Treme (2010–2013): Season 3, Episode 2 - Saints - full transcript

( Both moaning )

- Sonny...
- Yeah.

Baby, let's go somewhere.

I want to, but...

( Moaning )

( Giggles )

I can't.

Man, you're killing me.

It's just like high school.

It's not like
high school in Amsterdam.

( Sighs )



Mm, hold that thought.

( Door closes )

( Blows raspberry )

( Music playing )

♪ Hanging in the Treme ♪

♪ watching people sashay ♪

♪ past my steps ♪

♪ by my porch ♪

♪ in front of my door ♪

♪ church bells are ringing ♪

♪ choirs are singing ♪

♪ while the preachers groan ♪

♪ and the sisters moan
in a blessed tone ♪

♪ mm-hmm, yeah ♪



♪ down in the Treme,
just me and my baby ♪

♪ we're all going crazy ♪

♪ while jamming
and having fun ♪

♪ trumpet bells ringing ♪

♪ bass drum is swinging ♪

♪ as the trombone groans ♪

♪ and the big horn moans
and there's a saxophone ♪

♪ down in the Treme ♪

♪ it's me and my baby ♪

♪ we're all going crazy ♪

♪ while jamming
and having fun ♪

♪ down in the Treme ♪

♪ it's me and my baby ♪

♪ we're all going crazy ♪

♪ while jamming
and having fun. ♪

( Music playing over headphones )
♪ gonna spoil my day ♪

♪ give it your best shot ♪

♪ another hurricane... ♪

( Music playing loudly )
♪ is that all you've got? ♪

♪ bon temps rouler ♪

♪ no matter what ♪

♪ holler fee nah nay ♪

♪ is that all you've got?
Is that all you've got? ♪

♪ is that all you've got? ♪

( Song ends )

- What do you think?
- Sounds good.

Good like good enough
for a demo

or good like that was good?

Definitely good enough
for a demo.

Come on, Don,

that's like good enough
for government work.

Hey, guys?
Guys?

Let's do one more, darlin'.

All right.

Gig on Halloween,
so I wanna email blast

the world an mp3 tonight.

Once we got this,
give me one hour.

Perfect!

Digital, man.
I love it.

Hey, Don, Davis, let's go.

- Allons.
- Whenever you're ready, baby.

( Music playing )

( Police radio chatter )

- Anthony.
- Happy Halloween.

- This is a weird one.
- Lieutenant Colson.

You smell that?

- Like gasoline?
- The place is soaked in it.

Should've gone up
like a Roman candle.

Whew.
Must be 120 in here.

Yeah, trying to air
the place out, Lieutenant.

Oven was left on at like 475,
going like a blast furnace.

- On when you got here?
- Roommate turned it off

when he came in
this morning about 6:00.

- Roommate called it in?
- He's on the back porch.

Show me the body first.

Detective: Jay Cardella,
hair dresser,

beauty parlor,
elysian fields and royal.

Blunt force trauma, obviously.

Beat him up pretty good.

- Weapon?
- Nope, not so far.

You talk to the roommate yet?

Finchy's taking
his statement now.

- You like him for it?
- Maybe.

Lover's quarrel or maybe
a little rough trade.

You know, a piece of
strange that went bad.

You're assuming
it was a gay thing.

Oh, this was definitely
a gay thing.

Well, because he worked
at a beauty parlor?

And because it's the marigny.

I mean, look at this place.

( Band playing )

All right, take it
to the bridge.

Yeah.

( Trumpet riffing )

All right, all right.
Hold it, hold it.

Hold it, hold it.

Jennifer, you sound good, girl.
( Kids murmuring )

Got that real New Orleans
feeling in that riff.

- Thank you, Mr. Batiste.
- Oh, yeah, but not here, all right?

That kind of improvising--
this is not the place.

This here is about
playing in unison.

- I'm sorry. I just felt it, you know?
- Oh, I understand.

And when the time comes,
you can let that rip, okay?

All right, from the top.

And one, two, three, four.

( Distant boys arguing )

( Band playing )

Mr. Batiste, Mr. Batiste,
they're fighting.

- They're fighting.
- What's going on?

Hold on! Whoa, whoa!
Huh-uh, huh-uh.

Hey, hey, hey!

Hey, fool, huh-uh.
Get off. Huh-uh.

Get up. Get up.

Get up. Get up.
Hey, no.

Come on, man.
Come on!

( Music playing )
♪ gently Milton. ♪

( Song ends )

- That was off the hook.
- Thank you.

Happy Halloween, y'all.
Stick with us.

At the top of the hour--
Morgus the Magnificent live in the studio.

If you're just joining us,
it was another local legend,

John Boutte, doing a tune
called "Milton."

