Dr. John was a hit on the first day of the 30th annual Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. He was the one cat who mixed a party atmosphere with the serious. Richard Ginell reports:

The good Doctor is still fuming about the treatment that his  beloved hometown of New Orleans continues to receive from the Bush  administration in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; he has channeled his  sorrow into an EP, "Sippiana Herricane," and his rage into a  new  CD, "City That Care Forgot."  He rolled out some of the new  songs in his early evening set -- "Dream Warrior"  being one of the  best -- namechecking Dick Cheney and Hallliburton along the way,  mentioning Billie Holiday and her song "Strange Fruit."
       Grim stuff for a Playboy festival. But all of this serious, at  times eloquent nitty-gritty, was backed by the solid beat of Dr. John's  band, the Lower 911.  He was  careful to provide some rousers like his  hit "Right Place, Wrong Time," and the gospel stomp of "Lay  My Burden Down." Leave it to a veteran New Orleansian to have it both  ways.
Poncho Sanchez, pictured, ran a close second.

The full Variety review is here.

Fed up with the assistance New Orleans has received since Hurricane Katrina, Dr. John has put his concerns in song for his next album.
Savoy Label Group’s 429 Records has penciled in a May release date for the tentatively titled “The City That Care Forgot,” which features songs Dr. John has written with Bobby Charles (“See You Later, Alligator,” “Walking to New Orleans”), Reverend Goat (who once ran for president with Joe Walsh), journalist Chris Rose and artist Mina Bellavia.
“Saddest part of this record is that it could be a continual project for the rest of my life,” Dr. John says. “It’s just the start of something.”
“The City” is a song cycle “to make people aware about the stuff,” says Dr. John, aka Mac Rebennack, concerned that after an initial wave of some assistance, the city has been cut off and abandoned and is suffering from government red tape. “It’s tragic, the lack of help, the places people are living. This has affected every area of New Orleans across the board. … This is definitely racist and definitely an ugly thing.”