New Orleans has been known for a lot of things, and music is right up there at the top.

Obviously, a lot must be done in the ravaged city before anyone starts to even think about music. The best we can do is hope New Orleans someday recovers sufficiently to continue its vaunted legacy.

In the meantime, my esteemed colleague Alan Wallace sent a suggestion to revisit a memorable concert in Pittsburgh with a definite N'awlins twist.

The Grateful Dead played the Civic Arena in July '87, just a year (almost to the day) after Jerry Garcia went into a diabetic coma that almost cost him his life. For fans, it was a pleasure just to see him take the stage again. But this night had another special treat in store.
Seems that New Orleans' first family of funk, the Neville Brothers, were in town at the same time. And a little way into the Dead's second set, four members of the Nevilles' band joined them onstage.

The rest of the set was tailored to the Nevilles' sound, with the Dead drawing from their more calypso-oriented repertoire ("Man Smart, Woman Smarter," "Iko Iko" and even "The Banana Boat Song") and playing some time-tested favorites ("Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Good Lovin'") before a scorching encore of "Johnny B. Goode."

The show dispelled any notion that the Dead didn't know how to get funky, while expanding the Nevilles' music - and by extension, the music of New Orleans - to many fans who otherwise would have been none the wiser.

Thanks, guys. And we know your city will be back one of these days.