afternoon highlights included a mainstage performance by Galactic and a set by Toots and the Maytals, who peaked with an on-point reading of “Pressure Drop.”

Likewise, Superfly’s late-night offerings were full of conflicting choices. As usual, collaboration was the evening’s keyword, with Gov’t Mule and the Superfly SuperJam facing off within a four-block radius. Anchored by Trey Anastasio and his new band, 70 Volt Parade, Superfly’s SuperJam lived up to its name. Since birthing the Oysterhead supergroup in 2000, the SuperJam has blossomed into Superfly’s signature JazzFest offering. Over the years, Superfly’s round-robin jam sessions have ranged from loose groove sessions to tight, oddball pairings. Taking advantage of a day off during Anastasio’s spring tour, Superfly built this year’s jam around the former Phish guitarist and his new project, 70 Volt Parade.

SuperJam, Photo Dino Perrucci

Anastasio’s second set, on the other hand, ranks among the weekend’s best offerings. Inviting percussionist Cyril Neville, saxophonist Dave Grippo, trumpeter Michael Ray, and a duo of Dirty Dozen tenors onstage, Anastasio ran through a series of Mardi Gras covers, recalling both the Meters’ funky jams and his original solo project. Mixing his previous groove musings with the two-guitar interplay that characterizes his current band, Anastasio fulfilled his dream of orchestrating a “big band” of modern players, fusing jazz, rock, and New Orleans soul. Yet SuperJam will no doubt be remembered as the first time somewhat estranged former bandmates, Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon, performed together since parting ways as Phish. Following an emotional acceptance speech at the Jammys earlier in the week, many began to wonder when and if Gordon would jam with his former bandmate. Running through a version of the frequent Phish cover “Sneaking Sally Through the Alley,” Anastasio and Gordon nodded to their past, before inviting Dave Matthews onstage. Visibly intoxicated, Matthews played air guitar while a Gordon-bolstered 70 Volt Parade ran through two numbers from his “Dave Mathews and Friends” project, Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” and Sly and the Family Stone’s "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)."

Trey and Mike reunite at JazzFest. Photo Dino Perrucci

After hugging Anastasio, Gordon attempted to leave the stage but was quickly persuaded to stay after a round of heartfelt boos from the crowd. The Phish duo responded by offering an acoustic rendition of Hank William’s “Old Habits Like You Are Hard to Break,” a tale of hard living and loss that some took as a metaphor for Phish. Later in the evening, Gordon also hosted a guest-fest of his own within the factory walls of Twiropa. Performing with the Benevento/Russo Duo, the “Trio” mixed Duo staples like “Becky” with Gordon originals such as “The Beltless Buckler” and Phish’s “Foam.” Frequent guest Scott Metzger expanded the Trio into a Quartet for a guitar-heavy Led Zeppelin cover, while Dirty Dozen guitarist Jamie McLean helped flesh out the group’s jazzier tendencies.

Custom-designed for festival jam sessions, Gov’t Mule invited the Dirty Dozen Brass Band onstage at several points during its set, as well as sparring with local favorite Karl Denson during the show’s encore. Matthews also wandered over from the SuperJam in time to front a version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” recalling the guitarist’s famed appearance at New York ’s Ritz Powerjam in 1993.  Almost pulling double duty, Warren Hayes wandered to the SuperJam to perform during his own set break, but never made it to the stage due to time limitations. Reminiscent of its Bonnaroo performance, which put the band on the map last June, Umphrey’s McGee offered an experimental late-night show at Tipitinia’s Uptown. Performing from just after 2:30 to nearly 7:30AM, Umphrey’s stretched each of its songs to the breaking point. In between sets, Gabby La La offered a solo performance, which gently segued into a jam at the start of Umphrey’s second set. Topaz also guested during the group’s encore, after a performance with

Luther Dickinson with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band

A fitting close to JazzFest, the Neville Brothers anchored Sunday’s lineup. Admittedly a bit dated, the Neville Brothers’ mixture of soul, funk and jazz has defined New Orleans for decades, seeding countless side projects along the way. Adding Anastasio as a second guitarist at several points during their afternoon set, the Neville Brothers explored the jazz-funk most often associated with Art Neville’s other storied band, the Meters. Unquestionably New Orleans ’ first family, a number of Neville kin now back the founding brothers, most notably keyboardist Ivan. Jamming with a variety of guests over the weekend, Ivan Neville has helped brand his family as The Big Easy’s primary ambassador. And, in the end, the Neville Brothers proved that the key to preserving New Orleans ’ musical heritage is a pair of old jamband tricks: cross-pollination and collaboration. 

