5 Things about The Oxford American Party at Tipitina's Last Night

1. Beforehand, a succulent patio dinner of duck and mussels (seperately, but communing under the auspices of a holisticly badass meal) at Martinique Bistro.
2. Soul Rebels Brass Band tearing it up with their subtly jazzier variant on the brass band juggernaut form, followed by the unstoppable Charles Walker and the Dynamites as close to 1965 Apollo Theatre cold sweat soul supernova as you are likely to find. Tip's had closed the free drinks and eats by the time I got there all was well and groovy in the halls of funk.
   
3. The real action was on the sidewalk where I got to talk to the editors and writers and festival organizers and assistants and this and that, including getting to meet Dr. Ben "Go f- yourself, Mr. Cheney" Kimble, only to intensify at the after-party at the nearby gorgeous home of
   
4. David Ramsey, who had my favorite piece in this issue about his students' struggle to learn in the plagued New Orleans school system and their infatuation with Lil Wayne, and who earns a spot on the tight list just for having the above ur-Warholian Johnny Cash Hatch print up on his wall, as well as the wedding-cake-frosting succulent paintings by his wife Grace and
5. Driving the OA folks back to their hotel, getting to talk music nrrd with Marc and once again make a case for a certain band that has yet appear in a Music Issue, and getting to talk to Carol Ann and Warwick and Ray and Bre and others that keep the wheels of the finest of magazines going. A perfect close to a good-to-be-me night