Treme: Right Place, Wrong Time

Albert Lambreaux, a Mardi Gras Indian chief, suggests that they should be the ones to stand and fight the developers that threaten to level their neighborhood and that only they can properly mourn and bury their friend. Yet, their traditions must be passed down to the next generation, otherwise they’re lost and as we’ve seen so far, neither his daughter nor his son have any interest in the past (although with the introduction of a new character, we do have someone else that might).

On to the music, the title of this week’s show refers to the Dr. John song, Right Place, Wrong Time. The song was originally produced in 1973 by Allen Toussaint and backed by the Meters. If you listen carefully, the song is also played in the background of the wine shop as Sonny picks out a birthday wine for his girlfriend, Annie. (a relationship that’s on shaky ground)

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I had to look up the song that gets a drunken Antoine Batiste beaten and arrested. For his character, this whole episode is about him using and then losing his ‘bone (and almost a tooth). The song is I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You and was written in 1932 by Victor Young, Ned Washington and Bing Crosby and has been covered by everyone from Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra and more. The version below is from Diana Krall’s album Love Scenes

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We also get three different versions of Indiana Red. First by Dr. John as mentioned above, the second by the Mardi Gras Indians at the memorial, and lastly by Donald Harrison, Jr as we go to credits. Each one is as different as the people who sing it and we’ll leave you with this beautiful version by Laura Vecchione below.

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What did you think of Sunday night’s episode? Where do you think David Simon will take these characters over the next few weeks?

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5 Responses

  1. i loved the episode…i agree it is very well written about who owns New Orleans, with the idea that everyone loves the music but not the musicians. the street musician couple getting brushed off the street and the police brutality- made me think about how im going to Jazz Fest for the music specifically…but ill be on the look out for how the city treats the musicians who create the music and get me to go there as a tourist.

    …the scene where the tour bus coming through the 9th ward and stopping at the funeral…well that was fucked up.

    And you make an excellent point about the hipster Davis being snobby to his neighbors, yet liking the strippers…his neighbors even try to make nice with him but he is clueless. all of the characters are flawed, which is why i love this show from the start.

  2. …his neighbors even try to make nice with him but he is clueless.

    Yeah I don’t know quite what to make of that scene. They promise him that they aren’t the ones calling the cops on the music, but he doesn’t believe them. In one way it makes me think of New York City where everyone wants to move because of the vitality of the place and yet we’ve seen plenty of music venues being closed (Knitting Factory, Wetlands), simply because of the Not In My Backyard mentality…. Maybe it will be the strippers (he previously praised)

    …the scene where the tour bus coming through the 9th ward and stopping at the funeral…well that was fucked up.

    A really powerful and awkward scene for sure, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it honestly. Here’s a place in which tourism plays such a huge part and in which New Orleans was begging people to come and restart the economy and yet the bus driver admits to making a huge mistake…

    Here’s a link to what David Simon had to say about the scene.
    http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2010/04/19/treme-watch-david-simon-on-pity-and-tourists/

  3. I’m still one episode behind, but I’ll catch up by next week, promise.

    What’s the over/under for a member of WSP to make an appearance?

  4. I am waiting for Zeke (Ed Volker) to show up. How can they not cast that dude?!? He is a character for certain. I did hear some Radiators playing on the radio in the background when Davis is in the restaurant kitchen asking his girlfriend out to dinner.

  5. That’s a great catch on the Radiators. Their song, Long Hard Journey Home also plays in the background in the middle of episode two. I think there’s an excellent chance they’ll show up in at least one of the episodes.

    So far we’ve got guesses for Widespread Panic and The Radiators. I’m going with The Funky Meters and/or Anders Osborne. Any other guesses?

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