Hey! Jazzfest!

Woo-hoo! Great news! Jazzfest is back! Nothing like wading thru hundreds of yards of filth muck to wait in line for a bowl of Crawfish Monica in 100 degree heat, all the while listening to the sweet sounds of Big Joe Robideaux and the Crescent City Stompers! (And that was BEFORE Katrina came along...HI-OH!!!) Now, don't get me wrong. I am rooting for New Orleans to come back more than anyone. I look forward to Jazzfest with more vigor than the everyday Chelsea resident's countdown to the Tony Awards (once described to me by a gay friend as the "Gay Super Bowl"). But I have just one, tiny question for Jazzfest organizers: Can I crash on your couch? And borrow your canoe? Because something tells me that Afghanistan's French Quarter will be in better shape than New Orleans.

Anyway, a few years ago, a guy I worked with (who I despised) told me about a band here in NYC called Afroskull. He had overheard a friend and I talking about Galactic and thought we'd like them. "They've got the horns, the beat, the whole New Orleans thing going," Satan told us. Now, since I despised this guy with such passion, I literally refused to listen to the band....until now. And damn if he wasn't right. They aren't breaking a whole lot of new ground, but they have a tight, fun sound that makes seeing a show of their's on my To Do list for 2006.

"Space Chicken" - Afroskull, 2/4/05 New York, NY

Download the whole show here.