Magnolia Cafe/Lucy's St. Francisville/New Orleans, LA - March 1 - 3, 2003 ~ REH Sunday, March 2, 2003 - Lucy's Retired Surfer's Bar in New Olreans, LA So we wake up somewhere in Baton Rouge and we shake off the dust from the night before and saddle up for our trip to NOLA. I haven’t been there since the 1990 Mardi Gras Debacle with Dash Rip Rock and Jane’s Addiction at Tipitina's (whew - stay away from the brown acid) so I was anxious to see if it was gonna be flashback city or the single greatest 72 hours I’ve spent in my life. (If you’re a betting type, go with the latter...) We parked on the other side of God’s creation and began our fifteen block march towards what was to be our home for the next few days (Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar) and guess who we spot? Yep, just as far away as you can get from Lucy’s without leaving the city limits is the big red van. I think ol’ Jazz was on wheel duty - a Connecticut Yankee in Bachus's court - scary at best. Well we lost the van in the crowd and pressed on. We get to the corner of Girod and that street I cant pronoucne but it starts with a T and run into Cody, Willy and Micky with Rags in tow. This is where things start to get way too... well, way too NO WAY! Here’s a riddle... what’s 99.9% of NOLA's finest answer for everything? Answer: "Ya'll are f@#$%d". All except for 2 of 'em - one was the biggest cop (that wasn’t fat) you have ever seen. Scratch that, he was the biggest "law enforcement officer" in NOLA and by god he was on our side. He and his partner did the equivalent of Moses parting the Red Sea - one thing that never happens during Mardi Gras is a parade route that is breached. Well guess what? For the big red van it was! With both officers hanging off the trailer and moving revelers and barricades out of the way like they weren’t even a factor - a very cool moment. So since I’m big and dumb and can carry heavy stuff, Gregg and I got pressed into load-in duty (secretly I think we are both big enuff dorks that we felt like rock stars - but don’t tell Gregg I called him a rock star). About that same time we ran into two of the finest tracts of Louisiana real estate in NOLA - also known as "the Sarahs". They were the resident barkeeps at Lucy's and they were the best - stunningly bee-yew tee-full and tough as nails. In other words, they weren’t falling for any Everlovin charm chat (or lack there of). You know me, a bit of a wallflower. Well the party was just about to get kicked up a notch (Emeril is everywhere) with the arrival of those Idaho/Austin outlaws, M&MC. They were the openers for both nights at Lucy’s and I gotta say it was really just frosting on the King Cake. (Ugh… did I just say that?) and by god, guess who made the trip? LESTER!!! WEAUX HEAUX!! (That’s Coon-Ass French for woo hoo) The suspects for NOLA were the same as in St. Francisville - with addition of Heals’ brother and from the greater Katy, TX metroplex, Cajungirl with Jeremy in tow and a couple of friends (who I believe may have become infamous via Club Millican...). Well M&MC cranked it up and we were off. If you haven’t heard Micky and the boys putting the Braun touch to the S&G classic Mrs. Robinson, you are missing a chunk of musical righteousness. They really do make it their own so get to a show ASAP. The M&MC show was brought to a close by the 1st of 2 parades we were going to have the privilege to see and be apart of... Ask Tracy... but I'll sum it up the best I can - INCOMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the un-initiated a parade in NOLA is more about survival than anything. There is a massive amount of fire power brought to the table by the floats and you have to be ready to see in all directions all at once - a full bag of beads will do damage. All this was made all the more dangerous when someone had the bright idea to let the 3 youngest Brauns onto the street where the beads are...You’ve got it right - Brauns /beads/baseball fans... I smell trouble. Gary and Micky hadn’t been to NOLA before so Willy will get to go down in history as the Instigator of the Mardi Gras Bead War - 2003. It was insane... when you see the pix you'll see EXACTLY what the textbook definition of INSTIGATOR is – it’s a picture of Willy Braun. Talk about carpet bombing. RK hit the stage and ripped into their set. It was an AED moment... "with reckless abandon.” If the Stones ever do an unplugged for VH1 (God forbid) I bet this is what it would be like. It’s really hard to put a finger on what makes a night like this fun. Was it the venue? The crowd? The mix of fans and family? Yeah, its safe to say it was pretty dang fun. So as the RK/M&MC contingency slowly turned into the Rummy Beignet Bros., the option of playing another set or bellying up to the bar was given. I think you know the rest... Now I know I’ve been a huge proponent of the "do not talk out of school" rule but I got to tell you, you haven’t lived until you and Gary B. have to haul an "overserved" journalist from Nashville and points unknown down the back stairs of Lucy's. You should see my shoes - you can’t put a price tag on a night like that can you? I think not! This will all lead to the infamous “Rags upright betting pool incident of 2003” - more on that later. I got to tell you... this Waffle House addiction that I have really started back in Athens GA. I don’t get to feed the beast very often but how often can you combine grits and romance in one sitting? It happened to ol' Everlovin'! Mmmm-hmmm... yep... Ask Tracy she'll tell you - I apparently have what it takes to get the greater Baton Rouge local #420 of Wafflettes all in a tizzy with my big and dumb as a stump self! Actually it was a bit flattering… and now you know WAY to much about my psyche. Bravely read on and go to Monday (aka Lundi Gras) OR Go back to Saturday in St. Francisville

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