John's in the studio with us.

Hey, the Milton in question--
it's Milton Berle, right?

Milton Nascimento,
the great Brazilian musician.

Oh.

( Laughs )

Wow, John,
I'm pulling your leg.

So I can't believe
that hasn't been released.

We cut that from my CD "At the Foot
of Canal Street," but didn't use it.

I'm thinking about maybe
remastering that record,

putting "Milton" on that
as a bonus track.

Yeah, okay.
When are you gonna do that?

Next year, the year after next.

Who knows? I've got other
stuff to finish first.

That's fantastic. I have a few big
projects of my own in the works--

a major opus that I'm
writing myself, an opera.

- An opera?
- Mm-hmm, yeah.

- Like Verdi, you know?
- Verti? That's a great idea.

Verti Marte is such an
iconic New Orleans landmark.

Um, no.

Like the-- Verdi,
the great Italian composer?

Davis, I know who Verdi is.

Of course you do.

I had you going,
though, didn't I?

- Yep. Okay.
- So about this opus thing.

( Mouths words )

Yeah, it's gonna be huge.

I'm recruiting
all of the living legends

of Louisiana music
for this project--

fats, Mac, you...

I'm flattered, but as I said,

I'm busy for
the next few years.

( Mouths word )

- Really?
- Mm-hmm.

Dufossat: The people have no objection
to a continuance, your honor.

Ladonna: How much
longer you think?

I think we're almost next.

Almost?

Judge: As we're coming up on
the Thanksgiving holiday,

miss Dufossat, would
early December suit you?

Dufossat:
I think it would, your honor.

Judge:
Perhaps I spoke too soon.

First week of January,
Monday the 7th?

Dufossat: That would
be fine, your honor.

( Knocking at door )

Terry.

To what do I owe the honor?

Sorry to bother you.

I didn't want to leave
a message on your voicemail.

- Jay Cardella.
- What about him?

He was murdered last night.

Oh, my God, no.

Your name was
in his appointment book.

It'll be in the paper tomorrow,

so I wanted to tell you first.

He was beaten to death

in his home.

Oh, sweet Jesus, that's awful.

- He was a friend?
- I've known him for years.

Everybody loved Jay.
Everybody.

Was he the type to bring
the wrong guy home?

- Is that what you think it was?
- Well, we--

I don't-- we don't
know anything... yet.

He had
a long-time partner.

Jim something.

They broke up last summer.

Well, we're-- we're talking
to the roommate,

looking for
the ex-boyfriend.

So if you have
any other thoughts,

you just give me a call.

( Cheering )
Annie: Happy Halloween!

It is such a privilege
to be here tonight

opening for Quintron
and Miss Pussycat!

( Crowd cheering ) Yeah!

( Laughs )

This week we are Annie Tee
and her Bayou Cadillac.

Hope you like it.

♪ Well, you've heard
of white lightning ♪

♪ heard of Mountain Dew ♪

♪ moonshine, whiskey,
and corn squeezings, too ♪

♪ down in appaloosas,
that's louisian ♪

♪ for stuff of that sort
I know just the man ♪

♪ he's got a little white house
on the edge of town ♪

♪ empty liquor bottles
just scattered around ♪

♪ he'll fire it up
and fill 'em one at a time ♪

♪ under his car port
where the sun don't shine ♪

♪ so if you see me at a party
on Friday night ♪

♪ just pickin' and a-grinnin'
and a-feelin' all right ♪

♪ chances are my back pocket's
got a little thirst aide ♪

♪ it comes from appaloosas
and it's made in the shade... ♪

( Crowd cheering )

( Sighs ) Nice night.

Yeah.

How'd it go today?

They set a trial date?

They did not.

They set a date to set a date.

When do you have to go back?

Oh, sometime at the
beginning of the year.

( Sniffles )

I feel like this
is never gonna be over.

( Music playing )
You could, you know, finish unpacking.

( Laughs ) I know, right?

I've been busy.

Record coming out,

back and forth to New York,

working at my dad's.

Well, I can help you hang
pictures, you know, get settled.

Relax, I'm not
trying to move in.

Okay.

You happy to be home?

Right now.

This moment.

I'm happy you're home.

You are?

Oh, yeah.

- ( Music playing )
- ( Crowd cheering )

You told me that
when the time was right,

I'd find somebody,
you remember?

I think I'm ready.
I do.

I need a manager.

That demo song--
that yours?

My friend Harley started it.
He passed last spring.

I finished it.

He's got some other unfinished
stuff I'm working on.

- Finish them.
- I will. I-- I am.

♪ I know you live in crystal
and it's really, really far ♪

♪ we heard it through the pike
that your ship has hit a wall ♪

- ♪ no more excuses... ♪
- You gotta gig more.

