Stella!!

Reason #4384 to love New Orleans... I saw this on March 15 of 1998 along with the theater production of Streetcar at Le Petit Theater (complete with streetcar bell) and loved them then too.



The source:

Dead Air, on WFMU

I have been given permission to digitize and upload to YouTube, whatever WFMU footage I have. Below are some of what I have already put up. More to come. (A playlist for WFMU will appear on my YouTube channel as soon as YouTube fixes the glitch that is preventing it.)








Dead Air - a review (written when I first saw it, whenever that was.)

Always nice to see where the magic happens.

The first 8 minutes I love. Then the plot kicks in. You can see Andy written all over this. Ken, excellent acting!

I guess it is harder to mix sound on video than in radio? The transition to the commercials is not up to the usual FMU standards.

We get to see some places not seen on the FMU tour video, the mail room, a lounge.

What's that buzzing around Terre's head?

Hand Me Down That Can of Beans!

21 minutes of action packed drama. And an out take at the end. I like the second version of the final scene better but not the second version of Hand Me Down That Can of Beans, Andy.

(3/27/09 I can't tell the difference between either ending. Is there any?)

Too funny

As I'm Just Sayin says, "Could You Imagine Living Downstairs From This Girl?"

1976 yearbook WTUL pics and a bumpersticker

A WTUL bumpersticker that I got in the 90s but with the logo from the 70s.


Pics scanned from my 1976 yearbook.

The left-hand side of page 220, that has a group shot of some of the DJs


The right-hand side of page 221. I recognize Alan Smason and Rob Heidt (who isn't wearing a shirt.) Is that Gregory Wilson sitting?


An unknown DJ (from page 225)


Alan Smason (from page 302/303)

(Note the can of Coors. That stuff was like gold back then. People would bring back cases from Colorado and they would get bought up in minutes. Awful stuff now...)

WTUL alumni weekend, 3/7

I tune in about 10 am NY time. Playing prog. Heaviness... Dread (think Kierkegaard,)... Angst. I was a philosophy major at Tulane... Sort of what I would expect from a Tulane student, who's typically upper middle class (or maybe upper class with Tulane being so expensive these days), and not that far from what I would think prog would be like these days after being away from it for so long. What I would expect to hear if I was walking around the campus hearing music leaking out of dorm rooms.

A nice industrial version of Jambalaya.

These DJs are amusing. (dada bob & the dj formerly known as james) Good production values (so far). Both are on-mic. (Later they talk with one off-mic.)

Talking Heads - Pull Me Up. (sounds like a record, not a CD, lots of surface noise. They don't have a CD of this?)

Cyril's on now. Says he's gonna play new wave, retro...  but starts with Peter Gabriel - On The Air.

More dread. I wonder, not to read too much into this, if students are feeling bad about the economy , their outlook in general? I heard some last night who weren't, a bunch of girls. They were happy and peppy as only 20-somethings can and should be. I know we were, or at least I was not encouraged when I was there. The Viet Nam war was still going on until Gerry Ford said it was over in that speech in the basketball auditorium, the second time I'd been in there. Inflation was bad, unemployment high and it didn't get better for years.

And of course, there is still the mess that New Orleans is in post-Katrina. Glad to hear that Mardi Gras was so good for the economy there. It is a national disgrace that the city isn't in better shape. (I don't blame them. I blame W and crew.)

I could tell this Roxy Music cut (Avalon) was coming. Heard it a mile away in that premonition that one has occasionally with radio when you are familiar with the music the DJ is playing. If not the actual tunes, at least the style.

This isn't sounding very new wave. (Is this retro?) Life In A Northern Town?

Add to that list, depression. (I'll come running to tie your shoes - Brian Eno) Not that depression isn't warranted.

It's his birthday today.

All dachshunds are evil? They're wonderful dogs...

His show ends.

I'm betting that Maurice Roe is one of the guys I have a clip of from '72-'76. That distinctive black voice doing jazz... And the answer is?

Station ID is low level.

This music isn't sounding like the guy I thought it would be. OK. Southern rock.

Haven't heard this cut (this version of this song) in a long time... x (real Southern rock style intro) into Sweet Jane.

What's this Weather Report? Sort of jam band-based jazz. Familiar tune. Not John McLaughlin. Fusion was real big when I was there...

Ah, Jeff Beck - Freeway Jam.

Maurice is NOT the guy I was thinking of. I like that all these returning DJs have a WTUL staffer holding their hands, pushing the buttons if necessary.

Wow, his next cut is WAY louder than what came before it...

The computer freezes as he plays Love Is A Drug. I go through withdrawal. Back on he has a bunch of DJs with him.

The level between his voice and the music is a bit jarring, the music is much louder.

Some, as Bill Kelly would say, although he wouldn't play this stuff, real rock and roll.

He says he is one of those alumnus. (Should have said alumni, plural, "one of those" is plural.)

Plays Pink Floyd from when he was there? I thought he was on in the early '90s. This (Flying from Meddle) came out in '71. Love those football songs sung en masse.

Nice woman softly singing. Nouvelle something.

Roman Pizza seems to be sponsoring alot, getting commercials like they do on PBS.

Dixie Dregs!! The hair stands up in the back of my neck as this plays! I have this album but haven't heard it in years. Too bad they were a flash in the pan.

Un hunh. The Allman Brothers - One Way Out from the Fillmore concert (Eat A Peach album) Second time that album's been played in the past two days.

He says he was there from 75 to 80 so I may have heard him. I don't remember the voice but maybe the name.

He plays Genesis from Selling England By The Pound, not sure which cut but it's fairly awful, and I like Genesis. (Did he like that album? It was abit before his time.) It wasn't cued up so we get several seconds of silence at the beginning. Don't they cue records? That's pretty basic.

Who is this tremelo (vibrato?)-voiced singer? Sounds like Plume but in English. (PFM)

(I miss FMU-style live playlists.)

Joke about Alan Smason being on in the 50s!

Not a good cue of the Springsteen record. I first heard Springsteen at Tulane. Prof Andy Antippas raved about how good he was. I was mildly impressed until I heard his songs being played ALL the time. Got sick of him fast. (I see Prof Antippas is on the mailing list Jay sent me. Hi.)

Rosalita, one tired song. What next?

Vaguely familiar David Bowie track.

Yes - Starship Trooper. I played a LOT of Yes when I was there. I remember getting Tales of Topographic Oceans and it got warped soon after so it wasn't very playable. I gave it to my next door neighbor Steve on St Charles, who was in high school.

