A quick review of tonight’s “Tremé” coming up just as soon as I explain the difference between a fiddle and a violin…
It’s Christmas time, and what gifts do our characters receive?
Well, Desiree’s family home is torn down without her consent. Annie gets a record deal with Lost Highway (not that Davis cares enough to let her tell him when the news is fresh and shiny) and largely manages to win over her skeptical mother (played by Isabella Rosselini) during a family visit to New Orleans. Sofia and Toni both get harassed by the cops as a result of the Officer Wilson ad. Albert gets a holiday meal from his daughters, but it comes out of them knowing about his health situation. Janette gets one of her New York pals to come down and work for her, and Sonny appears to have fallen off the wagon after a long period of sobriety.
There’s a lot of talk this week about the demolition vote, and how the fix is in to rid the city of as many poor, black people as possible. As Nelson’s pal Liguori boasts, “We finally have the philistines on the run.” But it’s clear that from the show’s point of view, it’s rich white snobs like Liguori (who needs Delmond and Albert to lend the concert hall project some cultural authenticity) and Tim (who cares only that Janette’s latest dish is a big moneymaker) who are the real philistines, incapable of appreciating the true beauty of a city whose treasures are the victim of, as Davis puts it, “Preservation through neglect.”
So go read Dave Walker’s latest episode explainer at his NOLA blog, and then tell me, what did everybody else think?