Jed's two-week tenure at O'Flaherty's was unusual -- he was definitely overworked, well in excess of the original plan. The idea was for him to play every day, EITHER the late-afternoon/early-evening "happy hour" shift in the barroom (on weekdays) OR a later evening shift in another venue on the premises, the "Ballad Room." The afternoon gig was scheduled for 4:30-7 (including breaks, of course); I can't recall the evening schedule -- may 9 or 9:30 through midnight?.

Owner Danny O'Flaherty was originally supposed to play the Ballad Room on the weekday evenings (after Jed's earlier stint across the hall in the Pub), but he left town and left Jed to cover for him. So, on the weekends, Jed was playing his 2-to-3 hour happy hour set in one room, and then moving to another room to play Danny's longer evening set.

Standard gig-length in New Orleans for bands (rock/pop/jazz) is probably 3-4 hours -- how it's broken up with breaks can vary. Music rarely starts any earlier than 10 pm and usually lasts until one to one thirty, sometimes two or later. This is what I observe at the local-oriented places I generally patronize, which does NOT include the tourist traps of Bourbon Street. Musicians working there follow a more strictly regulared schedule, and many put in long hours -- especially those who "moonlight" as members of multiple bands.

There are relatively few paying gigs in this town for solo acts or acoustic/folk duos, trios, etc. The French Quarter's "other" Irish pub besides O'F's, the Kerry on Decatur Street, is one of the few such venues. Seven nights a week, they start the music at nine, and play four sets of 45 on / 15 off. On Friday and Saturday, there are two acts, 5-9 (three 45 min sets) and then the usual 9-1 (four sets). Music at the Kerry is *not* always Irish, and certainly not strictly traditional, but it is a bit closer to "folk" than the usual barroom fare -- an emphasis on vocals (often duos and trios specializing in vocal harmonies), little or no percussion (rarely a drum kit), and mostly acoustic or amplified-acoustic instruments.