Happy Talk.

Next show (John G) isn't my "cup of tea."

(still listening, casually)...Hah, it was the Flying Lizards! I was thinking it sounded like that girl.  (talks to someone off-mic)

I stop listening about 4 pm NY time. I then listen to what I recorded last night which should be DJ Davis.

Bimbo sounds like it would have been fun to listen to her more. She sounds nice, and funny.

She plays Hey Pocky Way as her last song. Thinks Karen is on next.

Station ID, gets month wrong. (WTUL's seedy release party? I know, CD.)

Hmm. If she is the DJ, what was the deal with DJ Davis? Karen will tell me.

I delete the recording. Now, I'll wait until the party begins at 5 NO time, 6 NY time.

I tune back at 6 pm NY time. Day Tripper by Jimi Hendrix with the Beatles? is playing.

Smason is on now? (Oops, I misread the schedule.)  Then he plays Street Fighting Man by the Stones ("The world's greatest rock and roll band" , he says). I don't recognize the voice but his playing the hits doesn't surprise me. Too bad I missed the party but more should continue with Shep. I expect I will recognize Shep's adenoidal voice...

The alumni free for all.

Birthday (The Beatles) cover by?  Not so expertly played. (Underground Sunshine, ick)

unknown R&B. I'm glad they just play the music and don't make a big deal about introducing the DJ. "I want love and affection at the house of correction."

more... I wonder if "the Hound" is doing radio down there. I know the Circle Bar has a good jukebox...

Lotsa cuts. Good. It's all about the music.

Dixie Chicken played too fast. Oops.

Woman comes on, Robin. I hear partying in the background.

Cool. I see they use the http://radioactivity.fm/  way to keep track of what has played. Not as good looking as FMU's but a step in the right direction.

Jaime Brockett - Legend of the U.S.S. Titanic! Haven't heard this since I was there, probably. A true classic.

(I keep turning the level down on the cassette deck which means TUL keeps raising it...)

They air the "Shit." Good. I certainly won't complain.

(The levels are still going up...)

Psychedelic Freakout, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll

(Now the level is too low..., averaging -10.)

Nice cue of record or has it run out and no one knows it? How many seconds of silence do we have? Going on 30 now. I'd say a minute and then the DJ comes on in mid-sentence, oblivious.

Hi Shep! I remember you. Sounds like he's been drinking... or is he really old? Woman DJ hurries him up. (Reminds me of Pseu Braun.) Let's go, she says.

The Roses of Picardy - June Tabor.  Haven't heard her do this stuff.

Talking Heads - Air.

(I bring level up. Will it stay there?)

I imagine myself there and wanting to run over to the Rat for a bite to eat or a drink but coming right back to TUL to hear the music.

This sounds fairly hellish, barking dogs and loud guitars. Nice. Then they start singing.

I'm  guessing each DJ is putting on what they want one after another, one tune each.

The Firesign Theater! very low level...

Another song played at the wrong speed and does anyone care/notice? Late, yes.

Hear DJs under the music.. DJ comes on and her level is higher than the music. (Just like WWOZ)

Fela track that follows is low level, She barges in overmodulating.... Sigh. I'm guessing there is a 10db difference between the DJ and the music.

A live Screamin' Jay Hawkins album? Nice and a nice recording.

... more silence. Then...  (low level, 8-10 db lower) Celebration. A vaguely familiar song, prog style. gets turned down suddenly.

Shep's back. He blesses the Queen. His level is a little high. 8pm NY time. Maybe he has some medical condition. He gets shuffled off by the woman, Juanita. She's a dead ringer for Pseu Braun.

Level for music better but still lower than DJs.

I'm surprised people aren't cuing better than they are.

I love this song, Sufficiently Breathless - Captain Beyond. Thank you.

I turn the volume down in anticipation of something jarring but it gets followed by some quiet efx and then, boom, King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man, a little lower level than the previous cut... and could be a record. Can't tell if it's a CD or not. I would think the CD would sound better. It does sound clean though. Probably a CD. Not much bass in it. Nice war between the speakers... though a little shrill. I used to love this and have it cranked up now.

The next cut comes on, a reggae/bass and drum/dub groove, then horns, organ, gtr. Level is good, maybe a little high. (I adjust again.)

Get up offa That Thing - James Brown. This should be a hit in nursing homes...

Karen's on the air now.

Bonzo Dog Band - The Intro and the Outro. The first album in TUL's collection. Interesting. It came out first in 1967. I guess they had to start somewhere with keeping stuff. A good symbolic album to have as #1!

Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath. Karen talks over it. That's a sin, don't you know? (Talking over ANY record you're going to air rather than use as a bed.)

Allman Bros again. Karen comes on.

Karen comes on again , then Shep who is low level. 37 years on TUL, Bravo!

She intros The Punk Show and it comes on with a professional intro. Then it plays again... Oh well. The second time Jay plays a cut.

God Save The Queen - I guess The Sex Pistols

I'm not gonna know most of these. This next one sounds pretty produced for a punk tune... Not as hard core as what I'd hear on FMU any day of the week, not that I am fan of this stuff. Much more happy and peppy than what I was expecting.

I'll listen at low level and wait to hear Jay come on. I think I'll recognize his voice. I wonder if it has changed since I last talked to him. Gotten deeper? I mean he must be as old as I am... My voice has certainly changed since then.

He's on. I don't recognize him. I sort of do. He used to have a deeper voice, didn't he? A good (commercial) radio voice.

I was gonna say, the reason I didn't go into radio was that while I LOVED music and radio, my diction was embarrassing to me. I slurred words too often and spoke too fast sometimes. Now, that doesn't stop many DJs (at TUL and OZ and other college or community radio stations...) but it stopped me from wanting to put myself forward to doing radio. I did try the CT School of Broadcasting and pretty much hated it. They were only concerned with commercial radio and not interested in creativity which was my ONLY interest in radio. I would not be happy at a commercial station. Anyway, I hear DJs with poor diction and if they have no other redeeming characteristics. they are unlistenable. That combined with poor production values, makes a station unlistenable. Alas TUL and OZ fall into that category too often while they do have some DJs who do a good job.

Jay is starting to sound familiar.

... Turning Japanese. This was a big hit on WLIR.

Funny KISS story.

Surfin' Bird - The  Trashmen. A true classic.

9:02? My computer has 10:01 (NY time), so I guess they aren't using computer time. (FMU doesn't either.)

I like this 2 Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please! - Splodgenessabounds. No, make that love it.

