Getting Back to Business After Derby
Jam Sessions, Practice Resume
Louisville and New Orleans have the distinction of having major ‘Civic Holidays,’ quite unlike other towns in the U.S. New Orleans, of course, has Mardi Gras and Louisville has the Kentucky Derby, which expands into two weeks that are collectively referred to as “Derby Week.” The whole thing wraps up on the first Saturday in May, except for a breakfast in Bardstown on Sunday. It then takes most of the next week before everyone gets back into a normal routine, i.e., sobers up. The whole event generally screws up all the live music shows that aren’t downtown, so musicians have to scramble to find work. It’s one of the peculiarities of the Derby that it has a negative impact on the majority of entertainment businesses, particularly bars, during that period. Since the actual Derby is a privately-owned event, as are the various Derby Festival events, it’s clear that the city goes out of its way to help out a couple of private organizations to the detriment of its other businesses. It doesn’t happen like that in New Orleans (or didn’t, anyway), according to a Louisiana native I know.
The bar where I go for a Wednesday jam session is located downtown, so they did alright during Derby week. The week after, it was quiet as [select your metaphor]. Perhaps by this evening, things will have picked up again.
The Derby Eve party at my friend Michael’s house got thoroughly rained out; in the classic Ohio Valley way, it poured buckets in St. Matthews while barely sprinkling in the South End. No use for the sound system and most of the musicians didn’t show up. On the plus side, I got a spontaneous Flamenco lesson from my teacher, who was there with her husband the percussionist.