December 19, 2005

BY DAVE HOEKSTRA

NEW ORLEANS -- A little more than 24 hours after taking one of the most comprehensive post-Katrina tours of this ravaged city, the artists on Arlo Guthrie's "Ridin' on the City of New Orleans" train trip were still searching for answers as they boarded the stage Saturday night at Tipitina's in Uptown.

Willie Nelson joined the group on the final night of the tour, which began Dec. 5 in Chicago to raise money toward restoring musical infrastructure in New Orleans. The Tipitina's show was sold out.

Nelson was the first national act to appear in New Orleans since the Aug. 29 storm. Many locals wondered why hometown legends Dr. John and Allen Toussaint performed last weekend in Baton Rouge instead. Many locals are wondering about a lot of things -- levee systems, relocation into FEMA trailers, homeowner's insurance. This is what you hear today in the dense Louisiana air.

One clear thing is the sense of family that emerged from the two-week trip on Amtrak's historic City of New Orleans train. In some small way, the group connected with an audience that was hungry for live entertainment. After the three-hour show ended with the entire entourage singing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," one rabid fan -- Woody Guthrie's rambling buddy, Ramblin' Jack Elliott -- was happy to tell anyone how Woody once had sung with his son.

The evening's highlight was the tour's only appearance of Folk Uke, a duo of Cathy Guthrie (Arlo's oldest) on ukelele and Amy Nelson (Willie's youngest) on guitar. With pristine sopranos, the women sang weird songs such as "Knock Me Up," a tribute to fertility, and "Fences," Amy Nelson's love song about "... crashin' cars / loving you / and bustin' fences ..." Her father would be proud.

And he was. Arlo and Willie joined their daughters for guitar on a couple of songs, including "Motherf---r Got F---ed Up," and it was priceless to see Willie gaze into the eyes of his daughter as he harmonized on the chorus.

Over the weekend, Arlo Guthrie told me it was actually Folk Uke who brought Willie to New Orleans for the show. "I didn't do anything," Arlo said. "Amy must have called him to let him know what was going on, and she forwarded the e-mail to my daughter. And he called me."

Appearing only with harmonica player Mickey Raphael, Willie's solo set had a chance to be something special with different material, but he relied on the standards. He did present "Funny How Time Slips Away" in a much slower tempo, and he stretched out on "Night Life" with hard, jagged runs on acoustic guitar.

Arlo Guthrie's closing set was more engaging. The headliner was mentally and physically exhausted. He had turned over his role as the evening's host to his daughter Sarah Lee. Backed by members of Xavier (which includes his son Abe on keyboards), Guthrie put renewed passion into Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," "St. James Infirmary" and an extended cover of his father's "This Land Is Your Land."

Naturally, the regular set ended with the entire cast singing the late Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans," with Mardi Gras Indian "Monk" Boudreaux on tambourine and Nelson taking a lead vocal on a song he also recorded. The crowd clapped along, danced and sang. Most of the singers weren't the biggest voices in the music business -- folkies such as John Flynn, Gordon Titcomb and the Burns Sisters -- but on this night they were. They came to New Orleans. This city mattered -- to someone -- and that's where answers begin.

Club finds food, jobs for musicians

NEW ORLEANS -- Tipitina's is the Crescent City's most beloved music club. The neighborhood juke joint, named after one of pianist Professor Longhair's most popular songs, opened in 1977 at the corner of Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas in Uptown. But in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the club has become something more.

The 850-seat club had minimal damage from the late-August storm and ensuing flooding. One tree limb damaged the club's roof. Saturday night's Willie Nelson-Arlo Guthrie-Ramblin' Jack Elliott concert was just a handful of shows the club has hosted since the storm hit. The Rebirth Brass Band headlined the club's first show on Oct. 29. Tipitina's traditional Cajun Fais Do Do has returned for its regular Sunday session. Galactic is slated to play on New Year's Eve, framed around an 11-hour live NPR broadcast from the club.

Still, most of Tipitina's regular crowd consists of students from Loyola and Tulane universities, and they aren't scheduled to return to New Orleans until January.

So Tipitina's has moved its Music Co-Op Office into the club and has become a community center. Musicians are fed at Tip's, and equipment can be lent out. The Tipitina's Foundation also is finding housing, jobs and instruments for musicians while raising funds through donations and nationwide benefits. Part of the proceeds from Guthrie's "Ridin' on the City of New Orleans" benefit concerts are going to Tipitina's Foundation, which also will help distribute gear to musicians in need.

"Just last week, I drove up to the club and there was Philip Frazier [leader of the ReBirth Brass Band] with a brand spankin' new tuba," said foundation director Bill Taylor. "He was playing it in front of the club. We got Bob French a new drum kit. He's the leader of the oldest band in New Orleans -- his grandfather started it 100 years ago." (French's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band was a fixture at Donna's in New Orleans.)

The foundation also has been distributing grants to the Mardi Gras Indians, a black society and parade group, to help them work on their suits for Mardi Gras events in 2006. The legendary Joseph Pierre "Monk" Boudreaux -- best known for his work with Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias -- received the first grant.

Meanwhile, Tipitina's audience is gradually coming back.

"The misperception is that New Orleans is dead," Taylor said. "That's not accurate. We had the Radiators [Dec. 9] and we had 750 people, mostly locals. The challenge is to staff the club. People are starved for music."

Home away from home

William T. Bender is the only Chicagoan on the foundation's advisory board. He is a Northwestern University graduate with a degree in chemistry and computer science. He develops software in Chicago. Bender, 40, attended his first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1990.

"In 2000, it got to the point where I was wasting so much money on hotels I bought a one-bedroom condo here," he said. "It's about halfway between Tipitina's and the Maple Leaf, which is by design. I had a good year in '99. I looked at my credit card charges, and I spent over $4,000 on hotel rooms in New Orleans. That's stupid. It made more sense to buy a small place here."

For the next three years Bender, who is not married, flew to New Orleans once every three weeks.

In 2003, Taylor asked Bender to serve on the 12-member foundation advisory board, which helps raise money for the nonprofit group. (An executive board makes decisions on how to spend it.) Bender was the first non-New Orleanian to serve on the board.

He represents Tipitina's Foundation at Chicago events such as the recent JAMbaylaya benefit at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie or when Basin Street Records has a showcase at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Dave Hoekstra