pimblr.com

Menacing storm clouds prowled across the sky for much of the afternoon but mostly kept from delivering downpours akin to the previous weekend’s washouts. Only toward the end of the eight-hour day did heavy showers sweep through the fairgrounds, drenching attendees but not affecting the shows.
The lineup again was a mix of marquee acts and lesser-known groups. The Lee Brothers, from Miami, rocked the blues tent with their rollicking You’ve Got to Move. The song started slow and low but steadily picked up pace, taking on the feel and sound of a runaway train. As guitarist Roosevelt Collier plucked at his pedal steel guitar, an electric guitar mounted on a stand and played from a sitting position, audience members danced in the aisles, jumped up and down and waved their arms to the mounting melody.
Outside at the traditional jazz stage, Glen David Andrews and the Lazy Six brass band brought the traditions of a New Orleans impromptu street party to several hundred spectators. After belting out standards such as Mardi Gras and I’ll Fly Away, Andrews, dressed in a dark pinstripe suit and designer sunglasses, jumped into the crowd and led them in street-parade-style dancing.
He was later joined onstage by members of the Old & Nu Style Fellas Social Aid & Pleasure Club, who waved fans and feathers and danced to the tunes.
Food vendors continued to be a main attraction. Some of the star offerings: fried soft-shell crab po’ boys, crawfish bread, pecan catfish meuniere, oyster Rockefeller bisque and jambalaya.
Jason Smith, 35, of Atlanta, said he dashes from one food booth to the next between musical sets. “It’s as much a food festival as a musical festival,” he said, finishing a fried shrimp po’ boy.
Art Neville thrilled the crowds with a rare solo performance. Then he thrilled them some more when he called out brother Aaron to join in for a few final songs. The duets were a glimpse of what’s expected for Sunday, when the Neville Brothers, New Orleans’s “first family of funk,” play together at Jazz Fest for the first time since Katrina.

usatoday.com

Rap superstars 50 Cent, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes and Juvenile have sold more than 35 million records combined. But in Lafayette, they moved less than 300 concert tickets.
Easter Jam 2008, the rap concert scheduled over the weekend at the Cajundome, was canceled because of low ticket sales. Floor tickets were $125, the highest in Cajundome history.
Promoter Derrick Hodge of Shockwave Entertainment of New Orleans said the show was called off after only 289 tickets were sold. Hodge said 60 of those tickets were bought by one person.
Hodge even cut prices to boost ticket sales. Floor seats remained at $125, but second level seats dropped from $87.50 to $77.50. Top level seats were reduced to $60.50 and $45.
But only 29 tickets were sold in the weekend after the price cuts. Hodge said he is disappointed the event did not receive more support.
“All the program directors, general managers at radio stations, from Lafayette, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, even in New Orleans, they couldn’t believe the people didn’t support the event,” Hodge said. “It’s unbelievable for a lineup like that. You had 7,200 people come out for Lil Wayne (at the Cajundome) and it was basically just him.
“I could have taken someone off the lineup and lowered the ticket prices. But the show wouldn’t have been as good.”
Hodge added he had no hard feelings toward Lafayette.
“I’ll just wait a while before I think about bringing a big lineup like that again. If I do, I’ll have the ticket prices a lot lower.”
Marquee artists, such as 50 Cent and Ludacris, who have also starred in hit movies, come with premium ticket prices. Cajundome Assistant Director Pam DeVille said prices are made by a show’s promoter, based on artist fees, availability, staffing, production, catering, insurance, transportation, lodging and special equipment needs.

theadvertiser.com