I'll get you
some dates in Austin,

spread the word
a little--

San Antone, Lake Charles,

Mobile, Houston.

Aim for south by southwest
next spring.

That'd be awesome.

♪ Everyone's invited
to this bitchin' carnival! ♪

I can't say this
enough, though--

You gotta keep writing,
which is hard

if you're gigging all the time.

You gotta have
original material.

I don't have
a problem with that.

I can write in a hotel room.

Where do I sign?

♪ Everyone's invited now
to get down and crawl! ♪

( Crowd cheers )

Handshake now, papers later.

♪ Hey, hey ♪

♪ hey, hey, hey ♪

- ♪ hey, hey, hey, hey. ♪
- Yeah!

( Coughing )

You gotta see somebody
about that cough, daddy.

I'm glad I got you
to nag me to death

now that your mama's gone.

They can't come back
to class after Thanksgiving?

- No.
- That means they miss the whole first semester.

- Means they won't be ready
to march Mardi Gras. - Correct.

This is not their first fight.

It's the first one I've seen.

This is the third
since September.

I had to beg the principal this time
not to expel them both flat out.

Damn.

What is this about?

Charles's older brother
witnessed a shooting.

It's gotten around maybe
he talked to the police.

- Devon called Charles's
brother a snitch. - Exactly.

Man, I didn't know.
I had no idea.

This room is a safe haven,
as it should be.

But sometimes we lose
track of what goes on

outside this room
with these kids.

The storm brought out
the best in people

and the worst.

I saw shit I hope
I never see again.

A lot of those stories turned
out to be untrue, though.

All that stuff about the
convention center and Superdome--

Yeah, well, now they're saying
nobody got raped or jacked

or killed or nothing
during the storm.

You know that
ain't true neither.

What about the West Bank?

TV cameras didn't
make it over here.

Just about everybody
over here got hit--

Oakwood mall, Sears and them,

all up and down here.

General Meyer,
General de Gaulle.

- How'd you do?
- Man, pssh, cleaned me out.

Hmm.

Did you hear any stories
about the point?

Yeah. I heard they was
forming up posses over there,

talking about shooting anybody

come in the neighborhood they
didn't know, especially us.

- Did they? Shoot anybody.
- I heard they did.

Some brother
who live over there.

Guess they didn't
recognize him in the dark.

- You believe it?
- The point's white.

- Neighborhood alls around it is black.
- Right.

Rumors fly, people scared,
everybody got a gun.

- But you don't know for sure?
- I know, but I don't know.

You know what I'm saying?

- All right, well, thank you
for your time, sir. - Yeah.

Look here,

I did hear about
something happen

at a strip mall over here
off General de Gaulle.

A store owner shot a looter,
something like that.

Man: Homicide. Fletcher speaking.
How can I help you?

Hardesty: Got a meeting
with the DA on Thursday.

Yeah. Evidence analysis
on Wednesday, 3:00.

Yeah, as far as I know,
Chief Riley's gonna be there.

Yeah.

What?

Apparently, Calderon and them
overlooked some evidence.

The family found the smoke alarm
stashed behind the couch.

- Aw, fuck. They touch it?
- Nope.

Left it right
where they found it.

Says they're blood on it and maybe
what looks like a thumbprint.

I can run by there and pick
it up later this evening.

Well, what the fuck
is Calderon doing?

He can't get
to it till tomorrow.

He's got a detail.

Yeah, I know.

All right, well, maybe
there's a usable print.

Maybe there's DNA.

Maybe we can convince the
new DA not to toss the case

just because we fucked the evidence
collection and the chain of custody.

At least we got
a fighting chance.

Eddie Jordan would've
kicked this sucker

soon as he heard
about the smoke alarm.

Fucking Eddie.

Maybe now we'll actually
convict us some motherfuckers.

Probably not this motherfucker,
but see what you can do.

But then-- then I run
into Toby and simply

on Frenchmen Street,

so we have to go see
Morning 40 at DBA.

- Davis.
- And, you know, it's de rigueur.

- It's a Halloween tradition.
- Davis, it's okay, really.

All right.
( Chuckles )

Well, how'd it go?

Quintron and Miss Pussycat
were awesome.

Always.

Marvin Frey was there,
the manager.

Shawn Colvin's friend
from Austin.

It was the demo.
He heard the demo.

He heard the demo and drove down
from Austin just to see you!

I told you that that
was a stroke of genius.

Actually, he was already in town
to see Quintron and Miss Pussycat.

But, yeah, he liked the demo.

He liked it?

Or did he--
did he like it?

He wants to represent us.

That's great!

( Laughs ) That's great.

