Because the assassins have failed I have managed to make one more trip around the sun. I asked Meredith if we could celebrate with seeing some live jazz in an intimate, no-nonsense setting. To say she delivered on my request would be a huge understatement.

I genuinely dread sounding like an old man complaining about how things were better back in my day. Nonetheless, I do find that the process for going out to see live music has become more complicated than when I was younger. A large portion of that is due to personal responsibilities and the mental stamina required to perform at work. We have to make sure the kids are looked after, generally there aren’t a lot of good concert venues nearby, and staying up late means I will be kinds of useless at work the next day.

But I had been thinking about live music lately and really missing it, so I asked Meredith for a birthday treat: a night out at a small club to see a live jazz band, something that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, something small enough to get close enough to watch the band play.

I had originally thought that Meredith would find us something in Boston close to Berklee but she was actually able to find something closer to home. The Andres Institute of Art in Brookline NH has a concert space, and right close to my birthday they were featuring the Soggy Po Boys.

New Orleans is always going to have a very special place in my heart when it comes to music and jazz in particular. Louis Armstrong is one of my favorite jazz musicians and I don’t really think you have jazz music in America without the influence of New Orleans. Even after the emergence of Armstrong and others from the Crescent City, New Orleans has continued to influence rock, soul, funk, and hip-hop music. Every Mardi Gras I spend the day listening to WWOZ via internet stream, hearing all the parade music that you’ll only hear during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

I have to confess I had a split second of skepticism about how a bunch of white guys from New Hampshire could hope to capture the spirit of one of the most unique American cities, but as soon as they started playing all doubt was erased. These guys are 100% the real deal. They aren’t playing cliched Dixieland jazz your grandma thinks is quaint. They play parade music, they play Preservation Hall jazz, they have soul, they got the funk. Throughout the show there were so many little nuances in their sound that made the music authentic for me – the wonderful loping snare beats, the pure woodwind tones on the older jazz numbers, the solid rhythm section, the soulful vocals of the two leads, the boogie-woogie piano. They took us on a journey from old New Orleans standards by folks like Louis Armstrong and Professor Longhair through more modern pieces from Allen Toussaint. They absolutely killed an audience request of “St. James Infirmary.” They did all this while displaying excellent musicianship and a great interplay between members and the audience.

Get out to see them if you have the chance. I promise that if you like New Orleans music you will love them.

Seeing live music again was such a balm to my soul. I am already thinking about the next concert I’ll go out to.