"treh-MAY" - Episode #10: "I'll Fly Away"

(All photos/general information can be found @ http://www.poptower.com/treme-pictures.htm or Wikipedia.)

Two detectives are meeting with Toni (Melissa Leo) at her home to discuss the disappearance of her husband Creighton (John Goodman). A man fitting Creighton's description was described by a fellow ferry' passenger who gave him a cigarette. But since Creighton's jeep was not on the ferry--and he quit smoking years prior--it probably wasn't him, Toni thought out loud. They promised to return if they heard any news.

Unfortunately, they did indeed return to house with news that Creighton's body was found floating in the Mississippi River. As the two detectives left, we immediately hear a loud "NO" and crying from an emotionally devastated daughter Sofia.

Lt. Colson walks with Toni over to Creighton's empty car, still parked where he'd left it. He tells Toni to do a search of the vehicle and for Sofia's sake, grab anything that might suggest that his death was anything but accidental. As an emotional Toni rummages through Creighton's car, she opens the glove box and finds Creighton's wallet. In that wallet, she pulls out a note:

"I Love You, Cray."

Overcome with grief, Toni drives off soon after.

Toni's colleague at the law firm takes on many of her cases while she makes arrangements for Creighton's funeral. Although his will requests a second line parade, Toni instead opts for cremation and a small ceremony instead. When her colleague insists that Sofia would love to see a second line parade, Toni's anger over Creighton's suicide comes out: "Can't dance for them when they quit," she responds.

Davis (Steve Zahn) and Janette (Kim Dickens), as most of New Orleans, are shocked over news of Creighton's death in the morning paper. "This town," Janette says after having already made up her mind to leave for New York City since her restaurant has closed. Davis is on a mission to convince Janette not to leave New Orleans. His mission began earlier that morning when he arrived at Janette's house with a plate of beignets and the one and only John Boutté who serenades her with the Sam Cooke classic, "Bring It On Home To Me". They make many stops around the city, take a nap by the Mississippi River, catch the Soul Rebels Brass Brand and John Mooney perform "Drink A Little Poison (4 U Die)" at the Maple Leaf Bar, and end the night together at The Columns Hotel.

Meanwhile, Toni puts her energy back into her case load, going over every detail with her colleague as she will take over during Toni's time of bereavement. One of the essential cases for her has been the search for Daymo's body. She insists that her colleague convince LaDonna (Khandi Alexander) to perform a new autopsy on Daymo in light of possible evidence that suggests that he was probably murdered. LaDonna is firm in her refusal of a private autopsy--she says that regardless of what comes from it, it's still a horrible situation.

Trombone Shorty asks Antoine to meet him at a sushi restaurant because he has a conflict of gigs. He offers Antoine a gig to play with the great Allen Toussaint--the pay is $1,000 per man.

Rehearsal for Antoine and the other band members seems to go well and then shortly after, he asks to sit in on a poker game using the pay from his gig as an "IOU." When they warn him about going up against the great Irma Thomas, he laughs at that notion and continues to stay in the game. At the end of the gig, when the band members are getting their pay in cash, Antoine has to surrender most of his earnings to the rest of the band--the bulk of it going to Irma Thomas!! When he returns home to Desiree with what is left of his earnings, she complained and he made up a lie (the right thing to do) about his "paltry" pay for the gig.

Davis decides to put out a full-length CD since his four song epistle has done so well. He asks his mother to loan him the money. She instead decides to match what he's already earned and tells him to get a job in order to come up with the rest. This leaves Davis now choice but to beg his old boss at WWOZ for his deejay gig promising to adhere to the rules set by the station. Looks like DJ Davis McClary is back!

During his set, Davis puts on "My Indian Red," by Danny Barker & the Baby Dodds Trio in honor of St. Joseph's Day and he dedicates it to all of the Mardi Gras Indians out there who are sewing their costumes and are getting ready to look "pretty" for the big day.

That's exactly the scene at Poke's Tavern as Albert (Clarke Peters), his son Delmond (Rob Brown), his daughter Davina, and Albert's gang continue to work hard on the finishing touches of their costumes for St. Joseph's Day.

After fighting with Sonny over wanting to play with other people, Annie returns to gather more of things after he threw her out earlier. He said that he made a mistake and wants Annie to come back home, but when she did, she discovered that Sonny already had company--a girl that he met at Mardi Gras was lying naked in their bed. "Nice tattoos," Annie says to the girl and then storms out the house--hopefully for the last time! When Davis returns to his apartment, he finds Annie waiting outside, seeking a place to stay. "What did I do right?" he asks with joy. Looks like Davis has a new roommate.

Toni, Jacques (Janette's former sous chef), Antoine and a host of others pay their final respects to Daymo at the now restored family crypt. The emotions cause LaDonna to recall the morning of Hurricane Katrina and how she and her family continuously tried to contact Daymo.

Daymo, who worked at Janette's restaurant, Desautel's, gets a call from Jacques to remove the meat from the freezer locker. As he jumps in his car and rushes over to the restaurant, he gets pulled over by the police. He pleads with the officer to release him, but because of the warrant, the officer insists that he has to take him him--hurricane or no hurricane.

