"I'm gonna make my world a better place, I'm gonna keep that smile on my face, I'm gonna teach myself how to understand, I'm gonna make myself a better man, yeah!" -- Written by Anders Osborne/Performed by Keb Mo

NEW ORLEANS | The world was without a doubt a better place on Friday at Tipitina's Uptown thanks to the entertainment from some of New Orleans' finest musicians.

The fact that we have been experiencing some of the coldest weather in decades has not stopped the music in NOLA. The temperature inside of Tiptina’s was downright toasty with all the body heat radiating from the audience. The night included New Orleans funk, rock and Mardi Gras Indian music all blended perfectly together into a beautiful musical mosaic. This was definitely the buzz show of the night around the city. I heard about it from different people all week leading to it.

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The show was comprised of Juice opening for Anders Osborne with special guest Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Wild Magnolia's Mardi Gras Indian tribe and Mark Mullins of Bonerama. The constant collaboration that occurs between musicians in New Orleans was a clue to the success of this night's event. Most of these musicians have recorded and played together, so this collaboration lends itself to an intimate level of respect and makes for all around better shows. We are lucky to experience this union of so many talented artists.

It seemed the universe has been guiding me towards Anders Osborne all week. I ventured for one reason or another to three of this shows in 10 days. My Facebook status on Wednesday read “Watching Anders at Chickie Wah Wah, its an Anders kinda week.” It could just be that he’s been playing very frequently around town the last couple of months.

His main appeal to me (and countless others) is his ingenious songwriting and lyrical depth. Osborne is a native of Uddevalla , Sweden but has claimed New Orleans as his home since the 1980s. I for one am grateful he is part of our unique gumbo, enriched with unique rythms from all over the world.

The opening act for the night was New Orleans Funk band, Juice, who had not graced the stage at Tipitina’s for over a year. The entire band was excited, ready to put on a funkalicious show to get the crowd ready for Anders.

Juice has been playing New Orleans and all over the country since 1995 and is made up of home-grown Louisiana natives Dave Jordan on bass and lead vocals, Sam Hotchkiss on guitar, Aron Lambert on drums, Jamie Galloway on vocals and harmonica and Michael Burkart on keyboards.

Juice is one of the top New Orleans late night funk, R&B and rock bands in the city. This band performs mostly original songs mixed in with a couple of covers. One fan wrote that "their grooves span the rich musical heritage of The Big Easy: sweaty late night funk, traditional New Orleans' rhythm and blues and secondline, Caribbean flavored jazz, and trippy, psychedelic rock."

Juice's set began with The Band's "Ophelia," setting the tone for the night as drummer Lambert and guitarist Hotchkiss lead the song. This definitely was a great intro to an incredible musical journey. I glanced around the crowd, noticing the many happily dancing fans. The audience responded enthusiastically as the band proceeded into their set with Juice favorites like "Work to Do," "Biggest Lil' Shrimp" and "The Marcsman." During "Biggest Lil' Shrimp" the band called saxophonist Jimmy Carpenter on stage. He would remain with them the rest of their set.

The band took a minute in between the second and third song to remember their dear friend Cayne Micelli who tragically passed away a year ago. They shouted out "Happy Cayneval Ya'll" as many who knew her simply nodded their heads in agreement. Juice also performed Professor Longhair's song "Hey Baby," a personal favorite of mine, heavy with the keyboard sounds done right by Burkart.

Juice rolled into Levon Helms' "Hurricane," distinguished by a wonderful harmonica solo by Jamie Galloway that left you wanting more after it was over as the crowd sang along to the refrain "I was born in the rain by the Pontchartrain /Underneath the Louisiana moon / I don’t mind the strain of a hurricane / They come around every June."

The band also peformed "Trout," a song from their upcoming CD release. It is a seriously heavy funk song, rich with deep bass grooves from Jordan and loaded with funky keyboard riffs that I can only describe as being similiar to the funk tones from Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" (not that the great Stevie Wonder can EVER be copied). Juice's set concluded with probably their most popular song, "Neighbors" a song steeped in Professor Longhair-like piano and awesome danceable grooves. The band ended their set on that high note, leaving the crowd with the sweet, sweet craving of more music.

Anders' 90-minute set was an exercise in intense rock rhythms and soulful Indian beats. I must confess I'm not 100 percent sure of some of the song titles in the first half of the show as Anders was very heavy on the rock guitar and my spot backstage did not lend itself to clear amplification of the lyrics. I learned from drummer Eric Bolivar that a couple of the songs were just different rocked out versions of well known songs. Some even the drummer wasn't even sure of but you would've never been able to tell this from the enthusiasm and professionalism of the band.

Nonetheless Ander's genius and artistry was not lost for one moment. I found myself simply mesmerized by his playing during these rock sessions as Osborne himself seemed entranced. I've had the immense pleasure of listening to this band several times over the last week and found that I knew the songs immediately from the first couple of beats. My friend pointed out to me that Anders was sounding very "Jimi-Hendrix" like these days. The wonderful thing about a consumate artist and song writer like Osborne is that we have faith in every thing he does and he never disappoints. We accepts all of his transformations with open arms.

Anders' band that night included Kirk Joseph on sousaphone and Eric Bolivar on drums, all top notch New Orleans entertainers and wonderful human beings. Joseph’s sousaphone is one of my favorite components of this band as I become entranced with the deep bass grooves coming out of the massive horn. No one is better at this than Mr. Joseph.

"Pleasing You" from Osborne's "Live at Tipitina's" album was performed beautifully. The trio sounded impeccable, highlighting the guitar/bass interplay between Osborne and Joseph. One of my favorite songs done that night was "Charlie Parker," which references Parker's heroin addiction. Bolivar was dead on the beat, holding down a solid, intricate bottom for the trio. A switch to a reggae beat brought trombonist Mark Mullins of Bonerama and Jimmy Carpenter of Walter Wolfman's band on stage, mixing in amazingly with their respective horns.

Chief Monk Boudreaux lit up the second half of the show in full Indian regalia. He shone and sparkled as his beautiful green colors glistened with the lights on stage. The energy was amazing as all New Orleanians seem to liven up at the sight and sound of Indian music. The Chief began with the Indian classic "Handa Wanda," which set off a spontaneous wave of dancing in the backstage crowd. The sound of tambourines could be heard as Chief's entourage accompanied the band.

Another Indian classic "Meet the boys on the Battlefront" sounded just the way it should with Mullins and Carpenter still on stage holding down the horn section for the evening. The display of the Indian culture made me long for JazzFest ever so fervently. The set ended with "Shoo Fly (Don't Bother Me)."

My only thought then was "It can be over this quick?" But apparently everyone else there felt the same way as the band was summoned back up for an encore, Osborne's "Stoned , Drunk and Naked," which describes portions of New Orleans during Mardi Gras Time.

The set ended right at 2 a.m. and I left Tipitina’s with Indian songs in my head. The music that night gave me another reason to love New Orleans just a little but more. Thank You Juice, Anders Osborne, Chief Monk Boudreux and Tipitina's for another unforgettable night of music stored in the musical abyss in my brain.

"No man is a failure who is enjoying life." -William Feather