6th Ward Allstars featuring Benny Pete, Gregory Veals; Sammy Cyrus, Terence Andrews and Prince of The Hot 8; Kenny Terry, Jeffrey Hills of The Treme Brass Band; Troy Michael “Trombone Shorty’ Andrews; Glen Hall, Michael Brooks, Jenard Andrews of The Baby Boyz; and Tambourine Green

Beautiful rendition of the Mardi Gras Indian anthem ‘Indian Red’

Tuba Fats Tuesday 2010 in the Treme - mark your calendars for 2011 children. This is an annual event honoring brass band legend and music-mentor-to-the-brass-band-stars Anthony ‘Tuba Fats’ Lacen happening first Tuesday after JazzFest.

I just had to share this photo I took after mostly everyone had cleared out on Jazz Fest this past Saturday. The ground was covered in empty beer cans, plastic bags and cardboard as far as they eye could see. The first thought that comes to mind is “Holy shit, what a mess!” and then you see the cleanup crew already hard at work and you get back the next day and it seems like the mess was never there.

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Oil companies could learn a thing or two about how New Orleans cleans up big messes.

Jazz Fest is akin to a marathon, not a sprint. Get too crazy in the first weekend and you may not make it to the second, and if you go for both weekends, you best hope your feet don’t fail you.

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Mine didn’t fail, though the credit goes to the amazing bands that gave crowds such a lift all weekend long. Jazz Fest gave us so much this year that it’s hard to keep track of all the highlights. This last weekend was no exception. The quality of artists exceeded any and all expectations. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band was one such example (pictured above during) and though we didn’t make it until halfway through their set, they showed us why they are the originators of the contemporary form of brass band music you hear so many bands play today.

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But who doesn’t know the Dirty Dozen? They’re legends and yet they - along with the Allman Brothers, Pearl Jam, B.B. King, Simon and Garfunkle - drew the headlines but didn’t claim the whole Fest for themselves. There was just a high quality of music playing everywhere and sometimes from unexpected places. Many times I’d glance at the schedule and think that there was no one worth watching (mostly because, as much as I love music, I didn’t recognize a lot of the bands) only to be blown away by a band I had never seen before. The Dead Weather was one such band.

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Though I know Jack White, I’m not the kind of fan that follows his every move and this side-project band was just incredible to watch (and almost cosmically appropriate that we saw them in a light but constant rain). Lead singer Allison Mossheart seemed like a throwback to 70s punk singers, smoking a cigarette on stage as she sang a duet with White, I joked that it probably wouldn’t have surprised anyone if she just tied up right there on stage. Not that she needed to, she was clearly getting high of her band’s music and danced like a woman possessed.

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Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who anyone who follows Southern Rock was quick to point out to me, was a sight to behold, though surprising for me. No, I didn’t know who Shepherd was before we caught him and his band closing out their Blues Tent set with a 25-minute rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”. But after watching what was by far some of the best guitar playing all weekend, I won’t soon forget who Shepherd is.

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And, of course, we had highlights from bands that everyone expects to bring fire on their sets. Like when Galactic brought out Irma Thomas and Trombone Shorty to perform songs on which they collaborated on “Ya-Ka-May”. While Thomas killed it with her voice, Shorty roused the crowd by playing trumpet and trombone, almost hijacking Galactic’s set for about 20 minutes (not that anyone complained).

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And with the rain pouring down on Sunday, it seemed so appropriate to go watch To Be Continued Brass Band play in front of a couple of hundred people, dozens of which were sporting umbrellas they were dancing with (and also, presumably, using to keep dry). And as the rain only got harder as we left the Fairgrounds, you couldn’t help but be thankful that the skies didn’t completely open up until after the last set was finished. As if God himself was weeping for the end of Jazz Fest. Aren’t we all?

Jazz Fest has come and gone and it now seems like it was barely hear at all. Two great weekends go by very quickly and with them all the iconic flags that planted into the Fairgrounds. Here now is a collection of just some of the great flags I saw on Jazz Fest’s second weekend (hit the jump to see the whole collection of pictures).

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It’s a weird thing. Waiting a half hour or so to see a generation gap and watch the dots connect. Jazz Fest has been good at introducing new elements of “New Orleans heritage” and “tradition” to its massive lineup — indie-pop songbird Theresa Andersson and bounce divas Sissy Nobby, Katey Red and Big Freedia now grab as much attention as any Neville or Andrews. Today, crowds watched the roots of rhythm and blues stretch into the blossoming hip hop community. One minute its “Blueberry Hill,” the next it’s “Back That Azz Up.”

This afternoon, New Orleans R&B legend Clarence “Frogman” Henry proved he still can croak. He sang like a girl, and a frog, on his light-hearted setlist with classics like ”Ain’t Got No Home” and pop standard “Ain’t She Sweet,” and he ribbed the crowd while getting them to sing-along to ”(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do” and ”You Always Hurt the One You Love.”

“Y’all don’t know the words,” he laughed. Though he looked anxious (checking his watch a couple times) and a bit tired (Henry was assisted by a walker on and off stage and had to sit down frequently), he and his band of 35 years proved their status as layers of a foundation. (Though, “give credit where credit is due,” said Henry to Allen Toussaint, who arranged much of his material.) He commented on his career, and many wives, with a massive smile.

He also took a curious jab at police officers guarding the stage for having their hands in their pockets — Henry hoped they weren’t playing “pocket pool.” Still dirty at 73 years old.

Following Henry, at the Congo Square Stage, were New Orleans legends in their own right, Juvenile and Mannie Fresh. The two also took a light-hearted approach, running through a massive set but performing only the first few minutes of Juve and Fresh/Big Tymers hits alike. Juve picked apart his catalogue, going as far back as early Cash Money hits like “Solja Rag.”

Fresh continued his goofy party boy/biggest baller alive appeal, wearing a “Do you want fries with that?” T-shirt and introducing new cuts like “Like A Boss” and “Drought” from his latest Return of the Ballin’.

Most surreal, and annoying, however, was an appearance by Metairie white rapper duo Sole Fresh, apparent Mannie Fresh proteges who can’t wait to turn 21 to get drunk, as their song went. Juve dug it. “Takes me back to Beastie Boys,” he said.