But, you know, the history
of New Orleans music

is replete with tales of egregious
managerial malfeasance.

I know. I've heard
all the stories.

I haven't signed
a contract yet.

All right, don't,
not until I read it first.

- Oh.
- Did he hit on you?

Kind of, not really.

Great!
What does that mean?

It's hard to explain.
You'd have to be a girl.

I mean, it's not overt,
you know.

It's just always there.

The way he looks at you.
I can handle it.

He's just kind of, like, oozy.

Oozy might be good
in a manager.

You think?
( Laughs )

( Music playing )
♪ she made gris-gris ♪

- ♪ she made it ♪
- ♪ With an old ram horn ♪

- ♪ an old horn ♪
- ♪ Stuck with feathers ♪

♪ and shuck from a corn ♪

♪ a big, black candle... ♪

Come in, Jennifer.
Come in.

I was passing.
I heard the music.

Come on in.

Come in.

♪ Hey, Marie Laveau ♪

- ♪ hey, Marie Laveau... ♪
- Antoine: That's Papa Celestin.

- You like it?
- Yeah. He from here?

Oh, yeah.
Where else?

One of my favorites.

Listen.

♪ Sad news got out
one mornin' ♪

♪ at the dawn of day... ♪

I love it when the band
comes in on the vocals.

They used to do that
a lot in the old days-- Papa, Fats Waller.

Yeah, always cracks me up.

Call and response?

Yeah, that's right.

The lead sings
♪ oh, Marie Laveau... ♪

Then the guys in the band go
♪ Marie Laveau... ♪

♪ yes, Marie Laveau... ♪
You sing.

♪ Hey, Marie Laveau ♪

♪ folks still believe ♪

♪ in the voodoo queen ♪

♪ way down yonder ♪

♪ in New Orleans. ♪

Papa: That's it.
( Both laughing )

Blight is Noah's
number one concern.

It affects quality of life,

property values,
neighborhood stabilization.

The fact is that we don't
have enough people

- for the buildings that we have.
- Woman: Please.

Every neighborhood in this city

has lost population
since the storm,

especially African Americans,

the elderly, and
families with children.

- We have too much housing stock.
- Man: Really?

That's good news because
we got hundreds of people

living underneath
the expressway

and camped out on Duncan Plaza
right across from city hall.

The Mayor can see it
from his office.

Woman: And the city and the corps
of engineers shouldn't be

knocking down houses of
people who want to come back

and haven't had
a chance to fix them.

- Ma'am--
- Or giving Noah remediation contracts

to contractors
who aren't doing the work.

Half a dozen empty houses
in my neighborhood--

Noah signs on them and no
work's been done-- none.

What the city is trying to do

is put together a database
of all the unoccupied houses

and then identify
the ones that are blighted--

( music playing over stereo )

Woman:
Just wanna let you folks know

we have our special
Southern dinner tonight.

Here you are.
Enjoy.

If I didn't know any better,
I'd think you were stalking me.

- Janette Desautel.
- I know.

Tim Feeny.

Feeny-- that's that steakhouse
in Metairie, right?

My New Orleans flagship
is on Poydras

in the CBD-- Tim's.

- Tim's-- I know where that is.
- Ever eat there?

I'm sorry, I don't think I've
eaten in any of your restaurants.

Well, I'd be shocked
if you had.

I used to go to your place
on Laurel Street all the time.

- Oh, really?
- You were always great.

But now, a whole 'nother level.

Oh, come on.

I own a lot
of restaurants, chef,

restaurants you'd never go to
and wouldn't like if you did.

But they're successful.

I'm sure they are.

I'm looking to do
something different.

I want to open a great
restaurant with a great chef.

And to be perfectly honest,

I'd like that chef to be you.

I'll tell you the same thing
I told the last guy--

I appreciate the interest,
Mr. Feeny, I do,

but I'm happy here.

Would you just
give it some thought?

I want to do something great

in New Orleans.

Remember New Orleans?

Every day.

Think about it.

I'll think about
thinking about it.

You know, I met
this one contractor,

a lady from Florida--
Loretta Mortenson.

Racked up a ton of Noah jobs.

How'd she get them?

Maybe she's a friend
of Stacey's.

Stacey Jackson?
Runs Noah?

- You know how many she's got?
- Impossible to tell.

There's no paper
on who's got what properties.

No written contracts?
No permits?

Nope.
Handshake and a smile.

This town--
you can't make it up.

The Noah program,
it's federal money,

but the people getting that money
have to be connected locally.

Yeah, right.

