OffBeat Magazine July 2009 by OffBeat Magazine

HUEY “PIANO” SMITH

ALEX MCMURRAY

SUNPIE BARNES

THE DAP-KINGS

LOUISIANA MUSIC AND CULTURE

JULY

200

Aye Aye Captain! DJ Captain Charles aims to please the Essence crowd.

david lynch p. 16

Free In Metro New Orleans US $5.99 CAN $6.99 £UK 1.95

Features 18 Train Whistles and Flies’ Wings

David Kunian explores the things that inspire Alex McMurray’s songs.

20 Back to the Future

Adrienne Bruno, Michaelangelo Matos, Briana Prevost and Alex Rawls look at Essence Music Festival artists making something new out of something old.

26 The Gravy: In the Kitchen with Sunpie

Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes revisits his country roots with Elsa Hahne.

32 Masters of Louisiana Music: Huey “Piano” Smith

John Wirt tells the story of the semi-reclusive piano man whose music embodied the New Orleans party spirit.

Departments 6 8 10 28

Letters Mojo Mouth Fresh OffBeat Eats

Rene Louapre and Peter Thriffiley review Walker’s Barbecue, and Michael Pellera “Hits the Spot” at Jamila’s Café.

36 Reviews 41 Club Listings 53 Backtalk with Gabriel Roth of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Ben Berman talks to the bass player and mastermind behind the retro soul band that was the talk of Jazz Fest. “The Meters had such a unique approach to rhythm and melody,” Roth says. “The way their syncopation and parts fit together, there is something simple about it, very linear.”

Online Exclusives Drifting into the Mainstream: Lauren Loeb discovers the High Ground Drifters have video ambitions. Less is More: The members of Caddywhompus explain the joys of being a two-man band to Rory Callais. Summer on the Point: Teresha Ussin lays out the plans for the new Wednesday happy hour music series on Algiers Point. JU LY 2009

Letters

“I don’t live in New Orleans, but New Orleans lives in me.”—Steve “Sonny” Romick, Cleveland, OH

Louisiana Music & Culture

July 2009 Volume 22, Number 7 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jan V. Ramsey, janramsey@offbeat.com

FANTASTIC We enjoyed the 40th anniversary edition of the Jazz Fest very much. It was my seventh time around, and if money permits there certainly will be an eighth in two-years’ time. Biggest discovery: the Red Stick Ramblers. Biggest surprise: Doc Watson (long may he run!). Greatest regret: that I missed a John Boutté performance. Biggest disappointment: the music/CD tent—a really poor selection. Finally this: the new venue for the Rock ’n’ Bowl is fantastic, if you haven’t visited yet—go visit! —Jules Deprez Lekanne, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

JAZZ FEST ALL YEAR This last Jazz Fest was one of the best ones we have ever been to, and we have been coming since 1993. My new goal is to retire in New Orleans when I’m 63. I can start Social Security and work part time as a Walmart greeter. I was the guy at Jazz Fest wearing the T-shirt that said, “I don’t live in New Orleans, but New Orleans lives in me.” I mean that, and it breaks my heart to see and hear about all the corruption in town. We need a Jazz Fest mentality all year long. The food, the culture, the history, the people who make this all happen. Let’s find out how to get that stimulus package and get rid of crooked cops and crooked politicians. —Steve “Sonny” Romick, Cleveland, OH

CROWD BEHAVIOR At the 2008 Jazz Fest, our little campsite at the Acura Stage went completely undisturbed, day after day, for both weekends, with the exception of during/after the Tim McGraw concert. None of our group had stayed to watch the Tim McGraw concert, preferring other acts. When we returned to get our stuff, the place was a wasteland. Chairs and tarps at everyone’s campsite were torn up, or just plain gone. It was the first time in our many, many years at Jazz Fest that some of our chairs got stolen. Is the answer to this phenomenon to ban the Bon Jovis and Tim McGraws of the world? Probably not. While that kind of music is not

why I go to Jazz Fest, I do respect that others (obviously) do want to hear this kind of music. Aside from maybe moving the kinds of acts that might generate a rowdier audience to a particular stage (let them duke it out with themselves), I don’t think we should expect the Festival organizers to ban certain artists, or types of artists. In the future, I will note who is playing over the entire course of the day, before choosing to set up my chairs at a certain stage. —Warren Mays, Portland, OR

BAD INFLUENCE? Whoever reviewed the performance of the Robert Cray Band on the Gentilly Stage [Jeff Hannusch] totally missed the name of the song and meaning of the lyric. The song was called “Bad Influence” and didn’t have anything to do with the sound mix. I remember my first beer too. —Bob White, Vancouver, WA

WHAT HAPPENED TO JAZZ? As a “mouldy fygg” who faithfully attended Jazz Fest from its beginning in Congo Square until sometime in the late 1980s, I carefully read “The Rest of the Fest” in the June issue. I was impressed with the progress the fest has made pertaining to attendance and popular appeal. Much of the article was devoted to Bon Jovi and others who have nothing to do with jazz or New Orleans. In the nine pages, I recognized maybe 12 names. I do not claim to have much expertise about festivals. When Quint Davis told me years ago, “Don, we are moving the festival to the Fair Grounds,” my observation was, “Quint, nobody will go all the way out there.” In the early days, there was still a decision that could be made between four or five stages with traditional New Orleans jazz. My first clue that things were changing was when I spotted Ed “Montudie” Garland, age 88 and who had played with Buddy Bolden, lugging his string bass all the way across the infield by himself. A short while later, New Yorker Sonny Stitt, was delivered to his stage in a limousine. It is not my intention to knock the fest. I just wonder what happened to New Orleans and jazz. —Don Marquis, New Orleans, LA

OffBeat welcomes letters from its readers—both comments and criticisms. To be considered for publication, all letters must be signed and contain the current address and phone number of the writer. Letters to the editor are subject to editing for length or content deemed objectionable to OffBeat readers. Please send letters to Editor, OffBeat Publications, 421 Frenchmen St., Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116.

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Managing Editor Joseph L. Irrera, josephirrera@offbeat.com Associate Editor Alex Rawls, alexrawls@offbeat.com Consulting Editor John Swenson Listings Editor Craig Guillot, craigguillot@offbeat.com Contributors Ben Berman, Adrienne Bruno, Carrie Chappell, Matthew Gagliano, Elsa Hahne, Andrew Hamlin, Jeff Hannusch, David Kunian, Aaron LaFont, Michelangelo Matos, Briana Prevost, Teresha Ussin, Steve Vernon, Dan Willging, John Wirt Cover Carlton Mickle Design/Art Direction Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Advertising Sales Ben Berman, benberman@offbeat.com Margaret Walker, margaretwalker@offbeat.com Advertising Design PressWorks, 504-944-4300 Business Manager Joseph L. Irrera Interns Doug Barry, Creed Evans, Matthew Gagliano, Bethany Garfield, Brandon Gross, Bobby Hilliard, Colin Jones, Clifton Lee, Lauren Loeb, Scott Ross, Kyle Shepherd, Mary Sparr, Teresha Ussin Distribution Patti Carrigan, Doug Jackson, Shea MacKinnon OffBeat (ISSN# 1090-0810) is published monthly in New Orleans by OffBeat, Inc., 421 Frenchmen St., Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116 (504) 944-4300 • fax (504) 944-4306 e-mail: offbeat@offbeat.com, web site: www.offbeat.com Copyright © 2009, OffBeat, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. OffBeat is a registered trademark of OffBeat, Inc. First class subscriptions to OffBeat in the U.S. are available at $39 per year ($45 Canada, $90 foreign airmail). Back issues available for $6, except the May issue for $10 (for foreign delivery add $2). Submission of photos and articles on Louisiana artists are welcome, but unfortunately material cannot be returned.

LETTERS

SHELL GAME My sense of humanity is very strong. I’ve found it an identity crisis attending an event sponsored by an organization, Shell, whose human rights record in Africa is anathema to the historical and contemporary development of Black culture, especially as it relates to my dearly beloved New Orleans. (Indeed, we can also talk about how our country has turned its back on our own struggling Black population.) It would do my heart well to see Jazz Fest underwritten by a more socially and environmentally conscious organization. —Russ Layne, Chester, NY

BYWATER GEM Thanks for featuring the Sound Café in June’s “The Spot” section. Though I do love it as a funky breakfast stop, I’d like to let your readers know a little more about what makes the Sound Café so special. Owner Baty Landis, along with neighbors and friends, started the non-profit Silence is Violence in response to the senseless killings of Dinerral Shavers and Helen Hill. At the café, they sponsor free youth music clinics, empowerment programs, and other live performances throughout the year. The sign at the door that reads “The Ya/ Ya Spot” refers to another non-profit, Ya/Ya Inc (Young Aspirations/Young Artists). They hold after

school and summer outreach programs that help cultivate the creativity and self expression of inner city youth through visual arts. So you see, even if they didn’t have free trade coffee beans, I’d still be proud of this gem in the Bywater. —Margie Perez, New Orleans, LA

UNCLE LIONEL Several letters were received in response to the mugging of “Uncle Lionel” Batiste as reported in the Weekly Beat, here are some.—Ed. God Bless my buddy Mr. “Uncle Lionel” Batiste. How could anybody be so mean? The New Orleans music community will not stand for this. He is everybody’s friend and teacher of goodwill. Uncle Lionel, my prayers are with you. —”Ready Teddy” McQuiston, New Orleans, LA This city is not focused on protecting its citizens; all it cares about is making money. The cameras at the red lights, the fines on bars for allowing smoking, etc., when they could be pumping these funds into more specific training for the police force, ways to identify criminals and their behaviors and movement throughout the city, more strict standards for investigations of crimes and victims. I am more afraid of the

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police than I am the criminals. May God be with us as we all push through this insanity! (And I do not even consider myself religious!) —Sarah Hampton Portera, New Orleans, LA David Rebeck, the fine violist and violinist with the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, was mugged at shotgun-point near the Christopher Inn apartments (Uncle Lionel’s home) about two years ago, at four in the afternoon, by a 12-yearold kid. This shit is totally out of control and we need a police force two times its current size and schools with ten times as much funding. —Alex McMurray, New Orleans, LA We need some new thinking about an issue that is out of control in New Orleans. How about we make the NOPD part of the DA’s office? The police chief reports to the DA. —George Brown, New Orleans, LA

HOME OF MY HEART It seems strange to be homesick for a place that you’ve never lived in, but I do feel that New Orleans is the home of my heart. I am planning on spending part of this weekend with my feet up, drinking a pot of Community Coffee that I bought during Jazz Fest and reading the Jazz Fest Bible. —Joan Moore, Staten Island, NY

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MOJO MOUTH

A Political Announcement

’ve been receiving a lot of “political announcements” lately via email. I think it’s a fantastic way to keep us informed about legislation that can potentially change our everyday lives, for better or worse. The older I get, the more I pay attention to the political sphere because frankly, I didn’t do that when I was starting my business, raising my kid and partying my butt off in my 20s and 30s. I don’t believe that a lot of people pay enough attention to what’s going on politically; I know many people who don’t even vote. That’s really a shame because if you do pay attention, and enough people pay attention, at least you’ll have a say in what happens. Enough people got involved in the last presidential election so that we at least have some hope for positive changes on a national level. I’m weary of (and broke after) paying over $700 a month for health insurance (when I’m not even sick!). And I still have to worry that my health insurance company will drop coverage if I do get sick. There’s something

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Once again: if you can’t stand the music, then move to the suburbs. Don’t take the joy out of making music.

wrong with this picture and it’s up to us to make sure something does get done so that all of us don’t have to be anxious about what’s going to happen when we get ill or when we get old. Lately, I’ve been communicating with state legislators about passing a bill that will allow restaurants to provide live music, like bars do. Currently, they cannot; if they are licensed as a restaurant, they cannot provide live music. I’ve beaten this tired old horse for

many years now. If New Orleans is known for its music, then why in the hell can’t we have more live music? Why are venues that can have music prohibited? It just doesn’t make sense to me. There are opponents to this bill who say that if we allow live music in restaurants, neighborhoods will be destroyed because the restaurants will be able to function like bars (who are allowed to have a live music permit). I don’t agree with this. Live music doesn’t ruin a neighborhood; it can certainly enhance the quality of life in a neighborhood. Most of the opposition comes from people who don’t like the noise that live music creates. They also don’t like the caliber of people who go out to listen to live music. Shame on these naysayers. New Orleans and Louisiana needs music in their neighborhoods, bars and restaurants. The “noise” factor is something that can be regulated locally. Once again: if you can’t stand the music, then move to the suburbs. Don’t take the joy out of making music. —Jan Ramsey

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FRESH

hen producer/arranger Wardell Quezergue was given an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Loyola University this spring, Dr. Jerry Goolsby of the Music Industry Studies program said in his introductory remarks, “What he does to a song can only be compared to what a sculptor does to a piece of stone—he adds the depth, texture, complexity, the dimensionality, the harmony, and the beauty to the music.” Quezergue received OffBeat’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Music in 2008 for his role in shaping the classic era of New Orleans R&B, was honored by Xavier University earlier this summer, and he’ll be celebrated by the Lincoln Center and the Ponderosa Stomp in New York City July 19 at Alice Tully Hall in the Starr Theatre. Unfortunately, Quezergue’s years of acclaimed work made money for others but not him, and the now-81 and blind composer lives in an assistedliving home with his rent paid by relief organizations in town. He did, however, cowrite the classic “It Ain’t My Fault” in 1964. “Smokey (Johnson) came up to me and said, ‘Quiz, ‘I have something I want you to hear. I want you to record this on me.’ ‘Okay, let me hear it.’ He started to diddle with his hands on my desk. I said, ‘That’s a good beat.’ Where’s the melody?’ He said, ‘That’s where you come in!’” Besides being one of the most recognized songs in New Orleans, “It Ain’t My Fault” has proven to be a valuable commodity. No Limit soldier Silkk the Shocker sampled the song three times, and Mariah Carey’s “Did I Do That” on 1999’s Rainbow samples Silkk repeating the phrase, “It ain’t my fault.” Sony has Wardell Quezergue and acknowledged that Carey’s use is worth almost $300,000 to the copyright holders of “It Ain’t My Fault,” but so far, copyright co-holder Tuff-N-Rumble Management has only collected $150,000 of it. Unfortunately, neither Quezergue nor Johnson, who’s also in poor health after suffering the debilitating effects of a stroke, have seen a royalty check yet based on that activity, and they filed suit against Aaron Fuchs’ Tuff-NRumble Management in May 2002 because Fuchs is contracted to be Quezergue and Johnson’s agent where the song is concerned. In July 2009, they’re still in court with no end in sight. According to Johnson, Fuchs approached him in 1997 after an awards show and offered him $500—$100 up front—in exchange for a 50 percent share in the copyrights to many of his compositions, including “It Ain’t My Fault”, and the ability to act as Johnson’s

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agent. Johnson considered the offer an insult and tore up the contract. “I was so mad, I just wanted to give the money to the church,” he says. In fact, he did sign the initial check over to Greater Asia Baptist Church, but as the contract he tore up stipulates, “Deposit of the check will constitute an agreement,” so the deal was made without his signature. Quezergue signed with Fuchs willingly. “I was never getting royalties before that anyway,” he says, and he hoped this time something might work out. He had reason to be optimistic. Fuchs runs Tuff City Records and Night Train Records, labels that specialize in reissues of R&B. In 2000, Photo: Elsa hahne

Whose Fault is It? W

Smokey Johnson he released It Ain’t My Fault, an album of tracks on which Johnson had played in the 1960s, and Don’t Be No Square, Get Hip to Quezergue in 2003. Fuchs also had made money by licensing samples for hip-hop. Tuff City Records began as a hip-hop label, and Fuchs was the first to sue for unauthorized sample use when he took LL Cool J to court in 1992 over a sampled drumbeat from “Impeach the President” by the Honeydrippers, another song he had a stake in. He has amassed a significant library of rare soul, R&B, dance music and hip-hop, and he defends the songs in which he has an interest. Johnson and Quezergue were soon dissatisfied, though, because royalty statements came sporadically, and when they did, they found it hard to be sure what royalties were coming www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

in and what was being charged to their account. Lawyers Ashlye Keaton and Greg Eveline, who represent Johnson and Quezergue, have also questioned the royalty statements. As a result, Johnson and Quezergue sued Fuchs’ Tuff-N-Rumble Management for, among other things, breach of contract. According to Fuchs, Tuff-N-Rumble doesn’t owe Quezergue and Johnson money because of their share of the legal fees for a suit against No Limit, which was necessary to compel it to pay royalties for Silkk the Shocker’s use of the song. In a letter to Quezergue from 2002, Fuchs wrote, “$22,000.00 has been credited for the writers’ share of ‘It Ain’t My Fault.’ At the same time, we had legal fees in excess of $100,000 which resulted solely from your case, as well as legal fees of close to $100,000 for our dealings with No Limit and Joe Jones,” the latter of which also claimed to own a piece of ‘It Ain’t My Fault.’” Fuchs continued, “For you to actually be due further income, you would need to recoup the amounts spent in legal fees, etc., of which your share currently stands in excess of $100,000.” Because of the nature of their royalty statements, neither Johnson, Quezergue nor their lawyers know if they’ve benefitted from the No Limit settlement. An email from Fuchs and his lawyer, Dino Gankendorff says: “We view this suit as a simple royalty accounting case. We have invited the plaintiffs on numerous occasions to sit down at the table to try to address their concerns, work out our differences in order to amicably resolve this case, and the plaintiffs have consistently refused.” Neither Johnson nor Quezergue’s one-and-a-half-page contract stipulates that they bear the burden of lawyers’ fees, but the law does allow agents to charge some work done back to their clients. Currently, the question at hand is the legal fees. Last September, Johnson and Quezergue’s lawyers filed a motion for partial summary judgment on attorneys’ fees, questioning Fuchs’ legal costs, which were initially documented by a sheet of paper with three columns—dates, amounts and “QNOLA”—with no indication of work done or hours billed. They contend that a QuickBooks summary report provided substantially similar information and turned up an occasion when Tuff City seemed to pay an invoice before the invoice was issued, throwing a cloud of suspicion over the documentation. On December 29, 2008, Judge Ethel Simms Julien found for Johnson and Quezergue, writing, “the Defendants [Tuff-N-Rumble] have failed to submit any credible evidence for said attorney fees.” Tuff-N-Rumble filed for reconsideration, which the judge rejected March 6, 2009. Since then, Tuff-N-Rumble has appealed the decision. “One of the issues before the court is that now plaintiffs are refusing to give Tuff City credit for the attorneys’ fees payments it made in defense of the copyright,” Fuchs and Gankendorff write. The case has gone on for over six years now, and both sides accuse the other of stalling. In a motion opposing reconsideration, Keaton and Eveline presented what they saw as a pattern of delay tactics on TuffN-Rumble’s part, while Fuchs and Gankendorff say, “Plaintiffs have not taken one deposition to date in this case. They have issued one combined set of discovery. To date, they have never asked the court to set the matter for trial. Plaintiffs have the burden in this case. I’m not sure how anyone could accuse Tuff City of stalling.” Meanwhile, Johnson and Quezergue aren’t getting any younger, and they’re on fixed incomes. “I got a lot of bills,” Johnson says, including $700 a month in health care. “Is this going to be our year?” Quezergue asks. —Alex Rawls

