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Crossing Esplanade Avenue on my way from Faubourg Marigny to the French Quarter during a lull in the partying, an unusual sight struck me - a group of people in the middle of the street raising a glorious noise.

I didn’t catch his name, or the name of the contraption, but a very cool guy had taken a timpani and assortment of other drums, mounted them on a wheelchair, and attached a cage around it, accessed by a swinging door. On the outside of the cage, he had hung a bass drum, cymbals, xylophones, and various other percussion instruments as well as pots, pans, lids, and anything that made a nice noise when struck. A spiral sculpture of tubular steel adorned the top of this “drum cage” (pictured above).
To play along, some people used their hands, but most brought their own drumsticks or mallets, or borrowed ones the gentlemen had placed in a cup hung on the cage, none of which I was fortunate enough to get my hands on. My drumstick (I could only find one!) was an actual stick I found in the neutral ground, a wonderful New Orleans term for the grassy, tree-lined median of a boulevard.

For over an hour I got to slap, hit, bang, and otherwise beat the hell out of his makeshift drum cage with 6 to 10 other people who revolved in and out. The sound ranged from delicate to deafening, but the experience was never less than invigorating.

I’ve never tried being a part of a drum circle, but surely nothing can beat (literally) the communal music-making of the mobile Mardi Gras drum cage!