Well, the rain played havoc with our schedule and ability to be as mobile as we wanted, but all in all still a good festival weekend. Something about Friday, though, was odd. I think the new pricing structure has changed the standard demographic for the Fest, and Friday it was apparent. Very few younger locals out. Seemed the median age for most goers was 42+. Maybe the threatening weather kept some of the usual Friday crowd away, seemed not as many local workforce individuals decided to get away from work early and enjoy a few of the acts. Or maybe the price now is too prohibitive for that type of decision. It does hurt to shell out $50 for a couple of hours, catch only 2 sets, and maybe get some time to spend MORE money on beer and food. Who knows?

I think this Thursday, affectionately always known as "locals day", may be the most telling. If attendance is very low for this date, we may see the locals day done away with altogether. It will be interesting to see the changes in the structure of scheduling and pricing inside and outside the Festival over the next 2 years.

For me, Big Sam's Funky Nation was the best show at the Congo stage- that's for the entire weekend. And the crawfish enchiladas did the trick on the food front.

There is so much more there though, and this weekend I get to play host to a buddy coming in from Frisco. He's a native of London, so this will be his first experience at Jazz Fest. It's always fun to break in a new soul to the Festival.

ok everyone have a good week, prepare for the weekend. rizzo