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Photo: jerry moran

FRESH

Ernie Vincent

Soul Alive K

ate Benson is resolute when she claims, “New Orleans R&B is not dead!” As program director for the Sweet Home New Orleans and Renew Our Music Fund, she is part of an effort to not only dispel this misconception, but to invigorate the Big Easy in one of the best ways possible—through its music. Specifically, the Summer of R&B series, which has been active to a lesser extent since the beginning of the year, will feature weekly performances of R&B artists at the Banks Street Bar. These shows will be from 8 to 10 pm every Thursday night until August 20, and will feature Ernie Vincent and the Top Notes, Tommy Singleton, and Rockie Charles among others. Aside from highlighting R&B music, this series is part of a larger economic development program, which seeks to energize the economy through the promotion of local artists. “We’re supporting performances as venues and bands grow audiences for local live music, building regular gigs for artists,” Benson says. “Ultimately, when the performances can support themselves, the venues pick them up and we start again at another spot. Hopefully increased accessibility will mean more opportunities for New Orleans to go see this music, and more opportunities for these performers to make a living from their art.” It is an effort which not only serves to bolster the economy, but recognizes and preserves the role that music plays as an integral part of the city’s identity. —Matthew Gagliano www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

FRESH

Joe Dyson, Christian Scott and Jesse McBride

nder the shady oak in a courtyard at Isidore Newman School, young musicians from all over the city are playing old jazz favorites, composing new songs, discovering their musical personality, and sometimes breaking for a quick game of basketball. This is a typical morning at the New Jazz School, a free music camp now in its third year. This June, New Jazz School hosted 55 students from 34 schools across New Orleans, bringing together young and old, new and master musicians to learn about and participate in the preservation of the city’s culture and heritage in jazz music. Post-Katrina, New Orleanians have clung more tightly than ever to homegrown traditions, jazz being at the top of the list. The ability jazz masters have to improvise, as well as their steadfast attention to detail, serve as symbols for what it is to sustain and renew our home. New Jazz School Director Donald Harrison, Jr. says, “If you go to Jamaica, you’re going to hear reggae, and if you go to Brazil, you’re going to hear samba. But this is the only place in the world where jazz is the culture. The rest of the world feeds on our jazz, our funk music.” New Jazz is a free, two-week jazz intensive for music students in grades 7-12, directed by Harrison and taught by other professional musicians. Under the direction of Harrison, students enjoyed the talents and musical knowledge of allstar, award-winning jazz musicians including Christian Scott, David Pulphus, Jesse McBride, Detroit Brooks, Joe Dyson, Max Moran, Conun Pappas and Charles Burchell. “The whole world feeds on our jazz music,” says Harrison, “so we need the youth to participate to keep it

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Photo: Anne Kongismark

“Ah-Ha” Moments

alive for generations to come.” For Harrison and New Jazz alumni, this school is no summer camp; it’s a training ground for the future generations of New Orleans jazz. “This is really a college program,” says Harrison. “We’re thrusting 12-year-olds, 18-year-olds, into a situation that would be a first tier or second tier college music program.” “From these workshops, we see young musicians mingling together,” he says. “Every year we see new friendships and new coalitions, and we will probably see the results of this in future generations.” The classes are divided by musical ability and age, and all students receive a private lesson by a teacher in their instrument. Carol McCall, program coordinator, says, “It’s so exciting to see the kids, particularly kids who aren’t already in strong music programs, discovering music. They have this ‘ah-ha’ moment and realize they are with 49-50 fellow students as well as with musical professionals who share their passion for music.” “Last year, Mr. Harrison gave me a private lesson,” says Taylor Watson, an upper school saxophonist at the New Jazz School. “Even when he’s teaching the basics to the younger musicians, I was watching him present, and I thought, I wish I was in there, too.” As for the program’s future, each year New Jazz is ushering in more jazz talents. This year a young vocalist from California is attending the program. “We get young students who love the music and some of them want to be professional musicians,“ says Harrison. “And as for the performances—as the young kids say, they’re off the chain.” —Carrie Chappell www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

FRESH

Jaurequi’s Legacy D

a shelf for so long, and it took Dave’s death to get this album out, avid Jaurequi is probably one of the greatest guitarists as a tribute to Dave. It’s a great album. I really love it. you’ve never heard of. David Lynch, the artist, composer, music producer, auteur and director thinks so, and will release That’s a weird album name. Where did it come from? Fox Bat Strategy, an album that was recorded some 15 years I don’t know! There’s a Foxbat airplane, but that’s the only thing I ago with Jaurequi, Steve Hodges, Don Falzone, Andy Armer can think of. I don’t know where the name came from, but it stuck. and Smokey Hormel, all accomplished studio musicians. David Jaurequi was the 19-year-long The album is relaxing, companion of Kay Vereen, owner of the Marigny David Lynch and but also sinister, dark and bar, The John, and played guitar in New Orleans Kay Vereen foggy. Did you plan it with Eddie Bo and Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. that way? Born in Los Angeles and steeped in the I always say a thing wants sounds of Hawaiian guitar via his grandfather, to be a certain way, but it father and brothers, Jaurequi was also depends on who you are influenced by Mariachi, Caribbean sounds working with. With these guys, and blues, and developed a rich sound that he Dave in particular, whatever brought to New Orleans, where he settled with I said, they got me. It was Vereen. David died suddenly of heart failure kind of a happy flowing out; in 2006 and left a small but jewel-like body of everyone clicked, everybody work (see myspace.com/davidjaurequi). He also did great work, and this is worked on an unreleased CD with none other what came. It’s such a shame than David Lynch as a producer in 1994. that with this combo, there’s When David Jaurequi died, Vereen was not any more that can come. intent on preserving his memory and work, and Lynch was so impressed with Jaurequi that How did you first meet he decided to release David Lynch presents Fox David Jaurequi? Bat Strategy as a tribute to him. Working with Some other guitarist was Vereen to get all the players’ permission to supposed to come to a music release the album took some time, but Lynch session for Twin Peaks: Fire will finally release it, distributed through Ryko. Walk With Me, but he couldn’t Lynch spoke to OffBeat by phone from his Los make it and one of the guys Angeles studio: knew Dave and said he could do it. I was disappointed, but they said he was good. The tracks had Didn’t you start out as a visual artist? already been laid down except for the guitar. I told him it was based I was always interested in music, but I started out as a painter, on a sort of fifties chord structure feel, and David sat down, the music a pretty solitary job. Painting led to film, and sound was a vital started going, and he started playing on top of it was beyond the part of film, so from the very beginning, I was very interested beyond; he just nailed it. Every note. It was magic. The guy got it. in sound and sound effects. I play guitar and keyboards, and I’m an experimenter. But I always say that Angelo Badalamenti Would you ever use Jaurequi’s music in one of your movies? [Lynch’s longtime collaborator on film music, starting with the Every song on Fox Bat Strategy tells a story, and each one conjures film Blue Velvet] got me more into music. Angelo loved to write a mood that could go into movies for sure. We actually found the last music, but he wanted lyrics. I was always writing stuff down, track by mistake, it was kind of “lost,” and it’s the coolest thing. I love not poems so much, but phrases and impressions. I gave them having the opportunity to do something for someone who I feel was to Angelo and it led to some things. And it was in film music so talented. This album is great on its own, but as a tribute to Dave, that I met the guys who became Fox Bat Strategy. the world should know what a talent is gone and what a talent was Dave Jaurequi was just… I am so sad that he’s gone. I think here, and they’ll know it when they hear the album. this guy had so much talent and he was a dream to work —Jan Ramsey with. Fox Bat Strategy was recorded in 1994, and it just sat on

Telling Tales

Making Choices

Tales of the Cocktail celebrates cocktail culture in America July 8-12 at the Hotel Monteleone and other French Quarter venues. Chefs, mixologists and cocktail experts will be on hand for tastings, panel discussions, parties and whatnot. In one recent year, a number of bartenders held an impromptu Top Chef-style drinkmaking competition based on the contents of their swag bag. For a list of events and ticket prices, go to TalesOfTheCocktail.com.

Terence Blanchard will premiere his new album, Choices, at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art July 31. The album was recorded this spring in the Ogden’s Taylor Library and includes the vocal talents of Dr. Cornel West and singer Bilal. The Choices premier concerts, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., will benefit the Ogden Museum, and will feature Bilal and provide exclusive insight into the story behind Choices. For tickets, call Stephanie Spicer at (504) 539-9618.

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ALEX MCMURRAY

Train Whistles and Flies’ Wings

lthough New Orleans has a reputation as a brass/ jazz/funk playground, it has been a home to songwriters since the beginning of the 20th Century. From Clarence Williams to Jelly Roll Morton to Dave Bartholomew, from Allen Toussaint and Earl King to more recent tunesmiths such as Paul Sanchez, Anders Osborne and Ed Volker, there’s a history of musicians putting words and notes together in profound ways. With How to Be a Cannonball, Alex McMurray takes his place in those ranks. His songs range from melancholy ballads to psychotic rockers, and most deal sympathetically with fringe characters and misfits. We sit on his back porch facing the barn and beyond that, the field where Chaz Fest happens. A train whistle blows from Press Street, and it’s that train that McMurray taped to start the record. “It creeps into your dreams,” he says. ”You don’t notice after a while.” Ironically, songwriting doesn’t come easily to him. “Sometimes I get inspired, but not too often,” he says. “I have to sit here and stare at this blank page for four hours or write automatically. Some songs take seven or eight years to write. But the good thing is that there are lots of songs in various states of completion.” McMurray started writing for his college band, the Vince Berman Trio, while at Tulane. He played in All That, Michael Ward’s Reward and other bands after graduation, then found an outlet for his compositions when he formed Royal Fingerbowl in 1995. His songs were discovered by an audience of friends and likeminded folks who knew every word of “My Money” or had been there when someone had pulled those stunts on Gravier

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Street that made their way into “Nothing but Time.” Royal Fingerbowl played all over, got a label deal, got screwed, and when the band fell apart McMurray was already doing one night a week at various venues and stuck with the Circle Bar on Wednesdays for years. Fans could hear him there or with the Tin Men, 007, the Tom Paines or some one-off bands. His songs took shape at the Circle Bar, where the nights were freewheeling. The sets cycled through rock, sometimes traditional jazz, almost always a sea shanty request, a pop cover and a waltz or two—all with great turns of phrase. When asked where he gets his words, he reaches over a cluttered desk for a copy of four novellas by Raymond Chandler. “Every line is great,” McMurray says. “Instead of saying ‘OK,’, they say, ‘Okey.’” McMurray pauses. “Being a suburban kid in New Jersey, it’s

By David Kunian

probably disingenuous, but I find appealing the characters who are outside of my world, which is pretty boring and vanilla—the guy with the peg leg, the carnies and the strange people who would come and set up the Firemen’s Fair every year. There is something to it, some kind of grim beauty and strange dignity. The tougher people with more ingenuity and a more interesting story, these are the people that I’m drawn to write about or try to imagine.” Bassist/sousaphonist Matt Perrine has been making music with McMurray since the mid’90s. He says, “He’s my favorite songwriter in town. He has the ability to talk about many different subjects at the same time, and to make two opposite points at the same time with the same lyric.” Perrine’s love of McMurray’s creativity is not just analytical. “I have a connection with his characters in some way

that satisfies something in me. Alex’s songs tend to move me. It’s nice to have material that I feel emotional about. That helps the music to be better—and with Carlo Nuccio, I can share my emotional relation to his songs.” Drummer Carlo Nuccio is unguarded in his enthusiasm for McMurray. “He’s one of the most special cats I’ve ever known,” Nuccio says. “The fact that he lives in my city and that he’s producing the music he produces in front of my eyes for me to witness is a fucking blessing like I’ve never known before.” Nuccio, a fine songwriter himself, gets right to what elevates McMurray above his peers. “He can get three or four details about a character across in a sentence. He can say, (In the song “Otis Takes it on the Lam”) ‘Hey, little boy, I’m underneath the sink with all the poison.’ It’s not enough that his character Otis is hiding out. It’s where he’s hiding out. “Rattle those pans / I’m sick of all that nuthouse chow.” He could say he’s hungry, but Alex lets you know where he’s been.” The Bywater settles into its afternoon lethargy and McMurray reflects. “The inspiration comes from all around,” he says. “You write down a line or a chord change, these little kernels of beauty I’ll call it, and you save them and try to put them in your metaphorical shoebox. On a rainy day you can take them out and arrange them on a pillow case or something—little flies’ wings and fishhooks and shiny pennies—and string them together and make some weird trinket. You collect stuff and try to put it together in a way that communicates something from deep within you to hopefully deep within someone else.” O www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: zack smith

For Alex McMurray, inspiration can be found in the most commonplace objects.

DJ Captain Charles is all about pleasing his (mostly female) audience. Here, Linda Lewis, Cloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; R. Guyton and Ashley Thomas. 20

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COVER STORY

Back to the Future At this year’s Essence Music Festival, some of the most entertaining sets will come from artists with a foot in the past and one in the future.

DJ Captain Charles For someone who never thought he’d be involved with music, Charles Leach is the captain of his ship. Leach, known to his New Orleans followers as DJ Captain Charles, has been in the DJ-ing game for close to 20 years now, purely by a series of events that happened by chance. “I wanted to either be a cop, a teacher, a cowboy; not a DJ,” he says. A native of the Magnolia and Uptown area, Leach got his self-taught DJ career started when he used to spin during intermission at all the talent shows at Booker T. Washington. He started off trying to sing in an R&B group, Unique, and he would emcee between the acts of the show. As he stood behind the booth full of old cassettes and vinyl records, a tall skinny young man proudly sporting a captain’s hat, his look earned him the name Captain Charles. From there, he traveled to LSU to play fraternity and sorority events and homecoming with one turntable and borrowed albums. Straight out of high school, Captain Charles was asked to play at his first club, Two Brothers, which used to be on Magazine. There was only one setback with his fist gig. “The woman from the club was Cuban,” he says with a smile. “She wanted me to play a mix of Latin and American music. I already learned the old stuff from my mom, but [Latin] was a new experience for me.” Trudging along the DJ scene in the 1990s, he started being asked to play at clubs all across the city from A Touch of Class to Excalibur to Discovery, each time in front of bigger and bigger crowds. Claiming that he’s “never nervous because it comes natural,” DJ Captain Charles started DJ-ing alongside some big names thanks to Discovery, including the Ghetto Boyz, Al B. Sure and Slick Rick. Captain Charles kept winning major gigs, and one of the biggest stages he’s ever rocked was the House of Blues. He was once again playing with some big names, including the Ohio Players and Brian McKnight, and he played the NFL Super Bowl Party. As a result of his popularity at the House of Blues, DJ Captain Charles was given the chance to do a radio show for the now-defunct Old School 102.9 FM, and his first show landed around the time of 9/11. www.OFFBEAT.com

“It was one of my visions to do radio, but I wanted to do radio my way,” he says. From there, promoters of his House of Blues dance parties moved the show to Bally’s Casino hoping for a larger audience. Pretty soon, Captain Charles was entertaining close to 2,000 people on a Saturday night. “People would walk two or three blocks to dance how they want to and have a good time,” he says. “I put my personality in what I do, and people appreciate that.” DJ Soul Sister recognizes that as an essential part of his success. “Captain Charles is a master of doing what a good DJ is supposed to do,” she says. “Make people happy. Not just play records or take requests because anyone can do that. The joy in his personality and his true love for music comes out in his song selections, his stage presence, all of that. His sets tell stories, take you on his musical journey, teach and make you feel good all at once.” Fellow disc jockey DJ Bird discovered unexpectedly the depth of DJ Captain Charles’ connection to his audience. “Me and Captain Charles look alike,” he says. “I constantly get his fans coming up to me, asking for hugs, and wanting to talk, realizing later on that I’m not him. “But that lets me know what type of person he is, that people want to hug and kiss him because they feel like they know him.” From Bally’s, he went to Club Ambrosia and then to Harrah’s for its dance party. And by simple word of mouth advertisements, close to 1,500 people showed up. Needless to say, the Captain has updated his equipment from one turntable to top of the line JBL speakers with a powerful built-in amplifier and a MacBook to house all his playlists, making song changes as easy as pushing “shift + left” or “shift + right.” Captain Charles also tries to create a drama and fight-free atmosphere, fully aware that 90 percent of his audience is female, and wants to make them feel safe—a regimen that also includes no smoking or drinking in the booth. “His style gives me the important reminder that when people come to see you, they want to enjoy themselves and see that the DJ is in control of the situation,” DJ Soul Sister says. “When you have control and use it wisely, you have the gift to make your room positive, happy and enjoyable.”

For DJ Captain Charles, his concern for the vibe of the room extends to song choices— even when it means leaving out some guaranteed party starters. “I don’t play the explicit stuff because I want to create a certain atmosphere where people can have fun and not worry about if a shooting may happen.” Captain Charles has developed a reputation for giving back when he can, selling CDs of his mixes with all the proceeds going to Samuel J. Green Elementary for clothes and toys for the children. He also supports other DJs in town, even giving a local DJ his old equipment to help him get back in business. “He has been supportive to so many of the younger DJs,” DJ Soul Sister says. “He gave me the most awesome, inspiring pep talk last year before I played the Essence main stage for the first time. Prior to Essence, the largest room I’d DJ’ed for was, say, 500 people. Then I go to the Superdome which is, like, 90,000! I was so nervous. Captain Charles just told me to be myself and that he was rooting for me.” DJ Captain Charles has packed the superlounges at Essence Festival for the past eight years, and will hopefully do the same this month. He still plays Wednesday nights at Harrah’s, and his show now airs on Old School 106.7 FM on Sunday nights live from The Perfect Fit. He has played gigs all around the country from Las Vegas and Florida to Jamaica and back to play a special party during the Inauguration week for President Barack Obama. But even though he plays nationwide, Captain Charles’ base is still here.” “You gotta keep playing these smaller gigs to keep it real with the people,” he says. —Briana Prevost

Ne-Yo Lots of current R&B artists look back to the ’70s as a halcyon time, but few albums are as rich in the era’s feel as Ne-Yo’s. In the case of his first album, 2006’s In My Own Words, the reasons are up-front and obvious: a track like “Get Down Like That” opens with wahwah guitar and orchestration straight out of the Curtis Mayfield-Superfly fakebook, while the title track of 2007’s Because of You is as canny a recap of Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall as anyone’s come up with. (Of course— Ne-Yo wrote it with Jackson in mind.)

