Offbeat Magazine September 2009 by OffBeat Magazine

IRMA THOMAS N BEFORE THE FLOOD N SWEET HOME NEW ORLEANS N JOHNETTE DOWNING 20 BER M E PT SE

soft skin, p. 10

LOUISIANA MUSIC, FOOD AND CULTURE Free In Metro New Orleans US $5.99 CAN $6.99 £UK 1.95

Big Deal! Producer Mark Bingham could not care less about being on our cover.

Features

Departments 6 Letters

16 A Day in the Year

OffBeat presents an excerpt from Ned Sublette’s new book, The Year Before the Flood.

18 Solid Gold

Irma Thomas tells Jeff Hannusch the stories behind some of her biggest hits as Rounder Records releases a CD celebrating her 50 years in music.

23 No Shit John Swenson profiles producer Mark Bingham, whose eclectic tastes and no-nonsense attitude have made Piety Street Recording special.

28 A Nice Pair

Rene Louapre searches for the right wine and beer for New Orleans’ favorite dishes.

30 The Gravy: In the Kitchen with Johnette

Elsa Hahne cooks with children’s entertainer Johnette Downing, who will taste almost anything.

8 Mojo Mouth 10 Fresh 32 OffBeat Eats

Rene Louapre reviews Vega Tapas Café, and jazz sax player Ray Moore “Hits the Spot” at Pho Orchid.

36 Reviews 44 Club Listings 53 Backtalk with Sweet Home New Orleans’ Jordan Hirsch

Alex Rawls talks to the executive director of one of the leading non-profit organizations helping New Orleans musicians. “We’ve got hundreds of musicians providing us with information,” Hirsch says, “and the basic story is that there is not enough audience.”

SEPTEMBER 2009

Letters

“New Orleans is the birthplace, the womb, the balls and vagina…. New Orleans should be a spiritual pilgrimage for all Americans.”—Fred Simmons, Peterborough, NH

Louisiana Music & Culture

September 2009 Volume 22, Number 9 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jan V. Ramsey, janramsey@offbeat.com Managing Editor Joseph L. Irrera, josephirrera@offbeat.com

SEA CRUISE First let me state: I am forever grateful to Huey Smith for writing and giving “Sea Cruise” to me. This letter is a rebuttal to false or misunderstood information. Never did I hear anyone else sing “Sea Cruise” except the time at Cosimo’s studio on Governor Nicholls. Huey sat at the piano and sang parts and taught me the lyrics written on a sheet of loose-leaf paper from my high school binder. It now hangs in the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The only two people still with us would be Cosimo and myself. But, as fast as the music business was in the ’50s and ’60s, some things get lost in the memory. Cosimo’s and my recollection are the same. —Frankie Ford, New Orleans, LA

SPIRITUAL PILGRIMAGE New Orleans is the seat of the American Folksoul. “Folksoul” is a term used by Rudolf Steiner, the visionary who founded the Waldorf school movement. Each nation has its own folksoul, a unifying soul that speaks through its people. Without the crucible of New Orleans, we would have been just an amalgamation of different regions, regardless of the Constitution and its laws. Congo Square, where jazz was born, then rock ‘n’ roll (also born in New Orleans), entered into the hearts and minds of every man, woman and child in America. The birth of the American Folksoul, 1956! Rock ’n’ roll—the true fusion of black and white ethnic cultures. Huge topic, but yes New Orleans is the birthplace, the womb, the balls and vagina. I think Mardi Gras can be celebrated nationally, but anyone wanting to go to the source should know where to go. New Orleans should be a spiritual pilgrimage for all Americans. —Fred Simmons, Peterborough, NH

A GOOD MUSICIAN Thank you for all that you and your staff do for New Orleans musicians and the supporters of live music around the world. Things could be better, but let’s not complain because things could be worse. Many of our musical family are returning home; all we need is for our city to acknowledge that a good musician in the right places and the preservation of our musical culture equals tourism. We have this to offer and for the world to view. —Alton “Big Al” Carson, New Orleans, LA

BEST CITY I have visited and lived in New Orleans on and off since 1978. I first got there for Mardi Gras. Henry Winkler was king that year, which I’ll never forget because of the two beautiful tall ladies in evening gowns that got out of a stretch limo with this man between them. Each was at least a foot taller than the “Fonz”! He was just as nice as Carlos Santana was when I met him waiting tables at the Hotel Montelone. I could not make Jazz Fest this year, so I went to Syracuse on Memorial Day and saw the Radiators. It really brought tears to my eyes. I once say Eubie Blake on the S.S. President back when they did actual cruises. I’ll never forget the show. A young bearded white man in a floor-length dashiki with tulips on top of his head sat right next to people in tuxedos. Eubie actually gave me and a lady friend his autograph that night. Now we have a President that will help rebuild. Take that to heart and do not ever forget that New Orleans is one of our best cities on this planet. —Harry J. Lagonegro, II, Elmira, NY

CORRECTION In our August 2009 issue we referred to Jeremy Davenport’s father as Frank. His name is Roger Davenport. We regret the error.—Ed.

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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Associate Editor Alex Rawls, alexrawls@offbeat.com Consulting Editor John Swenson Listings Editor Craig Guillot, craigguillot@offbeat.com Contributors Rory Callais, Alex V. Cook, Lisa M. Daliet, Elsa Hahne, Jeff Hannusch, Aaron LaFont, Rene Louapre, Cree McCree, Tom McDermott, Brandon Meginley, Scott Ross, Kyle Shepherd, Mary Sparr, Ned Sublette, John Swenson, Teresha Ussin, Dan Willging Cover Elsa Hahne 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 Ayah Elsegeiny, Brandon Gross, Bobby Hilliard, Colin Jones, Clifton Lee, Lauren Loeb, Brandon Meginley, 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.

MOJO MOUTH

Debate This

t’s pretty rare for me to shirk my duty as ranter-in-chief, but with the revision of the U.S. health care system under such debate, I thought it would be my duty to let readers know more about what’s going on with the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. The NOMC, like many other non-profits, is experiencing severe financial problems. I can’t say enough good things about what the clinic has done for the music community. I recently received an email from Bethany Bultman, who is the mover and shaker behind the clinic, and I wanted to share it with you.