We ultimately see how the others reacted prior to the devastation of the storm: Desiree yelling at Antoine to hurry up as he tries to take classic vinyls with him before leaving; Creighton, Toni and Sofia staying in a hotel watching the news; Albert and Davina boarding up their home while Davina talks to Delmond who's watching The Weather Channel in New York City urging them to leave.

As Daymo's funeral comes to an end, you immediately hear the sounds of the Treme Brass Band as they sing and play "I'll Fly Away" for his second line parade. To see LaDonna strutting and dancing to honor her brother's memory was beyond moving.

"treh-MAY" - Episode #4: "At the Foot of Canal Street"

(All photos/general information can be found @ http://www.poptower.com/treme-pictures.htm or Wikipedia.)

Here are just some of the highlights from Episode #4: "At the Foot of Canal Street":

Antoine (Wendell Pierce) has stitches in his lip from his recent encounter with two overly aggressive police officers (see "Episode 3"). He waits to be seen and treated at one of the few ERs open in the area. Frustrated over their lack of attention and care, Antoine begins to sing "St. James Infirmary Blues"--made famous by Louis Armstrong, but he adds his own flare to it and reworks some of the lyrics.

When he finally leaves the ER, Antoine's stitches have been taken out and he blows through his mouthpiece to see if he can still play his trombone. A little boy who stares at Antoine starts to laugh uncontrollably at him. Antoine stares back. When the boy walks off, Antoine kicks high and out into the air as though he were kicking the boy (hard) in his backside.

Later at Gigi's Lounge, Antoine is being served a heaping plate of red beans and rice from his ex-wife, LaDonna (Khandi Alexander). But for Antoine, that's not the only dish on the menu! As LaDonna turns around and bends over, Antoine is ogling her every move. When she turns around and notices him staring at her, LaDonna immediately gives him a look like, "You better stop." (Although, I think she's secretly flattered by the attention.)

While Antoine and LaDonna are talking, an incredible song, "Just a Little Overcome," is playing in the background by Ollie & the Nightingales. This amazingly talented yet unknown group prompts Antoine to discuss his own fears of not being able to play again and become known. He was told at the ER that he has dental problems. LaDonna suggests that Antoine go to Baton Rouge to not only see Larry, her dentist husband, but to also spend time with his two sons. Obviously not thrilled by the idea of being treated by LaDonna's new husband, Antoine realizes that he doesn't have other options and decides to go.

When Antoine arrives, you can't help but notice the difference between Baton Rouge, filled with chain stores and restaurants, and New Orleans, still picking up the pieces. He brings with him gifts for the boys (LaDonna helps him out with that) and although they're not thrilled with their gifts, they are happy to see him--in their own way. There's a wonderful moment when he turns to them and says, "You're always in my heart," while hitting his chest. It's a side of Antoine that we haven't seen--the role of father. He's not able to provide for his kids the way that LaDonna and Larry can (and have), but he does love his sons very much--and they love him.

Delmond Lambreaux (Rob Brown) and his girlfriend Jill, a journalist, are walking through Battery Park while playing the game "Monogamy with Exceptions." He gives Jill his "hit list": Beyonce, Gabrielle Union and Janet [Jackson]. She immediately calls him shallow for his choices and then proceeds to list her three "exceptions": former Yankee Bernie Williams, gay playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, and the incomparable McCoy Tyner, one of the original members of the John Coltrane Quartet and a phenomenally gifted jazz pianist in his own right. While unimpressed with Jill's choices, Jill in turn questions Delmond's ability to remain monogamous. Later on, at a party filled with artists and writers (including Tyner and Williams), Delmond realizes that Jill tricked him: "You set me up," he immediately says to her while laughing.

Toni (Melissa Leo) doesn't have any luck in finding Antoine's trombone, but she does manage to get the DNA results from the police for the "David Brooks" they have in custody. His real name is Keevon White. Keevon's about to go on trial for murder, which he explains to LaDonna and her mother, is partly the reason why he switched ID bracelets. As he describes the conditions they suffered--being treated like cage animals, having to fight over "moldy sandwiches" being thrown at them by the guards--during Katrina, it's beyond horrible to hear. For the first time, we also learn more about who the real David "Daymo" Brooks truly is and according to Keevon, Daymo isn't cut out for prison life.

You can find the music from this episode right here: http://www.hbo.com/treme#/treme/episodes/1/04-at-the-foot-of-canal-street/music.html

Speaking of the music featured in Treme, we were really given a treat this week from the likes of the New Birth Brass Band, The Jazz Vipers, and the AMAAAAAZIIING John Boutté.

Boutté's voice holds a tinge of inspiration from Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, but it's full of other flavors, a melting pot if you will, just like New Orleans itself!

Next week on Episode #5: "Shame, Shame, Shame": As the city celebrates the return of many displaced residents with another second line parade, Albert presses a Councilman to reopen housing projects and Davis recruits some local musicians to put out a campaign CD.