Tampa Calling

The Neville Brothers’ highly anticipated homecoming performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival proved poignant, celebratory, and spiritual on a gorgeous Sunday. The Nevilles’ closing day appearance marked another important return to normalcy for the slowly but steadily rebuilding Crescent City. Natives of the Uptown neighborhood, The Nevilles’ meld second line funk, soul, gospel and rhumba to create the ultimate Big Easy music experience, something the siblings had done during the final day of Jazz Fest for years. Then Katrina displaced the family and star frontman Aaron Neville feared all the dust and mold in the city would exasperate his asthma, preventing him from returning to perform much to the chagrin of the persevering locals and Jazz Fest regulars.

All was made right, though, Sunday. The Nevilles performed on the main Acura Stage in front of a grateful crowd that ranged in age from small children and their parents to college students. The famed sibling group inspired dancing and embracing with New Orleans anthems like “Iko, Iko,” “Fire on the Bayou” and “Tipitna.” Aaron sang a gripping version of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” that spoke to the mistreatment the New Orleans people faced in the aftermath of Katrina while at the same time promising better days ahead. It was a hymn of hope that captured the feeling many must have felt just from seeing the Nevilles back on stage.

5/6 UPDATE: Raconteurs photos posted below (scroll down).

Aaron Neville singing “A Change is Gonna Come.”

All in the family.

A couple embracing at Neville Brothers show.

Jack White (center) of The Raconteurs performing Sunday on the Gentilly Stage.

The Raconteurs killer performance elicited enthusiastic responses from the sprawling crowd.

Chilling outside the Blues Tent Sunday during The Derek Trucks Band performance, which included a guest performance by Trucks’ wife, ace soul singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. She sang lead on a spectacular rendition of The Band classic “The Weight.”

My brother, Joel Tatangelo (vocals/guitar), performing with his Stand Back Band, Saturday night at Tarantula Arms, a club in New Orleans’ French Quarter across from House of Blues. During their set, the Lee Boys’ pedal steel guitarist Roosevelt Collier stopped by before his HOB gig and whipped out his cell phone to take some pics. Here’s a clip of them doing their original “Whiskey on the Weekend.”

Stand Back doing Dr. John’s “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” same night, with bassist Thomas Stevenson on lead vocals.

Stand Back doing the blues classic “Rolling and Tumbling” same night.

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