“Dear Jan: I wanted to follow up as it will be really helpful if you can let the music community know the facts. The most important thing to convey to musicians and tradition bearers is that they are not helping the NOMC out by not going to the clinic! One of the woes we suffer is that our patients wait to come in until their condition is life-threatening. Our goal is to keep music alive! For the first time in three years, the board of the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation (NOMAF) finds itself with some very difficult choices to make: do we provide gig funding to St. Joseph’s Rebuild Center so they can sponsor monthly musical events and an elderly performer can use his performance fee to pay his car note? Or do we pay for his ongoing glaucoma care so he can read his music? Or do we help pay for his dental care so he can continue to play his trumpet? Three years ago, NOMC became one of 11 recipients of federal funding for the uninsured citizens of New Orleans as part of the Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant (PCASG). Our allocation was more than $2 million over three years, which allowed us to become the medical home for more than 1,600 musicians, tradition bearers and their families. As we begin the last year of this federal grant, reduced funding dictates that we must diminish our services even though the needs of our patients are increasing. We have less than $500,000 to cover all medical costs for our patients for the next 14 months. (Consider that each hand surgery performed on a musician costs us $4,000 and we have huge chemo bills for several patients.)

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During the first two years of the grant, we utilized 98 percent of all private donations we received to put money in the musicians’ pockets via our NOMAF Gig Fund. Now our private donations have slowed to a trickle.

The dirty little secret is that we receive more donations from a small Rotary Club in Northern Germany than all private donations from New Orleanians combined. —Bethany Bultman Our NOMAF board vowed to insure the future viability of NOMC’s comprehensive medical services by cutting back many of our non-primary care programs. Even with more than $1 million worth of donated and discounted medical services, free clinic space and electronic medical records donated by LSUHN, and our executive staff and our medical director all working pro bono, the only things left to cut back are some of our non-essential services, discontinue all our publications, and reduce the Gig Fund. Your readers know that musicians are the backbone of our tourism industry, yet our partner Sweet Home New Orleans’ research reveals that most of them must survive on less than $12,000 a year. They are uninsured and often suffer from multiple chronic conditions. So how do we keep them alive? Here are the facts: New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic patients served: 987 musicians served September 21, 2007March 20, 2008 1355 musicians served March 21, 2008September 20, 2008 1683 musicians served September 21, 2008March 20, 2009 63 percent are male; 37 percent are female 78 percent have been employed as a musician in New Orleans for more than 11 years 44 percent are 50-65 years old

By Jan Ramsey

36 percent are 31-49 years old 12 percent are under 30 8 percent are 66-100 years old NOMC’s top Diagnosis: Hypertension, Depression and Diabetes. 83 percent of all NOMC patients receive medication for a chronic condition. They also suffer from occupational maladies including tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, hearing loss, recurring upper respiratory problems (due to the smokefilled clubs in which they work), irregular sleep patterns and performance anxiety. According to our recent S.W.O.T. analysis we know the following: 67 percent of NOMC patients did not have a regular health provider before they became a NOMC patient. 56 percent of these went to the ER when sick and did not seek follow-up care. 40 percent of our patients smoked before Katrina and today, with the encouragement of the NOMC, this number has dropped to 26 percent. The dirty little secret is that we receive more donations from a small Rotary Club in Northern Germany than all private donations from New Orleanians combined. Since our founding in 1998, the NOMC remains the only such comprehensive medical clinic in the U.S.A. Maybe it is “shame on us” for not tooting our own horns but frankly, the care and well-being of our musicians is more than a full-time job, and there are not enough hours in the day to raise money and run the clinic. For the NOMC to survive the next five years, we must make a leap of faith that local banks, businesses and private foundations are going to begin viewing our local musicians as a natural resource that must be protected. In the meantime, our board and staff are expanding our network of pro bono providers and are writing grants night and day. Please help us prevent ‘death by lifestyle’ and keep the music alive.” I would urge anyone who is interested in the health and viability of the New Orleans musicians’ community to donate to the NOMC by logging on to NOMAF.org. O www.OFFBEAT.com

FRESH

Bringing Burlesque Back One G-String at a Time N

ew Orleans traffics in titillation, and though tastes change, the compulsion to see a little skin is the same as it was 60 years ago. “If tourists go down bourbon now-a-days, they probably still find what they’re looking for,” Rick Delaup says. “But it has more of a “Girls Gone Wild” reputation; it was much different in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s.” Delaup founded New Orleans’ Bustout Burlesque and is putting on the inaugural New Orleans Burlesque Festival September 11-13. “We bring an entertaining show that couples would want to go to, that’s a little naughty and a little risqué, but classy and glamorous. Not the sleazy atmosphere you find in the clubs on Bourbon.” Along with women, the shows will also feature magic, dancing, singing, and comedy, all sharing the stage with a live, five-piece jazz band led by local musician Matt Dell. Delaup says, “This is the first national festival with a live jazz band accompanying the main event—the Queen of Burlesque competition— and many of the other shows. This is the way burlesque used to be, with live music, and I think it’s a very important part that we’re trying to bring back.” Several headliners from across the country will compete for the Queen of Burlesque title and participate in other performances, workshops and panels. The main performances will be at Harrah’s Theatre and the House of Blues, while other venues will host the smaller events. “Burlesque stars and the clubs were really promoted by the city because they realized it was a tourist attraction and they could make money from it,” Delaup says. “Now, they’re trying to bill New Orleans as a family-friendly destination, which is a shame. I hope by starting this fest, it’ll put more of a spotlight on the history of burlesque in New Orleans and how it was culturally significant at one point in time.” —Kyle Shepherd

Ace Honored A

lthough its head office was located 185 miles away in Jackson, Mississippi, Ace Records was in effect New Orleans’ first independent record label. It was owned by the gregarious Johnny Vincent, who once worked in Specialty Records’ A&R department, where he signed Guitar Slim and Earl King. He saw the success that Specialty and other out-of-town labels including Imperial, Chess and Aladdin had with New Orleans talent and

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decided to start Ace. During its heyday—1955 to 1963—Ace’s roster included King, Eddie Bo, James Booker, Huey Smith, Bobby Marchan, Roland Stone, Sugarboy Crawford and Frankie Ford. The State of Mississippi is honoring Ace Records, and on October 5, a historic marker will be placed in front of the old Vincent Building on Capitol Street in Jackson. —Jeff Hannusch www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

FRESH

Photo: ZACK SMITH

The Cinema Show “B

Live Music on Freret, F’real? F

reret Street finally gets its horns this fall. The Box Office at La Nuit will host brass bands and traditional New Orleans jazz and blues starting September 5. The show, which will be held from 5 until 8 p.m., will start after vendors at the Freret Market fold up their tables and tents. That Saturday will herald a new era of music on a street not known for its nightlife. Yvonne Landry, owner of the Box Office, has pushed to get live music on the street since City Council loosened zoning restrictions for new businesses in November 2007. Since being named an Arts and Cultural Overlay District, Freret Street has seen the opening of new restaurants and bars, including a new cocktail lounge, Cure, and the Box Office. The overlay still restricts bars from being opened past midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. Landry was unhappy with the midnight curfew because New Orleans is not traditionally an early evening type of town, but the Box Office at La Nuit is connected to Landry’s other venue, La Nuit Comedy Club, a 50-seat comedy theater.

