Anne Rice, author of Interview with a Vampire, hosts a vampire ball every year. She has not attended one in several years, as she now lives in California, but no one seems to mind. We were thrilled to go because it seemed like a great party and Voltaire was playing. Our flight into New Orleans arrived one hour late, and we first had to get into costume, catch up with our friends who were driving in from Austin and, of course, share a bottle of champagne. So we missed all of the opening acts, but that was okay. We also missed the raffles. Overnight, Gothic events across the country have turned into bingo nights as everyone seems to be conducting raffles these days. I cannot understand why, maybe we're all just a lot older than we think. The crowd was lovely - lots of very creative costumes, masks and elegant Victorian/Edwardian gowns. More importantly, the crowd was very friendly.

In Seattle where we lived, no one will speak to you unless introduced, but in New Orleans, no one seems to mind small talk. We loved the crowd. However, don't even think about going without getting decked out, it's a dress-up event. Then came Voltaire, who I can best describe as such: take Dennis Leary, give him a better voice and guitar skills, add a dark Gothic side and a geeky Trekky side and you have Voltaire. Gothic Irish political nerd humor. His songs are cleverly twisted and his in-between song banter is even better. I've never attended a concert where I've laughed so much. It was definitely one of the most fun shows I've ever attended. Because he's a small star, he even stuck around signing random things and interloping with the audience after his set. If we make it to New Orleans again for Halloween this would certainly do again. As for Voltaire, we plan on seeing him again in Seattle this month.