We were staying around the corner from the strip of Frenchmen Street from Esplanade to Royal that has become the hub of the local music & nightlife scene. Every night around 11 p.m. we would hear the oompah of a tuba and the blare of trumpets announcing that one of New Orleans young brass bands had arrived to get the party going. We knew a crowd would soon gather. Some to watch. Most to dance. And dance in that special way that only brass band music, a local crowd and a sweltering night can evoke. Frenetic. Loose. Funky. Wild. And if you wanted a break from the brash brass there were firedancers & streetpoets, taco trucks and a half-dozen places to hear reggae, blues, jazz, hip-hop or straight-out rock.