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efore we had any music written, we had these visual ideas of how things were going to be,” says A Living Soundtrack bassist/keyboardist Nick Lauve. “We just tried to make that happen.” This is a fitting beginning for local electronic instrumental indie act A Living Soundtrack, a group that mixes cinematic, experimental sound with a video projector for live performances. “We had a screenplay with very visual ideas for an album,” says Lauve, “and out of that came our first EP.” That self-titled EP, five songs of swirling psychedelic dub, was the product of Lauve and trumpet player/keyboardist Matt Aguiluz. However, the band’s sound isn’t born completely from conceptual inspiration. “The music came out of practicality,” says Lauve. “Matt wrote music that can only be pulled off with computers.” A Living Soundtrack is comfortable with disparate elements. Where the band’s debut EP was a mostly electronic affair with acoustic elements peppered in for texture, the addition of keyboardist Jenn Gosnell and drummer Marshall Flaig has given the band a more dynamic sound. The electronic sounds ebb and flow to the human rhythm section of Lauve on bass and Flaig on drums, giving the music a soul often lacking in music made on computers. Also, the meeting of the conceptual and the practical influenced the band’s instrumental nature. “It’s easier for people to connect to it in their own way rather than following words,” says Aguiluz. The band’s duality doesn’t seem to be going away soon. “We want to get involved in working on film and video game music,” says Lauve. “Besides playing shows and releasing CDs, we want to be more holistic in our approach.” The group already has the indie film Mythosis on its resume. An art-house, experimental group making movie and videogame music may seem to be indulging opposite ends of the aesthetic spectrum, but A Living Soundtrack show that the conceptual and the practical can come together to provide a soundtrack that is not only living, but thriving. —Rory Callais

“If it looks like we’re going to do well,” says Landry, “we can move into the theater and stay open until an hour after the latest show, so that may be what we have to do.” The Box Office’s interior looks like your buddy’s living room. There’s a pool table, a rattling air conditioner, and more worn-out couches and comfy chairs than there are bar stools. But there’s one thing missing here—cigarette smoke—which was a selling point for musicians. “All the brass bands, they have horns. They need their lungs,” Landry says. “Almost nowhere in New Orleans is smoke-free and we’re completely smoke-free.” A schedule of acts was announced then retracted as Landry and her booking agent had a falling out, one that led to some speculation about the future of the club. Landry asserts that the Box Office will have live music, though, and the Panorama Jazz Band’s Web site says it will play September 7. “It’s happening,” Landry says. “We’re going to be a music venue.” —Brandon Meginley www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

FRESH

Mad Man B

ryan Batt suggests an early-morning walk through Audubon Park to any New Orleans newcomer. He raves about restaurants like Commander’s Palace, Clancy’s, Acme Oyster House and the Bourbon House. He fondly thinks of his short-lived stint as a member of the Singles, a band that opened up for NOLA-notable ’80s band, the Cold. Batt shares ownership of Hazelnut, a hip furniture and interior design store on Magazine Street. He’s the type of New Orleanian that gets it. Great home. Full belly. Lucrative business. Love. He has it all and a bag of Zapps. And he plays Salvatore Romano on the hit AMC show Mad Men, which just bagged 16 Emmy nominations for its second season. Batt’s acting career began in New Orleans, and he is an outspoken supporter of Le Petit Theatre, the French Quarter theater where he says he got his start. In April, Batt returned to help the financially ailing Le Petit by putting on “Batt on a Hot Tin Roof,” a one-man, Cabaret-style show, and it wasn’t his first theatrical philanthropy in the area. He first did a oneman show as a recovery benefit at Le Chat Noir post-Katrina. “I cherish that city and I can’t wait for it to grow and not just become what it was, but even better,” Batt says. Mad Men has been a dream job for Batt. “The writing is impeccable,” he says. “The design of the show is just beautiful and the actors—it couldn’t be a nicer group of people, so we’re very lucky.” He takes a thoughtful pause and continues, “The stars aligned.” Because the show only occasionally focuses on Sal’s life, Batt is challenged to relay the complexity of a character with a secret within the time constraints of brief scenes. It might be a sassy smirk, a shifty glance, or a solemn shrug that has to communicate both Sal’s expression and its suppression. In a season two episode, a co-worker casually mentions that he “sleeps with men” over baked goods in the conference room. Sal has no dialogue or action. He doesn’t sit, or stand, or twirl his hair, but the camera finds his face. “It was definitely in the script,” Batt says. “It said, ON SAL.” In the first episode of the new season, Sal’s sexuality was dealt with less subtly. Mad Men’s second season is available on DVD. The third season premiered August 16 on AMC.—Mary Sparr

Musical History, Revisited I

t’s been 23 years since Jason Berry wrote Up From the Cradle of Jazz, a chronicle of New Orleans music since World War II, and plenty has changed. This fall, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette will publish a new edition of the book, updated by the author to include 120 additional pages and two brand-new chapters covering the last two decades of local music. Why the new edition? Like so many others, Berry was spurred to action by Hurricane Katrina. Watching elected officials fumble and sleaze their way through the recovery, he was struck by the verve with which so many musicians threw themselves into reviving the spirit of the city. “The contrast between the failure of politics and the resurgence of the musical culture just kept dramatizing itself to me,” says Berry. The new edition also looks at the last 23 years of music in the city and the changes that Berry has witnessed. Household names, including Aaron Neville and Wynton Marsalis were relatively young when the book was originally published, and he found it eye-opening to realize how far they have come since then. —Scott Ross

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Rolling in Green D

on Kelly, lawyer and father of three, had a light bulb moment during his Hurricane Katrina evacuation. “I had this idea to do a benefit concert for children’s charities,” he says. He founded Don Kelly Productions, and even though he had no experience in music or festivals, “A Joyful Noise” was a success. Kelly had discovered a new passion and to the question, “What else can I do?” Project 30-90 was the answer. Project 30-90 will be an environmentally conscious music festival in New Orleans with sustainable resources, large-scale recycling, biodegradable serving ware, paperless ticketing, and carbon offsets. The one-day event slated for September 5 features Ghostland Observatory, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Benjy Davis Project, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, the Von Bondies, MyNameIsJohnMichael, the Generationals and Charlie Mars. Can a green music festival be easily done? It’s absolutely doable. I love the idea of paperless tickets. It’s simple. The biggest headache is reminding people that you have to bring the credit card you bought the tickets with to get in. Somebody at the gate scans the card and in you go. There’s no paper to print, no ink use, no mailman driving all over the place. The biggest source of carbon exhaust will be from guests driving to and from the festival. So we’re offering renewable carbon credits for two dollars that will offset a 140-mile roundtrip car ride. Will green-ness sell tickets? It’s the green element that people are passionate about. I’m sure people will show up who could care less about green, but I hope at the end of the day, what they’re going to say is, “It sounded great, the lights were great, it was loud. It was just like any other festival and they really did it on solar and wind? Pretty cool.” —Lisa M. Daliet www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

