When Bruce Springsteen got hands to rise up for New Orleans last week at the fairgrounds, it was one thing. Saturday, though, when first clarinetist Alvin Batiste in the Jazz Tent and later JazzFest producer Quint Davis introducing Jimmy Buffett on the Acura Stage spurred similar gestures, it was different. Each wanted to know how many people in the audience were from New Orleans. And in each case there was an overwhelming show of hands -- perhaps not the 90% local count represented among the performers, but an impressive turnout of residents nonetheless. Such sights as the huge crowd at Congo Square for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band's scintillating set were also joyous manifestations of the homecomings.

Remember, as JazzFest shakily took shape from a long-shot to a triumph this year, the question wasn't only whether enough people would come from elsewhere to make it happen, but whether enough residents would be here. Would it be purely a tourist event built around national headliners? The hotels and restaurants came into shape, but what about the homes and schools and stores and churches and other bedrock elements to any community?

So those hands shooting in the air yesterday meant just as much, maybe more, than a week ago.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the Acura Stage line-up today also reflects the local-visitor balance.

Sure, Paul Simon is the most famous, but he's sandwiched between Irma Thomas, the soulstress behind the original "Time is On My Side" and many other great songs, and Fats Domino, the voice and figure of the '50s rise of New Orleans R&B and rock 'n' roll with his enduring hits "I'm Walkin'," "Blueberry Hill" and "Walkin' to New Orleans" among others. Both also became symbols of the devastation, Fats initially the subject of mistaken reports that he had perished in his Lower 9th home and museum, Irma flooded out of her cherished club the Lion's Den. Both landmark locales are almost certainly damaged beyond repair, but the landmark artists behind them are here. And earlier on the stage will be Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias Marci Gras Indians -- another triumph of perseverance as Dollis has been battling a series of medical issues and not long ago seemed in dire circumstances.

Of course, every stage is filled with people who have similar tales to tell, both on stage and among the audience members. The underlying story as the 2006 JazzFest winds down, though, continues to be simply that they are here. So give them all a hand.

On the other hand, so to speak, it may be hard to applaud while trying to catch up on all the fest foods still to be eaten!