Blank Generation - Richard Hell and the Voidoids, familiar.

Ca Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand. Playing all the hits. (Another LIR hit)

AG Parr....  I've been in touch with him... He was in The Dukes? His father was a Duke of Dixeland?!

I remember the name, the Normals.The crowd applauds as he ends his show. He's well-loved.

Hey, Bob Dunn. Add dates to the History of WTUL page. You mention being there in 1971 but when did WTUL first go on the air? When did it go FM? Thanks.

Conner, the  electronic gloved wonder comes on. He/someone does a station ID but it is hard to hear. Then the tune he plays has no right channel for awhile. The tune sounds vaguely familiar.

I stop listening and dub off the underlined cuts above.

The first REAL sign of spring

I've heard some nice bird songs lately but this is the first REAL sign. It just gets better from now on.

WTUL alumni weekend, 3/6

I try to listen at 10:30 NY time but the stream doesn't respond. Its dead.

I get some notes from Jay Hollingsworth. (Sorry about the nerd
comment, Jay.) He sends me a schedule. Thanks! Now I know what is
happening when. Looking forward to hearing Alan Smason, at least
initially, Shep and Jay. See how nostalgic it gets.

I check in again at ~3pm, NY time. The stream is working. I guess
Rockin' Ruth is on now. Playing FUV style R&R.

She comes on. It was Dash Rip Rock and Camper Van Beethoven before
that (I only heard the end of Dash Rip Rock.) I think she said her
name was Kathy.

She plays some straight jazz so I can have lunch (and not have to pay
attention to it...)

And now Maureen joins her. She plays Michael Franti so it won't be jazz. Good.

More happy peppy, FUV in the 80s music.

Nice Iko Iko.

Woman DJ (Kate?) comes on, her level is lower than the CD.

Next mic break she's at a good level. Although Maureen is pinning it,
overmodulating.

Nice Brazilian Rebel, Rebel (Bowie)

Bluegrass version of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide. (Dixie Chicks, ick)

This is Ruth Preslaff. Maureen's level is low.

Wow, a long silence between the Peter Gabriel and Talking Heads cuts.
I checked to make sure the stream didn't die.

So, in summary, nice enough music overall. Indicative of intelligent,
sensitive people, a crowd I liked to be with. Wish they'd get their
act together on their production values though. Different levels
between music and DJ and off-mic DJs are two examples. And I have
noticed this happening for YEARS.

(I'm having internet connectivity problems so I lose the stream and
have to reboot, which seems to fix it. Unfortunately this happens a
few times a day now...)

Stream goes quiet but is still there at 5:01 pm NY time. I guess they
don't know they've killed the output to the stream... Oh well. A good
time to go out and check the mail...

5:15 and the stream is still running but has no program content.
Oops. I guess they don't monitor it. I'll keep it on in case they
figure this out.

5;18 it comes on mid sentence then Brian Jonestown Massacre... OK.
Barney Kilpatrick on now.

Barney comes across well. David comes on and sounds like he just
passed puberty.

Fred Neil and Leo Kotke. Alright. Wall of Death after by...REM? Sure, why not.

A bluegrass tune. Well alright. (Steve Earle and Del McCoury)

Bottle of Blues by... (Beck)

A new version of Magic Bus. Just what the world needed. (By Duran Duran)

Nice screaming and efx in this tune.

A good DJ, Interesting stuff.

(Level is lower for Bevis Frond tune after mic break...)

Oh, a good segue. Whatever (Bevis Frond?) into Hendrix - Hear My Train Coming.

Iggy Pop - The Passenger

This next show should be interesting: "Paula 'go ahead & shut 'er
down, fcc!' o" o?

Kerry, Paula, Mark on now. (Is that what was on the schedule?) Too
bad they aren't all on-mic..

Punk stuff. No thanks. I watch the news.

I start listening later, 8 pm NY time and it ain't punk now. Very
interesting stuff. The Propellerheads.

They overmodulate as they do the ID.

Nah, don't like this next one. I watch Washington Week In Review...

8:24 NY time. Interesting accordion piece on.

Tom Waits - Straight To The Top. They cut off the song in the middle. Jeez.

8:55 pm. A world full of cops!

9:01 NY time. ken on the early evening shift? (Yes, I think.) Starts
with a nice Richard Thompson cut. Scratchy record but a good cut.

DJ sounds competent.

This Music isn't my cup of tea so I'll check back later.

Ken ends his show. Bimbo's on next. We'll see what she's like.

The cool tool/TUL! lol Lots of sexual innuendo. Funk. OK. No need to
stay for this.

Boogie In Your Butt! Well alright.

Looking forward to seeing if DJ Davis is a) the one I am thinking of
who started the Brass Band Jam on OZ and b) will play some brass band
music. I have Radio Recorder set to record the show which is airing
MUCH too early for me to listen to live.

WTUL alumni weekend, 3/5

I tune in at 5 pm NY time and find out they are beginning the alumni section of their 50th anniversary in a few seconds, rather than 8 pm NO time. OK.

The first alumni DJ is Michael Reinert. He was there in the late 70s and some other dates.

His first song is Pete Townshend - Face The Face. That's too bad. (Actually he played Meatloaf's Paradise By The Dashboard Lights before that but it didn't air on the stream.)

The DJ before, a woman, was throwing in lots of "y'all heard"s....

I sent TUL an e-mail (a few days ago) saying I have some recordings from '72-'76 and '97-'98 but they haven't responded, as they didn't the last time I wrote them years back, probably telling them the same thing.

The DJs I've heard so far suffer from the same handicaps I've always heard on TUL, They speak too fast and don't enunciate. They sound like college kids which they should. And their technical skills are fairly bad: jarring transitions and not lowering the music to talk over it enough are two examples.

This sounds like an over-produced a la 80s Irma Thomas (This Ain't Love). (It's not.)

... Tri Face Boogie (Tripe Face...) he plays the studio version. Live versions are so much better. OK, I'll stop complaining, this show is on tape/CD...

Allman Bros - Trouble No More from Eat A Peach, complete with scratches.

Nice 'I don't know what station I'm listening to' ID/promo.

Dedicates this to his daughter Christina. Gads, it's live.

Yakkity Yak. He covers some distance...

Oops. He miscues a tune.

Why Get Up...

ID. A non-alumni DJ does a PSA. And he knows how to speak!

Blood Sweat and Tears - God Bless The Child. I used to hear this alot in the late 60s. A real classic. I don't remember it being played much if at all in NO when I was there.