NED SUBLETTE

A Day in the Year I

In this excerpt from The Year Before the Flood, Ned Sublette discovers what happens to second lines that go overtime.

n the fall of 2004, writer/ musician Ned Sublette got a fellowship from Tulane and moved from New York City to New Orleans. The product of his year here is The World that Made New Orleans, his 2008 book examining the role of slavery in shaping New Orleans. Sublette immersed himself in the city’s culture—particularly its second line culture—while here, and he chronicles his attempts to understand New Orleans in his new book, The Year Before the Flood. Race relations are central to his story, starting with his own upbringing as a child in Natchitoches. He writes with a keen eye for subtleties and complexities, and can summon unapologetic outrage when the moment calls for it. In a sense, the book’s title is misleading. While Sublette deals with the flood, the majority of the book documents a year in the life of the city. In this passage, he recounts an event during the runup to Mardi Gras.—ED. Before the 2005 Mardi Gras season could really get under way, there was one more Sunday afternoon second line to go on, the only one that happens during Mardi Gras season: the Bayou Steppers. It’s a unique Social Aid and Pleasure Club, founded in 2002 as a biracial organization with both a black president and a white president. Its anniversary parade is one of only a few second lines to take place in both uptown and downtown. Their four-hour march began at the Purple Rain at Washington and Saratoga, uptown, and ended at the Mother-in-Law Lounge on North Claiborne downtown in the Treme, right under the trestles of I-10. In between, the Steppers made their customary rest stops. (In Louis Armstrong’s day, when these

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stops were at members’ houses, they were called “punches.”) They stopped at the New Look at La Salle and Washington; at Donna’s, the music bar at St. Ann and Rampart, across from Congo Square, where I joined the parading party in progress; at Little Peoples Place on Barracks near Treme; and at Dumaine St. Gang at N. Robertson and Dumaine. At each one, there was plenty of time to have a beer and a pork chop sandwich with my friends before rolling on again. There was Joel Dinerstein—he never misses a second line. There was Garnette, and Vicki. The Bayou Steppers were decked out in purple from head to toe, with hats and sashes. Antoinette K-Doe was a queen up front riding in her pink Cadillac convertible. Al Johnson, whose song “Carnival Time” (1960) is a Mardi Gras

By Ned Sublette

perennial with oddly unpredictable numbers of measures, was an honoree as well. Elder drummer “Uncle” Lionel Batiste was there. It was a fine second line on a beautiful day, with lots of high stepping and no small amount of reefer smoke wafting through the air. The good feeling stopped, however, when we reached the endpoint, under the dank shadow of I-10, at the door to the Motherin-Law. The parade had run slightly overtime—like five minutes— against a very strict clock. I had just snapped a picture of Bayou Stepper Michael “Aldo” Andrews, as his nephew James (“Twelve”) Andrews and the New Birth Brass Band tore into what was obviously their finale from the front doorstep of the Mother-in-Law. It was overtime, and the cops were not inclined to let the band

finish their last few bars. The law must be obeyed to the letter in New Orleans, at least if you’re black. The cops turned a number, maybe seven, of their car sirens on at full blast, right in the assembled crowd’s face, drowning out the band completely. It’s the rudest thing you can do to a musician aside from physical assault. It was loud enough to be deafening, and the effect was intentional. Cherry tops were spinning like it was a drug bust or a terrorist swat. You must disperse! Uh, I was supposed to hook up with my friends here who have a car, mine is back by Donna’s, and it’s too loud to use my cell phone, the Mother-in-Law’s already full, where am I supposed to go around here? The cops in New Orleans had been calling time on Sunday—that’s enough outta you—all the way back to the Congo Square days, when they dispersed the dancers with cutlasses at the appointed hour. The people were used to it. Refusing to be baited by the provocation, they just took it—not only the physical insult to their hearing from the piercing, ultra-loud sirens, but the blatant disrespect to their culture. The same blatant disrespect that in 1968 put up those trestles we were all standing under, when North Claiborne was replaced with I-10 running overhead all down its length. Well, if I were to catalog the disrespect, it would be a long litany. The police in New Orleans know very well that there’s a thin line between a parade and a riot. They also know, or should know, that the most notorious riots in New Orleans history—and there have been a few—were by white people. I never saw the police close down a white folks’ parade like that. Ned Sublette will host a book launch party at the Mother-in-Law Lounge Thursday, September 24 at 6:30 p.m. All are invited. www.OFFBEAT.com

IRMA THOMAS

Solid Gold Irma Thomas celebrates 50 years in music by recalling some of her biggest hits.

Photo: RICK OLIVIER

his year, 2009, is Irma Thomas’ 50th year as an entertainer. To mark the occasion, her record company of 24 years, Rounder, is releasing The Soul Queen of New Orleans 50th Anniversary Collection. While Irma downplays the occasion, 50 years in any profession—much less one in the field of music, where changes in styles and audiences are a constant—is indeed quite an accomplishment. Thankfully, Irma is getting to smell her roses now as she recently added a Blues Hall of Fame induction award to her trophy case, one which already contains a Grammy. Recently, we at OffBeat decided to pick 10 of her songs (an eleventh as lagniappe) that were highlights and significant in her career, and asked Irma to reflect on them. Here’s what the Soul Queen had to say:

Don’t Mess with My Man “That was my first record. That song told a story about what I was experiencing at that point in my life. I was a teenager, married and already had kids. When I did the song live, it always, and still does, get a reaction from the audience. I remember one night right after it came out. I was doing a gig in a club in Fort Benning, Georgia, that (Percy) Stovall booked. I was halfway thru the song when a lady stood up and yelled, ‘Yeah, sing it girl!’ Well, her husband or boyfriend stood up and cold-cocked her. Laid her out flat on the ground, but I kept on singing. Earlier, I had auditioned for Minit Records, but they told me, ‘I didn’t have what they need.’ Tommy Ridgley then took me to see Joe Ruffino at Ric Records. I don’t know who produced that record (probably Eddie Bo) because I didn’t know what a producer was at the time. We did that in a little studio behind Joe Ruffino’s office on Barrone Street. Eddie Bo and Dr. John played on it. Robert Parker played the sax solo.