Adrienne Bruno, Michaelangelo Matos, Briana Prevost and Alex Rawls

JULY 2009

But the really ’70s thing about Ne-Yo is that he is, at heart, a singer-songwriter. His 2008 album, Year of the Gentleman, openly invites those comparisons, particularly on acoustic guitarflavored songs like “Part of the List” and “So You Can Cry”—the latter even sounds like a cousin of Joni Mitchell around the time of Court and Spark. And like the iconic Carole King, Ne-Yo also writes hits for others—most obviously Mario’s “Let Me Love You” and Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable”—itself driven by acoustic guitar—each of which spent several thousand weeks at No. 1. Of course, Ne-Yo embraces glitz as much as he does hook-filled confessionals—dude grew up in Vegas, after all—and the fantastic debut and the fully realized Gentleman especially benefit from the interplay. (Because of You, alas, is much the lesser of the three.) He can be a little gauche lyrically, but that usually just makes him more winning, and he clearly loves inventing scenarios to inhabit: on Gentlemen, “Part of the List” ticks off what he misses about a departed lover, “Lie to Me” pleas for ignorance so acutely you know he’s already figured everything out, and “Fade into the Background” is a precisely shaded trip to the wedding of the one who got away, where slinking away and getting quietly hammered is the only logical solution. The glitz, though, keeps on giving. The debut’s hits, “So Sick,” “When You’re Mad,” and “Sexy Love,” all presented Ne-Yo as cute in a few different ways, and while his recent bid for maturity is a successful one, The Year of the Gentleman still resonates in large part thanks to floor-fillers like “Closer” and “Nobody.” And he’s a thorough pro onstage, too: he’s got an exciting catalog, and knows how to get a crowd going. —Michaelangelo Matos

Janelle Monáe Up and coming hip-hop starlet Janelle Monáe has spent the afternoon on a tightrope— literally. She has one in her Atlanta studio, Wondaland Records, and she goes to it to relax. Fresh from a whirlwind of summer gigs including Bonnaroo and several shows with Erykah Badu, Monáe is preparing for the upcoming release of her next album. She rocketed to Internet fame with her first solo album, the start of a four-part concept project set in a futuristic dystopia where androids and humans coexist. The EP Suite I: The Chase follows the adventures of Cindi Mayweather, “a

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Photo: Erika Goldring

CO VER STO RY

Janelle Monáe phenomenal, brilliant android on the run for her freedom because she has fallen in love with a human robo-billionaire, Anthony Greenwood.” It all sounds like comic book exposition, but it works. The sound is a mix of hip-hop, soul, funk and pop, reminiscent of Gnarls Barkley or Outkast (she worked with Big Boi on Idlewild). The album balances on “Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!!” and “Many Moons,” two magnetic tracks that showcase Monáe’s soulful, brassy vocals in an up-tempo, stylized funk. Monáe says fans can look forward to new developments in the saga, with the introduction of a new character, the mythical arc-android, who may lead the enslaved androids of Metropolis to freedom. She adds, “People will get the chance to understand the world better, this gives it more color.” The singer was born in Kansas City but now lives in Atlanta, where she collaborates with likeminded musicians. It’s not just about the music for Monáe who, along with her producers, Chuck Lightning and Nate Wonder, creates on a cinematic scope that branches into other arenas, including graphic novels, short films and fashion. Creativity, though, requires isolation. “When I’m working on my songs or my art, I’m very careful about my intake with music,” she says. She does, however, allow the influence of art

and literature, lately finding inspiration in the work of surrealist painter Salvador Dali. “I find that by looking at the colors and the dimension and depth in the art of Salvador Dali, I can create music. I hear sound in the colors.” This will be Monáe’s first trip to New Orleans and Essence Fest, and she is looking forward to exploring the city and catching Anita Baker at the festival. “I’m ready for my first New Orleans experience” says the singer excitedly. For now, though, she has to get back to the tightrope. —Adrienne Bruno

Maxwell The best thing anybody has written of Maxwell’s April-issued single, “Pretty Wings,” comes from a comments box. On an Okayplayer. com posting about the track, Maxwell’s first new song in eight years, a commenter named aliciaisbrown wrote, “I think I just got pregnant.” That sums it up nicely—both the deeply sexy appeal of “Pretty Wings” and the overall sense of anticipation he’s riding right now. Maxwell exploded out of the gate with 1996’s Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, one of the decade’s defining R&B albums. It was an incredibly smooth piece of work, especially for a 23-year-old first-timer. It was clearly the work of someone with a serious Marvin www.OFFBEAT.com

COVER STORY Gaye fixation: working with Gaye collaborators Leon Ware and Wah Wah Watson, as well as Sade cohort Stuart Matthewman, Maxwell became an instant icon, as well as placing in the front ranks of what would soon be termed “neo-soul.” 1998’s Embrya, with its sci-fi-meetsacademic-conference titles (try “Gestation: Mythos/Everwanting: To Want You To Want,” or “Each Hour Each Second Each Minute

Each Day: Of My Life”) and adventurous instrumentation, put off some listeners, but in 1999 Maxwell’s recording of the R. Kellypenned slow jam “Fortunate” was (deservedly) the biggest R&B hit of the year. 2001’s Now was the New Yorker’s most professional yet, and it seemed that Maxwell was settling into a comfortable groove. Then zip for nearly a decade. He’s making up for lost time. July 7 sees the issue

of BLACKsummer’snight, the first of a mooted trilogy to be continued in 2010 by BlackSUMMER’Snight and 2011 by Blacksummer’sNIGHT. And the two singles that have preceded the new album are enough to get even a casual fan excited. “Pretty Wings” is the showstopper, a rich, sumptuous, surprising (the fuzzy gamelan that kicks the track off is an eccentric but completely apt instrumental touch) piece of

work, maybe Maxwell’s greatest record yet, communicating longing and resignation so sweetly you’d swear he wants the woman he’s singing to back this second. “Bad Habits” feels more like the kind of sprawling, Latin-touched, lyricallyoriented material Earth, Wind & Fire was opening heads with in the mid-’70s. The secret weapon in each are horns that sneak in midway through and then work their way up front, where they belong along with the singer. Live, it ought to be something else. —Michaelangelo Matos

Raphael Saadiq “The life of Raphael Saadiq has been one of quiet struggle,” a female voice announces during “Doing What I Can” on 2002’s Instant Vintage. “Raphael is an ancient and future brother, unconventional, doing things his way and doing it well.” The voice enters almost a minute into Saadiq’s approximation of the Love Unlimited Orchestra and strikes the central notes in Raphael Saadiq’s post-Tony! Toni! Toné! career as he invokes great moments in soul history while raising the question, “Who is Raphael Saadiq?” He’s not a Tony, and he’s not even Raphael Saadiq. He was born Charlie Ray Wiggins. In 2004, the backing singers try to straighten us out. “His name is Ray Ray.” Ray Ray is presented as the soundtrack to a blaxploitation film—one starring Saadiq. On it, he’s introduced as “an Oakland rider / making money in L.A.,” and he invites listeners to consider what—if anything—is real. He is from Oakland, after all. Is his use of female backing vocalists a reference to Isaac Hayes’ “The Theme from Shaft”? What about the invocation of psychedelia, the language of violence and social concern? And where in the network of possible references is Saadiq? Even as Ray Ray plays hide and seek with its roots, Saadiq seems to be exploring his place in soul history by restaging it, whether as an artist or producer, creating a contemporary version of late ’60s soul on Introducing Joss Stone in 2007. He immerses himself most completely in a previous era’s sound on last year’s The Way I See It, his

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COVER STORY close approximation of Motown and Philly soul. He doesn’t wink at his roots on it; he commits to them and successfully writes in the mode of Smokey Robinson, Holland-DozierHolland and Curtis Mayfield (the latter on the Impressions-lite “Love That Girl”). This time around, Saadiq the drummer and Saadiq the bass player sync up in classic Motown style, and you have to listen to the fringes of the music for a non-period keyboard or a guitar part that Saadiq the guitarist plays that’s anachronistic. You have to have a keen eye to recognize his suit as retro fashion (or you have to check out his Web site, where he celebrates cool clothes including new shoes made with classic styles in mind. It’s telling that he links to the site for Retrosuperfuture, a hip sunglasses company.). In Saadiq’s orbit, everybody gets into the identity game. The Rebirth Brass Band are indistinguishable from a ’60s soul horn section on “Big Easy,” Saadiq’s post-Katrina song which starts by half-quoting Marvin Gaye when he sings with barely controlled anxiety, “Somebody tell me / what’s going wrong.” Rather than try to address the scope of Katrina’s devastation, he scales it down to what matters most: “I ain’t seen my baby / in far too long.” He brings to mind Motown’s socially conscious period, and like “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” he makes the storm a drama not about issues but people struggling to hang on to each other. On “Big Easy,” Saadiq mutes the identity question. Whether he’s a pastiche artist, a committed postmodernist, or the slyest trickster going, his systematic testing of history’s wardrobe pays off because it’s the first occasion when he upstages his forerunners. He doesn’t go po-faced or slow the tempo to hint at the sad truth coming; “Big Easy” is one of the best dance tracks on the album, along with “100 Yard Dash,” driven by handclaps and tambourines. He also aspires to do more than hold up the mirror of hard truth; he’s revealing a national tragedy with a gravity Motown never reached, maybe never had the nerve to go for. Not even Gaye could have imagined looking for your love with bodies floating in the streets. —Alex Rawls www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

JULY 2009

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In the Kitchen with Sunpie don’t cook everyday. All the different types of work that I do: I have my regular nineto-five working for the national park service, have been doing that forever, and I’m a working musician, and I do other things also, so I’m on the run a lot. But I like to cook because I like to eat. It’s not every day, though. Can’t tell that lie! But I live with a gourmet cook, so I don’t cry about it. I was raised up in the Deep South so I can cook all kinds of soul food, southern cuisine, but also stuff that’s here in Louisiana. I started to cook alligator sauce piquante today but ended up not doing it because I’ve eaten so many tomatoes lately. So I’m cooking salmon and white shrimp—white shrimp are beautiful right now. I love fish; I’ve been eating fish a lot lately because I’ve been fishing also. I didn’t catch salmon, of course, but I’ve been going out in the swamps, getting some bass and stuff like that. As a child, we drug everything out of the woods that could be drug out and eaten. Did a lot of hunting and fishing; I guess what people call subsistence living. We were raised with a huge garden, some people talk about a vegetable garden, but ours was about two and a half acres. Peas, corn, all varieties of collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, rutabaga, black-eyed peas, green beans, snap beans, blue runners, crowders, tomatoes, okra, squash, cabbage, watermelon, cantaloupe. No carrots and broccoli! This is the South, and carrots and broccoli are not soul food. Squash is soul food. Pumpkin—same family—not soul food. [laughs] We grew some spinach, but it was mainly greens. It was our yard and our neighbor’s yard so we shared fields. My parents were sharecroppers. We shared a couple of fields. I grew up on the edge of Benton, Arkansas, in a community called Gravel Hill, right on the edge of the Mississippi Delta. I came from

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biggest bird in the world. Maybe fifteen to a pan. We’d bake them in the oven and they were great. Just salt and pepper and Worchestershire sauce. Snap some lemons around that sucker and turn’m loose in the oven. In college, the first ornithology class I was in, my professor came to me and said, ‘You’re doing a good job. I’ve never seen a freshman that knew this many birds before. How did you learn so much about birds?’ I looked at him and I said, ‘I’ve eaten every bird in this class.’”

Sunpie’s Simple Shrimp and Salmon Cooking shrimp with plenty of lime somehow helps Sunpie deal with his allergy to the crustaceans. (Serves 2)

Blues Country but the accordion really struck a chord with me. I used to be allergic to shrimp, made me deathly ill. The first time it hit me so hard it put me down on the ground. Thought I was going to die. Cramps, and I couldn’t breathe. I’m allergic to the iodine. King crabs and stuff like that put the hurt on me. Hurt my feelings too. I had these friends when I was working at Jean Lafitte and they loved me and they had this restaurant. All they served was gumbo and po-boys, basically all shrimp. They served this big ol’ bowl of gumbo that was nothing but shrimp and I couldn’t get it across. ‘Huh?’ So I was sitting there. ‘You want some more gumbo?’ Finally, I had to say, ‘Look, I have to tell you, I think I’m allergic to shrimp.’ They said, ‘Huh?’ ‘Huh?’ He said, ‘Mama, come here!’ She came out the kitchen. ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘Mama, he’s allergic to shrimps!’ She said, ‘Huh? Oh, oh…,’ and she sat down as if somebody had died. ‘Oh, no… You’re allergic to shrimp, how could that happen to you?’ And she looked at me and she said. “Boo, what are you going to eat?!’

By Elsa Hahne

I’ve fished and cleaned fish my whole life. There’s not much to think about, you just do it. Cleaning and filleting fish, yeah. Cleaning wild game, yeah. Deer, hogs, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, we ate it all. Birds. I think I’ve eaten every songbird known to mankind. You name it. Name one! If we’d had a nightingale cross by, we’d have eaten it. But my favorite bird, actually, is robin. Still. But as we grew older, we learned that these were songbirds. We were like, ‘What?! Songbirds?’ In the countryside, boys all bird-hunt. So we’re out bird-hunting and this man stopped us, he said, ‘Come over here, boys. You know, it’s against the law to hunt songbirds. Let me see what you’ve got.’ So we were like, ‘Songbirds? These ain’t songbirds.’ We had a bunch of robins. ‘Robins don’t sing. Mockingbirds sing.’ And the man cracked up laughing, ‘No, these are all songbirds.’ So we had to go home and take out some books and look this stuff up. ‘Craziest crap I ever heard of.’ Robin is excellent. You need a bunch of them because it’s not the

2 portion-size cuts of salmon a few sprigs cilantro, finely chopped 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon Monin apricot syrup sea salt 10 large fresh shrimp, heads removed 1 tablespoon olive oil sea salt 1 lime, cut in half Start with the salmon: Sprinkle cilantro over salmon. Warm honey in a small cup in the microwave; add mustard and syrup and stir until smooth. Coat top of salmon with honey glaze. Sprinkle salt on top and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Pour oil into a hot frying pan; add shrimp and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Cook over high heat for a minute; squeezing half the lime over shrimp. When shells turn brown on bottom, turn shrimp over, squeezing the other lime half over them. Cook until shrimp are pink. Serve immediately with salmon and a green salad. O www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: ELSA HAHNE

“I

Bruce Barnes has cooked and eaten every songbird in the book.

EATS

OffBeat AFRICAN Bennachin: 1212 Royal St., 522-1230. AMERICAN Duffy’s: 1005 Canal St., 592-1110. Hard Rock Café: 418 N. Peters St., 529-5617. O’Henry’s Food & Spirits: 634 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-9741; 8859 Veterans Blvd., 461-9840; 710 Terry Pkwy., 433-4111. Port of Call: 838 Esplanade Ave., 523-0120. St. Charles Tavern: 1433 St. Charles Ave., 523-9823. BARBECUE The Joint: 801 Poland Ave., 949-3232. Walker’s Barbecue: 10828 Hayne Blvd., 241-8227. BREAKFAST Café Freret: 7329 Freret St., 861-7890. Daisy Dukes: 121 Chartres St., 561-5171. Mena’s Place: 200 Chartres St., 525-0217. New Orleans Cake Cafe & Bakery: 2440 Chartres St., 943-0010. Petunia’s Restaurant: 817 St. Louis St., 522-6440. The Ruby Slipper Café: 139 S Cortez St., 309-5531. COFFEE HOUSE Café du Monde: 800 Decatur St., 525-4544. Café Rose Nicaud: 634 Frenchmen St., 949-2292. CREOLE/CAJUN Atchafalaya Restaurant: 901 Louisiana Ave., 891-9626. Clancy’s: 6100 Annunciation, 895-1111. Cochon: 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 588-2123. Dick & Jenny’s: 4501 Tchoupitoulas, 894-9880. Galatoire’s: 209 Bourbon St., 525-2021. Gumbo Shop: 630 St. Peter St., 525-1486. Hookah Bar & Lounge: 502 Frenchmen St., 943-1101. K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen: 416 Chartres St., 524-7394. Montrel’s Bistro: 1000 N Peters St., 524-4747. Mulate’s: 201 Julia St., 522-1492. DELI Mardi Gras Zone: 2706 Royal St., 947-8787. Stein’s Market and Deli: 2207 Magazine St., 527-0771. Verti Marte: 1201 Royal St., 525-4767. FINE DINING Antoine’s: 701 St. Louis St., 581-4422. Bombay Club: 830 Conti St., 586-0972. Broussard’s: 819 Conti St., 581-3866. Commander’s Palace: 1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221. Emeril’s: 800 Tchoupitoulas, 528-9393. Iris Restaurant: 321 N Peters St., 299-3944. Lüke: 333 St. Charles Ave., 378-2840.

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Maison Dupuy Hotel: 1001 Toulouse St., 586-8000. Mat and Naddie’s: 937 Leonidas St., 861-9600. Mr. B’s Bistro: 201 Royal St. 523-2078. Pelican Club: 312 Exchange Place, 523-1504. Restaurant Cuvée: 322 Magazine St., 587-9001. 7 on Fulton: 701 Convention Center Blvd., 525-7555. Stella!: 1032 Chartres St., 587-0091. Tujague’s: 823 Decatur St., 525-8676. FRENCH Café Degas: 3127 Esplanade Ave., 945-5635. Delachaise: 3442 St. Charles Ave., 895-0858. Flaming Torch Restaurant: 737 Octavia St., 895-0900. La Crepe Nanou: 1410 Robert St., 899-2670. Crepes à la Cart: 1039 Broadway St., 866-2362. Restaurant August: 301 Tchoupitoulas St., 299-9777 ICE CREAM/GELATO Creole Creamery: 4924 Prytania St., 894-8680. La Divina Gelateria: 3005 Magazine St., 342-2634; 621 St. Peter St., 302-2692. Sucré: 3025 Magazine St., 520-8311. INDIAN Nirvana: 4308 Magazine St., 894-9797. ITALIAN Eleven 79: 1179 Annunciation St., 299-1179. Irene’s Cuisine: 539 St. Philip St., 529-8811. Maximo’s: 1117 Decatur St., 586-8883. Tommy’s: 746 Tchoupitoulas St., 581-1103. JAPANESE/KOREAN/SUSHI Gimchi: 3322 Turnbull Dr., Metairie 454-6426. Kyoto: 4920 Prytania St., 891-3644. Mikimoto: 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 488-1881. Miyako Japanese Seafood & Steak House: 1403 St. Charles Ave., 410-9997. Wasabi: 900 Frenchmen St., 943-9433. MEDITERRANEAN Byblos: 3218 Magazine St., 894-1233. Café Lazziza: 2106 Chartres St., 943-0416. Jamila’s Café: 7808 Maple St., 866-4366. Mona’s Café: 504 Frenchmen St., 949-4115. MEXICAN/CARIBBEAN/SPANISH Juan’s Flying Burrito: 2018 Magazine St., 569-0000. El Gato Negro: 81 French Market Place, 525-9846. Nacho Mama’s: 3240 Magazine St. 899-0031. RioMar: 800 S. Peters St., 525-3474. Tomatillo’s: 437 Esplanade Ave., 945-9997. MUSIC ON THE MENU Carrollton Station Bar and Grill: 140 Willow St., 865-9190. Hookah Café: 500 Frenchmen St., 943-1101. House of Blues: 225 Decatur St., 412-8068. www.OFFBEAT.com

EATS Prejean’s Restaurant: 3480 Hwy 167 N, Lafayette (337) 896-3247. Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St., 895-8117. Mid City Lanes Rock ‘N’ Bowl: 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133. Palm Court Jazz Café: 1204 Decatur St., 525-0200. Rivershack Tavern: 3449 River Rd., 834-4938. Southport Hall: 200 Monticello Ave., 835-2903. Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696. NEIGHBORHOOD JOINTS 13 Bar & Restaurant: 517 Frenchmen St., 942-1345. Café Reconcile: 1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 568-1157. Camellia Grill: 626 S. Carrollton Ave., 309-2676. Slim Goodies: 3322 Magazine St., 891-3447. Ye Olde College Inn: 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-3683. PIZZA Fresco Café & Pizzeria: 7625 Maple St., 862-6363. Garage Pizza: 220 S Robertson St., 569-1599. French Quarter Pizzeria: 201 Decatur St., 948-3287. Slice Pizzeria: 1513 St. Charles Ave., 525-7437. Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza: 4218 Magazine St., 894-8554. Turtle Bay: 1119 Decatur St., 586-0563.

PO-BOYS / SANDWICHES Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop: 3454 Magazine St., 899-3374 Parkway Bakery and Tavern: 538 Hagan Ave., 482-3047. SEAFOOD Acme Oyster & Seafood House: 724 Iberville, 522-5973. Bourbon House: 144 Bourbon St., 274-1831. Casamento’s Restaurant: 4330 Magazine St. 895-9761. Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill: 1 Poydras St. 569-3380. Drago’s Restaurant: 2 Poydras St. (Hilton Hotel), 584-3911; 3232 N. Arnoult St., Metairie, 888-9254. SOUL Dunbar’s: 501 Pine St., 861-5451. Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934. Willie Mae’s Scotch House: 2401 St. Ann St., 822-9503. THAI Sukho Thai: 1913 Royal St., 948-9309. WEE HOURS Clover Grill: 900 Bourbon St., 523-0904. Mimi’s in the Marigny: 2601 Royal St., 872-9868. Molly’s At The Market: 1107 Decatur St., 525-5169. St. Charles Tavern: 1433 St. Charles Ave., 523-9823.

