TILTING AT WINDMILLS - THE LEGSYBOYS' EURO ADVENTURE

SEE ME, FEEEEL ME, TOUCH ME, HEEEEAL ME.....

Tinno and I are like kids in a lolly shop today, if things go to plan, this will be the day that defines our festival. Last night we went to see Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen at the House Of Blues. To absolutely nobody's surprise, the played an immaculate two hour set of New Orleans funk and R&B and it dawns on Don L that Cleary never plays a bad show.

We grab some breakfast from the Quarter Master store and plan our attack from the strategy table. Miss Mae, the IOU head housekeeper, greets us like lost family and immediately commandeers our rooms for her roster - she knows there's a nice tip waiting at the end!

Miss Mae - Shocked at the price of fags in Oz, she opines: "I'll come to Australia but I'll bring my own cigarettes!"

The brains trust planning the big decisions

Quarter Master store - corner store oasis

Tinno and JJ catch a rickshaw to the festival and it's seriously wet as I arrive to the sounds of Tommy Malone - terrific singer once leader of the Subdudes.

Tommy Malone

As he finishes, he apologises for the weather - as if he could do something about it! I stand in front of the Fais Do-Do stage and the rain is horizontal, so strong that performances are suspended. But wait, Warren Storm and his playing partners Willie Tee & Cypress throw caution to the wind and decide to play for the six people silly enough to be standing in the slush and rain - let's face it, if Warren isn't comfortable in a storm then who could be? He was great, looking sharp in white trousers (obviously didn't check the weather forecast!), red shirt and shoes, and of course jet black dyed hair, playing a ripping set of swamp pop with an ever present grin - he appreciated people braving the elements.

Warren Storm

Willie Tee blows hard

Glad he could see the funny side of the deluge!

Best of all, I turned around to find Prudy and John deliriously splashing away...the moments that make a festival great.

Prudy and John make a splash

Tinno and JJ were in the shelter of the grandstand listening to (apparently) renowned hip-hop mogul/producer Mannie Fresh being interviewed. His anecdotes were very funny; reflecting on his first Japan tour (where he thought he was unknown) he expressed surprise to hear thousands of concertgoers singing all the words to his songs, prompting him to ask "Where's my Money?" - the internet has a lot to answer for when it comes to artist royalties! When asked what would get him to reunite his group Big Tymers (Nah, I haven't heard of 'em either!), he drily retorted: "Some zeros, some commas would be a good start". Funny man.

The rain was now drizzle as Tinno and I stood three rows from the front to watch Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk. These guys lay down the heaviest 'fonk' groove going round, but whilst never boring it does bear a certain sameness after about 30 minutes. But we are stayers, and there's a pot of gold awaiting us at the end of the Dumpstaphunk set.

We are now in prime position to see Pete and Roger - THE WHO. This is our JazzFest moment, like Jeff Beck and Robert Plant one after the other in 2011.

2011 archive photo

There are tens of thousands in attendance, for there is a chance that this could be their last tour. We talk to three mid-teen girls, curious about their attendance - "Dad plays us their records and we're getting to like them" (go Dad!). They ask us what our fave Who songs are and what will they start with - 'Pictures of Lily' is Don L's all-time fave 'Oo song and Tinno reckons they'll start with 'I Can't Explain'.....here's what happened.

The dynamic duo enter with Pino Palladino, Zak Starkey,

Zak is in awe of Pete's playing....

.....Pino is bemused by Roger's playing

Simon Townshend (no, not the dude from Wonderworld!) and three keyboard players and immediately launch into.....'I Can't Explain'!! The teenagers joyously turn around and give us a thumbs up and big grin. For the next two hours, they rip apart a "greatest hits" package of songs (although Pete proffers the truism that they "haven't had many hits but their songs form an immaculate treatise on English 60's and 70's pop culture" - I think he confused more than a few in the crowd!), before closing with a snorting 'Won't Get Fooled Again'. In between, there was 'My Generation', 'I Can See For Miles', songs from 'Tommy' and 'Quadrophenia', 'Who Are You', Pete windmilled incessantly to rapturous applause

Pete winds up the windmill.....ka-chaaaangggg!!

and managed one scissor kick, Roger fluffed some minor notes but nailed all the really big ones as he refused to lower the key of any song, At one point Pete started singing a completely different song to the rest of the band (he was looking at an old set list!) and then drew the band into an unrehearsed 'Pictures Of Lily' (having explained for the uninitiated what the song was about) - the teens turned around again and Don L was flying!! Divine intervention came with 20 minutes to go when the sun broke through the grey clouds - even the Gods were loving it.

Who are you....

....who who, who who

It worked when I swung it at Woodstock!

Ah, that's better!

And the Gods were happy

At the end, the stage announcer proclaimed it to be one of the greatest performances he'd witnessed in 27 years at JazzFest, and around New Orleans it was the talk of the town for the duration of the festival and will go down in future years as the show that everyone attended.

When you outlay $58 and you get two hours of The Who in all their pomp, preceded by 11 other stages of acts to choose from, and can eat some of Louisiana's finest cuisine, then it really is a bargain. We're on a high and so dinner is at the Star Steak & Lobster House, a place we vowed never to go to again after 2013. But with 'Mr. New Orleans' at the door and the formidable 'Miss Penny' serving our table (and having the sneaking suspicion that she remembered our prior encounter) we happily devoured our lobster tails (2 for $20!). Making our way home we encounter a Nawlinz wedding party in full swing, umbrellas and white hankies waving, and second line brass band blazing away as they danced down the street in their finery - the pics are awful and rushed, but somehow convey the excitement of the revelry.