( Music playing )

♪ Every single minute
of every single day ♪

♪ you wonder are you
doing right ♪

♪ you wonder should you stay ♪

♪ 'cause everything is broken,
all the lines are down ♪

♪ confusion rides
down every street ♪

♪ there's rumors all around ♪

♪ media is black and white ♪

♪ politicians whine ♪

♪ everything is broken ♪

♪ except the long, black line ♪

♪ everywhere you look,
everywhere you go ♪

♪ you read it like a book,
it's the only way to know ♪

♪ how high the water got ♪

♪ August 29 ♪

♪ that hurricane last summer ♪

♪ left a long, black line ♪

♪ the long, black line ♪

♪ the long, black line. ♪

( Crowd cheering )
Hey, man, thanks. Thank you.

Hey.

- Hey.
- Hey, Sonny, man.

- You got a haircut.
- Yeah.

- Working on a shrimp boat
out of Chalmette. - No shit.

- Yeah.
- ( Laughs )

Heard about the disciples.

The apostles.

Yeah.
What you gonna do?

You still on the street?
You busking?

I'm now appearing
in my living room.

Huh. The lightnin'
is looking for somebody.

- Rhythm?
- No, keyboards.

Antoine:
Say, tomorrow night,

I was thinking of maybe
going to the hall.

You trying to get on
at the hall?

Pssh, I wish.

- It's a closed shop there.
- Mm.

A couple of my students,

they're showing interest
in trad jazz.

I was thinking
about taking them.

That's so nice of you, Antoine.

You are a good teacher.

- I knew you would be.
- Yeah, you wanna come with?

- The hall?
- Uh-huh.

Hell no, but you go, have fun.

The thing is they're girls.

I think they'd feel more comfortable
if you were there, too.

- The hall?
- You ain't never been there.

- It ain't what you think.
- Sound like a snooze to me.

Hmm, you'll see.

( Laughs )

( Chickens clucking )

Robinette, my friend, que pasa?

Ca va bien.
C'est bon.

When Mortenson took you around,
she showed you a few places,

told you to pick one
and put lipstick on it?

- Yeah.
- I need the addresses.

Come on to my truck.

Cornell: High cotton, bro. High cotton.
( Antoine chuckles )

Yeah, man.
True that.

Sorry, sir, I don't
see your name.

- Antoine Batiste?
- Nope.

Aw, damn.

Hang on.

( Ringing )

- Antoine?
- Ladonna, my name ain't on the list.

( Music playing over stereo )
You're shitting me.

- Oh, no, I shit you not.
- All right.

- Yeah.
- All right, I'm gonna take care of this.

- Thanks, baby. I--
- Fucking bitch!

( Sighs )

- Hello?
- Victorine, it's Ladonna.

I'm so sorry to bother you.
You must be so, so busy.

No, no, not at all.

There seems to be some
confusion at the gatehouse.

Did you happen to remember
to leave the boys' father's name--

- Antoine Batiste?
- Of course I did. I am so sorry.

- I will call them right now.
- Thank you.

Wow, must be nice,

live on a golf course.

- You play?
- Man: Fore!

- Do it look like I play?
- No. I play.

I'd love to play that bitch
( Door opens )

That one, too.

- Hello. Antoine?
- No, ma'am.

Cornell, Cornell Williams.
I'm just his ride.

I'm so sorry.
Victorine.

Antoine.

So nice to finally meet you.
Come on in.

- Thank you much.
- Thank you.

Cornell:
Thanks.

Antoine: You know, actually,
we have met a number of times.

We have?

I'm sorry.
I don't recall.

Bunch club,
young men of Illinois.

You belong to
those organizations?

Hmm. No.
( Laughs )

No, no.
I'm a musician.

I play the carnival
balls on occasion.

Well, one meets
so many people at carnival.

The boys are upstairs
in their room, studying.

Would you like a glass
of lemonade, Mr. Williams?

Don't mind if I do.

- You're not related to my
husband, are you? - The judge?

- Yes.
- I don't believe so.

- It's a common name, Williams
and all, you know? - Isn't it?

( Clock chiming )

( Music playing over stereo )
( Knocking at door )

Hey! Ha ha!

Daddy!
( Laughing )

- Dad.
- All right. Oh!

I'm glad to see you, too.
Man, it's been a long time.

Let me look at you.
You're still growing.

How you doing, little man?
How's school?

- It's good.
- All right.

Hey, listen,
I wanted to follow up

on what we talked about
last carnival.

You know, when we were
watching the marching bands?

Lessons-- music lessons.
Learning an instrument.

I wanna get that started
now that y'all are back.

Are you gonna teach us?
( Chuckling )

That depends.

You thinking
of playing trombone?

Not really.
( Chuckles )

Yeah, it's probably better
you get somebody else

to teach you first.

What about you, little man?

Drums? You always
bangin' on shit.

Shit, I don't know.

Y'all do want lessons, right?