Michael Pellera hits the How did you find Jamila’s Café? Well, Jamila, she is the chef, and her husband, Moncef, who runs this place, happen to be friends of my wife and me. A lot of people don’t realize how good this place is. Jamila is dedicated to the consistency of Tunisian Cuisine. The dishes are slightly different due to Jamila’s French influences.

Jamila’s Café 7808 Maple Street (504) 866-4366

What do you usually order? They have a steamed mussels appetizer that’s really good Pianist Michael Pellera plays at with a really the Windsor Court Thursday super light through Saturday. broth. Then there is a light Mediterranean Tunisian salad. Usually I get those two for appetizers. Then there’s the couscous that’s really good. They do kind of a tomato sauce, and you get it with chicken or fish.

Do you have room for dessert? I get the crème brûlée. But the dark chocolate mousse sounds good—try it, and I’ll get the crème brûlée. We’ll split them both.—Teresha Ussin www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

JULY 2009

DINING OUT Walker’s Barbecue There is more to Walker’s in New Orleans East than their world famous cochon de lait poboy, the yearly food darling of Jazz Fest. In fact, we feel extremely confident in saying that the rest of their menu is better. Initial Impressions Peter: Dear God, are we in Destin yet? Maybe I’ll buy a house out here if the barbecue is good enough. Is this it? Just a 10-squarefoot ordering space sandwiched between the counter and a huge smoker? Thank God for the industrial dining space out back. Rene: I drove out here twice in two days. Once they were closed when the website and menu claimed to be open. This better be worth it. The Orders Peter: I’ve had the cochon de lait po-boy before. Sampler—pork, brisket and ribs with two sides. Potato salad and slaw, thank you very much. Rene: Sampler, plus half a baked chicken. That ought to compensate for the extra trip out here.

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Photo: elsa hahne

EATS Meat and Sauce Peter: Look at the bark on the outside of those ribs. Jesus, these are tender. The cochon is actually pulled and not chopped or shredded. Brisket is good, but not as good as the ribs and cochon. Pork is simply better than beef. But the brisket improves with a dunk in the sauce. The sauce is sweet; no real heat there at all. Rene: When a rib is good enough not to need sauce, a pig angel gets its wings. Salty, juicy and most importantly, smoky, these ribs satisfy a primal urge. The burnt ends of brisket were great, but the rest of the brisket fell flat. The chicken gave the ribs a run for the money, especially dunked in the cumin-scented, paintthick, sweet sauce. And I did get a little heat in the back of my throat. Sides Peter: I like the potato salad. It’s like cold mashed potatoes. Not loaded with egg or mayo either. The cole slaw dressing definitely has a little Creole mustard, and I like the chunk of French bread with the plate as opposed to plain white bread. Just a little reminder that this is still NOLA. Rene: Next time, just a double order of the collards. You can tell these noble greens soak for hours in a powerful broth studded with pieces of pork that have been simmering since Mardi Gras. Awesome.

More? Lasting Impressions Peter: Let the house hunting in NO East begin. Rene: Definitely worth the drive—twice. 10828 Hayne Blvd. (504) 241-8227. Tues.Sat. 10:30 ‘til they sell out (around 2 p.m.) —Rene Louapre and Peter Thriffiley

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HUEY PIANO SMITH

Masters of Louisiana Music:

Huey “Piano” Smith Photo: John Wirt

Pianist Huey “Piano” Smith’s biggest hits exemplified New Orleans’ party spirit, but unlike many of his generation, he has chosen to avoid the spotlight.

he most enigmatic of New Orleans music stars, Huey “Piano” Smith didn’t sing lead on his biggest hits or take the spotlight during his performances. Many people thought Bobby Marchan, the dynamic front man for Smith’s most famous vocal group— the Clowns—was Huey Smith. Others thought James Booker, the brilliant pianist Smith hired to travel with the Clowns while he stayed home, was Huey Smith. Even when Smith joined the Clowns onstage, his singer-dancers were the centers of attention by design. Said to be quiet, even shy, Smith worked most effectively as a songwriter, record producer and pianist. He surrounded himself with such distinctive voices as Marchan, Gerri Hall, Roosevelt Wright, Curley Moore and Pearl Edwards because of what he perceived as his limited vocal ability. His vocal groups—the Pitter Pats, Hueys, Soul Shakers and Clowns—were vehicles for his often comic vision. Smith’s 1957 R&B hit, “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,” emerged over time as his bestknown song, but it wasn’t his biggest hit. That honor belongs to 1958’s “Don’t You Just Know It,” a calland-response number inspired by a phrase continuously uttered by Rudy Ray Moore, the Clowns’ driver who reinvented himself in the 1960s as foulmouthed comic Dolemite. “Don’t You Just Know It” reached No. 9

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on Billboard’s pop singles chart. Ace Records boss Johnny Vincent claimed it sold 800,000 copies. Smith’s next hit for Ace also was his greatest disappointment. He and Gerri Hall sang the song’s original vocals over a music track that Smith and his road band had recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s studio. He was sure that “Sea Cruise,” with its playful lyrics, buoyant horn chart and contagious groove, would be successful. But Johnny Vincent associate Joe Caronna had other ideas. Caronna saw teen idol potential in Frank Guzzo, a big-voiced, 18-year-old white kid from Gretna. He told Smith that Guzzo, soon to be known as Frankie Ford, would record a new vocal track for “Sea Cruise.” “I’m telling you,” Smith recalls, “it hurt me to my heart when he told me he was taking that.” Saxophonist James Rivers, a “Sea Cruise” session player, had assumed that Marchan would

By John Wirt

add his vocals to the music track. “Bobby wasn’t there when we did the session, but he was singing with the band at that time,” Rivers remembers. “Man, about a month later, I’m hearing ‘Sea Cruise’ (on the radio). I say, ‘That’s not Bobby Marchan!’ And then we hear, ‘That was Frankie Ford!’ We say, ‘Frankie Ford? Who the hell is that?’ Huey wrote the song for Huey Smith and the Clowns.”

Huey “Piano” Smith was born on January 26, 1934, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ace Records released “Sea Cruise” with Ford’s name in large letters on the single’s label and “Huey ‘Piano’ Smith and Orch.” in tiny letters beneath it. “Sea

Cruise” peaked at No. 14 on Billboard’s pop singles chart. Huey Pierce Smith’s path to a music career of great highs and spiritcrushing lows began on S. Robertson Street in New Orleans, near the Dew Drop Inn. His father gave him money to study piano, but he saved the cash and taught himself instead, practicing all day long. Early influences included Hank Williams’ 1949 hit, “Lovesick Blues,” R&B pioneer Louis Jordan, and a Los Angeles-based singerpianist from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Nellie Lutcher. Smith composed rhymes, too, performing them with a neighborhood friend Percy Anderson in a duo they called Slick and Doc (inspired by Anderson’s straight hair and Smith’s interest in science). “We’d be sitting on the step making up songs, ‘The Robertson Street Boogie’ and stuff like that,” Smith says. Smith left high school in 1950 to perform with a new arrival from Mississippi, Guitar Slim. The www.OFFBEAT.com

HU EY PIAN O SM ITH

‘I’m go’ play an arpeggio on the intro of this song. I’m go’ put everybody in that arpeggio—a little piece of Little Willie Littlefield, a little Charles Brown, Van Walls. I’m go’ wrung all them in this arpeggio.’

guitarist’s massive 1954 hit, “The Things That I Used to Do,” broke them up because Slim’s newly selected touring band already had a pianist. Smith rebounded, recruiting his friend, Earl King, to replace the suddenly famous Slim. The young pianist also became a busy studio musician. His piano trills are heard in two major 1955 hits, King’s “Those Lonely, Lonely Nights” and Smiley Lewis’ “I Hear You Knocking.” That same year, he played on Little Richard’s first New Orleans sessions and executed a note-for-note re-creation of Fats Domino’s “The Fat Man” piano score for Billy Tate’s Imperial Records single, “Single Life.” King characterized the mid-’50sera Smith as an encyclopedia of piano players. During a session in Jackson, Mississippi, he recalled, “Huey said, ‘Earl, I’m go’ play an arpeggio on the intro of this song. I’m go’ put everybody in that arpeggio—a little piece of Little Willie Littlefield, a little Charles Brown, Van Walls. I’m go’ wrung all them in this arpeggio.’ He did it.” In 1956, the 22-year-old Smith signed with Johnny Vincent’s Ace Records. Musician friends King and Chris Kenner were present at the pianist’s mother’s house for the occasion. “I believe that was the only real contract Johnny ever had,” Smith said decades later. Smith’s first credited Ace single featured vocal ensemble number “Little Liza Jane” and flipside “Everybody’s Whalin’,” a mostly instrumental showcase featuring solos by saxophonist Lee Allen, drummer Earl Palmer and—a rarity among his own recordings—a prominent piano solo from Smith. A year later, “Rockin’ Pneumonia” was released and credited to Huey Smith and the Clowns, a group that didn’t actually exist beyond the recording studio. Smith sings on the recording, but “Scarface” John Williams is the primary vocalist. “I

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kept moving back (from the mic),” the pianist says. “I didn’t like how I sound. I liked the way John sounds. So I said, ‘Get in closer, John. I’m trying to get a hit out of this.’” Smith was touring the Northeast with a show that featured the popular New Orleans duo, Shirley and Lee, when he learned that “Rockin’ Pneumonia” had infected the R&B charts. He invited Bobby Marchan, another New Orleans performer on the tour, to join him as a member of the stage version of the Clowns. Ace Records, in fact, had already released Marchan’s recording of a Smith song, “Chickee Wah-Wah.” “With the hit record, ‘Rockin’ Pneumonia,’ and Bobby on the front line with the group, we were going to be successful,” Smith says. “Bobby was aware of that, too.” Smith experienced his greatest commercial success during his first stint with Ace, but his early 1960s singles for Imperial are classic Huey Smith and the Clowns recordings, too. Smith was still signed to Imperial when Johnny Vincent’s Ace Records issued 1962’s “Pop-Eye” as a Huey Smith and the Clowns single. The song’s Popeye dance-inspired vocals had been added to a Smith music track from the Ace vault. “Imperial was talking about suing me and Johnny, like I had went back to Johnny,” Smith says. “So Johnny then told them I had re-signed with him.” “Pop-Eye” nearly entered the Top 50 of Billboard’s pop chart. “We went straight to the Apollo with it to headline,” Smith says. “Me, Billy (Brooks) and Curley (Moore).” Following the mid-’60s collapse of Ace, Smith recorded for Joe Banashak’s New Orleans-based Instant label through the rest of

the decade. He also produced for Banashak sessions with Curley Moore, Larry Darnell and, most successful of all, white soul singer Skip Easterling. Easterling’s remake of Muddy Waters’ “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man,” re-imagined by Smith, was phenomenally popular with African-American audiences in Texas and the deep South. “Hoochie Coochie Man” would be Instant Records and Smith’s last hurrah. Smith became a devout member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and thereafter rarely performed, especially after his move to Baton Rouge in 1980. In 1982, hoping to recover royalties from Vincent and Ace Records, he signed a contract with Artists Rights Enforcement Corp.,

a New York City-based company that collects royalties for recording artists and songwriters. Smith fired the company in 1984. Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. in turn sued him in 1988 for breach of contract. For services rendered to Smith, Artists Rights Enforcement claimed it was owed a perpetual

50 percent of royalties generated by the composer’s four most famous and profitable songs, “Rockin’ Pneumonia,” “High Blood Pressure,” “Sea Cruise” and “Don’t You Just Know It.” In 1992, the U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge and U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans both ruled against Smith. He continued to fight the monetary judgment against him but, in 2000, his bankruptcy trustee sold the four songs at the heart of the suits to Cotillion Music, Inc., for $1 million. Bankruptcy creditor Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. received most of the sale’s proceeds. Now 75, Smith is happy and confident in his Christian faith. “We illustrate a person like me as being this caterpillar crawling,” he told Baton Rouge’s The Advocate in 2000. “Well, that was Huey Smith, the musician. So, now I’m studying the Bible with the Jehovah’s Witnesses and—what have you? A beautiful butterfly.” Smith sees music as his distant past. Not being one to seek glory for himself, he has no desire to be one of New Orleans’ periodically declared secular music saints. Nonetheless, the undeniable, influential groove and joy in his music are his lasting legacy. “The thing Huey did on ‘High Blood Pressure,’” Dr. John says, “it’s just three little notes, but the note he puts in the middle of it, it’s a Huey Smith signature. That very lick is one thing that Allen (Toussaint) used in Chris Kenner’s ‘Something You Got.’ It was used a million other ways—by me, everybody else, but it originally came from Huey. Coming up, he had that kind of impression on us as piano players. Hey, it’s a lot of him in all of them. Huey is a major part of the whole thing.” O www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS

Reviews

When submitting CDs for consideration, please send two copies of the CD to OffBeat Reviews, 421 Frenchmen Street, Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116

CDs reviewed are available now at In the French Quarter 210 Decatur Street 504-586-1094 or online at LouisianaMusicFactory.com

Tight, Loose and Vibrant

New Orleans Nightcrawlers Slither Slice (Threadhead) Very rarely does an album come along that redefines the sound and spirit of an entire genre. On their first release in almost a decade, the New Orleans Nightcrawlers have created a sound more imaginative, adventurous and contagious than any of its esteemed forebears. On all fronts—musically, compositionally and productionwise—the band’s fourth album, Slither Slice, sets an unprecedented high within the brass band world. In recent years, the “contemporary” New Orleans brass band scene has slipped further and further into the novelty range—all party and no substance. And while splashing funk, hip-hip, soul and R&B atop some second-line beats and alongside a slew of freewheeling solos may pave the way for an epic, all-night celebration, rarely does it lead to an album of any significance. On the other side of this debate, “traditional” brass band albums often offer arresting displays of musicianship, but rarely do they stir up any sort of frenzy. What sets the Nightcrawlers apart is their ability to capture the rampant enthusiasm of a sweaty brass soiree and color each nuance and shift with sublime expertise and vitality without any discernable tradeoff.

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Slither Slice is more than just a string of grooves or a captivating musical showcase. It’s an experience—the embodiment a new era, sonically and culturally. You can feel it in the swirling horns, swinging saxes, bounding rhythms and billowing sousaphone of “8th Ward Strut.” From the sonorous groove of the title track to the tense eruption of “Come Back with It,” and from the crackling call-and-response of “Hold’em Joe” to the resounding momentum of “Alright Alright” and on to the frenetic rumble of “Pontchartrain Beach,” the parade takes many twists and turns. Still, showmanship never overshadows songcraft, even though most tracks span six minutes. While you’ll be hard pressed to find brass this tight, jazz this loose and funk this vibrant, it’s Slither Slice’s intangibles that’ll really blow you away. Listen closely, dance freely and discover the pulse of New Orleans today. —Aaron LaFont

Alex McMurray How to Be a Cannonball (Threadhead) Alex McMurray’s long awaited new album, How to Be a Cannonball, could be the record that gives him the recognition as being one of the best songwriters working today. Every week there is some new hype about some two-bit indie rocker kid from Laurel Canyon, Hyde Park or Alphabet City whose songs are “compelling,” “cinematic,” or “haunting.” Ninety-nine percent of them can’t touch McMurray’s music, honed by years of Wednesday night solo shows at the Circle Bar and gigs of every description at every bar and music club in town. How to Be a Cannonball shows a songwriter and musician working at the top of his

craft with a sympathetic band that can follow his every whim. McMurray writes tales of folks who live slightly off-center. Some are freaks. Some are simply characters with strong opinions, and McMurray uses a variety of voices and arrangements to illustrate their stories. There are rockers, ballads and cabaret tunes, all of which have stick-in-your-head melodies. Whether softly singing an ode to Ernie and Antoinette K-Doe or ranting about Captain Sandy, McMurray’s lovely voice and tone allow him to inhabit his characters without turning them into caricatures. His ear for detail lets him portray his subjects in unique ways, whether he’s warning listeners in the mutant cha-cha of “The Barber of Shibuya” who “has a razor for a hand,” or updating his character Otis, who has now escaped from the asylum and is hiding out under a sink. In his latest anthem for New Orleans, “You Got to be Crazy to Live in This Town,” McMurray ventures into Randy Newman territory as he sings about the state of his living. He never speaks directly about Katrina or the federal flood, but he does detail that the stopped clocks are “somewhere on the neutral ground between here and Thibodeaux” and that gravity “is crying up in the attic where we done hid.” It’s a rueful lament with Bob Andrews’ whirling organ adding to the proud-in-defeat tone. How to Be a Cannonball is not about New Orleans, but it could not happen any place else. The characters and incidents can exist or happen other places, but they happen here more frequently. In some ways, McMurray is our poet/ songwriter playing about our lives in New Orleans, and he gives his songs a truthfulness and authenticity that songwriters elsewhere can’t touch. —David Kunian

Austin Pitre and the Evangeline Playboys Essential Early Cajun Recordings of Austin Pitre & the Evangeline Playboys (Swallow) In recent years, Swallow Records has expanded its longstanding Cajun Pioneer series with reissues of recordings by such figureheads as Adam Hebert (2005) and Joe Bonsall (2008). Its latest installment, Austin Pitre (pronounced ‘Pete’) is another stellar choice, mainly because he was the stuff of legends. He drew capacity crowds at clubs, not only with exhilarating dance music but also with flamboyant showmanship. When he wanted his crowd to go bonkers, he played the squeezebox between his legs and behind his back and head, long before Jimi Hendrix ever thought about doing that with a guitar. He was also known to be the first accordionist to play standing up without using a strap, which requires great physical strength. This bountiful, chronologically arranged 24-track collection is a comprehensive examination of Pitre’s Swallow discography. The rousing 1959 hit single, “Flammes D’Enfer” as well as its flip side, “Opelousas Waltz,” open the album; several previously unreleased sides from the early ’70s round it out. In between, Pitre and the Evangeline Playboys are exemplary on standards and signature originals alike, a few of which were strategically christened after dancehalls. There’s even an English-sung number, “Don’t You Shake My Trees,” that’s a grooving adaptation of Nathan Abshire’s “Pine Grove Blues” during which Pitre practically screeches his lungs out. Several tracks find a steel guitarist providing snazzy licks while the electric guitarist tears it up in a riveting, honky-tonk style. www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS

When it’s Pitre’s turn for a ride, he comes barreling in authoritatively with clean, precise playing. Thanks to this posthumous anthology, Pitre, with his killer, high vocals, is cooler than ever. —Dan Willging

Brian Blade Mama Rosa (Verve Forecast) Shreveport drummer Brian Blade sets out to blend smooth Christian soft-rock with melodic blues vibes that attempt to carry listeners on a journey within their spirits for them to see the light and know the Lord, but sadly his message falls short. Mama Rosa starts out with Blade’s soft ethereal voice telling me to “sleep my darlin’ through the night / I’m gonna watch until the morning light”, and I wanted to believe him. But the first song is the best song, and the album doesn’t progress from there. Blade never explores where else his piano and guitar can take him as they make the same rise and fall for eight counts in songs, and then they repeat. The two bright spots of the album appear in the form of background vocalist, Kelly Jones and Blade’s descriptive lyrics. Jones provides a nice harmony vocal that truly sounds like an angel on “Mercy Angel.” Her soft breathy voice makes you want to close your eyes and follow her to wherever or whatever higher place she is trying to elevate you to. Whenever Jones’ voice graces the song, it’s a pleasure. The other high point comes in Blade’s attention to visual details. In “Second Home,” he swiftly evokes day-to-day life, singing, “Plastic beads hang from trees / must have been a parade yesterday or maybe last year/ I don’t know.” The immediacy of the commonplace

image is simple and arresting, and suggests a level of engagement with New Orleans that goes beyond tourist bureau thrills. It’s nice to see Blade step out from behind the drum kit and reveal himself as a songwriter, but it’s sad that Mama Rosa doesn’t reach its full potential because you can tell that the songs are genuine and speak from a sincere place in his heart. —Briana Prevost

grandfather, who freely swap rides on accordion and steel. Though most of this disc consists of beautiful renditions of timeless classics, Martin and co-writer Johnny Alan could walk away with the Cajun French Music Association Cajun Song of the Year with the title track, the story of a protagonist who meets his angelic-looking paramour at church. —Dan Willging