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Dorothy LaBostrie, who was a very good songwriter, gave me the song. She wrote songs for Little Richard and Johnny Adams too. I don’t know much about her, but she ran the song down for me and we cut it. At the time, I was unaware of the charts, but in later years, I learned it made Number 22 in Billboard’s R&B charts.”

of my Minit records at the same time. But it seemed like Minit never pushed my records beyond New Orleans. That’s a song I have to do at least once every time I perform to this day. The audience expects it.”

Ruler of My Heart

“Again, Allen wrote, arranged and produced that. It was a good ballad that sold well around here. One night It’s Raining “I did that for Minit. I don’t know I was playing a gig in Slidell at the Branch Inn, opening for Otis Redding. why, but Minit was all of a sudden (Redding was touring behind his interested in me after I left Ruffino. Allen (Toussaint) wrote, arranged and first hit, “These Arms of Mine,” and Stovall booked several dates in produced it. He didn’t use his name the area). He heard me sing it and as writer, he used Naomi Neville (his backstage he pulled me aside and mother’s maiden name). In those said, ‘Irma, that’s a nice song. I’d like days we recorded at Cosimo’s on to record it.’ He changed some of the Governor Nicholls Street. I had no lyrics and did. Redding’s version was thoughts about the song when he ran it down. I just went in the studio entitled, “Pain In My Heart.” He had a big hit with it and I was glad for him.” and cut it. Really, I never thought there was anything special about that song. It was a big hit locally for Wish Someone Would Care a long time. In fact the local stations “I wrote that—I was having would sometimes play two or three husband trouble at the time. That

By Jeff Hannusch

was done in Los Angeles after Minit got sold to Liberty Records. (Irma wound up on the Imperial label) I had relatives out there, but outside of New Orleans, that was the only other big city I’d been in before in my life. I was only 22 or 23 and really naive. Eddie Ray produced that. After the session he took me to the William Morris booking agency, who could have gotten me some major gigs. But, I didn’t know what the hell was going on at the time and stayed with Stovall. But hindsight is 20-20. That was my first major hit. I’d had records in the charts previously, but that was the first time I cracked the Top 40—made it to number 17. That’s another song I have to do almost every night. But, I never end the show with it. I don’t like to end a show with a slow song.”

Break-A-Way “I did that with Eddie Ray in Los Angeles too. It didn’t make the national charts, but it was one of my biggest records ever in New Orleans. www.OFFBEAT.com

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Photo: RICK OLIVIER (bottom LEFT), STUART BRININ (bottom RIGHT)

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Sing It “I did that with Marcia Ball and Traci Nelson. That’s another song people request a lot. That tells me people are buying and listening to my newer stuff. It’s a good time song. I always thought it was kind of rockabilly. It’s got a second-line beat and people pull their handkerchiefs out and wave them when I perform it. Sometimes I close my set with it.”

In the Middle of It All “I made that right after Katrina. I was living in Gonzales at the time. That song was very reflective and therapeutic. I did that at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana. David Farrell, who had worked at Ultrasonic Studio, engineered it—a really nice guy. Scott sent me the original version (by Arthur Alexander) of it and I thought it was a really powerful song.”

Let It Be Me “That’s on the new CD. We recorded it during this year’s Jazz Fest with my band at Piety Street Studio. Scott had sent me the demo. Originally it was a duet, but he didn’t think too much of the song. I picked it right out though. I thought it was the kind of song I could really deliver.”

Time Is on My Side

That’s another song people expect me to play every night. When I audition drummers, I ask them to play, “Break-A-Way,” and, “Don’t Mess With My Man.” I figure if they can play those songs, they’re pretty good. You’d be pretty surprised how many drummers, good drummers, can’t play a shuffle.”

What’s So Wrong with You Loving Me “Oh boy, that was with Swamp Dogg (Jerry Williams). I was living in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, working at Montgomery-Ward, and

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gigging on the weekends. He just showed up out of the blue one day and said he had a deal with Cotillion (a subsidiary of Atlantic Records) to record me. Well, we flew to New York or Detroit for the session. The guy was talented, but that was a weird session. That was during the Women’s Lib’ era, and a lot of the songs I did with him addressed that movement, even those weren’t necessarily my views. What pissed me off about Swamp Dogg was that he stole my monologue from, ‘Wish Someone Would Care.’ We re-cut it and he claimed the writer’s credit.”

The New Rules “That was my first record for Rounder. We did that at Ultrasonic Studio on Washington Avenue. I’m not sure who wrote the song (Paul Kelly). (Producer) Scott Billington sent me a bunch of songs and I picked that one out right away. I rehearsed it with my band and we went in the studio and cut it. I don’t know how well it sold, but they invited me back to make another record. Hard to believe I’ve been with Rounder now for 24 years.”

Oh please, you’re not going to ask me about that song are you? I’m not sore that the Rolling Stones covered it, but I stopped doing it on my shows when people started coming up to me and saying, “You’re doing a Rolling Stones song?” Now when I do it, I tell the audience, “You’ve heard this song before, but I did the original version.” (Actually, Kai Winding was the first to record “Time Is on My Side,” but the Stones got it from Thomas.) People just don’t do their homework. H.B. Barnum arranged that. He gave me a demo of it. There was a huge chorus on it that actually leads the song. I really didn’t think much of the song; in fact, it was the B-side of “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is.” But the Rolling Stones did pretty good with it, so good for them. O www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: elsa hahne

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COVER STORY

No Shit

Mark Bingham’s eclectic tastes and no-nonsense attitude have made Piety Street Recording a destination for artists.