Thank Heaven For Little Girls - Maurice Chevalier. He's proud of his daughter. (I wrote that before he said that...)

Geez. Springsteen. Ick.

Not the best production values, cutting off the music before it ends, etc.

Wow, Lil Queenie is there and gonna sing! They sing Hello, I Must Be Going (Groucho Marx)

And the cliché of all clichés, The End - The Beatles.

We just listened to an hour's worth of mashups? Hunh? Oh, they played old tapes.

Michael became a music business attorney. It sounded like it.

Next DJ plays Pharoh Sanders. I'm not a jazz fan so I bail.

Wow, Shepard Samuels (Shep) is still on the air there! I remember him. Can still remember what he looked like back then ('72-'76 and probably saw him once or twice after that, and he hadn't changed then.). I wonder if he has cut his hair? I've read he is a music business lawyer. (But he has good taste in music...)

I wonder if Allan Smason will appear. Not that I am a fan. He's just a familiar name. And Jay Hollingsworth. I had no idea he was so important. He was kind of a nerd when I knew him, your stereotypical computer nerd. Had no idea he would later be a "MAJOR record collector and seminal figure in bringing New Wave and punk music to the New Orleans airwaves..." (from the WTUL history page.)

I don't remember many other DJs names at this point. Rob Heidt DJ'd for awhile. (I see he is a principal at a school in NJ these days! Looks virtually the same only abit older.)

(7pm NY time) This guy, Charles Driebe, managed Henry Butler (I wonder if Charles is blind too? He also managed the Blind Boys Of Alabama)... He also was on in 1974 doing a jazz show. So, since he is still on at 6 pm NO time, they aren't following the schedule on the website where the show would end at 6. Not surprising. I wonder what the schedule will be since they don't list it very well on the website.

The website has been updated since I started writing this. I think the hours will be 8 till midnight each night from now until Sunday when they start at 4 and end at who knows what time. We'll see. I'll listen to as much as I can stand.

He talks to other DJs but they are off-mic. And of course, he doesn't adjust them... We can hear them adequately though.

The cliché Coltrane My Favorite Things.

Another DJ is on now. A woman. Bizzarre Radio from 8 til 4 am so it won't be alumni. Or will it? It isn't clear.

Techno 2000. These are out-takes?

It's 8 pm NY time. Let's see if they do a station ID. Yes. The woman tries to talk over the music but she doesn't turn it down enough. Eventually she does.

Woman on again. Says they will air nothing but alumni stuff this weekend. Really?

They say they are going to play the Stranglers but so far we have the Roches... (Not one of their best songs.)

So it will be an all-alumni weekend. Good. I'll skip Bizarre Radio but pick up tomorrow as soon as I can.

Lundi Gras, 2/23

Video from the TP. Who's the band?

Revelers second line to the music at Lundi Gras

Mardi Gras Day

From The TP

French Quarter Revelers

And a slideshow of some good costumes.

highlights of Zulu, Rex and the truck parades, 2/24

2 videos from the TP on Zulu.

Krewe of Zulu

Video: Zulu group celebrates 100 years

I watch the DSU cam, the paradecam and the cam set up for Zulu on the nolacom site.

DSU has Arthur Hardy and crew.

The cam set up for Zulu is under the I-10 overpass. We find out it has good acoustics!

Heard on the DSU cam about New Orleanians in general: "It's encouraging that they're actually the enjoying the tradition of Mardi Gras."  More bon mots to come.

DSU shows some neat old footage of earlier Mardi Gras'. The announcer on one segment describes residents as the Creoles and the Anglo Saxons! We see Rex and Elks pass each other going in different directions on St Charles!

Someone, on the DSU cam?, says, "I'm not gonna eat. I just want beads." Arthur?

We see Pete Fountain. He looks as gracious as ever.

(My computer is at 100% CPU use with all these cams up.)

We see some parade happening on the paradecam at about 9:45 am.

See Zulu in the Garden District on DSU at about 9:47.

The Soulful Warriors.

The woman hosting the Zulu cam says about Orleans and Claiborne: "It looks like the place, it smells like the place" (to be...)

Someone on the DSU cam, I think,  yells "Mic check!" Yes, your mic is live.

The Zuku king passes the Garden District.

We hear a Jesus freak in the background, with a bullhorn.

At Lee Circle we see Mayor Nagin in his Centurion outfit on horseback.

I eat some shrimp. Good!

I can tell there's lots of joy in the air there. And I'm a little drunk, having had a somewhat potent screwdriver for breakfast.

We see a brief shot of some people dressed up as skeletons, part of or inspired by the skeleton gangs, something I want to see more of. (Alas, I don't.) A woman on DSU called them zombies, and didn't know what to make of them. (Educate her/everyone. And I wonder if El Dia De Los Muertos is celebrated in New Orleans. It should be, especially now with the greater Latino population.)

A guy promotes his club on the Zulu cam: "25 and over for the grown and sexy, ...Come get some alligator. I just killed them." Mm, good.

DSU female: "Haven't seen anything too inappropriate."

They talk about the "trouble truck" and Arthur says quietly, they only need them 12 times a  parade." lol

Everyone is saying that the economy is good for Mardi Gras this year. Good!

We see the Zulu Tramps.

We see some dancers chanting, "holdin' down the sidewalk."

Edwin Kerr band, nice.

They say this is the best attended Mardi Gras since Katrina. Good!

11:40 am, we see Rex turn onto St Charles on the paradecam. (They "scoop" DSU.) The theme this year is Pro Bono Publico, for the public good. The paradecam host is very low level.

Nice red outfits and chanting from the (S?) Charles HS of East Cleveland, OH.

The Tiddlywinks! Green dresses and orange hair!

We see a red Cadillac convertible on the Zuku cam. We then hear that Antoinette K Doe died today. One sad note to be topped by the shootings later.

It's noon here and I foolishly look for the Bourbon Street Awards show but have no luck. I check at 1 pm too but don't click the link they have on the nola.com blog thinking it is only to the paradecam. I did check the paradecam often. I wonder if nola.com did show it. I hope to find some internet video of it at some point.

We see the Witch Doctor. We see white guys, underneath their blackfaces, on the Ambassador and the Mayor's float (for Zulu). I knew it was integrated but I didn't know there'd be that many white guys in it.

Rex #13, the Rhapsody of the March Wind float is the one that I noticed earlier that had the Pan figure on it.

See good dancers from Frederick A Douglas HS and a good band. Arthur "has the knack" and is getting beads and throws and the bands to stop and play for the cam.

