Posted April 26, 2006
By Sean Nelson, MSN Music Editor

Though we all saw the TV news coverage of Hurricane Katrina, and the endless photos of its tragic aftermath, nothing can prepare you for the sight of New Orleans' lower 9th ward. Seven months on from the calamity, and devastation is everywhere the eye can see -- houses crushed as if they'd fallen from the sky, rusted out cars and trucks smashed together and overturned like sculptures in a postmodern art gallery, telephone poles felled and splintered.

Every house that still stands is spray painted with rescue worker code listing death tolls for humans and animals alike. To stand in the midst of this apocalyptic wreckage is to be made aware of the awesome power of nature, and of the absolute failure of art and journalism to convey certain truths. (Nonetheless, I recommend viewing my colleague Ted Grudowski's excellent photos, here.)

The lower 9th was ground zero, in effect; it stands in the shadow of the levee, where the floodgates gave way and the flooding began. Groups of tourists pass by and snap photos. Though clean-up efforts have been underway for months, you could be forgiven for thinking that the water had only just receded. As though it had happened only yesterday.

We begin here because this is where the story begins. But the story isn't just tragedy -- not even close. The great people of this great city are nothing if not resilient. It's worth remembering that Katrina is only the most recent disaster to befall New Orleans, a city that has endured hundreds of years of floods, famine, war, and epidemics.

The consciousness of the survivor is deeply ingrained into the city's traditions, its all-over embrace of food, music, romance and other forms of decadence. The mood on the street, in the restaurants and bars, in the taxis and streetcars, is celebratory. The meals -- po'boys at Domilse's, barbecued shrimp at Pascale's Manale, heavy cream sauce all over everything at The Court of Two Sisters -- are a celebration.

The music pouring out the clubs and over the radio airwaves is a celebration. Even in the Common Ground shelter, where volunteers have established "free stores" for people who need clothes and food, there is laughter and storytelling; no one's pretending the bad times are over, but I haven't heard a single person complaining. They call Katrina "the storm." That's all. Just the storm. Here in the birthplace of the jazz funeral, life continues to thrive.

But even as we edge away from the 9th Ward, through the tourist enclave of the French Quarter, the row houses of Mid-City, the increasingly upscale environs of Uptown and the breathtakingly gorgeous plantation-style architecture of the Garden District, signs of "the storm" and her aftermath linger.

Some of the challenge lies in trying to figure out which damage was caused by the hurricane itself, which was caused by flooding, and which is just good old fashioned New Orleans decay. It's not just the damage however, that strikes you; it's the way people have responded to it. Home-painted street signs hang on bent poles to replace those that have disappeared.

Gaping potholes full of standing water are decorated with plastic flamingoes wearing mardi gras beads around their pink necks. And on every building in certain areas, the water line (often as high as six feet, sometimes higher) remains visible, almost as a point of pride.

Our party is here to cover a music festival, and the tour of the city has two functions. The first is to provide a sense of the place as it functions today, hobbled but resilient and full of life. The second, however, is by way of reminding ourselves why this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has such a feeling of global, even cosmic significance.

Jazz Fest 2006 will be a re-convergence of many of the musicians and music lovers who have been displaced by natural disaster and human failure. It will be a massive celebration of the art and spirit that have helped this indescribably beautiful city survive through the centuries. Most importantly, however, it's quite clearly going to be a hell of a party. Stay tuned.