- I wanna take tennis lessons.
- Tennis?

Yeah. Mom said I should ask
you if you'd pay for those.

Aw, sure, okay.
But no instruments, huh?

I mean, now that
y'all are at St. Aug,

it's a golden opportunity.

All right, well,
what about you?

Are you interested
in music lessons?

- Yeah.
- Great. Ha ha.

I wanna be a DJ.

- A DJ, huh?
- Yeah.

I'm gonna need a mixer,
maybe a turntable.

Yeah.

( Distant dog barking )

What you've got, Albert, is chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease.

Years of plaster dust and whatever else
we've been breathing since the storm--

Mold, heavy metals,
God knows what.

I've been plastering
since I was 17.

It never bothered me before.

I'm going to give you some breathing
exercises and prescribe an inhaler.

This gonna fix it?

The damage is done,

but you can prevent it
from getting worse.

- Start wearing a mask at work.
- All right.

Blood pressure's borderline.

Cholesterol--
it could be lower.

I'll call you when the rest
of the bloodwork gets back.

Janette: This is a tough table.
I'm impressed.

- Perseverence-- something I'm known for.
- I can tell.

This is very good, very smart.

Brighton beets,
schaefer-- yum.

- Tim, how is everything?
- Fantastic.

It's so good.
It's really delicious.

The whole-roasted
cauliflower-- love it.

Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi,
Janette Desautel.

- It's nice to meet you both.
- Nice to meet you.

I hear this guy's trying
to steal you from Dave.

He's trying.

She likes working for Chang.
Go figure.

- Great to see you, Tim.
- You, too.

- Nice to meet you. Enjoy, guys.
- Janette: Thank you. We are.

Now I'm impressed.

Look at this place--
packed every night.

Much loved by critics,
by customers.

And you know why?

Because from day one, these guys
did whatever the fuck they wanted.

They didn't give a shit what
the market told them to cook.

They figured out who they were,
what they were good at,

what they wanted to do,
and they did that.

Which is where
I'm going with this.

Who are you?

I think you've been telling us
at lucky peach with your food.

Look, you miss home?

- Of course I miss it.
- So come home. You're ready.

Your name on the door,
your kitchen, your menu.

I just don't know if I wanna
go through it all again,

being the boss.

This time you'll have
a partner.

You won't have to deal
with the bullshit--

Permits, insurance, inspectors.

The bullshit--
that's my job.

- What am I supposed to tell the boys?
- Nothing.

- Excuse me?
- I'm their mother. I'll tell them.

- What are you gonna tell them?
- The truth--

That I cannot stay
under the same roof

as your brother and his wife,

not one more night.

The insults, the looks,

the constant criticism
of the boys-- I've had it.

- Ladonna, you just-- - And you can
tell them that I will pick them up

every morning
and take them to school--

You're gonna run
back and forth like that?

It's just temporary
until we get our own place.

And I'm gonna
tell them that, too.

( Door opens )

( Band playing )

♪ Tootie ma
was a big, fine thing ♪

♪ hoo-nah-hey,
I swing that day ♪

♪ tootie ma was
a big, fine thing ♪

♪ hoo-nah-hey,
I swing that day ♪

♪ finest gal you ever saw ♪

♪ done some things
against the law ♪

♪ drove my ma from my pa ♪

♪ I'm gonna knock
on her door... ♪

- Yeah. Oh, yes.
- Yeah.

♪ Swing for me
on Mardi Gras day ♪

♪ hoo-nah-hey,
I swing that day ♪

♪ swing for me
on Mardi Gras day ♪

♪ hoo-nah-hey,
I swing that day... ♪

Ooh!

♪ I'm gonna knock
on her door... ♪

All right.

Thank you for dinner.

It really was--
it was fabulous.

Come see the place.
It's fucking magnificent.

Refurbished in 2005
right before the flood.

- Where is it?
- Downtown edge of the Garden district

on the Avenue--
big windows,

watch the streetcars roll by
under the live oak trees.

Sounds nice.

Listen, at least come down and take a
look at the space before you say no.

( Distant dogs barking )

Pfft.

- Interested?
- Might be.

- Know the owner?
- She's putting it on the market.

It's nice job on the rehab.

Those kids worked
their tails off.

Just finished painting
the trim last week.

Kids?

Some church group
out of Milwaukee.

God bless them.

What about
that sign-- Noah?

Somebody put that up
after they left.

( Men laughing )

- Hey.
- Hey.

- You wanna grab a bite?
- Sure.

Let's, um--
let's go into town.

Frenchmen Street.
Adolfo's.

- Adolfo's?
- Yeah, I'm sick of Dong Phuong.

And I love your family,
but I'd like to go out.

We could go to the West Bank.

