NYC Helps Out NO
By ALEX OLIVER

September 29, 2005

Dr. John at the Soul To Soul Benefit.

The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic received a huge show of support Wednesday from musicians in New York, at the Soul To Soul benefit convert in Central Park. Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint were some of the artists that donated their time to the cause. The Musicians' Clinic, a non-profit organization that provides health care to New Orleans musicians, has seen its roll increase in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Beyond the health services the clinic provides, volunteers are now also assisting musicians with temporary housing and employment. Jazzfest impresario Quint Davis emceed Wednesday's event in Central Park, thanking the crowd, musicians and vendors for their generosity before introducing opening act Rockin' Dopsie, Jr., and the Zydeco Twisters . Dopsie coaxed an early sing-along from the crowd on Fats Domino's classic, "Walkin' To New Orleans." North Alabama rockers Drive By Truckers followed, with a few band members sporting Tipitina's shirts.

Connections to New Orleans were evident throughout the crowd, most notably in the array of t-shirts referencing local icons. Jazzfest shirts were in abundance, as were those from Tulane, LSU, Tipitina's and the Louisiana Music Factory. New Yorker Joey Nagash , a 1967 LSU grad, was standing front-row center in an LSU shirt, with husband Nick a row back.

"My heart is with all the wonderful people I met there," said Nagash.

Tulane alumna Allie Verlander (left) and Tulane student Kristin Faucher, sharing the love for their adopted home town.

Nearby, Tulane alumna Allie Verlander rocked along to J. Mascis with friend and current Tulane student Kristen Faucher, who wore a green t-shirt asserting "New Orleans is for Loving." Lines were long at the Jacques-Imo's concession stand as dusk fell. The restaurant, which originally opened on Oak Street in Uptown New Orleans, now has a second location in Manhattan and that staff was on hand at Central Park serving up Jazzfest-sized portions of Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya, Grits with Shrimp and Tasso, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and more.

Near the Jacque-Imo's booth, Bill Taylor and Aaron Alterman were collecting donations and spreading information on the Tipitina's Foundation. The non-profit, like the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, has seen its goal change dramatically since Katrina. Where previously the main purpose had been to supply schools with musical instruments, Taylor says the Foundation is now working to house and employee New Orleans musicians spread throughout the country, and re-equip those they can. Most local brass bands have had instruments shipped to them, Taylor said, and the Foundation had secured a "couple of small grants" to some Mardi Gras Indians, in hopes of carrying on one of many unique local traditions. For audio of the complete interview, click here.

Lou Reed at the Soul To Soul Benefit.

As night fell Lou Reed took the stage, backed by a band that included partner Laurie Anderson . Reed's set was the most well-received of the night, and included "Dirty Boulevard," which, like so many songs in the wake of Katrina, seemed to carry new meaning. "Baton Rouge," with its chorus of "so helpless," was equally poignant. Reed closed his set with "Jesus," his plea for self-discovery first recorded with the Velvet Underground in 1969. Quint Davis again took the stage, introducing the next band as a "New Orleans All Star Gumbo." The main ingredients were Ninth Ward native Dr. John on . . . guitar, leaving piano duty to legendary local songwriter Allen Toussaint . The set featured a number of Dr. John classics but was highlighted by a Dr. John and Toussaint duet on Earl King's "Make A Better World." "I think they're going to need to re-write the maps," said Toussaint between songs. "To get from the Big Apple to the Big Easy, take Highway Love."

Later that evening, down in the East Village, was a New Orleans benefit of a (more than) slightly less organized sort. Musician Alex McMurray, who lived in New Orleans until recently relocating to New York, turned his regular Wednesday night gig at Club Niagara over to the "Refugee All-Stars," a rotating cast of New Orleans musicians who have found themselves in the New York area without any gigs.

"Refugee All Stars" Davis Rogan (keyboards) and Ben Ellman (saxophone).

Wednesday night's show featured pianist and bandleader Davis "DJ Davis" Rogan, and saxophonist Ben Ellman of Galactic and the New Orleans Klezmer All Stars. Packed into a corner of a small downstairs room, with no stage other than a drum riser, the set had the somewhat sloppy feel of a '90s-era Mermaid Lounge show, replete with the good-natured ego sparring of former All That members Rogan and McMurray. The crowd was filled out by a fair number of displaced New Orleanians, and the set break/smoke break outside the bar became a near group therapy session for New Orleanians to swap stories and commiserate on their forced group exile. But the overwhelming feeling, more than dismay at what was lost, was an anxious desire to return and rebuild. To make, as Earl King sang, a better world to live in.