God damn, I wish I’d been in New Orleans last night. That must have been a hell of a good party. Missing someone though.
Not me, obviously. Well, not just me. It was missing Dr. John, who died from a heart attack on Thursday just as the sun was coming up. On Friday night, the streets outside Kermit’s in the Treme were thronged with what looked like thousands of people, gathered to play and sing his music loud and raw as part of the great New Orleans tradition of the Second Line parade. Disappointingly for me I’m gleaning this only from YouTube clips. Although, watching those Second Line videos did make me wonder whether Dr. John will be given the full jazz funeral treatment in due course? He must do, right? I need to see coverage of that exactly like Princess Diana’s, ideally with the same presenters. I want to see professional Royal observers forced to try and interpret not just the pomp and ceremony but also Dr John’s intoxicating blend of voodoo ritual and pure rock’n’roll. Live on two different channels so I can pick the best commentators.
The Collected Works of Kevin EG Perry 