- Pho tau bay.
- Not vietnamese, please?

What's wrong with Adolfo's?

It's so garlicky.
( Laughs )

Too much garlic?

Babe, you eat
fish sauce every day.

I'll buy you altoids.

I don't know.

Then we'll go over to the
spotted cat and catch a set,

and I'll have you home
before midnight.

Come on, you're an adult.

Linh, if I have to listen
to any more karaoke,

I'm gonna commit
hara-kiri.

( Laughs )

Okay.

- Great.
- Let me go ask my dad.

( Band playing )

Thank you very much,
ladies and gentlemen.

That's one we wrote for the
great jazz master Elvin Jones,

"The Lone Warrior."

I'm Delfeayo Marsalis and we
are the Uptown Jazz Orchestra.

Let's give it up for brother Delmond
Lambreaux sitting in on trumpet.

- ( Cheering )
- Right now, we're gonna throw y'all

up in that briar patch
with a little "Brer Rabbit."

( Band playing )

You do like to meet in bars.

You're getting Noah money
to remediate these properties.

Where did you get
these addresses?

I was curious to see
how they were coming,

so I checked them out.

First one's a vacant lot.

Second one's been
completely rehabbed

by an episcopalian church
group out of Milwaukee.

Then there's the last one
on rocheblave.

You did a half-assed crap
remediation on just for show

in case somebody ever wanted
to know where the money went.

Buy you a drink?

- David: Well?
- Well, what?

You know what
I'm fuckin' talking about.

When you leaving, gator?

I'm not.

It's a matter of when, not if.

I'm having a really
hard time deciding

if I even wanna go down
and look at the space,

but I also feel like
I'm hiding out,

like I'm avoiding,
I don't know, something.

Getting on with my life, maybe.

( Sighs ) What do you
think of that guy?

- He's an asshole.
- ( Laughs )

But they're all assholes.
I'm an asshole.

Who fuckin' knows?
What do you think?

He took me to Torrisi.
That kind of showed me something...

I think.

I hope.

Don't be a putz.

- You gotta go down there and check it out.
- I guess.

Just be sure you can live
with this guy as your partner,

'cause that's
a fuckin' marriage.

I've never been married.

Just fuckin' go.

Check it out at least.

I don't care what
they say about you--

I think you're swell.

( Band playing )

♪ I guess I'll do for myself ♪

♪ it's gonna get done ♪

♪ I just want a man
to love me ♪

♪ well, it's a cry for love ♪

♪ in the morning it's done ♪

♪ I just want a man
to love me ♪

♪ in the battle with a man ♪

♪ the wrong's always wrong ♪

♪ they always throw
their cards down ♪

♪ before the dealin'
gets done ♪

♪ I guess I'll do for myself ♪

♪ and hope someday he'll come ♪

♪ and be the man
that's gonna love me. ♪

- She's great, huh?
- Yes, she is.

Also, great tattoo.

Yeah, great tattoos.

This about where
they flagged me down...

- Right.
- ...A man and a woman.

A guy lying in the street,
so I stop to help.

Huh.

They tell you
what happened to him?

They said his brother
and a friend

had went up to the strip mall
looking for necessities.

Somebody shot him in the chest.

The guy who got shot--
did they tell you his name?

King. Brother said
his name was king.

So we get him in the back seat

and take off,
me and his brother.

He's bleeding bad and I don't
think he's gonna make it

to West Jeff,
so I drive to the school--

- The hospital?
- Right.

So I drive to the school
about half a mile from here.

Cops are set up there.
I think maybe they can do something for him.

- Did they?
- No, man, they did not.

Fill those out.

We're in the remediation
business now.

- We are? - Courtesy of New Orleans
Affordable Homeownership.

So how'd this happen?

Your lady boss,
Mortenson--

Well, she had to hook me up,

introduce me
to the right people.

"Robinette Hidalgo
Housing, LLC"?

Giving you
top billing, brother.

So what, we doing it her way?

Oh, no. The difference
between us and her--

We're actually
gonna do the work.

See, that's the thing
with these people.

You don't have to
game the system.

It's already gamed for you.

You just gotta know
the rules. Ha!

Cops everywhere. SWAT.
( School bell rings )

We jumped out and said,
"man needs help."

They were all over us,
calling us looters.

Throwed us on the ground,
searched my car.

Didn't find nothing.
Handcuffed us anyway.

And then they commenced
to beating on us.

Somebody hit me in the side
of my face with a rifle butt.

Thought they were gonna
kill us for sure.

- And all this is going on, King's still
in the back seat? - Bleeding to death.

Then a cop--
I don't see who--

jumps in my car and drives off.

- Taking him to West Jeff?
- I don't really know.

