With only a week to prepare but an extraordinary volunteer workforce, Gulf Aid was upon us. With a lineup that included well known artists such as John Legend and Lenny Kravitz, we were expecting a large walk-up crowd.
After checking the weather report early in the week, it didn’t seem like we had too much to worry about. Just about all of our festivals experience some degree of rain so a little rain might actually be welcomed as it would cool things down a bit. Coming from Arizona, believe me when I say that a “dry heat” beats a humid summer any day of the week. Even driving to the venue (a < 2 mile commute) we only experienced some mild showers that dissipated by the time we pulled into the Mardi Gras Word River City venue.
Well by the time that Todd came out of the venue after checking us in, that changed “a little”. His shirt was SO soaked (after a 50 foot run) that he actually suggested that I give him my shirt so that I could wear my undershirt for the duration. With tornado warnings being broadcast on the radio, I was beginning to fear the worst. It seemed like such a shame to end that way considering all of the effort that so many people had made in such little time.
By the time we got ourselves and our equipment safely inside, a decision had already been made to move the outdoor stage inside (a contingency plan that had been put in place by Rehage Entertainment) and the ticket sales and ticket taking lines were moved inside as well.
The Mardi Gras World River City (I’m just gonna refer to it as “The venue” from now on) was loaded with large sculptures of famous people, prominent Louisiana athletes and also mystical creatures. I definitely have to say that if I’m gonna through a huge party, I want Yoda and an amazonian Marilyn Monroe joining in the festivities and officer McGruff the crime dog handling security.
The stage that was originally planned to be out on the riverfront (also known as the “Coastal Stage”) was moved inside the warehouse and the “Wetlands Stage” was located in an indoor facility adjacent to the “Mansion” (being a tourist, I’m still not sure what this is representative of, if anything). From within the Wetlands stage, VIP ticket holders had a balcony view of the performance (in addition to free beverages).
With us set up between Poseidon (or was it Zeus?) and King and Queen Kong, we had our new home. The “Burger King” King was sitting directly behind us acting as supervisor and I must of looked back at him a dozen times thinking some creepy guy was sitting back there staring at us. With volunteers aplenty and our system setup, we were eager to get the party started. In spite of the torrential downpour, the event opened less than 2 hours behind schedule (which was impressive I thought) and people started flowing in. Funny thing was that after the event opened, there wasn’t a drop of rain (I personally think that Poseidon had something to do with that).
The day really flew by with the various acts playing and the crowd size growing. The Jazz was pumping on the Coastal stage and it was definitely cool to hear some of the local bands play. EVERYONE was friendly and excited to get together for a good cause. I don’t know if it was just a philanthropic crowd or what, but the people of New Orleans thoroughly impressed me. If not for the calls of “Who Dat?”, I wouldn’t have a negative thing to say about them (actually if I don’t have to listen to it during next years NFL playoffs, I’m willing to accept it at a benefit concert).
Warning: Sappy heartfelt moment
During one of my trips through the Mansion into the Artist bathroom (Why use a port-a-john when you have an all-access wristband), I remember actually considering how amazing it was that this was put together in such a short time. People truly can accomplish amazing things when they have great leadership and work together for something that they all believe in. There were so many people that helped out for this that I just want to personally thank everyone involved. I know that coming from AZ we aren’t going to be impacted as much by the oil leak but it was a good feeling to know that Elevate was able to play its’ part.
From the number of “thank you’s” and “Who Dat?” calls on the way out, I was convinced that the event was a success. I’ll leave you with the gist of a conversation that I had with “Bob” (one of the Rehage employees that was vital to the event and helped provide all of the gate volunteers)… “The event was a success the minute that it was decided to put it on”. Having Gulf Aid helped create so much awareness throughout the region and even the country that the success of the event cannot be measured simply in attendance numbers. I think that much of human nature is to ignore that which doesn’t impact you directly but it’s hard to avoid things that are in your face. Donations have continued to come in (http://www.gulfaid.org/) and hopefully these efforts will help to minimize the impact of the spill.
My last piece of advice is that you should pass on the 1am Cheese Steak and Onion Rings. Problem is, I don’t think that they serve salads on Bourbon Street.
