Actor and film star Matt Dillon, before and after he noticed me taking pictures of him. I believe Beausoliel was on stage at the time, and I noticed Matt standing with his entourage right beside us. We had seen him the night before, when we were in an oyster bar in the French Quarter. When he entered the small restaurant there was an immediate buzz that ran from the front to the back of the room as people recognized him. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the attention, and gladly signed autographs as he made his way down the narrow aisle between the counter and the row of tables along the wall. So when I saw him the next day, I figured he wouldn't be bothered if I took a few pictures of him as he chatted with his friends and listened to the band. I took about four pictures, but at first I tried to make it look like I was really taking pictures of my girlfriend (front, top). By the second or third picture he had apparently figured out what was going on because he started making faces every time I raised the camera for another shot. The mugging got a little more obvious each time, and the last one is the one below. I decided not to bother him for an autograph.
Click the picture to read about his movie that was current at the time.
Some memorabilia from the Fest, a backstage pass to the Fabulous Thunderbirds / Van Morrison show, a ticket to the fairgrounds and the artist area pass.
We saw a couple other celebrities at the Morrison / TBirds show at the Municipal Auditorium (also on Saturday night. Busy night!). While we were waiting in the alley for our backstage passes to come through, a limousine pulled up and a nice looking lady got out and opened the door for the passenger. Out stepped John Lee Hooker! A sharp dressed man for sure, in a derby and three piece suit with a blue ascott with what looked like a big diamond in the center. And of course, his cane with a silver handle. I was about five feet from him as he was escorted through the stage door (I guess some people don't have to wait for backstage passes!). He was not real tall but his presence was bigger than life. You could feel an almost electric field surronding him as he passed by, and all conversations stopped until he got inside. Man, he was the coolest dude I've ever seen in my life! I think he was there to see Van, since they were buddies for so many years.
When we got inside we were seated on folding chairs at the side of the stage, a couple rows back, and in the front row was Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes. I heard he got up on one of the stages at the fairgrounds and sang "Sixty Minute Man" with one of the bands. Wish I'd seen it.
Also, a picture of Jimmie Vaughan's guitars. I was pretty sure the sticker on his amp case was a bluff, but maybe it's a good thing he wasn't around at the time.