Some of the cops were saying
he was already dead.

What happened
to the two of you?

This lady cop comes over,
kind of calms everybody down.

They cut us loose.

I'd like to take
a look at your car.

Did you get it back?

About a month later,

two Homeland Security agents
come to my door,

tell me they found
my car on The Batture.

What's The Vatture?

Other side of the Levee,
between the Levee and the river,

hidden in trees,
burned to a crisp.

Your car?

Why would somebody
do that-- burn your car?

Don't know.
Crazy, huh?

Yeah. Crazy.

( Tractor beeping )

- Finally getting to it, huh?
- Yeah.

( Tractor beeping )

( Music playing )

♪ Well, they call up the band ♪

♪ we're going to Amsterdam ♪

♪ gonna call up the band ♪

♪ we're going to Amsterdam ♪

♪ well, the gang on the left,
they wanna know who I am ♪

♪ they call me
guitar lightnin' ♪

♪ in downtown New Orleans ♪

♪ they call me
guitar lightnin' ♪

♪ in downtown New Orleans ♪

♪ I got a pretty little thing ♪

♪ we call her
the creole queen ♪

♪ well, call up the band ♪

♪ we're going
to Amsterdam... ♪

( Sighs )

( Clears throat )

"Fourth-degree burns,
charred remains.

Rib fractures,
minute fragments of metal.

Shot in the chest, maybe."

"Undetermined."

Minyard, my man.

Henry Glover.

Not King.

Glover.

♪ boy, it's time
to get to work... ♪

Woman: Yeah, come on now.
Play that.

♪ I want you to feed
them chickens ♪

♪ so they can do
the chicken dance... ♪

Woman: Chicken dance!
Go ahead, pops.

Hi!
Antonio Banderas!

Miss Ladee!

I see you got some live music
up in here finally.

Yeah.
Where your cousin at?

- He's back in Texas.
- Ladonna what?

- No work?
- Plenty of work.

He just got tired
of being a walking ATM.

- Get held up three times.
- Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

Yeah, I know it's terrible
out there right now.

What you all having?

- Bud for me.
- Why not?

You got it.

( Crowing )

( Laughter )

Thank you now.

- They're good.
- Yeah, they are.

And no, I'm not gonna
dance with you.

( Robinette laughing ) Come on!

Miss Ladee.

What's your name again?

- Nelson.
- Nelson. Right back.

What?

What he want?

20 bucks or he calls
the city about the noise.

Give him 10.

- What was that about?
- Community relations.

( Scoffs )

( Music playing over stereo )

Albert: He said my
lungs are scarred.

Delmond: What you
supposed to do about it?

He wrote me an inhaler.

- You get it filled?
- Not yet.

What else?

He wants me to wear a mask.

- You gonna do that?
- Yeah.

That it?

He gave me some
breathing exercises.

I know you ain't doing them.

( Coughing ) What else?

He wants me to lay off
the fried food.

My cholesterol's too high.

You gonna do that?
You gonna watch your diet?

Son, two things
make life worth living--

Fried food is one of them.

Don't tell me.
I already know.

( Laughing )

( Coughing )

You know what, I'm gonna
get the singin' started.

You catch your breath.

All right, go ahead.

Hey, y'all.

That's what I'm talking about.

Man:
Hey, give me a double.

Hey, y'all.

What up, brother?

( Chatter )

Hey, can you turn
that off for me?

Sure, baby.

( Stereo turns off )

( Chatter continues )

♪ Mighty cooty fiyo... ♪

( Chatter continues )

( Tambourine rattling )

♪ Mighty ♪

♪ cooty fiyo... ♪

( Chatter stops )

♪ Indian red ♪

♪ Indian red ♪

♪ here come my big chief ♪

♪ big chief ♪

♪ big chief of the nation ♪

- ♪ whole wide ♪
- ♪ The whole, wild creation ♪

- ♪ he won't bow down ♪
- ♪ No, he won't bow down ♪

- ♪ on that dirty ground ♪
- ♪ On the dirty ground ♪

♪ because I love
to hear you call ♪

♪ my Indian red ♪

♪ oh, jockamo ♪

♪ feeno hi-oh hi-oh ♪

- ♪ in the morning ♪
- ♪ Hi-oh hi-oh hi-oh ♪

- ♪ in the evening ♪
- ♪ Hi-oh hi-oh hi-oh ♪

- ♪ all day long ♪
- ♪ Hi-oh hi-oh hi-oh ♪

♪ oh, my Indian red ♪

♪ oh, my Indian red ♪

♪ oh, my Indian red ♪

♪ oh, my Indian red... ♪
( Coughing )

♪ Because I love
to hear you call ♪

♪ my Indian red. ♪

Fay-oh!