Every Wednesday, the TBC Brass Band plays at Celebration Hall on St. Bernard Avenue in the 7th Ward of New Orleans. All brass band performances are fun, but the ones in neighborhood spots like this one are particularly fun, as the band is playing for its friends, neighbors and relatives, and there’s just a different vibe from when they play for tourists in or near the Quarter. The dancing is more exuberant, the music more blazing. The crowd was full of people I recognized from other bands, the Hot 8 and the Stooges Brass Band. My homeboy Darren Towns was rock-solid on the bass drum, aided by a snare drummer and at least two cowbell players. And the cowbell players play an important role in brass band music in New Orleans, helping to convert the feel of the music from traditional marching patterns to something more Caribbean or perhaps even African. At the end of the night, the band marched to the door to lead us all out, but nobody wanted to leave. You really never do when the music and the footwork are this good.