Joel Martin and the Family Band

Wiley and the Checkmates

Love in My Life,” but the strength of the album is in its directness. There are no double entendres, no self-conscious efforts at innovation. Instead, the Checkmates provide the sort of classic soul sonic framework for a singer who doesn’t fool around with metaphors. Wiley’s a blues man, and he’s speaking his mind with passion. And as history and We Call it Soul shows, passion goes a long, long way. —Briana Prevost

We Call it Soul (Rabbit Factory)

Kat Walker

L’Ange de la Chapelle (Independent) The Pine Leaf Boys’ Wilson Savoy and Lafayette Rhythm Devils’ Blake Miller aren’t the only hot shots to hail from accordion-building lineage. Meet Joel Martin, the 22-year-old grandson of accordion builder Junior Martin, who, on L’Ange de la Chapelle, his debut disc, establishes that he belongs in the elite class of accordionists. He plays with plenty of feeling, pops with enthusiasm and exhibits steady timing in between tricky trills and intricate grace notes. Instead of the typical accordion-fiddle interplay, most of the interaction heard here is between Martin and his

Straight out of Oxford, Mississippi, Herbert Wiley and his Mates insist that they are not an “appraisal of music that came out some 40 years ago,” but if you hear southern soul that recalls the glory days of the genre, you’re not alone. Wiley’s voice reveals the wisdom that comes with age when he speaks about the struggles of life and love with his southern Mississippi accent on the slow ballad, “I Did my Part.” The simple guitar melody and steady bongo beat smoothly melt into the gentle rise and fall of the trumpet. Fellow Checkmate Tricanna McGee occasionally, but nicely, blends her strong alto vocals in harmony with Wiley’s on the Stax-like “I Want Your

Jazz Skat Gumbo (Independent) Kat Walker has an appealing burr in her voice when she hits lower notes, and her easygoing style is charming for its lack of pretension. But when an album covers the standard-est of standards, the versions need to open up some aspect of the song or feature astounding musicianship. The playing on Jazz Skat Gumbo is fine, but really, neither happens, so it’s hard to think of the album as more than a souvenir to sell off the bandstand. Seriously, is there another reason to record “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” “Cry Me a River,” “Fever,”

An Experimental Sun Big Chief Monk Boudreaux feat Reverend Goat Carson Rising Sun (f.Boo Music) As a member of the venerated Golden Eagles, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux played a key role in bringing the Mardi Gras Indian tradition to national and international prominence. In New Orleans, his persona is as indelible and cherished as any of his more widely renowned cohorts. On his latest album, Rising Sun, which also features Cherokee sage Reverend Goat Carson, Boudreaux comes out blazing with “Golden Crown,” a pulsating blues rocker that seeks to capture the excitement and anticipation of setting out with the Big Chief and his tribe on a Mardi Gras morning. Rising Sun, much like a Mardi Gras parade, is a mixed bag of

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surprises. Occasionally, the music outpaces Monk’s reverberant timbre. On “Golden Grown,” guitarist John Lisi’s impulsive, whirlwind riffs eclipse the Big Chief’s hearty calls. Things play out much better on “Voodoo Woman,” a track where Monk’s entrancing chants resonate deeply within Lisi’s funky, psychedelic grooves. There are also a few tunes which feel contrived and out of place on this largely experimental and introspective disc. The fun but hokey shuffle “Dance with Me”—a quirky reworking of the seasonal favorite “Mardi Gras in New Orleans”—offers little in comparison to the strippeddown, pedal steel-streaked closer “Iko, Iko,” a fervent rendering of the spirited Mardi Gras classic. Of Carson’s three contributions, the belligerent, satirical romp

“Captain Kirk and Custer” makes the most lasting impression. As for Rising Sun, its most memorable songs stem from a deep, mysterious undercurrent. The title track rises from a dark, misty fog to unearth a rich, passionate, reggae-tinted collage. The Uppressors’ Ru Williams and Goat Carson both contribute verses to the album’s most arresting and enduring number, “Brothers.” In the cathartic refrain, “All I got for you my brother is love,” lies a powerful recollection of the past and a sign of hope and strength for the future. —Aaron LaFont JULY 2009

REVIEWS

“Mack the Knife, “Me and Bobbie McGee,” Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Over the Rainbow” in 2009? —Alex Rawls

Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse Cries From Tha Ghetto (Pi Recordings) Corey Wilkes has been getting attention as the up-and-coming Chicago trumpet player for several years now. Those are pretty big shoes to fill, but Wilkes is likely used to that, since he was the man chosen in 2003 by Roscoe Mitchell to play trumpet with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, a position that had been vacant since the great Lester Bowie

passed in 1999. Wilkes’ most recent release, Cries From Tha Ghetto, features his band Abstrakt Pulse made up of other promising young Chicagoans. The tracks range from the wild, freely improvised “SICK JJ,” to the swingingly open “Chasin’ LeRoy,” and hit some spaces in between. Wilkes sounds right at home going from playing flowing lines with bravura in one breath to energetically abstract sounds in the next. Guitarist Scott Hesse has a sound that is at times reminiscent of Steve Masakowski. The credits list Jumaane Taylor on tap dance, and at the times when his presence is clearly audible, he makes a very interesting addition. The words “young” and “promising” are often used to describe these musicians, and while the young can be heard at times, the promising usually shines through. This is a well-executed and stylistically varied disc that will be enjoyed, especially by fans that have followed the musical developments of Chicago’s South Side. This is one of the next steps in that development. —Steve Vernon

Jessica Lurie Ensemble

If one wanted to make a case for the idea that the segregation of music into genres limits our ability to appreciate new sounds, then the Jessica Lurie Ensemble’s Shop of Wild Dreams could be Exhibit 1A. The first sound heard is a baritone ukulele that can sound like a banjo, and within the next 20 seconds you will hear instruments usually associated with rock, Latin and jazz styles. Six of the 10 tracks are instrumentals, and four are vocals. It would be fairly easy to deal with the six instrumental tracks as a jazz album, or at least as something coming out of a jazz lineage, just as the four vocal tracks could readily be viewed in modern folk terms. However, they are deliberately not presented in such a segregated fashion. The tracks are alternately instrumental then vocal, with the only consecutive instrumentals coming at the close of the CD. That description might lead to the idea that Shop of Wild Dreams is a schizophrenic offering, but in spite of its seeming contradictions,

it is quite coherent when dealt with on the terms it establishes. It is a broad presentation of the musical spirit of Lurie, and that spirit has roots in places ranging from baroque instrumental music to avant jazz to indie rock to jam bands. Approaching this disc from any one of those specific generic places will cause you to make possibly harsh judgments, but letting this music come to you unencumbered by the orthodoxies of genre will let you experience a deep and personal musical statement from a complex musical personality. Some of it is just plain fun, like the jaunty “Grinch,” with its buoyant groove and vibrant flute solo that builds intensity as the layers of electronics and rhythm section ease in. Other highlights include the Parisian-gypsy-cabaret vibe of “Circus Rain,” which was inspired by a Seattle storm that got Lurie thinking about the New Orleans flood. Mention must be made of co-producer Todd Sickafoose, as the attention to detail in the layering of the sounds, and introduction of electro-acoustic elements are a large part of what helps this music reach its potential. —Steve Vernon

song that likely found its start when Holsapple lost his home in Arabi during Hurricane Katrina. But the song’s not just about Katrina or loss; instead, it focuses on going through loss in many senses, and how we carry on anyway. Age means both are more emotionally developed and affecting when they tread familiar turf. The dB’s output was often hard to get, with the first two albums available in their own hometown only as British imports since they were on Albion Records. It seems sadly appropriate that their albums have been equally slow to be reissued. Collector’s Club finally reissued the first two on one disc, and now Rhino Records has Like This available for digital download. It was the band’s first album without Stamey, and it may be Holsapple’s tour de force as a writer. He’d started streamlining his

songs, but “Love is for Lovers” is as rich and surprising as anything before it. My attention drifts a bit on side two, but the only song that has dated is the rock-disco “Spy in the House of Love,” but even it is charming for the momentary presumption that seemed to infiltrate most corners of the rock ’n’ roll world that people would dance to almost anything. The truth is that they’ll sing along to almost anything, and I could still sing along to most of Like This on my first listen in over 20 years. —Alex Rawls

Shop of Wild Dreams (Zipa!Music)

Big Boys Now Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey Here and Now (Bar None)

The dB’s Like This (Rhino download) The first two albums by the dB’s could barely contain all the ideas written into each song. On Stands for decibels and Repercussions, Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey’s pop songs were full of unpredictable changes, clever lyrics and smart moves that made them irresistible for anyone who valued density and intelligence in pop. Almost 30 years later, both writers have lived long enough to realize you don’t have to say everything at once, and that ideas can be meted out more judiciously. On Here and Now, they’re big boys and maturity is filtering in, but not

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too much. Holsapple’s “Early in the Morning” may sing the joys of domesticity and Stamey’s “Song for Johnny Cash” might express the sort of profound love that no one on Gossip Girl can understand, but that doesn’t mean they’ve outgrown pop. It still appears in its most bubble gum forms a few times here. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the album’s gems are mid-tempo and melancholy. “Santa Monica” is a dB’s reunion, but that’s a secondary attraction to the lovely, slightly desperate expression of love. The wary verse opens into a gorgeous chorus with the sudden expansiveness of someone walking outside at night to marvel at the star field above. The insightful realization? “I want to hang around with you,” which sounds soul-fulfilling as Stamey sings it. On “Begin Again,” Branford Marsalis’ sax weaves through a

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REVIEWS

Various Artists Keep Your Soul: a Tribute to Doug Sahm (Vanguard) Tribute albums: We smile, nod, applaud a good cause if one’s attached, take it home, play the first 15 minutes, file, excrete a few years down the road at the multi-family garage sale. And by that point, hey, we’ve forgotten the thing was up there. The family domicile weighs a little less. We fall for it again down the road. The earth goes around the sun. How, then, can Keep Your Soul elbow a few promising indie discs aside to sit near the top of my Top Ten 2009? The company Doug Sahm kept. Let us never underestimate the man. Shawn Sahm, Doug’s chip off the old block, says Dad always thought in baseball terms. To retire his number, a bracing all-star team takes the field. Doug Sahm, leader of the Sir Douglas Quartet (Plus Two) (then minus the Plus Two) amongst other acts, stood, sonically very near the Nexus of country, blues and boogie— that odd but crucial shunt where gospel flows into R&B to create soul. Retracers of his path cannot get quite so close as his own footprints; think The Journey to the Center of the Earth and its colorful cast coming up short on Arne Saknussemm’s trail. But they serve up one sizzling platter of pleasurably close shaves. Little Willie G., armed with not one but two men named Cooder (Ry and Joachim) puts some muscle into “She’s About A Mover.” Alejandro Escovedo surfaces like a Japanese movie monster to scorch the earth with “Too Little Too Late,” notwithstanding the plaintive fiddle struggling to ground him. Dave Alvin can scorch if he so needs, but he’s happy for the warmth of a hopefully-not-too explosive “Dynamite Woman.” I could stick this into the jukebox and listen all night long. Pay full price for this one. —Andrew Hamlin

Ruthie Foster The Truth According to Ruthie Foster (Blue Corn Music) In The Truth According to Ruthie Foster, the Texas-bred singer draws

from a wide palate of American song forms, from folk, gospel and jazz, in an album stylistically much broader than its predecessor, 2007’s The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster. Here, Foster updates her sound with touches of contemporary R&B and bluesy soul, sounding at times like Lizz Wright or Janiva Magness. Foster is a gifted singer who enjoys showcasing a variety of styles, from the opening, bubbly soul of “Stone Love” with a busy horn section and a prominent electric piano, to the plaintive, gospel-influenced “When It Don’t Come Easy.” Accompanying musicians Robben Ford, Larry Fulcher, and Memphis veterans Jim Dickinson, Wayne Jackson and Charles Hodges give form and shape to the album, skillfully maneuvering genre variations with ease, including Southern blues, reggae, R&B, gospel, country and jazz. Foster wrote five of the tunes on the album, belying any suspicion of her ability beyond singing. Her own “Joy on the Other Side” plays like an old-time gospel hymn with twangy guitar and an uptempo beat, while “Dues Paid in Full” lends a funky Memphis soul style punctuated with sharp horn blasts and a prominent organ. Foster’s songwriting is wellcrafted and influenced heavily by early soul, funk and R&B. Foster has a naturally expressive voice that often draws comparisons to Aretha Franklin and Tracy Chapman. The track that best encapsulates the torrent of emotions on The Truth According to Ruthie Foster is perhaps “Truth!,” a slash and burn, electric blues romp that reinforces the basic message of the album: “Truth is right where you are!” —Adrienne Bruno

Fox Bat Strategy A Tribute to Dave Jaurequi (Absurda) As with other works of film director and multi-talented artist David Lynch, this record is beautiful and peculiar. Lynch produced, mixed and co-wrote all of the songs, supplying all of the lyrics on the album. The passing of the Fox Bat Strategy guitarist, vocalist and lead songwriter in 2006 prompted Lynch to finally have these 1994

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JULY 2009

REVIEWS recordings released from the band that recorded the soundtrack to Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. And what greater honor to Jaurequi’s memory than to make these evergreen tracks, shimmering diamonds that they are, available finally to the public. The six songs alternate between dark and light, although really they could all be characterized as having been recorded at dusk. This being a Lynch project, atmosphere always comes first, and it is often at once dramatic and hazy. Fans of eclectic jazz guitarist Bill Frisell will find it immediately familiar. Hawaiian slack-key, Mexican mariachi and California rock ’n’ roll were three of the biggest influences on Jaurequi, and evidence of this is strewn throughout the record. Nowhere do these elements come together more harmoniously than on the gorgeous “You’re the One,” The-Greatest-End-Credits-SongThat-Never-Was. Its plinking piano, played gently but urgently by Andy Armer, propels this gem to pop

perfection. Melodious, simple, slightly exotic, and sure to receive the repeat-button treatment. The sonic trademark of the album is reverb—a series of reflections of an original sound wave now gone. With the longdue release of these recordings, the reverberations on this disc can now live eternally, the echoes carrying on the memory of their creator. —Ben Berman

High Performance Live From Breaux Bridge (Swallow) Long before Steve Riley envisioned the Cajun super group Racines, Mamou Playboys’ drummer Kevin Dugas had a similar idea: model a topnotch band after the Belton Richard/Aldus Roger ensembles of the ’60s featuring twin fiddles and heavy steel guitar. Dugas didn’t settle for any crew of all-stars but those who best fit the concept including vocalist/fiddler Jamey Bearb, who

Little Bit of Everything Various Artists Sound of New Orleans, 1992-2005 (Fremeaux Associes) This is a two-CD French compilation that cherry picks the catalog of Gary Edwards’ Sound Of New Orleans label. S.O.N.O. has always been very much a blue-collar label. Their roster doesn’t really have any high profile artists, the CDs don’t sport any “arty” covers, and they’ve never had anything that resembles a hit. Often, artists’ sales from the bandstand amount to more than what regular retail sales amount to. However, Edwards managed to release some damn good CDs until Katrina suckerpunched him and his label. (Edwards’ Canal Boulevard studio/office was all but in the shadow of the 17th Street Canal. He literally lost everything. Edwards moved to Houston, but recently returned to New Orleans.) Because of the concept of this 40-track collection, it has a shotgun approach. There are lots of different artists and different styles of music.

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There are recognizable names including the Zion Harmonizers, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. and Tommy Ridgley, but there are also artists that even in the household of a New Orleans music buff are totally unknown. There is a conscious effort here to assemble songs strongly associated with New Orleans, i.e. “Go to the Mardi Gras,” “Hey Pocky Way,” “Sick and Tired,” etc. In iTunes terminology, if there was a “New Orleans Party Shuffle” playlist, this CD would fit the bill. Lots of listenable stuff here and a nice tribute to a guy who never got the credit he deserves. —Jeff Hannusch

many feel is the modern day vocalist stylistically closest to Belton, and steel ace Richard Comeaux, formerly of the homegrown, major-label country group River Road. While Riley would be the obvious choice for the accordion chair, for the first half of this live affair he plays lush, twin fiddles with Bearb while 23-yearold hotshot Jason Bergeron rips on the box. Bergeron and Riley swap axes for the second half, providing an interesting contrast between Bergeron’s aggressive approach and Riley’s reliance on finesse. The proceedings rock and swing like crazy, practically exploding out of the chute with the opening instrumental “Aces Rock” (Richard’s theme song). The twin fiddle combo is often overpowering while Comeaux slathers on the steel for some jaw-dropping rides. Since much of this was Richard inspired, it makes sense that many of these selections were either his compositions or at least a part of his repertoire. Wisely, High Performance avoided the obvious hits and embraced lesser-known gems such as “Along the River” and “I’ll Always Take Care of You” that are graced by pretty melodies. Still, Richard isn’t the disc’s only honoree. Dugas also wanted to give a few tunes of his father Nolan a second life. The septuagenarian Dugas capably croons two of them (“Broken Family Waltz,” “Married to One, In Love with Another”). Afterwards, he remarks, “When I wrote that song 50 years ago, I didn’t know I would be playing with such good musicians,” thereby issuing the understatement of the year. —Dan Willging

Lafayette Gilchrist Soul Progressin’ (Hyena) Lafayette Gilchrist refers to soul as “the most essential part of my offering,” and Soul Progressin’ serves as his testament to that idea. Gilchrist, who still calls Baltimore home, has roots in the DC go-go scene, as well as in the left-of-center jazz world as a member of David Murray’s quartet. Those roots shine clearly here. Soul Progressin’ contains two solo piano excursions that show

Gilchrist’s sensitivity and imagination, but the meat of the disc is solid grooves with angular and sometimes crunchy horns. The grooves come from the go-go aesthetic, as opposed to a more interactive and loose New Orleans approach. My first take was to hear these grooves as safe, but repeated listening shows that no other aspect of this CD has any interest in safety. They are a successful realization of Gilchrist’s concept, and much of the vibrancy of this CD comes from the material that he lays on top of the grooves. The five-piece horn section plays the dense and sometimes wild arrangements with fervor and just the right amount of disregard for orthodoxy. The legacy of Sun Ra is apparent, most obviously in the spirit of the horns and on “Those Frowning Clowns,” which was inspired by “years of official lies and needless war.” “Detective’s Tip” starts with a solo piano exploration of one of Gilchrist’s “film noir fantasies”, and eventually the rest of the band joins in on the fun. Maybe it is the Baltimore/ detective psychic connection that makes this track work so well; I don’t think Gilchrist ever appeared on The Wire, but he and his band play the part well here. “Uncrowned” is a solo piano piece that was written on the passing of Andrew Hill, and Gilchrist shares Hill’s ability to make the seemingly familiar quite personal. The up-tempo pieces like “Between Us” and the closer, “Many Exits No Doors,” are the most immediately rewarding, but the entire CD will repay repeated listens by revealing subtle layers of depth to what may have at first seemed like a two dimensional image. —Steve Vernon