Dancers from A. Maceo Walker HS in Memhis have nice moves.

Nice Green Man on Rex float #18.

I've eaten all the shrimp  I have by 12:30. It was good. Fried catfish and Bailey's Irish Cream next.

Hear Hey Pocky Way on the Shaka Zulu float.

We see some costumes on Bourbon Street: The Goddesses of Love, Sex, and a few more; Elvis - the publisher of Where Y'at; The Easter Bunny - I think this is the same guy I've seen wear this costume in years past. He's big, 200+ pounds, got a pot belly and looks like he'd be dangerous around young children. A PERFECT Easter Bunny for Mardi Gras!.

DSU does a spot on some restaurant serving raw oysters. Oh, I want some!

A masked Obama appears briefly wearing a wig similar to what is seen on English judges. The mask has a big bright Obama smile on it. Very funny. It pops in and out of the picture quickly, heightening the effect.

We see a skull on a stick.

12:48 pm. It looks like the Elks parade, the first of the truck parades, has started. At first I am not impressed with the floats but as the 100th one passes by I start to appreciate the simple designs they have.

We see a Professor Longhair float on the DSU cam.

The King of something arrives at Lee Circle, 1:13 pm.

We see a Rodrigue blue dog in the Argus float in Metairie.

We watch Rex and Mayor Nagin talk about handcuffs at Gallier Hall. The stream is breaking up alot so I lose audio often.

1:45 pm I don't bother with the paradecam or nola.com anymore. Just DSU.

I hear the Tulane fight song. (Even after looking at the Tulane web page that explains its origins I'm not sure what its title really is... Still, it is one of the great football fight songs. Too bad the team is never very good, nor would I want them to be...)

The bands I'm hearing today are in tune. I liked the other ones but it's nice to know these bands can play in tune. South Terrebone Parish for one.

Nice sunglasses, Rachel.

Some twins get interviewed. Both have high-pitched voices but one is practically a ringer for Butterfly McQueen.

We see a float called  Hibernating Bears. The bears they show are up and around so they aren't hibernating but it's a cool float nonetheless.

#27, the last float for Rex, is The Royal Barge.

Truck parades Elks (Orleans), Crescent City
Trucks are still flowing on the paradecam.

The DSU stream is breaking up, no audio, jerky video. See the first truck parade there.

Something about a black Indian who has a husband Ringo. People really have names like that?

The "Actually, You Might Be  A Redneck" float has riders in pink and children on it.

3pm. We hear someone else has been shot on the parade route. Turns out 6 were.

On the Babes In Toyland float we see a child in a high chair.

DSU interviews some women Drs from NY who rave (positively) about New Orleans and Mardi Gras.

3:33 The DSU player restarts itself. The DSU web page loads fast for a change.

3:40 Travers Mackel is on a balcony in the French Quarter. (Hi, Travers. I know you will be visiting this blog as you did when I blogged on Gustav last year. Come often...) Anyway, he has this verbal crutch, as so many newscasters do, where he says "if you will" often. (Now that you know about it, maybe you can cure yourself of it.)

A nice aerial view of Canal Street.

Travers interviews a woman pirate with a dog, a guy with a funny voice and a woman as a Hubig pie (wrapper)!

Truck 72, truck 73, truck 74...

Travers interviews a bead woman, who is calling herself something else.

We find out 6 people have been shot earlier today.

Some DSU woman says dis'-play rather than display'.

My computer heats up when DSU goes to commercial and all we see is the graphic.

We see Gabrielle dance. She like so many others is just totally giddy.

Travers interviews a family in FEMA sheets!

The stream stops or I only get 0...9...7...0... fps.

See a nice balcony shot.

4:31 pm I get audio back.

A truck has broken down.

DSU does a trash story. The trucks are moving again.

Margaret Orr talks with a 65? 75? year old lady.

Randi Rousseau, the weathergirl,  says 'Ibberville' (ib as in jib) rather than 'Iberville' (I as in eye).

A piece on the Mardi Gras Indians.

Norman Robinson, WDSU anchor and master of malapropisms: "The maddening crowd." It's the madding crowd, Norman. I know it's a strange turn of phrase and awkward when used in most contexts. It means frenzied which the crowds were but it's madding, not maddening.

The DSU cam has some schumtz (dust) on the lens.

We see traffic backing up on the Crescent City Connection going to the West Bank. We also see some floats backed up on a turn in the road.

Travers talks with a LA State Police guy. The LA State Police guy says it has been the best Mardi Gras crowd he has seen in the Quarter in his 28 years.

As I listen to the weatherman, his pitch changes, slowing down! It returns to normal but I haven't seen that before in a stream.

We don't see any more trucks on Canal Street.

It's hard to hear Arthur. Norman: "We'll talk to a commercial break." OK, I guess you will. I think you meant to say 'we'll take a commercial break....'

I never knew floats go to a "den".

We see a flock of white birds on a shot of the trucks on the West Bank.

There is talk of "units."

We see the police trucks pick up the people barriers on Canal Street.

DSU ends it coverage at just before 6 pm, NY time. I then watch the news on DSU. I think it was Arthur who says, 'A million people having fun, that's not news. This is news,' referring to how the national media has picked up the shooting of 6.

We see some white tigers on what I think is the Queen of Zulu's float.

We see a nice Chinese?/Japanese? hat on a guy in the next balcony over from Travers.

We see a segment on the Bourbon Street Awards. Travers' VO  sounds like he is an echoey room. The bathroom at the hotel?

We see the Rex "den" and that a Westfelt was Rex. Probably related to the guy, might even be the guy,  who donated the large sports complex at Tulane.

We see a different piece on the Mardi Gras Indians.

Things are pretty much over . I do watch the Earthlink verison of the  Bourbocam for a little bit but it is blurry.

highlights of Proteus and Orpheus, 2/23

I tune in at 6 pm (All times are NY time.) The DSU page takes forever to load, as usual. I switch between the DSU cam and the paradecam. The DSU cam shows the parade before it has started. The paradecam is still on the roof at Fat Harry's and just has hum, which it will have throughout. Getting sound on both cams.

The DSU cam has some nice shots of the floats. (The stream is pretty good, slightly jerky.)

6:15 no movement. Some good band close-ups. The white noise we hear is the generators of the floats. We see the Atomic Bulldogs band, some cheerleaders practising, some good drumming, a giant dog outfit on somebody (when he leans over the dog's face is looking right at you, woefully. A great costume!)

