Iguanas in the Cathedral

I took the streetcar up Rampart to Poydras to get to the other side of town. I’ll continue to chip away at learning the transit system, but this is a great way to get to the Superdome/Smoothie King part of town. I got my steps in walking back, but doing the streetcar takes the death march aspect out of a visit to the CBD.

I walked through the lobby of the Roosevelt for the Christmas lights. It is a spectacular display, with white lights lining the already impressive hallway. From there, I went to get a mustache trim from a fancy barber. It was probably salesman patter, but the clerk asked if he could put my name on a list for a “best mustache” competition. All of this, and some secret Santa shopping, was more efficient than I had planned. The Iguanas were playing at the the Cathedral at 6, and it was a little past 3 when I had everything checked off the list.

I stopped by the Chart Room and then walked the galleries on Royal Street for a bit, intending to have a fancy cocktail at Tujague’s, but they were closed for a staff holiday party. I ended up in Harry’s waiting for the show to start. A couple walked in with two small white dogs who had been dyed blue and purple. The man was a mid-60s boomer in uniform-ball cap, bomber jacket, and jeans. The woman was dressed in a tight dress with a long side slit that appeared to be a nightgown, had hair to match the the dogs, a fur hair piece, and apparent exaggerated surgical enhancements to her face and body. She appeared to be a dancer or performer just a hair past her prime out with her beau.

I headed over to the Cathedral, excited to see the Iguanas. They have a standing gig at a neighborhood bar that is not in my neighborhood, and I had not made the trek. The incongruity of a 90s Latin rock band playing in a 300 year old active cathedral was worth the price of admission, but the sound got lost in the big room. I’m thinking they needed Ted Nugent style towers of speakers, but that would probably interfere with the daily Mass schedule. They played “Feliz Navidad”, a selection of their better known songs, and finished with “Adonde vas?”, probably their biggest song. I will have to see these guys in a small room one day.

I wasn’t feeling it all day, and figured I have a low-level sinus infection from siphoned pool water, one of the hazards of swimming regularly. I felt it happen, and was hoping to avoid it, but I am now officially in hot soup and steamy shower mode to kill the head cold. It gives me an excuse to get udon at Royal Sushi.

I did get the HomePod for the condo, a vast improvement in sound quality over the table radio and much less finicky than the Boom speakers.