More Reviews For reviews of these CDs, go to OffBeat.com: Bob Dylan: Together Through Life (Columbia); Rod Stewart: Atlantic Crossing (Rhino/ WB); Various Artists: Playing for Change (Hear); Becca Rice: Becca Rice (Backporch Revolution); Impulss: Category Shybe (Independent) www.OFFBEAT.com

WEDNESDAY JULY 1

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (AU) 8p, Big Soul (BL) Balcony Music Club: Kings of Happy Hour (RH FK) 8p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Nervous Duane (RR) 7p, Silent Fury (RR) 11p Chickie Wah Wah: Jolly House feat. Ed Volker, Reggie Scanlan, Michael Skinkus and Joe Cabral (OR) 8p Columns Hotel: Riccardo Crespo (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Tin Men (BL) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall Classics feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Love Hog, Itchy Hearts (RR) 10p House of Blues: Toad & the Wet Sprocket (RR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf: Flow Tribe, Hightide Blues and the Steps, Dave Shaw (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Billy Iuso & the Restless Natives (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Joe Krown (SI) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: WOTP After Show feat. Marc Stone & Camile Baudoin (BL) 7:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Clarence Johnson III (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY JULY 2

Apple Barrel: Dave Gregg & the Odd Man Band (BL) 8p, Kenny Holladay (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Fine Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Balcony Music Club: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p, Pat Casey & the New Sound (FK) 9p Banks Street Bar: Summer of R&B with Tommy Singleton (RB) 8p

Blue Nile: DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Domenic (BL) 7p, the Fens (RR) 10p Columns Hotel: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p Copeland’s Social City: the Topcats (PP) 9p d.b.a.: Andrew Duhon (BL) 7p, Joe Krown Organ Combo (FK) 10p Dos Jefes: George French Band (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (RH) 10p, Lenny Stoofy, Aiua, Good Day for an Airstrike (RR) 7p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Harrah’s: Jazz Night feat. Michael Ward (JV) 6-9p Hi Ho Lounge: Michael Moore & NOLA Friends (jV) 10p House of Blues: Road to Essence Music Festival feat. Joe with Chico DeBarge (RH) 8p, Pure Soul (RB) 12a Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): ThrowBack Thursday (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Darby’s House of Cards (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels Thursday Night House Party (BB) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny Vidacovich and special guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Keith Frank (ZY) 8:30p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. The Geraniums (FR) 6p Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & WestBank Mike (BL) 6:30p One Eyed Jacks: Fast Times ‘80s Night (PP) 10p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. Treme Brass Band (BB) 8p Rivershack: Mark Carson Band (BL RR) 7p

Snug Harbor: Wade Barnes and Unit Structures (MJ) 8p, 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MH) 10p

FRIDAY JULY 3

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay & Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Balcony Music Club: the Piranah Gypsy Swing (JV) 7p Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (OR) 7p, Hat Talkk, the Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Sohns (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Dappa Live with DJ Dat Boi & the PSP Movement (RH) 10p Bombay Club: Judy Spellman & Trio (JV RB) 9:30p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Jimmy Robinson & Friends (RR) 9:30p Checkpoint Charlie: Mike Darby (BL) 7p, T-Bone Stone (BL) 11p Chickie Wah Wah: Ernie Vincent and the Top Notes (FK BL) 7p Columns Hotel: Sweet Home New Orleans Renew Our Music (VR) 5p Copeland’s Social City: Kingsroe (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, Brian Coogan Band (FK) 10p Dragon’s Den: Meadow Flow, Big Rick Candy Mountain, Morning Bell (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Gatusso’s: One (RR) 6p Hi Ho Lounge: Psycho Devilles, the Bedlamville Triflers (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 5p, the Jesse Moore Band (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, Monque’D Blues Band (BL) 11p Maple Leaf: Barisal Guns (FK) 10p

Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: the Radiators (RR) 10p Mimi’s: Zazou City (JV) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Amanda Walker (BL) 6:30p, All Purpose Blues Band (BL) 9:30p One Eyed Jacks: Club of the Sons CD-release party feat. Kid Midi (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Steve Pistorius (JV) 8p Rivershack: Gal Holiday (BL RR) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Trio feat. Johnaye Kendrick (MJ) 8p, 10p Free Midnight Show feat. Mario Abney Quartet (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: Bag of Donuts (PP RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Fredy Omar con su Banda, Los Po-boy-citos (LT) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY JULY 4

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Balcony Music Club: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Jesse Moore Band, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT RR) 9p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Blue Nile: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 7p, Soul Rebels Brass Band (BB) 10p Bombay Club: Arlee Leonard & Trio (JV RB) 9:30p Café Negril: Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: call club Copeland’s Social City: Bits & Pieces (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Little Freddie King (BL) 11p Dragon’s Den: Geen, Kypher, Proppa Bear, DJ Resin (RR RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Charlie Fardella (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Hawg Jaw, Tire Fire (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Special Essence Jam (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Schatzy & Associates (BL) 5p, Happy Fourth of July feat. Rites of Passage (BL) 9p

GUIDE

Here are OffBeat’s highlights of music and entertainment in New Orleans and the surrounding area for the current month. Each day’s events are listed in alphabetical order by club or venue. Listings are compiled based on information provided by clubs, bands and promoters up to our deadlines. Unfortunately, some information was not available at press time and listings are subject to change.

Special events, concerts, festivals and theater listings follow the daily listings. Other events may be included at offbeat.com. For up-tothe-minute music listings, check OffBeat’s web page at www.offbeat. com. Also, check out www.louisianatravel.com for the OffBeat Music Calendar. For more details on a show, call the club directly. Phone numbers of clubs are shown in this section and/or at offbeat.com.

To include your date or event, please email information to our listings editor, Craig Guillot at craigguillot@offbeat.com or call 504-944-4300. Mr. Guillot can also provide listing deadlines for upcoming issues.

AC AU BG BL BU BB SH KJ

FE FR FK FS GG GS MJ TJ

RG RH RB RC RR SI SKA SS

A Cappella Acoustic Big Band Blues Bluegrass Brass Band Cabaret/Show Cajun

KS CL CR KR CO CW DN DG

Christian Classical Classic Rock College Rock Comedy Country Dance Dance Group

Folk/Ethnic Folk Rock Funk Fusion Girl Group Gospel Jazz. Contemp. Jazz, Traditional

JV LT ME OL OR PK PP PR

Jazz, Variety Latin Metal Oldies Originals Piano/Keyboards Pop/Top 40/Covers Modern Rock

Reggae/World Beat Rap/Hip Hop Rhythm & Blues Rockabilly Rock Swing Ska Singer/Songwriter

SW TC TG VR VF VM ZY

Spoken Word Techno/ Electronica Thrash/Grunge Variety Vocal, Female Vocal, Male Zydeco

When you’re out, text the word ‘offbeat’ to 33669 for daily updates & statewide listings, or log onto offbeat.com www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

JULY 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Jealous Monk (RR) 11p Maple Leaf: Colonel Bruce Hampton & the Quark Alliance (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Kermit Ruffins Barbecue Party (MJ) 10p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 6:30p, Honey Island Swamp Band (BL) 9:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band feat. Steve Pistorious (JV) 8p Rivershack: Christian Serpas & Ghost Town (CW) 10p Snug Harbor: Free Show feat. Sweet Home Jazz Trio (MJ) 3p, Donald Harrison Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p, Free Midnight Show feat. Jamele Williams and Skychild (MJ) 12a Tipitina’s: Shamarr Allen’s 2nd Annual StarSpangled Birthday Bash (JV) 10p Trinity Church: July 4th with the Patriotic Project Youth Choir feat. 100 singers directed by Dr. Valeria Francis (CL) 2p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p Vaughan’s: block party feat. Prince Albert, the Dog Man and his Royal Knights (MH) 3p

SUNDAY JULY 5

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Johnny J. and Benny Maygarden (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 9p Banks Street Bar: Sunglasses and Mushrooms (RR) 8p Café Negril: Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Checkpoint Charlie: open mic feat. Jim Smith (SS) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (BL) 3p, John Mooney (BL) 6p Columns Hotel: Sunday Brunch (JV) 11a Copeland’s Social City: Rockin’ Jerry (PP) 6:30p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Kenny Claiborne Band (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR RH) 10p, Poetry Slam (SW) 7:30p Fritzel’s: Kevin Clark (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p Jimbeaux’s: Rites of Swing (JV) 4p Kerry Irish Pub: T-Bone Stone & the Lazy Boys (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Jesse Moore (BL RR) 3p Preservation Hall: Maynard Chatters and His Your Father’s Moustache Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Free Show feat.Tom McDermott (MJ) 3p, Dr. Michael White Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Trinity Church: Rocky’s Hot Fox Trot Orchestra (JV) 5p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY JULY 6

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Shotgun House (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Domenic (RR FR) 8p, Mario Abney (JV FK) 10p Banks Street Bar: CR Gruver & Aaron Lambert’s Deuce (OR) 9p

J U LY 2 0 0 9

Checkpoint Charlie: Dave Stover (RR BL) 7p, Ready & Eddy (RR BL) 10:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Raphael Bas and Pierre Pichon (JV) 7p Columns Hotel: David Doucet (KJ) 5p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Know One, GDP, Daniel Joseph (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Tim Laughlin (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Jimbeaux’s: Jerry Jumonville (JV) 6:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Damien Louviere (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Westbank Mike & the Fischer Projects (BL) 7:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmine Neville & Friends (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Taize feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

TUESDAY JULY 7

Apple Barrel: Luke (BL) 8p, Shotgun House (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Steve Allen Group (JV) 6p, Marc Pentone & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 9p, Sweet Jones (RR BL) 12a Banks Street Bar: Reggae Party feat. Big Fat and Delicious, the Uppressors (RG) 9p Blue Nile: Open Ears Music Series feat. The Frank Zapatistas (VR) 10p Carrollton Station: acoustic open mic feat. Ron Hotstream (AU) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Ruby Rendrag (RR BL) 7p, Wendy Darling (AU) 10:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT FK) 7p Circle Bar: Tom Paines feat. Alex McMurray and Jonathan Freilich (RR) 6:30p Columns Hotel: John Rankin & Friends (JV) 5p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Floopy Head, Funky Freedom Acoustic Open Mic (RH AU) 10p, Keep me Dreaming (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: David Cook, NEETTOBREATHE 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Jason Marsalis (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: call club Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (OR) 6p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Eddie Zip (RB) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Westbank Mike Show (BL) 6:30p Preservation Hall: Shannon Powell & the Preservation Hall-stars (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Tony Dagradi Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

WEDNESDAY JULY 8

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (AU) 8p, Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) Balcony Music Club: Kings of Happy Hour (RH FK) 8p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Alexis Marceaux (RR BL) 7p, Nervous Duane (RR) 10p Columns Hotel: Riccardo Crespo (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Tin Men (BL) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL FK) 10p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall Classics feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: the Crystelles, Gitane Demone of Christian Death, Sioux City Pete and the Beggars, DJ Lusty Razer (RR) 10p House of Blues: DJ AM, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Steve Porter (RH) 9p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jim Smith & his Damn Friends (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: John Dawson & the Funk Mob feat. Joe Sherman (JV) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Johnny Angel (SI) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: WOTP After Show feat. Lil Red & Big Bad (BL) 7:30p One Eyed Jacks: the Germs, Moral Decline (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Carl LeBlanc & the Essential New Orleans Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY JULY 9

Apple Barrel: Dave Gregg & the Odd Man Band (BL) 8p, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Fine Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Balcony Music Club: Sweet Jones (RR BL) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR FR) 9p Banks Street Bar: Summer of R&B with Ernie Vincent & the Topnotes (RB) 8p Blue Nile: DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Mark Carson Band (RR) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Domenic (BL) 7p, the Fens (RR) 10p Columns Hotel: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p Copeland’s Social City: Gashouse Gorillaz (PP) 9p d.b.a.: John Papa Gros (FK) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Mark Braud (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Dirty Bourbon River Show (RR) 10p House of Blues: Pure Soul (RB KJ ZY) 12a Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Slewfoot & George (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels Thursday Night House Party (BL) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny Vidacovich and special guests (FK) 10p

Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas (ZY) 8:30p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Jimmy “Duck” Holmes (OR) 6p Old Point Bar: I Tell You What (BL) 9p One Eyed Jacks: Fast Times ‘80s Night (PP) 10p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. The Paulin Brothers Brass Band (JV) 8p Rivershack: Jesse Moore (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: Jason Stewart Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Homegrown Night feat. The Silent Game, Liquid Peace Revolution, Touching the Absolute (RR) 8:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

FRIDAY JULY 10

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay & Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Balcony Music Club: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (OR) 7p, Johnny J. & the Hitmen (RR) 10p Bombay Club: Lisa Lynn & Duo (JV RB) 9:30p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Beatin Path (RR) 9:30p Checkpoint Charlie: Sweet Jones (RR BL) 7p, Dog Men Poets (RR) 11p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 7p Columns Hotel: Sweet Home New Orleans Renew Our Music (VR) 5p Copeland’s Social City: Wiseguys (PP) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: the Rounds, Below C Level (RR RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Honey Island Swamp Band CD Release Party (RR) 10p House of Blues: Bustout Burlesque (SH) 8p, 10:30p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Mr. Whiskey, Syllable, Touching the Absolute, the Vision Winged Party Cult (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Buddy Francioni (BL) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, R. Scully & the Rough Seven (RR) 11p Maple Leaf: Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: the Cypress Band feat. Warren Storm and Willie T. (OR) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) 9:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Michael Pierce (JV) 8p Rivershack: Wattusi Radio (BL RR) 9p Snug Harbor: Johnny Vidacovich Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p, Mario Abney Quintet (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: 5 Finger Discount (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Soul Rebels and DJ Soul Sister (BB JV) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

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JULY 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC

SATURDAY JULY 11

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Balcony Music Club: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Dr. Bone & the Hepcats (JV) 10:30p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Banks Street Bar: the Oggin, special guests (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 7p, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p Bombay Club: Luther Kent (JV RB) 9:30p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Peabody (RR) 9:30p Checkpoint Charlie: Grave City Hooligans, Fat Stupid Ugly People, 3C F Zerco (RR) 10p Copeland’s Social City: Local Option 2 (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Otra (LT) 11p Deutsches Haus: Danny O’Flaherty (FE) 7p Dragon’s Den: DJ Frenzi, Kourtney Heart, the Honorable South (RH RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Charlie Fardella (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Generations Hall: 3rd Echo (RR) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Mardi Gras Indians (FK) 10p House of Blues: 2009 New Orleans Beatles Festival feat. Topcats, Chuck Credo IV, John Gros, Beatin Path (RR) 9p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Troy Sawyer (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Paul Tobin Trio (BL) 5p, call club for late show Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Kirk Joseph’s Backyard Groove (FK) 11p Maple Leaf: Bonerama (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: 2nd Annual Antoinette & Ernie K-Doe “Here Come the Girls” Ball feat. Blue Eyed Soul Revue (FK) 10p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 6:30p, Johnny J. & the Hitmen (BL) 9:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Rivershack: Soul House (BL RR) 10p Snug Harbor: Free Show feat. Sweet Home Jazz Trio (MJ) 3p, Germaine Bazzle and the Larry Sieberth Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p, Free Midnight Show feat. Woodenhead (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: Chocolate City Rockers (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: the Revealers, DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY JULY 12

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, I Tell You What (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 9p Banks Street Bar: the Andria Doria (RR) 8p Café Negril: Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Checkpoint Charlie: open mic feat. Jim Smith (AU SS) 8p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Sunday brunch feat. Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (BL) 3p, John Mooney (BL) 6p Columns Hotel: Sunday Brunch (JV) 11a

J U LY 2 0 0 9

Copeland’s Social City: Wiseguys (PP) 6:30p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR RH) 10p Fritzel’s: the Cotton Mouth Kings (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Nick Flagstar & his Dirty Mangy Dogs, Botox Party (RR) 10p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Jimbeaux’s: Rites of Swing (JV) 4p Kerry Irish Pub: Michael Norris (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Ogden Museum: Southern Storytellers feat. Ellen Gilchrist (SW) 2p Old Point Bar: Jesse Moore (BL RR) 3p, open mic night Preservation Hall: St. Peter All-stars feat. Thais Clark (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Free Show feat. Tom McDermott Duo (MJ) 3p, Patrice Fisher, Angel Rios and the Bodama Garifuna Band (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY JULY 13

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Dominic (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Chegadao (LT FK) 6p, Mario Abney (JV FK) 10p Banks Street Bar: Deuce (RR) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Jimmy Howell (RR BL) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Raphael Bas and Pierre Pichon (JV) 7p Columns Hotel: David Doucet (KJ) 5p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Die Kappa Die, Schatzy (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tim Laughlin (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Jimbeaux’s: Jerry Jumonville (JV) 6:30p Kerry Irish Pub: call club Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Brent Walsh Jazz Trio (JV) 8p (OR) 7p Preservation Hall: 726 Jazz Band feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmine Neville & Friends (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Taize feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

TUESDAY JULY 14

Apple Barrel: Dave Gregg & the Odd Man Band (BL) 8p, call club for late show Balcony Music Club: Steve Allen Group (JV) 6p, Marc Pentone & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 9p, Sweet Jones (RR BL) 12a Banks Street Bar: Reggae Party feat. Big Fat and Delicious, the Uppressors (RG) 9p Blue Nile: Open Ears Music Series feat. Justin Peake (VR) 10p Carrollton Station: acoustic open mic feat. Marc Belloni (AU) 9p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Checkpoint Charlie: Shane Johns (RR BL) 7p, Middle Class Trash (BL RR) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT FK) 7p Circle Bar: Tom Paines feat. Alex McMurray and Jonathan Freilich (RR) 6:30p Columns Hotel: John Rankin & Friends (JV) 5p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Floopy Head, Funky Freedom Acoustic Open Mic (RH AU) 10p, Burning Castles, the Lucks (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Clockwork Elvis, Sasquatch & the Sick a Billies, Goddamn Gallows (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Jason Marsalis (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: the Tom Paines (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (OR) 6p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Ben Maygarden (BL) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Westbank Mike Show (BL) 6:30p Snug Harbor: Don Vappie Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

WEDNESDAY JULY 15

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (AU) 8p, Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) Balcony Music Club: Kings of Happy Hour (RH FK) 8p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Nervous Duane (RR BL) 7p, Scully (RR) 11p Columns Hotel: Riccardo Crespo (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Tin Men (BL) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall Classics feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Damien Louviere (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: John Mooney (AU) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Johnny J. & the Hitmen feat. Derek Huston (SI) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: WOTP After Show feat. Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) 7:30p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY JULY 16

Apple Barrel: Dave Gregg & the Odd Man Band (BL) 8p, Electro Kings (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Fine Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Balcony Music Club: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR FR) 9p Banks Street Bar: Summer of R&B feat. John T. Lewis & the Blues Movement (BL) 8p Blue Nile: DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Natalie Mae Palms (RR) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Domenic (RR BL) 7p, the Fens (RR) 10p Circle Bar: Nojack and guests (VR) 10p Columns Hotel: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p

Copeland’s Social City: the Topcats (PP) 9p d.b.a.: Ernie Vincent and Andrew Duhon (JV) 7p, Ernie Vincent Band (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Pure Soul (RB) 12a Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): ThrowBack Thursday (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Dave James’ Stimulus Package (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels Thursday Night House Party (BB) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny Vidacovich and special guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Geno Delafose (ZY) 8:30p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Alex McMurray (SS) 6p Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & WestBank Mike (BL) 6:30p One Eyed Jacks: Fast Times ‘80s Night (PP) 10p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. Paulin Brothers Brass Band (JV) 8p Rivershack: Christian Serpas & Ghost Town (CW) 7p Snug Harbor: Spencer Bohren (MJ) 8p, 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