ark Bingham is good at multitasking. The enigmatic, wisecracking denizen of Piety Street Recording is a jack of all trades on his home turf. Behind the mixing board in his capacity as producer or engineer, he’s the Bukowski of sonic memory, capturing raw or beautiful noise with the same stingy Germanic precision while spinning aesthetic theories, moral philosophy or scabby anecdotes. “There’s a cartoon somewhere,” Bingham muses, brown eyes winking sardonically, “where the producer’s pressing the talkback button and saying, ‘That really sucks. Come back in four hours and it will be great’.” Bingham chuckles at his joke and ambles out to the kitchen where he’s performing another of his favorite duties at the studio; cooking. “I’m improvising today because there’s nothing left in the refrigerator,” he says. “I think I’ll make pasta with some periwinkle meat in it. Mix that with squid and anchovies.” Bingham also plays a variety of instruments on various sessions, most often guitar or banjo. He’s just recorded an ambient music concert at the studio consisting of “me on banjo and two laptops. Two of the pieces already have deals.” Bingham also has nine albums that he produced, composed or played on over the last 40 years due out by the time you read this, as well as a brand new record, Psalms of Vengeance, recorded at Piety Street. The record is as complex a piece of art as Bingham is a person; dense, beautiful and foreboding, the nihilistic imagination of a man whose father was tortured for four years in World War II and ended up shooting himself. There’s a song about his father on Psalm of Vengeance called “It Never Goes Away.” This hotter-than-July afternoon is a relatively easy day for Bingham. Delfeayo Marsalis is in Studio A with house engineer Wesley Fontenot recording a quartet and ten children on vocals. Bingham is in Studio B swapping stories. “Mark’s a good guy,” says Marsalis, “and Piety Street still has the analog equipment which I prefer. Mark grew up in the analog era and he has a great deal of respect for analog recording. That’s very important to me.” Bingham does not look like a man who runs the most in-demand recording studio in New Orleans; more like an affable local shopkeeper, a middle-aged man of average height and www.OFFBEAT.com

build with thinning hair cropped closely to his scalp and a mostly expressionless demeanor that sets up his often-startling wit. Sociable without being particularly outgoing, Bingham has the kind of evenhanded personality that allows him to deal easily with some of the most eccentric figures on the New Orleans music scene. At the same time, Bingham is notoriously flinty with music business hustlers and has been known to walk out of lucrative deals that rubbed him the wrong way. Bingham basically lives in the studio although he has a home around the corner that he shares with his partner Shawn Hall and their dog Oliver. The studio building is an old, white stucco structure with vaulted ceilings and a warren of rooms for recording, rehearsal, production, mastering and sleeping. The couches may be pooched and torn, but they’re certainly comfortable. The recording equipment ranges from primitive to post-modern, two-track analog tape to Pro Tools, and it all serves a purpose. The walls are covered with Hall’s vivid, spiritual paintings—she’s a well-regarded local artist whose work is part of the Ogden Museum’s permanent collection—along with various photographs and posters. The copy of Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life awarded to Bingham’s production partner and mastering engineer John Fischbach is unobtrusively placed on a side wall, the kind of credential that doesn’t have to be overplayed to impress. The overall impression inside Piety Street is that you’re in the home of an eccentric artist whose collection of artifacts has slightly outgrown the space. It’s a little mysterious, and a lot to take in; you’re aware of being in a special place. A number of important New Orleans records were recorded here over the years, but since Katrina, Piety Street has been a production line turning out memorable sessions, a creative run that hasn’t been seen in this city since Allen Toussaint’s heyday at Cosimo Matassa’s legendary recording space on North Rampart Street. Immediately after the flood, Toussaint himself finished recording The River in Reverse at Piety with Elvis Costello. “We were back in operation by Halloween,” says Bingham. “Then on the 10th to the 18th of December, Allen Toussaint and Elvis Costello were in here. I’d just been By John Swenson

in New York doing the Katrina benefit album with Hal Willner and Joe Henry, so they knew we were open. “Allen is the Godfather,” says Bingham, who dismissed any thoughts of professional rivalry between producers by saying, “that would be like Don Corleone feeling competitive towards Fredo.” Since The River in Reverse, Piety Street has turned out a series of definitive New Orleans recordings as well as some outstanding records by national acts. The list includes John Mooney’s Big Ol’ Fiya, Morning 40 Federation’s Ticonderoga, the Radiators’ Dreaming Out Loud, Dr. John’s Mercernary, James Blood Ulmer’s Bad Blood in the City: The Piety Street Sessions, Ed Sanders of the Fugs’ Poems for New Orleans, trumpeter Nicholas Payton’s Into the Blue and The Blind Boys of Alabama’s session with the Hot 8 Brass Band, the Grammy-nominated Down in New Orleans. Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars recently completed a session there, and earlier this year the Dave Matthews Band cut Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King during Mardi Gras. Guitarist John Scofield named the album he recorded there as well as his touring band after the studio. Alex McMurray, Paul Sanchez, John Boutte, Brother Tyrone, the Zydepunks and Leroy Jones all made recent albums there. Tony DeMeur of British pre-new wave band the Fabulous Poodles recorded there and gives a clue to the studio’s appeal. “Mark Bingham had seen me perform at the Circle Bar and generously gave me two hours to record eight songs completely live with no overdubs,” he says. “Mark conscientiously labored over the selection and positioning of microphones, which we used alongside a direct input feed. He has a natural empathy with musicians, being one himself, and imbues a session with an atmosphere of genuine creativity.” Sometimes Bingham finds that his guests provide him with private amusements. “We had a Swiss version of the Imagination Movers in here earlier this year,” he says with a shake of his head. “The music was kind of cheesy, but they were singing in Swiss German. They wanted the Dixie Cups to sing with them because in Swiss German the word ‘Hiko’ sort of means ‘get it together,’ like, ‘Go clean your room—Hiko!’ So they got the Dixie Cups in there singing phonetically in German Swiss.” SEPTEMBER 2009

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Bingham enjoys telling such shaggy dog tales, but there’s an offhanded genius to his method that draws people to work with him. “I’ve watched him work with John Boutte,” says Paul Sanchez, who cut this year’s A Stew Called New Orleans with Boutte at Piety Street. “John Boutte is a really sensitive fellow and Mark has a casual, sort of sarcastic way of dealing with him which seems to work. When it came time to make Stew, John just didn’t want to spend any time in the studio, he didn’t want to do the record. Boutte came in, Mark told him a dirty joke, everybody laughed, we played the material. John never had to think about the fact that Mark had spent a day and a half miking the room in different corners, with live mics near John’s face but not in his face. We sat down and played the thing like it was live music. That’s just not possible without a guy like Mark who’s first of all that good at what he does, but also sensitive enough to deal with a guy like John Boutte’s aesthetic. Mark was invisible other than to make John comfortable and make jokes and disappear. He did all the mixing. I went home, then came back to listen to the mix and it was perfect. I didn’t have to say anything.” Which is how Bingham likes it. “I don’t understand the idea of the producer micromanaging the mixer,” Bingham says. “When I’m the producer I don’t interfere. I try to keep the delineation of jobs clear. You have sessions where everyone involved has produced records, but there’s only one producer. What I’ve noticed is that most people in that position don’t know how to shut up and do their job, so if I shut up and do my job, at least there’s one less producer in the room. What I like to do is, for example, have Nicholas Payton and Bob Belden go out on the porch and talk while I do the mixdown, then I ask them, ‘What do you need now?’ They come in and listen, make comments, they go back to the porch and I fix it to their liking.” Bingham has been on the fringes of the big time throughout the rock era, but he never found himself comfortable with it until he moved to New Orleans in 1982. Born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1949, he spent his youth moving from place to place with his family. He began playing guitar and writing songs at 15 and became interested in recording when he began experimenting with a friend’s

