Dr. John and The Wild Magnolias bring N'awlins to T.O.

Last night at Nathan Phillips Square, the 22nd annual Toronto Jazz Festival officially kicked off with a wild night of music and dance from New Orleans.

For me, June has been a month of opening bands that are hard to follow, but I think The Wild Magnolias might be one of the biggest spectacles I have ever seen. When you get three guys across the front of the stage dressed up in full Mardi Gras Indian costumes, it would still be a great show if the band didn't even play a note.

This New Orleans combo is wickedly talented, though, and they burned down a funky bunch of N'awlins standards like "Iko Iko" and "Big Chief" that had the arguably older, more reserved Toronto crowd on their feet and dancing in the aisles for most of the set.