Within the loosely defined parameters of jam nation, the “sit-in” holds a certain voodoo. At times, it’s a rite of passage, a passing of the torch between different generations of likeminded musicians. Other times, the sit-in serves as a three-dimensional family reunion, a chance for longtime friends to recreate their backstage energy in front of an equally energetic audience. In certain instances, the sit-in also serves as a formal welcome, an opportunity for local musicians to greet their guests with a taste of native culture. But, no matter the initial impetus, the sit-in has become a bedrock of the jamband scene, living proof of the genre’s fraternal nature. 

And, a day into the second weekend of the 2005 New Orleans Jazz Festival, any number of bands cross-pollinated onstage, leaving a trail of asterisks to mark their time at The Big Easy’s largest music gathering. Performing in front of its largest audience since returning to the road, Widespread Panic drew upwards of 30,000 fans to the festival’s Acura Stage, offering a three-hour set filled with friends new and old. Opening with “Fishwater,” the southern jam kings invited jazz-funk prince Ivan Neville onto the stage, adding a bit of authentic New Orleans soul to the cut’s keyboard groove. Running through both longtime classics, such as “Ain’t Life Grand,” and its newest material, including the rapidly developing “Second Skin,” Widespread Panic created a mini-festival within the boundaries of the JazzFest fairgrounds. Indeed, fading pop stars Better Than Ezra’s nod to

John Bell (Widespread Panic)

Though Widespread Panic took the afternoon’s most prominent spot, a number of performers offered equally enjoyable sets on the smaller stages spread throughout the fairgrounds. Shortly before Panic took the stage, John Butler packed a record number of fans into the Blues Tent, proving that his organic pop has truly outgrown its fringe genre settings. The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars also drew a sizable audience, cluing fans into where exactly ethnic Jewish music and hippie-rock meet. Storied crooner Randy Newman also offered a well-received solo set, performing hits from throughout his four-decade career.

John Butler

Yet, as expected, JazzFest didn’t fully kick into gear until after the sun set over the city's lazy Lagoons. The second weekend of JazzFest always draws the festival's largest crowds and the addition of Widespread Panic brought an additional traveling circus down Bourbon Street. With marquee acts like Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello and Trey Anastasio all scheduled to perform before Sunday evening, even a novice cultural anthropologist could observe a number of distinct music sects filtering into town by way of New Orleans’ vintage trolleys. An odd marketing move, Superfly presented two impressive bills simultaneously within a four-block  radius. At the State Theater, Keller Williams and Galactic co-headlined a packed bill which served as a springboard for a number of familiar collaborations. Offering an average set, Williams was regulated to unofficial opening status when placed before local heroes Galactic. Always among the friendliest jam acts around, Galactic invited a number of visiting friends onto the stage including MOFRO’s JJ Grey, percussionist Mike Dillon and Williams, who offered a vocal rap halfway through the group’s set. Theresa Andersson also made a brief cameo previewing her Saturday afternoon mainstage spot.

A stone's throw away, Gov’t Mule headlined the evening’s most intriguing bill, along with opener Umphrey’s McGee. Longtime JazzFest veterans, Gov’t Mule has sparred with a record number of musicians during the annual May gathering, earning a Jammy for its bassist sit-in fest The Deepest End along the way. In past years, Gov’t Mule’s JazzFest sit-in spectacles have taken on special themes, yet this year the group opted to use its guests more as seasoning than an entire entree. During its 60minute set, Warren Haynes made his first appearance with Umphrey’s McGee, unofficially approving the Chicago jamband for the Mule faithful. An impressive celebrity cameo, Haynes’ appearance served as another milestone in Umphrey’s McGee’s most high-profile year to date. After a proud parent introduction by Haynes, Umphrey’s Brendan Bayliss, Jake Cinninger, Andy Farag and Kris Myers returned to the stage during Mule’s set.  Despite offering a dynamic set themselves, the members of Umphrey’s McGee appeared particularly young and fresh-faced when placed next to Gov’t Mule, one of jam nation’s most road-weathered bands. Skinny, visibly exited and wearing baseball caps, Umphrey’s McGee’s is still, in certain respects, at the starting gate in the race for national success. Perhaps the future of jam nation, the band represents a different style of playing--one rooted in zany theatrics instead of blues-driven ballads. Standing next to a tattoo-clad Matt Abts during a version of “Sco-Mule,” Bayliss in particular seemed young and pure. Later in the evening, Warren Haynes invited a few of his favorite collaborators on stage, including Les Claypool, funky Meters guitarist Brian Stoltz and Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo. A roaming house band, Gov’t Mule’s flair for collaboration symbolizes the communal side of the jamband scene--always in search of a few good asterisks.