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Photo: elsa hahne

“New York in the ’70s, I don’t know what I got out of that. I couldn’t take the whole vibe of trust fund kids in black clothes getting smacked out and pretending to be punks.”

reel-to-reel two-track machine. While in high school, his group won a battle of the bands judged by Ed McMahon and Cousin Brucie, and that landed him a job at Elektra Records. “They thought I’d be reporting to them from high school on New York bands, but I got into trouble with the draft board and hitch-hiked to L.A.,” Bingham says. “They gave me a gig as a junior monkey boy apprentice producer, which meant I listened to all the unsolicited tapes and went out and heard bands all the time and reported back to the honchos.” It was a heady time on the L.A. scene. The first Doors album was out, Elektra had released In My Life by Judy Collins, Bingham watched Tim Buckley record the Happy Sad sessions, and he shepherded Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber around town as they were recording The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders. But Bingham hated L.A. He was seriously injured in a car accident and found himself at odds with the locals. “I was not a hip kid,” he says. “David Crosby drove me to this party where [a celebrated L.A. club owner] tried to rape me. He got me in a headlock and stuck his thumb up my ass. But after that I got into [his club] for free.” Bingham went back to Bloomington, taking courses at the University of Indiana while playing with and producing local musicians. He studied

with the radical Greek avant-garde composer Iannis Xenakis. “I learned a lot of things through him,” Bingham says. “The school was wide open, and there was a lot of jazz. Michael Brecker was there and had a wild band.” In 1976, Bingham moved to New York, where he had a significant impact on the new music in lower Manhattan that coalesced into the punk, loft jazz and no wave scenes. “My attitude was ‘anything goes’,” he says. He played guitar in Glenn Branca’s bands, produced Branca’s Lesson No. 1 and formed a trio, the Social Climbers, as well as collaborating with the like-minded producer Hal Willner. “I met Hal in 1979,” says Bingham. “We were both interested in crazy music. Hal got his Nino Rota album done and after that he put me on the Thelonious Monk record when nobody else would give me the time of day.” “New York in the ’70s, I don’t know what I got out of that,” he says thoughtfully. “The downtown scene was really hostile to anyone who really knew how to play music. It was like you were a square if you knew how to play music. I couldn’t take the whole vibe of trust fund kids in black clothes getting smacked out and pretending to be punks. “New Orleans was a place where I could play music and enjoy doing it and musicians had friends other than musicians and artists, www.OFFBEAT.com

people who actually worked for a living as plumbers or carpenters. It was real. I ended up moving into a house next to Aaron Neville and teaching a bunch of kids in the 13th Ward to play some of the pieces I was writing, stuff with treated guitars and all the guitars tuned to one string, the kind of stuff I had been doing in New York. Nobody in New Orleans was playing anything like that back then.” Bingham’s first major New Orleans project was a remote recording of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians, which is widely considered one of the most important documents of that culture in history. “I went to the H&R bar in 1987. Steve Pierce at WWOZ had some equipment and I had some equipment so we pooled it and I set up in the back of a van with an early digital recording system. It was pretty much like an Indian practice except they were onstage

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because this had to be a little more focused. It still sounds cool but it was made in the most minimal conditions.” In 1993, he opened his first studio, the Boiler Room, and began making a series of great recordings including Cubanismo! and records by Astral Project, Mem Shannon and Leroy Jones among others. Bingham moved his operation into Piety Street in 2001 and has become the chief partisan for New Orleans music, turning the place into a kind of shrine. “It’s one of the last of the great studios,” says Shannon McNally, who has been on numerous sessions at Piety. “It’s as much of a church as any place I’ve ever been to. New Orleans is still there to me because Piety is still there, and because Mark and Shawn are still there—people with the intelligence and compassion for enabling other people to express themselves.”

Bingham takes an almost bitter pride in surviving as the rest of the music industry around him is going into the tank. He views its current woes with the barely suppressed glee of someone who’s been at war with its greed, hypocrisy and style-over-content aesthetic for a lifetime. “The New York Times declared the recording industry was dead 10 years ago,” he says with a wry smile. “Who needs studios when you can make a record on your home computer? And it’s true—if you know what you’re doing, you can make a good recording anywhere. The catch is you have to know what you’re doing. “I always say you can fix the recording but you can’t fix the people. That was why in my limited time of being in the big time music business, I immediately wanted to get out. The higher up the money food chain you get, the crazier it gets. That’s why I’m sort of hiding out in New Orleans and working with people instead of waiting around for three producer gigs a year where you get 50 grand for each one, which is what some of my friends from the old days are still doing—living in the shitty apartment in New York waiting for the next call.” The secret to Bingham’s success? “To come in and do the work every day,” he says flatly. “There are a lot of studios that have hot tubs and luxury accommodations. People go in there and they have a great time and nothing gets done. When it comes time to record again, they have to ask the question: ‘Do we want to go into the super tricked-out studio with the hot tubs and the blow jobs, or do we want to go to the place where we had fun and still got all the work done?’ “How do we stay above water in the current economic climate? That’s a really good question. This week we had a jazz record on Monday, something else on Tuesday, the Kitty Lynn Band on Wednesday, Green Day on Thursday, the ambient concert and recordings on Saturday. I had a homeless rapper in here the other day cutting to looped samples from a second line. “Much of it has to do with pricing. This studio runs like a street market in Sierra Leone; it’s all negotiable. There is a book rate, but only Dave Matthews and the Dixie Chicks pay it, because they can. Green Day paid the book rate. Shawn basically takes care of the day-today business, making sure people are happy and have what they need. We do a lot of the work around here ourselves. She taught me how to sew and I sewed all the curtains. So now I’m simpatico with the Indians. Sewing’s a cool thing because it really calms your brain. “I’ve always thought if you do something well, something’s going to work out. If you do it all right, and then you fail, that’s cool. That hasn’t happened here yet.” O www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: elsa hahne

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EATS

A Nice Pair

January: Duck and Andouille Gumbo. Smith: 2006 Zichichi Family Vineyards Estate Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley. A good spicy gumbo in the winter loves a good soft, spicy red. Stein: Chimay Red Label. The mild smokiness and saltiness of the duck and the sausage goes well with the caramelized sugar flavors of the beer.