6:31 pm We see an Entergy truck moving on the paradecam.

Back on the DSU cam we have a sort of battle of the bands; The Atomic Bulldogs vs Baker High School. I'd say the Atomic Bulldogs won.

The paradecam has the #1 float for Proteus. Very hard to hear the hosts and bands on the paradecam. We see movement on the DSU cam. The DSU cameraman climbs to the top of the DSU truck and takes mostly long shots of the parade. Sometimes, for uknown reasons, the DSu feed will totally black out.

We see the Ninth Ward Marching Band! They have a streetcar bell! Good dancing within the band.

Nice dragon float, #7.

Nice face on float #8, the title is "Entertaining the Nobel Head." What is that from?

The paradecam has a bad stream, getting ghosting and losing audio.

Rachel Wulff interviewed a young girl, Stacy, on the DSU cam. The parade has passed her at this point.

No audio on the paradecam, Hitting pause fixes it.

We see a nice close up of Rachel in her pink hat. She then does her stand up. Her audio is overmodulating and the audio is ahead of the video.

Orpheus

Orpheus starts on the DSU cam. Their camera position is ahead of the paradecam. 7:15 m

The DSU cam turns on a spotlight and it illuminates the crowd from far away. I wouldn't want to be in front of that. We see bugs rising up in front of the lens.

The DSU cam blacks out a few more times.

Eventually they switch to the downtown cam so I watch the paradecam.

The paradecam hosts are very low level, very hard to hear.

O Perry Walker's band and dancers are good.

The paradecam interviews Jessica from Omaha. The audio is in sync!

I didn't see her but Joan Rivers was on a float.

LW Higgens HS had some cool dance steps. Good flags, good yellow-outfitted dancers, the drum major did some cool moves.

The paradecam hosts say that they will do the Bourbon Street Awards tomorrow at noon. (I looked for it then but couldn't find it. I really would have loved to have seen it.)

As the Jim Belushi float goes by the paradecam the hostess says she would gladly "give birth to his children."

The paradecam signal is breaking up. We're getting blue screens. (I think there is a cable problem. They're using a cable?!)

Good dancing from Helen Cox HS dancers in white (and afros?) and a good band.

A 3 horse team carriage (and was that a calliope in the cart?)

Smokey Mary comes around the corner. I like the "Drinking car" written on the side of at least one car/float. 6 floats! A nice goose on the back of float #6.

Every time the the third woman host of the paradecam goes nuts over something in the parade, we get blue screens. Cable problem. (We hear ,"Watch the cable, Kate." but that is in reference to the other woman host.)

Beautiful Indians on horses.

The How The Forests Were Planted float has a naked woman on the front. I'm not sure how the two relate.

George Washington Carver marchers look good. Nice dance moves, good band, good red and green flags.

Arlington, IN marchers have nice moves.

The paradecam hosts talk about having designated walkers. I can see having a designated  driver but a designated walker? Maybe it's necessary in New Orleans, probably for crime reasons as much as just getting home at all when drunk.

More blue screens. At one point we overhear one of the hosts, one of the guys, talk on his cell phone about them, probably to the nola.com office.

8:24 pm The parade has reached the DSU cam downtown but it has stopped.

The paradecam is out of focus but the guy apologizes for it.

WT Fisher HS has nice dancers.

We see The Leviathan, which has nice smoke coming out of its nose. Its riders masks are lit up!

We see the LA Rough Riders on horses.

I switch to the DSU cam and see a float I missed earlier that had a screaming child as its figurehead. We get very good sound quality on the DSU cam. (No, not of screaming children...)

The How Oil Springs From The Ground float has an earth goddess on the front. Hunh?

The How The Rabbit Snared The Sun float has a nice sun face on it.

The How The Milky Way Was Born float (#17) has a nice blue sky background with some stars.

The Petosky MI band again. I see that they are a steel band now.

The How Learning Was Instituted float ("learning was instituted?") has an Egyptian figure on it, a queen.

A converted fire truck goes by with a steam organ on it? On its side, "Barney."

The wetlands animals come by, walking this time.

A good band in red goes by.

I can't hear the paradecam hosts at all.

#21 Why The Moon Bewitches  float has a nice moon character painted on it.

#23 How Transportation Was Oriented. What a strange title. Written by a businessman, not someone who understands public psychology.

#24 How Salt is Formed, Nice character.

Orpheus ends on the paradecam. It looks like it is just starting on the DSU cam. See the NOPD truck.

The Angola Prison Rodeo cart. Motorcycles. ATVs. The Trojan horse appears about 2 hours after we saw it Uptown.

Some nice spotlights, sirens. A smokey flambeaux. (Most burn cleanly.)

I go have dinner in another room. When Smokey Mary comes by, the whistle almost makes me jump out of my seat. (I have the computer hooked up to the stereo so it's loud!)

An hour later I'm back from dinner.

The parade ends at about 10:50 NY time.

A City Of Friends

See this YouTube channel for more very well produced spots on New Orleans.



And the main website here.

Barkus

Barkus was 2/15. I missed watching it but here is a good overview of it.

highlights of Bacchus, 2/22

I watch it on the paradecam. (Times are NY time)

I tune in at 6:15, the supposed start time. The cam is still on the roof at Fat Harry's. The cam goes live at 6:26.

Different hosts. The QT player restarts itself.

We see an Entergy truck at 6:28. The hosts tell us that there are 31 floats, 31 bands, 1200 riders! "It's gonna be a long night." (It turns out to be shorter than I had expected.)

There is some audio hum and the hosts are low level and talking off-mic alot.

The horses I thought were the Budweiser Clydesdales yesterday were probably from the Angola Prison Rodeo.

We see the green and yellow motorcycles again.

The Marine Corps were parading well.

A float was throwing cool dinosaurs.

We then see the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Nice flambeaux!

It's nice of the hosts to shut up when the bands go by so we can hear them. They sound good!

A bubble machine! (And confetti)

Nice Bacchus float.

We see the Jesuit Jayettes again. They do a nice routine. The band plays Louie, Louie.

We see some, and most are, cool drum majors or whatever they call the leaders of the marching bands. They show off some cool moves. This bunch were dancing to Celebrate.

Float #3 A-B-C, nice!

Nice stepping, O Perry Walker. Good percussion. Good band! (The audio starts to break up badly. Pause then play fixes it.)

#4, A 2-headed dragon.

We hear the camera/mic get hit by beads.

Blinky Frisbees! We see one.

