New Orleans — It was
a surreal moment — even
by the standards of The
City That Care Forgot.
At the “Voodoo, Blues
and ZuZus” party, presented
by Rainbow Media, MSG
Networks and Fuse at the
House of Blues on Oct. 19,
the second night of CTAM
Summit 2010, The Wire was
surrounded near the main
stage.
With the New Orleans
Mardi Gras Indians and
Rhythm Section banging
their drums not too slowly
and dancing in full-feathered
headgear and regalia
to the delight of the assembled
cable crowd, there was
no exiting stage left — because of an inperson
appearance by Don Draper.
Jon Hamm himself, the emcee for the
event that drew some 1,600 people, approached
the front of the stage and a crush
of swooning, screaming women (think The
Beatles), cellphone cameras in hand, rushed
to capture their moment with AMC’s lead
Mad Man.
Elsewhere, liberal libations were thrown
back in glowing blue cups, sporting the partythrowers’
logos as
CTAM Summit revelers
chomped on crawfish Monica, muffuletas,
white chocolate bread
pudding and pralines.
Hired help in full Mardi
Gras garb were joined
by snake charmers and
Wedding Central’s voodoo
bride and groom, as
well as more than 1000
attendees who were outfitted on-site for the occasion.
Breaking Bad’s Anna
Gunn announced the costume winners,
Reinaldo Llano of Bright House Networks as a
hippie and Sarah Treiber of Suddenlink Communications
as a space vixen (second place).
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) extended
a welcome, while the New Orleans Hornets
Honeybees dance team was also in step.
JD & the Straight Shot, supporting new
disc Daily News Blues, rocked throughout
the evening with Jon Cleary and Walter
“Wolfman”Washington joining on stage.
Evocative of the Grateful Dead, front man
Cablevision CEO JimDolan manned a onepiece
skeleton costume for the opening set,
evincing his own “Touch of Gray” and a new
beardless look.
The house band notwithstanding, the
crowds bestowed especially
warm receptions
upon Rockin’ Dopsie Jr.
and Luther Kent, as New
Orleans Jazz & Heritage
Festival producer and
director Quint Davis secured
an eclectic lineup
that also included The
TBC Brass Band & Second
Line Allstars, Gregg
Stafford’s Jazz Hounds
on the patio, and the
Lost Bayou Ramblers
and BeauSoleil in the
Parish Room.
“It was a magical night
filled with jazz parades,
live snakes and alligators, costumes, music,
and amazing New Orleans food, all powered
by non-stop rock ‘n’ roll. But this was also a
party with a purpose,” Davis declared. “Going
back to the 2005 Katrina Benefit concerts
at Madison Square Garden and Radio
City Music Hall in New York, Jim Dolan and
Cablevision have maintained a strong connection
to the ongoing recovery of New Orleans.”
Dolan and Hamm handed a $100,000
check to Ellis Marsalis, the jazz pianist and
patriarch of the Marsalis clan, benefiting
his Center for Music, part of Musician’s Village
in the Upper NinthWard. For more, visit
nolamusiciansvillage.org.