FRIDAY JULY 17

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay & Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Balcony Music Club: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (OR) 7p, Becky’s Birthday Bash feat. Arajay, Sick Like Sinatra, Crawfish Boil (RR VR) 5p Big Top: Friday Night Music Camp feat. Schatzy (RR) 5p Blue Nile: Chuck Perkins & the Voices of the Big Easy (MJ) 10p Bombay Club: call club Buddha Belly: Creepy Fest feat. The Poots, 11 Blade, the Unnaturals and the Bastard Sons of Marvin Hirsch (RR) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Jenn Howard & Crazy McGee (RR) 9:30p Checkpoint Charlie: Lips & the Trips (RR BL) 7p, Discovery Zone (RR) 11p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 7p Columns Hotel: Sweet Home New Orleans Renew Our Music (VR) 5p Copeland’s Social City: Vieux Carre (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (FK) 10p Dragon’s Den: Shadow Gallery, Mardi Gras Indians (FK RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p

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JULY 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Hi Ho Lounge: the Revenants, Hellnight (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Ms. Planet Beach Northshore Finals (OR) 7p, Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Jim Smith & his Damn Friends (BL) 5p, Mike Ryan Trio (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, Juice (FK RR) 11p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Bonerama (BB FK) 10p Mimi’s: Zazou City (JV) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Amanda Walker (BL) 6:30p, Sticky Wig (RR) 9:30p One Eyed Jacks: Flow Tribe, the Gills, Happy Jack Frequency (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Rivershack: John Lisi (BL RR) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Trio feat. Johnaye Kendrick (MJ) 8p, 10p, Free Midnight Show feat. Matt Perrine and Woof (MJ) 12a Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Groovesect and Corey Henry, Jealous Monk (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY JULY 18

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p

Balcony Music Club: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Egg Yolk Jubilee (RR) 10:30p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Banks Street Bar: the Spanish Vamps, the Kinky Tuscaderos (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 7p Bombay Club: Arlee Leonard & Trio (JV RB) 9:30p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: am 540 (RR) 9:30p Checkpoint Charlie: Slewfoot (BL) 7p, Bywater Rock Group (RR) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Paul Sanchez (LT) 8p Copeland’s Social City: Vieux Carre (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Rotary Downs (RR) 11p Dragon’s Den: Tribute for Jamie Warmack (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Charlie Fardella (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Harrah’s: Joe Piscopo (CO) 7p, 10p Hi Ho Lounge: Creepy Fest feat. The Pallbearers, Toxic Ratt, Concrete Shoes, a Hanging (RR) 10p House of Blues: RX Bandits, dredg, Zechs Marquis 6p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. (ZY RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Balsawood Flyers (BL) 5p, Rites of Passage (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p

Le Bon Temps Roule: Billy Iuso & the Restless Natives (BL) 11p Maple Leaf: 101 Runners (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Clockwork Elvis, the Unnaturals (RR) 9p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 6:30p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 9:30p One Eyed Jacks: We Landed on the Moon, Silent Cinema (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Rivershack: Refried Confusion (BL RR) 10p Snug Harbor: Sweet Home Jazz Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p, Lionel Ferbos Birthday Party (MJ) 8p, 10p, Free Midnight Show feat. Brent Rose Trio (MJ) 12a Sugar Mill: One (RR) 6p Tipitina’s: Playing for Change feat. Stand by Me (OR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY JULY 19

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 9p Banks Street Bar: Creepy Fest feat. the Bills, Die Rottz, Los Pantelones, Secret Assholes and more (RR) 8p Café Negril: Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Checkpoint Charlie: open mic feat. Jim Smith (AU SS) 8p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Sunday brunch feat. Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a

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NEW!

Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (BL) 3p, John Mooney (BL) 6p Columns Hotel: Sunday Brunch (JV) 11a Copeland’s Social City: Gashouse Gorillaz (PP) 6:30p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Washboard Rodeo (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR RH) 10p, Poetry Slam (SW) 7:30p Fritzel’s: the Loose Marbles (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Jimbeaux’s: Rites of Swing (JV) 4p Kerry Irish Pub: Friends of Foot (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Crazy McGee (FK) 10p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Jesse Moore (BL) 3p Preservation Hall: St. Peter All-stars feat. Thais Clark (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Free Show feat. Joshua Paxton (MJ) 3p, Neal Caine Quintet feat. Steve Riley and Wess Anderson (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p World War II Museum: Zazou City (JV) 2p

MONDAY JULY 20

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Rebecca Barry (MJ) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Chegadao (LT FK) 6p, Mario Abney (JV FK) 10p Banks Street Bar: Deuce (RR) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Dave Stover (RR BL) 7p, Ready Teddy (BL) 11p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Chickie Wah Wah: Raphael Bas and Pierre Pichon (JV) 7p Columns Hotel: David Doucet (KJ) 5p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Andrew Jarman, Shoot the Daily Edit, Terra Nova, Street Gumbo (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tim Laughlin (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Jimbeaux’s: Jerry Jumonville (JV) 6:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Paul Tobin Trio (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Brent Walsh Jazz Trio (JV) 8p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville & Friends (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Taize feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

Columns Hotel: Riccardo Crespo (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Tin Men (BL) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall Classics feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Nat & Alex Wolff (OR) 6:30p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Troy Sawyer (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chris Segar (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: Jolly House feat. Ed Volker, Reggie Scanlan, Michael Skinkus and Joe Cabral (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Rocky’s Hot Fox Trot Orchestra (SI) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: WOTP After Show feat. Trifuncta (BL) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Betty Shirley (MJ) 8p, 10p

TUESDAY JULY 21

THURSDAY JULY 23

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 8p, Kenny Schwartz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Steve Allen Group (JV) 6p, Marc Pentone & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 9p, Sweet Jones (RR BL) 12a Banks Street Bar: Reggae Party feat. Big Fat and Delicious, the Uppressors (RG) 9p Blue Nile: Open Ears Music Series feat. Tim McFatter Group (VR) 10p Carrollton Station: acoustic open mic feat. Ron Hotstream (AU) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Rudy Rendrag (BL) 7p, Wendy Darling (AU) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT FK) 7p Circle Bar: Tom Paines feat. Alex McMurray and Jonathan Freilich (RR) 6:30p Columns Hotel: John Rankin & Friends (JV) 5p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Floopy Head, Funky Freedom Acoustic Open Mic (RH AU) 10p, the Local Skank, Enharmonic Souls, Die Kappa Die, Kyoko (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Connie Jones (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Jason Marsalis (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Slewfoot & George (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (OR) 6p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Christian Serpas & Ghost Town (CW) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Westbank Mike Show (BL) 6:30p Snug Harbor: Steve Masakowski Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

WEDNESDAY JULY 22

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (AU) 8p, Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) Balcony Music Club: Kings of Happy Hour (RH FK) 8p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Alexis Marceaux (RR BL) 7p, Nervous Duane (BL) 10p

Apple Barrel: Dave Gregg & the Odd Man Band (BL) 8p, call club for late show Bacchanal Fine Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Balcony Music Club: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR FR) 9p Banks Street Bar: Summer of R&B feat. The Midnight Streetcar (RB) 8p Blue Nile: DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Dave Fera and Sam Craft (RR) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Domenic (RR BL) 7p, the Fens (RR) 10p Columns Hotel: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p Copeland’s Social City: the Topcats (PP) 9p d.b.a.: Paul Sanchez (LT) 7p, R. Scully & the Rough Seven (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Pure Soul (RB) 12a Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): ThrowBack Thursday (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Darby’s House of Cards (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels Thursday Night House Party (BB) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny Vidacovich and special guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Chris Ardoin (ZY) 8:30p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Improvisational Arts Council (JV VR) 6p Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & WestBank Mike (BL) 6:30p, Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 9p One Eyed Jacks: Fast Times ‘80s Night (PP) 10p

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JULY 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. Tornado Brass Band (JV) 8p Rivershack: Soul House (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: Kaya Martinez CD-release (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Homegrown Night feat. Smashing Blonde, Delta Papa, the Kids in Sandbox, the Jam All-stars (RR) 8:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

FRIDAY JULY 24

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay & Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Balcony Music Club: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Banks Street Bar: the Parishoners (OR) 7p, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 10p Blue Nile: Snarky Puppy feat. Bionica (MJ) 10p Bombay Club: Lisa Lynn & Duo (JV RB) 9:30p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: the Louisiana Hellbenders (BL) 7p, Damn Hippies (RR) 11p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 7p Columns Hotel: Sweet Home New Orleans Renew Our Music (VR) 5p Copeland’s Social City: Wiseguys (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Lost Bayou Ramblers (RR) 10p Dragon’s Den: KB’s Hip-Hop Party (RH) 10p, Dubb Sicks, Cult Flick, Cali Zack (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Harrah’s: the Bluezmen (BL) 7p, 10p Hi Ho Lounge: Rev. Spooky LeStrange’s Church of Burlesque (SH) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: PJ Morton, Britten (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Buddy Francioni (BL) 5p, Jesse Moore Band (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, Captain Legendary Band (RR) 11p Maple Leaf: call club Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: the Boogie Men (PP) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Amanda Walker (BL) 6:30p, Bourbon Cowboys (RR) 9:30p One Eyed Jacks: ActionActionReaction Indie Dance Party (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Rivershack: Kinky Tuscaderos (BL RR) 9p Snug Harbor: Aaron Goldberg and Roman Skakun Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p, Mario Abney Quintet (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: Mixed Nuts (PP) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Good Enough for Good Times with Robert Mercurio, Jeff Raines, Joe Ashlar and Simon Lott (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY JULY 25

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p

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Balcony Music Club: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 6p, Margie Perez (BL LT JV) 10:30p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Banks Street Bar: Local Skank Birthday Bash and Beer Pong Party (RR) 9p Blue Nile: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 7p Bombay Club: Johnny Angel & the Swingin’ Demons (JV RB) 9:30p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Touching the Absolute (RR) 9:30p Checkpoint Charlie: American Disaster Party (RR BL) 7p, Mike Darby (RR BL) 11p Copeland’s Social City: Blackened Blues Band (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Mike Dillon’s Go Go Jungle (JV) 11p Dragon’s Den: I, Octopus, Neckbar, Motion Turns it On, Kings of Happy Hour, Sunset Soundtrack, the Lucks (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Charlie Fardella (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Harrah’s: the Bluezmen (BL) 7p, 10p Hi Ho Lounge: Guches’ 40th Birthday Bash (RR) 10p House of Blues: Zoso - the Ultimate Led Zeppelin Tribute (RR) 9p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Falls From Grace, Aura, Trevelyan (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Balsawood Flyers (BL) 5p, Friends of Foot (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Honey Island Swamp Band (RR) 11p Louisiana Music Factory: Kevin Sekhani 3p, Jeremy Davenport 4p Lucy’s Retired Surfer’s Bar: the Unnaturals (RR) 3p Maple Leaf: the Heavy Pets (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Tab Benoit, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. (ZY) 9p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 6:30p, Jesse Moore Band (BL) 9:30p One Eyed Jacks: Consortium of Genius feat. Crowbar and Yngwie Flattstein (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Rivershack: call club Snug Harbor: Free Show feat. Sweet Home Jazz Trio (MJ) 3p, Astral Project (MJ) 8p, 10p, Free Midnight Show feat. Jamele Williams and Skychild (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: Know Your Enemy (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Big Chief Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY JULY 26

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, I Tell You What (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 9p Banks Street Bar: Jews & Catholics (RR) 8p Café Negril: Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Checkpoint Charlie: open mic feat. Jim Smith (AU SS) 8p Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: Sunday brunch feat. Kermit Ruffins (JV) 11a

Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (BL) 3p, John Mooney (BL) 6p Columns Hotel: Sunday Brunch (JV) 11a Copeland’s Social City: the Topcats (PP) 6:30p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Mas Mamones (RR) 10p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR RH) 10p Fritzel’s: the Cotton Mouth Kings (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p House of Blues (the Parish): Cage,Yak Ballz (OR) 9p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Jimbeaux’s: Rites of Swing (JV) 4p Kerry Irish Pub: Irish Session (BL) 5p, Chris Segar (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: the Unusual Suspects feat. Willie Green, Reggie Scanlan, Jake Eckert and CR Gruver (FK) 10p Mulate’s: Bayou Deville (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Some Like it Hot (JV) 5p, open mic night (OR) 7p Preservation Hall: St. Peter All-stars feat. Thais Clark (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Free Show feat. Joshua Paxton (MJ) 3p, James Singleton and Atomic Biscuit F**k (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do (KJ) 5:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p World War II Museum: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 2p

MONDAY JULY 27

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Butch Trivette (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Chegadao (LT FK) 6p, Mario Abney (JV FK) 10p Banks Street Bar: Deuce (RR) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Jimmy Howell (RR BL) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Raphael Bas and Pierre Pichon (JV) 7p Columns Hotel: David Doucet (KJ) 5p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire, 5-4R (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tim Laughlin (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Jimbeaux’s: Jerry Jumonville (JV) 6:30p Kerry Irish Pub: call club Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: League of Justice feat. Jake Eckert, Kirk Joseph, Eric Bolivar and more (FK) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Brent Walsh Jazz Trio (JV) 8p One Eyed Jacks: Jim Rose Circus vs. Jake “the Snake” Roberts (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Rivershack: Amanda Walker (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville & Friends (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Taize feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

TUESDAY JULY 28

Apple Barrel: Dave Gregg & the Odd Man Band (BL) 8p, Electro Kings (BL) 10:30p Balcony Music Club: Steve Allen Group (JV) 6p, Marc Pentone & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 9p, Sweet Jones (RR BL) 12a

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Banks Street Bar: Reggae Party feat. Big Fat and Delicious, the Uppressors (RG) 9p Blue Nile: Open Ears Music Series feat. Jon Gros (VR) 10p Carrollton Station: acoustic open mic feat. Marc Belloni (AU) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Shane Johns (RR BL) 7p, Ready Teddy (BL) 11p Chickie Wah Wah: Otra (LT FK) 7p Circle Bar: Tom Paines feat. Alex McMurray and Jonathan Freilich (RR) 6:30p Columns Hotel: John Rankin & Friends (JV) 5p d.b.a.: New Orleans Jazz Vipers (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Floopy Head, Funky Freedom Acoustic Open Mic (RH AU) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Death by Arrow, Roses Pawn Shop (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Jason Marsalis (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Damien Louviere (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (OR) 6p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Chuck Credo IV (BL) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: Westbank Mike Show (BL) 6:30p Preservation Hall: Shannon Powell & the Preservation Hall-stars (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Tony Dagradi Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL PK) 6p

WEDNESDAY JULY 29

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (AU) 8p, Johnny J. and Benny Maygarden (BL) Balcony Music Club: Kings of Happy Hour (RH FK) 8p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Aloke Dutta (OR) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Nervous Duane (RR BL) 7p, Scully (RR) 11p Columns Hotel: Riccardo Crespo (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Tin Men (BL) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Dancehall Classics feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Maple Leaf: John Mooney (AU) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Joe Krown (SI) 8:30p Mulate’s: Lee Benoit (KJ) 7p Old Point Bar: WOTP After Show feat. Marc Stone & Friends (BL) 7:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY JULY 30

Apple Barrel: Dave Gregg & the Odd Man Band (BL) 8p, Louisiana Hellbenders (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Fine Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Balcony Music Club: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR FR) 9p

Banks Street Bar: Summer of R&B feat. Guitar Slim (RB) 8p Blue Nile: DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: Kelsey Waite, Kristen and the Mania, Teddy Lamson (RR) 9p Checkpoint Charlie: Domenic (RR BL) 7p, the Fens (RR) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Paul Sanchez (LT) 8p Columns Hotel: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p Copeland’s Social City: Gashouse Gorillaz (PP) 9p d.b.a.: Jeff & Vida (BU) 7p, the Two Man Gentleman Band (VR) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Bombshelter feat. Bombshell Boogie, Proppa Bear’s Bassbin Safari (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fischer & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Pure Soul (RB) 12a Howlin’ Wolf: Benjy Davis Project, Tony Lucca, the Revivalists (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Ryan Trio (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Angele Trosclair (PK BL VR) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels Thursday Night House Party (BB) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny Vidacovich and special guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Lil Nathan & the Zydeco Big Timers (ZY) 8:30p Mimi’s: Linnzi Zaorski (SI) 9p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Larry Sieberth & Friends (VR) 6p Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & WestBank Mike (BL) 6:30p, Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) 9p One Eyed Jacks: Fast Times ‘80s Night (PP) 10p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. Treme Brass Band (BB) 8p Rivershack: Gal Holiday (BL RR) 7p Snug Harbor: call club Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

FRIDAY JULY 31

Apple Barrel: Margie Perez (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 12a Bacchanal Fine Wine: Linnzi Zaorski (SI) 7p Balcony Music Club: Sasha Masakowski (JV LT) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p, Domenic (RR FR) 1:30a Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (OR) 7p, Rev. Spooky LeStrange’s Church of Burlesque (SH) 10p Blue Nile: Satchmo Club Strut (MJ) 10p Bombay Club: Judy Spellman & Trio (JV RB) 9:30p Carousel Lounge (Hotel Monteleone): John Autin (PK) 9p Carrollton Station: the Vaccines (RR) 9:30p Checkpoint Charlie: Cozwallo Armazilla, Nobel Rust, Twangorama (RR) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Jumpin’ Johnny’s Blues Party & Fish Fry (BL) 7p Columns Hotel: Sweet Home New Orleans Renew Our Music (VR) 5p Copeland’s Social City: Local Option 2 (PP) 9:30p d.b.a.: Satchmo Club Strut feat. Good Enough for Good Times (JV) 10p

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JULY 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Dragon’s Den: Taco Leg (RR) 9p Fritzel’s: Chuck Brackman and Barry Foulon (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Pandemic (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Jeremy Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton Hotel): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (BL) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Mike Hood (BL) 6p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, K. Lloyd & the Disciples (RR) 11p Maple Leaf: Rotary Downs (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Sgt. Pepper’s Beatles Tribute Band (RR) 10p Mimi’s: Zazou City (JV) 10p Mulate’s: La Touche (KJ) 7p Ogden Museum: Terence Blanchard (VR) 7:30, 9:30p Old Point Bar: Amanda Walker (BL) 6:30p, the Space Heaters (BL) 9:30p Rivershack: Mark Carson Band (BL RR) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Trio feat. Johnaye Kendrick (MJ) 8p,10p Southport Hall: Brandon Foret Band (OR) 10p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (FK BL) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

LOUISIANA MUSIC ON TOUR BEAUSOLEIL AVEC MICHAEL DOUCET Jul 1-2 Berwyn IL FitzGerald’s American Music Festival Jul 10-11 Butte MT National Folk Festival Jul 12 Salmon ID Sacajawea Center Jul 13 Helena MT Myrna Loy Center Jul 14 Whitefish MT O’Shaughnessy Center Jul 30 Schulenburg TX Sengelmann Hall Jul 31 San Antonio TX Casbeers At The Church TAB BENOIT Jul 1 Colorado Springs Pikes Peak Center Jul 2 Steamboat Springs CO Ghost Ranch Saloon Jul 3 Redstone CO Crystal Club Jul 4 Denver CO Oriental Theater Jul 6 Lincoln NE Zoo Bar Jul 8 St Louis MO Broadway Oyster Bar Jul 10 Madison WI La Fete Du Marquette Jul 11 Milwaukee WI Bastille Days Jul 12 Egg Harbor WI Peg Egan Performing Arts Center Jul 30 Jackson Beach FL Mojo Kitchen Jul 31 Tampa FL Skippers Smokehouse BETTER THAN EZRA Jul 24 Kansas City MO Kansas City Live Jul 25 St. Louis MO The Pageant Jul 30 Stamford CT Alive @ 5