(My notes say small child. I think this is when the interviewed a small child that had been brought up to the nola.com booth.)

McDonough #35 band!

A beautiful blue float for the Purple People Eater.

Warren Easton HS - band not quite together. (purple and blue)

Audio is out of sync with the video, ahead of it by 2 or 3 seconds.

Baccha Amore float, nicely lit and a nice Cupid on the back.

Another drum major's cool moves.

#8 LA Swamp Monster.

Patrick, a small child, talks.

The guys in the straw hats and red-striped jackets that I've commented on in earlier posts are from St Paul's School. They definitely have some cool and unique moves.

A nice gator float.

(I miss some stuff here)

The camera pans to show the crowd in front of Fat Harry's.

A good band.

#11, a nice shocked woman's face on the side of the float.

Frederick H Douglas Marching Band had some nice moves.

We see some nice flambeaux shots.

#12,  nice Hydra! (And a nice Court of the Crimson King-styled illustration on the side of the float.)

More flambeaux.

The Bacchusaurus!

What looked to me to be simply an evil character turns out to be an Indian mascot for a school. They may want to change that one...

A band that jumps!

King Kong! People throwing beads at it! And at Queen Kong. And at Baby Kong. When did this start? I think it is hilarious.

Some good flags, purple and gold.

A good band, "H" on their uniforms.

#15, The Phoenix  is nice.

We can hear beads raining down on the mic.

A good band, gold and black, big white flags behind them and good cheerleaders behind that.

One of the hosts, Kate, got hit and is slightly injured. Bleeding?

Another King Kong float!

#20 Pegasus

A band stops in front of the camera. It plays an interesting tune. Their colors are red and black. They have CHS on their uniforms. I think they are the Helen Cox High School from Harvey, LA.

They then play another interesting tune, this one much slower than the usual marching band fare.

One of the members in that band smiles at the camera, shyly enjoying the attention.

#21 Godzilla!

The camera starts going out of focus about now. It goes back into focus on some things but much of the time it is out of focus. (Did the camera person hit a button?)

Some band from Petosky, MI had a double-decker float.

We see some Viking hats on some riders.

#27 is a Witch. The hosts are clueless that it is the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, right from the movie, with her green skin. They thought she might be choking.

#28 had a Sphinx although we couldn't see the body and feet very well at all. It might as well have been just a generic Egyptian figure.

And the last float is dedicated to the America's Wetland Foundation, the same one I saw in Muses, with a collection of people in wetlands animals costumes. Bravo!

The parade ended at about 9:14. Not as long as I thought it would be.

highlights of Okeanos, Mid City and Toth, 2/22

These started Uptown so I watched the paradecam. I start at 11:40am, NY time. (All times below are NY time)

Okeanos

They open with a shot of 7 kids on a ladder box, squirming away. It looks cold down there. People have jackets on with hoods! At least it is a sunny day.

2 white stretch limos go by with a police escort.

Around noon the camera pans around. The video stream is a little jerky.

At about 12:13 we see some official vehicles but no hosts yet. We do see some cars being towed away.

12:26 we see some Entergy trucks. Still no host and no audio.

A shot of Fat Harry's, some people hanging out in front of it.

12:43 we see a NOPD truck and some more cars and the parade has begun. No host and no audio.

We see some green and yellow motorcycles. All the same. Who are these guys?

Then some ATVs.

The first band, the Ramblers.

The first float, a nice seahorse on the end of it.

More ATVs, all red.

2 clown (spelled "klown") units. Are these medical clowns? One is in a little green van, the others follow in a truck.

1 pm the Quicktime player restarts itself at the beginning of the stream. I quit it and restart it to pick up where I left off. Now we have audio and the hosts! Erika is hyping nola.com alot.

The Super Steppers do an ok routine.

Lots of mediocre floats.

Cajun cowboys and indians on horseback.

We see Erika dancing briefly.

A nice long shot of the crowds and floats down St Charles, kids dancing on ladders, riders throwing little green frisbees.

Mid City in 1/2 an hour? (Why wouldn't it be right behind since they are a 1/2 hour behind schedule?)

Mid City

1:45 pm, the host starts and the parade too.

Parrot Heads In Paradise float, a Jimmy Buffet theme for this parade.

Nice purple and gold band (St Augustine?)

Riders on many floats aren't masked. I lose audio in mid-sentence.

Lots of foil floats.

Nice queen smile (as was in Okeanos too)

White and gold and the 2 bees again.

The camera shows a Mid City potato chip bag he caught.

We see the hearse that was in last night's parade and the red hot rod pulling the calliope and band.

A cop greets a parent overseeing one of the marching bands with a high five hand shake and they talk and walk. Good to see people who know each other.

See a mess of a gold float.

The Ramblers Band in a green trailer.

Thoth

38 floats, 25 marching bands, 1250 riders Erika says.

The Chalmette owl!

We get a good close up of a band and some nice drum solos. They lean back when they start walking again.

We see a close up of a doubloon.

Nice lions on the King's float.

Float #13, the King's Entourage, has a weird tilted crown on the front of it.

The Tulane band shows a move or two.

Cute princesses on the Queen's float. The hosts remark that with the aggressive throwing on that float that "they won't be happy until someone loses an eye." I can imagine. (I thought they weren't allowed to throw overhand... but 75% of them are.)

The Rebirth Brass Band passes by but it's too short.

A float is throwing spears!

A nice Sphinx on one float with an equally well done bird woman on the back. (What is the name of that figure in Egyptian iconology? She has a big beak curving down.)

I think it is a guy from Wisconsin who plays the flute next to the nola.com folks. White beard.

Nice hieroglyphs on  one double float.

I can't hear most of what Erika is saying and that is for the good. Then I lose audio altogether. I restart the player and get the audio back.

We see an amphibious vehicle with a boat on it's trailer.

Nice dolphins on float #3, Swimming With the Dolphins.

Flambeaux Band on a red float.

Nicely illustrated swamp float.

Tons of throws from a blue float, #8, The Mermaid.

Nice skull on float #11, Davy Jones Locker and nice hats on the riders of that float.

I'm noticing the audio is ahead of the video. Sigh.

A "beach closed" sign on the jellyfish float.

Urban cowboys on horses.

The male host says the parades are back to back. They aren't. There's at least a 1/2 hour gap between this one and Mid City.

Wasting Away in Margaritaville with a margarita and some parrots.

A multi-armed figure, like a Bodhisattva, This one is skinny. Titled "Lost Mayan Waterfall"? I don't get that.