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Jul 17 Seattle WA Highway 99 Blues Club Jul 18 Winrop WA Rhythm & Blues Festival Jul 22 Seaside FL Seaside Summer Concert Series Jul 25 Tampa FL Crowbar Jul 26 Chicago IL Wicker Park Festival SUSAN COWSILL Jul 9 Oshkosh WI Leach Amphitheater Jul 11 Grand Marais MN Arrowehead Center For the Arts Jul 14 Omaha NE Murphy’s Lounge Jul 15 Kansas City MO Knuckleheads Jul 16 Oklahoma City OK The Blue Door Jul 17 Springfield MO Nathan P. Murphy’s Jul 18 St. Louis MO Off Broadway Jul 19 Berwyn IL FitzGerald’s THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND Jul 7 Valencia SPA Festival de Jazz de Palau de la Musica Jul 9 Rome ITL Villa Ada Jul 11 Huesca SPA Pirineos Sur Jul 12 Vitoria-Gasteiz SPA Festival de Jazz de Vitoria Jul 15 Glenwood Springs CO Summer of Jazz Jul 18 Albuquerque NM New Mexico Jazz Festival Jul 24 Columbus OH Hot Ribs Cool Jazz Festival ANDREW DUHON Jul 5 Mobile AL Callaghan’s Jul 9 Daphne AL Moe’s BBQ Jul 10 Fairhope AL Gumbo Shack Jul 16 Birmingham AL Dave’s Pub Jul 21 Nashville TN The Commodore Jul 21 Nashville TN The Basement THE IGUANAS Jul 15 Fruita CO Colorado River State Park Jul 16 Snowmass Village CO Jazz Aspen Jul 17 Paonia CO Paradise Theater Jul 18 Durango CO Buckley Park Jul 26 Tahoe City CA Commons Beach Music Series BILLY IUSO AND RESTLESS NATIVES Jul 30 New York NY Sullivan Hall JOE KROWN, WALTER “WOLFMAN” WASHINGTON & ERIC BOLIVAR Jul 25-26 Cognac FRA Blues Festival JOE KROWN, WALTER “WOLFMAN” WASHINGTON & RUSSELL BATISTE Jul 16 Cahors FRA Blues Festival ALEX McMURRAY Jul 9-11 Oshkosh WI O’Marro’s Pub Jul 24 Brooklyn NY Two Boots Jul 25 Brooklyn NY DBA Williamsburg Jul 25 New York NY Rodeo Bar Jul 29-30 Block Island RI Captain Nick’s ALEX McMURRAY & INGRID LUCIA Jul 26 New York NY Rodeo Bar

BIG AL & THE HEAVYWEIGHTS Jul 16-18 Panama City Beach FL Pineapple Willies

ZIGABOO MODELISTE & THE NEW AAHKESSTRA Jul 19 New York NY Lincoln Center

BIG SAM’S FUNKY NATION Jul 4-5 Portland OR Waterfront Blues Festival Jul 8 Lake Tahoe NV Crystal Bay Jul 9 Santa Cruz CA Moe’s Alley Jul 12 San Francisco CA The Independent Jul 16 New York NY Sullivan Hall

CYRIL NEVILLE Jul 9 Aspen CO Snowmass Jul 10 Crested Butte CO The Eldo Jul 11 Denver CO Quiotoes Jul 12 Breckenridge CO Three 20 South Jul 16 Kansas City MO Knuckleheads

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Jul 17 St. Louis MO Broadway Oyster Bar Jul 18 Evanston IL Space Jul 24 Pittsburgh PA Blues Festival IVAN NEVILLE’S DUMPSTAPHUNK Jul 11 Masontown WV Marvin’s Mountaintop THE NEVILLE BROTHERS Jul 19 Ghent BEL Blue Note Festival Grounds ANDERS OSBORNE Jul 17 Los Angeles CA The Mint Jul 19 Arcata CA The Arcata Theater PAPA GROWS FUNK Jul 23 Fukuoka JPN Gate’s 7 Jul 24 Osaka JPN Namba Hatch Jul 26 Miyagi JPN La Strade Jul 27 Yokohama JPN Thumbs Up MARGIE PEREZ Jul 10 Chicago IL Phyllis’ Musical Inn Jul 11 Chicago IL Harrigan’s Jul 13 St. Louis MO Pop’s Blue Moon Jul 16 Carbondale IL Booby’s Jul 17 St. Louis MO Fandango’s Jul 18 St. Louis MO The Grammaphone PINE LEAF BOYS Jul 11-12 London ON Sunfest Jul 17-18 Trumansburg NY Finger Lakes Grass Jul 19 Schenectady NY Music Haven, Central REBIRTH BRASS BAND Jul 4 Akron OH Lock 3 Live Amphitheatre COCO ROBICHEAUX Jul 9 Kalamazoo MI Blues Festival Jul 16 Cahors FRA Blues Festival Jul 18 Lillers FRA El-Abattoir PAUL SANCHEZ & THE ROLLING ROAD SHOW Jul 9 Oshkosh WI Waterfest PAUL SANCHEZ & ALEX McMURRAY Jul 10 Oshkosh WI O’Marro’s Pub CHRISTIAN SCOTT Jul 10 Rotterdam NET Ahoy’ Rotterdam Jul 11 Ghent BEL Blue Note Festival Grounds

CLASSICAL JULY 5-26 Trinity Artist Series: Albinas Prizgintas presents this eclectic concert series every Sunday throughout July at Trinity Church, 1329 Jackson Ave. Check the OffBeat daily listings for scheduled performances. 5p. (504) 523-6530, www.lpomusic.org. JULY 20-26 Baton Rouge String Jams: Head to the LSU School of Music for a workshop for local young string players. It’s a week-long chamber music technique workshop and creative platform. (517) 303-4453, www.brstringsjam.com.

CONCERTS JULY 9 Bill Maher: The self-proclaimed apathist and libertarian comedian and talk show host comes to the Mahalia Jackson Theatre. 7:30p. JULY 18 Joe Piscopo: The former comedian and actor from Saturday Night Live comedian plays Harrah’s. 7p. JULY 24 The Bluzmen: Enjoy the ultimate Blues Brothers Tribute at Harrah’s. Fri. 7p, Sat. 7 & 10p.

FESTIVALS JULY 2-5 Mandeville Seafood Festival: Chow down on some great seafood, enjoy live music and soak up the sun at Fontainebleau State Park. (985) 624-9762, www.seafoodfest.com. JULY 3-5 Essence Fest: The big festival is back in the Big Easy with performances by Beyoncé, Salt N Pepa, Lionel Richie, Al Green and many more. www.essencemusicfestival.com. JULY 4 Go Fourth on the River: Celebrate Independence Day in the French Quarter and on the Mississippi River with fireworks and live music. www.gofourthontheriver.com.

ALLEN TOUSSAINT Jul 5 New York NY Joe’s Pub Jul 11 Rotterdam NET North Sea Jazz Fest Jul 12 Anitbes Juan-les-Pins FRA Festival de Jazz d’Antibes Juan-les-Pins Jul 13 Dublin IRE Whelan’s Jul 15 Stockholm SWE International Jazz Festival Jul 16 Montreaux SWI Montreaux Jazz Festival Jul 18 Vitoria-Gasteiz SPA Festival de Jazz de Vitoria Jul 19 London UK Jazz Café

JULY 4 Slidell Heritage Festival: Olde Town Slidell springs to life for the holiday with fireworks, food and live music by such acts as T’Canille and the Chee-weez. www.slidellheritagfest.org.

TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE Jul 4 Iowa City IA Iowa City Jazz Festival Jul 10 Courtenay BC Vancouver Island Musicfest Jul 12 Masontown WV All Good Summer Festival Jul 14 Cambridge MA Regattabar Jul 16 Philadelphia PA World Café Live Jul 17 Earlville NY Earlville Opera House Jul 18 Whately MA Green River Festival Jul 25 Lake Harmony PA Pocono Blues Festival Jul 29 Glenwood Springs CO Summer of Jazz

JULY 17-18 Deep South Crane and Rigging Swamp Pop Music Festival: The up-and-coming music festival features performances by Kenny Fife, Don Rich, Van Broussard and many more. Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La. (225) 769-9994, www.swamppopmusicfest.com.

JULY 8-12 Tales of the Cocktail: The 6th annual event features cocktail competitions, classes, tours and plenty of chances to get liquored up! (888) 299-0404, www.talesofthecocktail.com.

JULY 23-25 Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo: Established in 1928, the oldest fishing rodeo in the United States features plenty of parties, great food and some

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of the biggest fish in the state. (504) 7366405, www.tarponrodeo.org. JULY 30-AUGUST 2 Satchmo SummerFest: Celebrate the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong in the streets of the French Quarter with concerts, seminars, second-line parades and more. (504) 5225730, www.satchmosummerfest.com.

SPECIAL EVENTS JULY 2-30 Ogden After Hours: Visit the Ogden Museum every Thursday evening for live entertainment by a variety of local musicians. Check the OffBeat daily listings for a schedule of performances. 6p. www.ogdenmuseum.org. JULY 4-25 Gretna Farmer’s Market: Head to Gretna every Saturday for a farmer’s market featuring food and wine vendors and cooking demonstrations. 8:30a-12:30p. www.gretnala.com. JULY 8 Degas House Presents: An evening with live music by Fredy Omar con su Banda. 2306 Esplanade Ave., 821-5009. JULY 8, 15, 22, 29 Poetry Open Mic: La Divina Café (621 St. Peter St.) will host an open mic from 8 to 10 p.m. All styles are welcome. JULY 9 A Touch of Muse: Head to the Historic New Orleans Collection and explore the ladies of New Orleans and their music with performances by Peter Collins and Thais St. Julien. (504) 523-4462, www.hnoc.org. JULY 18 Bywater Art Market: Head to this art market for paintings, pottery, glass, furniture and more. 9a-4p. www.bywaterartmarket.com.

THEATER & DANCE THROUGH JULY 11 The Comedy of Errors: The Shakespeare Festival at Tulane continues its 16th season of professional theatre with this funny production. (504) 8655105, www.neworleansshakespeare.com. JULY 6-18 Pecos Bill: Enjoy a production of tall tales from the American West by the Tulane Patchwork Players. 10 & 11:30. Grassy lawn beside Rogers Chapel at Tulane. (504) 284-6427, www.tulane.edu. JULY 23-26 HONK!: Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Ugly Duckling”, HONK! tells the story of an odd looking baby duck, Ugly, and his quest to find his mother. Westwego Performing Arts Theatre, 177 Sala Ave., Thu.-Sat. 7:30 p, Sun. 2p. (504) 885-2000. JULY 30-AUGUST 2 Smokey Joe’s Café: This production features nearly forty of the greatest songs ever recorded including “Charlie Brown,” “All Shook Up” and “Stand by Me.” Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 400 Phlox St., Metairie. Thu.-Sat. 7:30p, Sun. 2p. (504) 885-2000. JULY 2009

BACKTALK

Gabriel Roth

of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

hen Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings play one of the Superlounges on the Friday of Essence Music Festival, it will be their third show in New Orleans in a year—unusual for a non-local act, particularly one on the verge of major prominence. They’re also possibly the first non-local act to play all three major festivals—Voodoo, Jazz Fest and Essence—in one year. This speaks to the breadth of the band’s popularity. The soul of the retro-R&B band is front-woman Sharon Jones, who boasts Aretha Franklin’s pipes and James Brown’s pep, but a voice all her own. Her singing is full of emotion and energy, propelling the group from one riotous gig to another on their journey from record-nerd darlings to international festival headliners. At the eye of this soul-storm, seemingly calm behind a perpetual pair of shades, is bandleader Gabriel Roth, a.k.a. bass player Bosco Mann. Behind the scenes, he is constantly busy, writing and arranging a majority of the songs, producing, engineering and mixing the recordings, even working on the design of the band’s album covers. He also co-owns and manages the Dap-Kings’ record label, Daptone, helping to release other retro-minded soul, gospel and afrobeat records. Roth is also the consummate music fan, taking his love of old R&B records so far that he decided to make them himself.

What have you been working on lately? Yesterday I was mixing a song called “You Said I Can” for the new Sharon Jones album. Sharon came in and sang yesterday and we mixed it. The day before that, we mixed a song for a Spin magazine promotion, a Purple Rain anniversary disc, so we did a Prince cover for that. How do you choose your covers? “Inspiration Information” [by Shuggie Otis] and the Prince cover were not ones that we chose. “Inspiration Information” was for the Red Hot organization to raise money to fight AIDS, so they asked us to do it, and for the Prince album they gave us a choice of three songs. The Prince song we ended up covering was “Take Me With You” from Purple Rain. One of your earliest covers was Eddie Bo’s “Hook & Sling”? Who are other New Orleans artists who influenced you? www.OFFBEAT.com

talks back

Gabriel Roth, front left (squatting). Eddie Bo’s drummer, James Black, is a big influence on Homer [Steinweiss, the DapKings’ drummer]. But of course the Meters and Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe— Allen Toussaint is a big one. His writing, his arranging, his producing, his piano playing. Were there specific producers from the Golden Era of R&B who influenced you? If you listen to any of the Meters or Lee Dorsey, that kind of stuff from down there, there’s a sound and I guess it’s from Marshall Sehorn and Allen Toussaint working together, and I’m not really inside enough to know who was behind the board. But those records are unbelievable sounding, and they’re very distinct records. Records from New Orleans always sound like records from New Orleans, and it’s generally pretty easy to tell when you hear a record that it’s from New Orleans or not. I don’t think it’s only the engineering; I think a lot of it is the way they play and the sounds they had on their instruments. But also the influence of the sound, swing and culture of New Orleans, and the second line and the drumming and the atmosphere.

By Ben Berman

Is there anything specific from those New Orleans records that you tried to latch onto and adapt? I would say the guitars, the drums, the horns, the pianos, almost all of it. It’s not our only influence, but it’s something that we reference often. So much R&B is region-specific. How is it you are able to aggregate all of those sounds into one unique mix? I struggle with that sometimes. We’ll have songs where it’ll feel real Motown-y, and you want to arrange and produce it and make it seem real Motown, but then someone else will bring something in, more Ray Charles R&B with just a real different sound, and I always have a hard time finding a way to look at it holistically and make sure the album keeps a high degree of continuity so it doesn’t sound like a weird, all-over-the-place, greatest hits type of thing. Part of it is sequencing, but the production, orchestration and arranging all come into play. I think the one that we’re working on right now is going to be the biggest challenge that way JULY 2009

BAC

KTA

I think funk is something that came later and retroactively defined soul. because there is a lot of different stuff that we’re working with. Traditionally, R&B was singles-based as opposed to album-based. How does that impact what you do? We release a lot more 45s than albums. With the change in the record industry, it seems like singles are making a comeback. You don’t really need to download an album, just the songs you like from the album. There are pros and cons to that, but it definitely brings you back to the pre-’70s record industry where albums were secondary and it was all about 45s. It’s a different approach, less daunting, because you don’t have to do 14 songs, just one or two. I’d like to do a lot more than that. What classic albums were most important to you? [Otis Redding’s] Dock of the Bay, [Al Green’s] Back Up Train, [Syl Johnson’s] Is it Because I’m Black?. There are a lot more great songs than great albums. Did you grow up with classic R&B? My parents always had oldies in their house, so it was Aretha and James Brown along with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. When I got to high school, I got into blues records and started listening to more records and less radio. Then I went from blues to James Brown, and then the Meters and Otis Redding. When I went to college, I started buying a lot of old records. Was bass guitar your first instrument? I didn’t play bass until I was 21. I played drums in high school and my sister taught me guitar and piano. In bands, I always played drums, until after college. Do you pay particular attention to the drums now when you’re producing? No, I pay attention to everything. Homer is a much, much, much better drummer than I ever was. He’s more musical and has a better sound. I might tell him to try a different hi-hat pattern, but he’ll do the same to me: “Why don’t you try a walking bass?” It’s something everyone does to each other. I don’t think I have that much insight into the drums. How did you start playing with Homer? He was in a group called the Mighty Imperials and I signed them to my first record label. I

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was probably about 21 and they were almost 15. They brought us a demo tape that had some Meters stuff on it, and I thought they sounded best playing that style. I know they had been into some more freaked-out music before—Funkadelic and weird stuff like that. They sounded best playing the Meters. When my partner Phillip [Lehman] and I started working together and the Soul Providers broke up and we formed the Dap-Kings, we brought Homer in as the drummer and that was in 2000. We brought him on tour then, went to Spain for a month and England. By then he was about 17, still young. We’ve been playing together for a long time. What is it about the Meters that make them so eye-opening for so many people? The Meters had such a unique approach to rhythm and melody. And Zigaboo really broke the mold. He had such a different approach to drumming. The way their syncopation and parts fit together, there is something simple, but also unique about it, very linear. And as far as his stuff, it’s real heavily influenced by the second line. No one else sounds like him; him and James Black are some of the greatest drummers ever. Also, Leo Nocentelli had a really unique approach as well. They were all instrumental but very melodic. They had a moving melody, between guitar, bass and organ. Pretty freaky music, the Meters. How have you been able to avoid derivation to create something authentic? We try to write honest songs and play them with a lot of heart, and try to stay away from certain clichés. When you think of these old records, they’re just superficial references, like, “Let’s use a wah-wah pedal,” or “Let’s call this song ‘Funky Cornbread,’” but beyond that, there is the deeper influence of “Why did that music feel good?” It was natural, it was raw, it made you dance and it expressed a lot of emotion. When you look at the heyday of soul music, you have a point where the technology and aesthetics and music theory culminated to where it was able to express a lot of human emotion. After that, things got weird with the record industry and music tech and disco. Things got us further away and progress became less progressive. We’re trying to use the same approach as the past, but to express something in the present, not to replicate what they did. Live instruments, and to record as live as possible, and to get a lot of feeling from musicians, not just the singers. Approach it all with a lot of heart, soul and

feeling. It comes down to the players on the record, but not as individuals—as a group. Now that you’ve recorded with Al Green, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart and Syl Johnson, who is still on your wish list? Howard Tate, definitely I’d love to work with him. Tina Turner would be at the top. I love her. I think she’s one of the greatest singers ever, and I know that Sharon has a lot of respect for her, too. We listen to a lot of Tina Turner. Anything in the works to get with her? No, but if you meet her, tell her I’m looking for her. There are modern cats out there too, though. I think Raphael Saadiq does some cool stuff. What was your involvement with Daptone’s most recent release, the Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens LP? I was very involved in that; I was trying to make that for years. I first recorded with them in 2005 but wasn’t completely satisfied, shelved it, and then again in 2006 and again I shelved it. So in 2007 we got together again, and I’m really proud of that record. I really like how it came out. Any plans for a gospel record with Sharon? We’ve been talking about it for a long time. We’ve been working on picking out songs, so hopefully we’ll have the opportunity later in the year. Why have you guys moved more towards soul and away from funk? The strange thing is that people tend to separate funk and soul as genres, and I think funk is something that came later and retroactively defined soul. If you went to a James Brown concert, is that funk or is that soul? It’s both. There are some songs that are uptempo, some ballads, but it’s all rhythm and blues. Is it still all blues to you? All the best stuff is. It’s definitely a huge influence. The problem is so many of those words—“blues,” “soul,” “funk,” “R&B”— conjure up so many different things for different people. Those terms are so ambiguous that I don’t know how productive it is to define anything with them. If I say this is a blues song, one guy might think of Robert Johnson and another, Little Milton or Bobby Bland and those things are completely different. That doesn’t really help anyone. O www.OFFBEAT.com