3:43 pm I am getting tired of hearing Erika in general, and hyping nola.com so much.

Whale watching in Hawaii float has killer whales on it...

A rider is tossing out Jello shots!

A shark float.

The audio is breaking up. I restart the player but all I had to do was pause it and let it play again, which I later learn.

Good dancing from some in blue and white.

Marlin fishing. (Maybe that was a Marlin in an earlier parade instead of a sail or swordfish?)

#23, Crabbing has a large crab on the front of the float.

Abdul and the Tent Makers! What a great name for a band. I've seen them in Mardi Gras parades for the past couple of years now. They're playing "I Feel Good" as they pass by.

#24 Playing with the Penguins, nice penguins on the float and nice penguin throws, we see.

#25 Seahorse Watching, nice seahorse.

Some pirates with signs on a float go nuts for the camera.

We see some belly dancers and I missed it but they say there was a large snake in a box that they have with them.

The parade ends.

highlights of Endymion, 2/21

Video below is from the TP

Krewe of Endymion

Watching the WDSU cam...

I tune in at 5:33 pm, NY time. The WDSU cam has a shot of a plastic
wrapper and a net behind that. We will see that until 6:15 (NY time.
all times are NY time...)

As usual, WDSU web pages take forever to load, several minutes EVERY time.

The parade was supposed to start at 5:15 NY time. We first see it at
about 7:38.

I tried following the Parade Tracker but it didn't move every time I
checked. I reloaded after seeing lights come up on St Charles and it
showed it close on Canal. So much for it working on my browser,
Camino.

Some guy driving in a car/truck, takes a picture of the WDSU cam, with a flash.

The first float with people throwing stuff arrives at 8:09 pm, almost
3 hours after the supposed start time. (Yes, I know it takes time to
get to Poydras and St Charles....)

We see the driver of the La Fabulosa 830 van clapping his hands to
whatever music is there. We have no audio. Very shortly after we do!

The US Marine Corps Band passes by playing The Halls Of Montezuma again.

The Budweiser Clydesdales? pass by. These horses are dark/black though.

Who were the giant anime figures? We see a c/u of some guy with tons
of beads on his head.

St Augustine passes by, looking good and sounding good too.

I see the first Hummer so far. I'm glad I haven't seen more.

Stilt walkers!

The King (Captain) of Endymion passes by. His float has it's own Cat generator!

We see someone give a donation to a flambeaux carrier. I think they
are the only ones who are allowed to get donations. Everything else is given to the crowd.

Kid Rock has a float. So does REO Speedwagon!

We see some good dancers. We also see the same guys I saw before who
had the straw hats and the red striped jackets. This time they only
played, didn't do any dance routine but they had some good moves.

We see the SS Endymion. 4 parts?

Tales of Sleep and Dreams!

Alice in Wonderland rabbits.

Buddha!

A big white float in 4 parts.

One titled The Butterfly Messenger. What was that about? The video
starts getting jerky around 9:53 pm.

A float titled Endymion too.'

A nice donkey on a Midsummer's Night Dream float. And it's second
half has a cool blue head on it's front. I am not sure who that is
supposed to represent but it's very cool, with stars in it's hair.

A nice winged male figure with horns but it doesn't have a name.

The funky truck with the band again. And the art Lincoln.

Sleeping Beauty, nice dragon on the 2nd half.

A nice old hearse with glass sides and a red hot-rod pulling a
calliope, with a band behind that!

Wow, an amazing figure, I don't know who he is, maybe a cold winter wind.

The Dreamer of Dreams float again with a polar bear.

Joseph and his Many Colored Dreamcoat. I thought there were baseball
players in uniform as riders... Pt 2 has a Sphinx

The Wizard of Oz has some cool green heads in the middle. I'm not
sure who either is supposed to represent. And the balloon with Omaha
written on it is a nice touch.

A band in blue stops in front of the camera. The cymbal guys have fun
flashing the cymbals around. One guy passes it under his leg!

Big but not interesting: Jack and the Beanstalk, Romeo and Juliet
amongst others.

A cop car pulls up, the guy gets out and cleans stuff off his
windshield. A band arrives behind him but this guy is in no hurry.
Maybe he couldn't move anyway. I just wonder if he was holding things
up.

Video is jerky throughout here, about 11pm.

A beautiful painted bird was seen on the back what could have been a
Hercules float but I am not sure what it was.

A nice flower face on pt 2 of a float.

The fronts and backs of many of these floats are beautiful and
creative. The middles tacky.

We see a steel band.

The jerky video has an interesting effect as litter gets blown across
the street.

Getting some freeze frames now. (0 fps) 11:09

Audio comes back at 11:10 but only for a second.

People seem to be leaving. People have turned their backs and left
the ladder boxes. Some pick up stuff from the ground.

Yes, the parade is over.

highlights of Iris and Tucks, 2/21

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

highlights of Druids, 2/18

Watching the WDSU cam...

I start watching at 6:56 pm , NY time. Lots of standing around. We
see Rachel Wulff preparing for her standup, going over her lines,
chatting with Arthur Hardy. Finally she goes live but beforehand we
get to watch her almost get run over by a van, used by some military
people, backing up without its beepers.

The cameraman/woman gets a shot of the moon by itself!

We see more standing around. Then some horse riders appear over the
heads of the crowd.

We then see some Marine Corp trainees march to The Halls of Montezuma.

We see the king in red go by.

Various crowd shots, some good long shots of the crowd, including
some of their hands reaching up against the pitch black sky.

The riders of these floats all have tall pointy caps on. Some are
blue costumes, some black, all are good looking. One float in
particular looks good. It starts out with the face with white hair,
and had a beautiful comet trail over the top, curling up in the back
in a golden cornucopia with a star at the end. One of the nicest
floats I've seen and perfect for a night parade. How come all the
floats can't be that nice? Some are really sloppily painted.

A green band was ready to go in front of the camera. They'd take on
step forward and then a few back in a cool pattern. They played well
but the audio is totally distorted.

We see a K Why float! Clever. A bottle as K-Why.

The Navy float, a nice square rigger ship, plays what appears to be
Oye Como Va by some cover band.

A red and white dressed band plays and we get good sound!

We hear a loud horn and people start to get out of the way. The fire
truck, signifying the end of the parade is coming through.

Greasing the poles on Bourbon St

Roop Raj, the WDSU reporter: "This is certainly a family fun event as well".

Un hunh. 'C'mon hun. Let's take the kids down to the pole greasing...'