ILLUSTRATION: ELSA HAHNE

ating well in New Orleans is a birthright. The bounty of ingredients and dishes makes choosing what to eat a daily chore. But what goes best with boudin? What to serve with the seafood platter? Is it a cold beer, or a glass of champagne? In order to find out, a crack duo of adult beverage stars was assembled and issued this challenge: For each month of the year, we provide the dish and you recommend the best beverage to pair with it. Jon Smith of Cork & Bottle (wine) and Dan Stein of Stein’s Deli (beer) accepted the challenge and here are their suggestions. You be the judge.

Our cuisine may be unique, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find the right wine or beer to accompany it.

February: King Cake. Smith: N/V Ceretto Moscato d’Asti. Enough sweetness in the wine to pair with the sweetness and cinnamon of the king cake, enough effervescence to liven your palate. And since Moscato is often a little lower in alcohol, you can drink plenty of it as the parades roll by. Stein: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar. Who does not like hazelnuts, coffee and chocolate with their cake? March: Raw Oysters. Smith: 2008 Domaine de Quilla Muscadet Sur Lie, Sevre et Maine. A good Muscadet literally adds the lemon and salt oysters need. Stein: Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale. The residual iodine and brine of the oysters work well with the citrusy hop flavors of the beer. Also, you can’t go wrong with a properly poured Guinness. April: Boiled Crawfish. Smith: 2007 Donnhoff Riesling Estate Kabinett. Spice loves sweet. Enough said. Stein: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It’s all about quantity, baby! You want to drink a ton of refreshing, thirst-quenching, palate-cleansing beer that will not knock you on your ass.

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By Rene Louapre

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May: Roast Beef Po-Boy. Smith: 2006 Duck Pond Cellars Syrah, Columbia Valley. A po-boy loves a big, soft, lush red to go with your messy sandwich, and the white pepper and dark fruit of the syrah matches nicely with that roasted meat flavor. Stein: NOLA Brown. Roasted malt flavors match well with the rich meat and gravy, while the dry finish helps to cleanse the palate. June: Shrimp Remoulade over Creole Tomatoes. Smith: 2008 Casamaro Blanco Rueda. A crisp, dry, clean yet fruity Spanish white counters the spice and texture of the remoulade. Stein: Hoegaarden. The acidity of the dish makes this a tough match for any alcohol. Refreshing Belgian Wits contain coriander and orange peel, giving the beer a touch of acidity to keep all the taste buds in check. July: Fried Soft-shell Crabs. Smith: 2006 Hendry Family Chardonnay Unoaked, Napa. This is a textbook Chardonnay with apple, spice and pear flavors and zero oak getting in the way. The acidity and texture of the wine take care of the oiliness of the crab. Stein: Weihenstephaner Original. Keep it simple; the mild taste and subtle sweetness

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of German lagers complements the delicate deliciousness of the crabs. August: Trout Amandine. Smith: 2006 Domaine Matrot Meursault AOC. Any fish cooked in any kind of butter sauce wants a big, rich white Burgundy. Stein: Unibroue La Fin Du Monde. This effervescent, high alcohol, dry finishing beer cuts through the rich butter while the soft, bready malt flavors match the fish without blowing it away. September: Barbecue Shrimp. Smith: N/V Pierre Gimonnet Brut 1er Cru, Cuis. Crisp, dry finish wipes clean that peppery, spicy, buttery flavor of this dish. Plus, with a stem to hold on to, you’re not treating a wine glass like a house of ill repute by drinking with a messy, buttery hand. Stein: Paulaner Oktoberfest. A malty lager will match the rich, sweet barbecue shrimp while not overwhelming the taste buds. October: Turtle Soup. Smith: 2006 Benoit-Germain Savigny Les Beaune. A rich, fruity yet light and earthy red Burgundy with enough acid to provide an extra zing to the soup.

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Stein: Gouden Carolus Grand Cru of the Emperor. This decadent dish deserves an equally decadent beer to pair with it. November: Red Beans and Rice. Smith: 2007 BenMarco Malbec, Mendoza. A big, comfortable bowl of saucy red beans wants a big, jammy, fruity wine. Stein: Fuller’s Vintage Ale. It’s getting cold; time to switch to heavier, more flavorful, saltier dishes and heavier, more malted, sweeter, and higher alcohol beers. December: Oysters Rockefeller. Smith: 2006 Chateau Carbonnieux, Graves. A gorgeous, velvety textured Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux that has just enough zing to do the oysters right but enough grip and grassiness to pair with parsley or whatever green was used to make the Rock. Stein: Deus. The true champagne of beers will help you toast in the New Year.

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In the Kitchen with Johnette “I

learned to cook from my grandmother, who lived in St. Amant, near Gonzales. She was Creole—French, Spanish and Native American—and she was the best cook. The only thing I didn’t learn to cook from her was gumbo because she’d always say, ‘Start with a roux.’ And I’d say, ‘What’s a roux?’ And she’d say, ‘You know what a roux is! Just start with a roux!’ But I didn’t. She wasn’t patient enough; she would just exasperate. The first time I made a roux, I got the jar of roux. I still use the jar because I really don’t know how to make a roux the way you’re supposed to do it. I’ve made it before, just with flour and oil and onions, but it doesn’t come out like her roux so I’m not happy. I always stop too soon because I’m afraid I’m going to burn it. In Louisiana, music and food go hand in hand. I mean; that’s what we’re all about: music and food. No surprise that my music, since I’m from Louisiana, a lot of my songs have to do with food. I wrote this song called ‘Today Is Monday in Louisiana.’ It’s based on a traditional song, but I was looking at the ingredients, all the dishes in the traditional song, and they were Monday roast beef, then chicken and string beans, and I said, ‘I have to do this for Louisiana, we have the best food in the world!’ So I did Monday red beans, Tuesday poboys, Wednesday gumbo, Thursday jambalaya, Friday catfish, Saturday crawfish and Sunday beignets. That song was a really big hit; it’s still one of my biggest hits. And because of that song, a lady was in the audience with her son and she came up to me and said, ‘Can I illustrate that song and make it into a book?’ and that’s how the books started. We did My Aunt Came Back from Louisiane and Chef Creole and both have food in them.

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try. I’m not a picky eater because I live here. We’ll try anything and people appreciate that. It’s a way of being accepting and open to new ideas and concepts and traditions and new ways of living, different from your own culture. I’ve learned that. My grandmother always made hogshead cheese and just the idea of it, ‘I’m not eating hogshead cheese.’ So I never tried it, but the other night my boyfriend and I went to Cochon and they gave us a complimentary piece of hogshead cheese, so I tried it. And it was so good. All this time, I never tried it! I know my grandmother’s, it must have been great because people would come over when they found out she was cooking. I missed the opportunity to try hers.”

Johnette’s Sausage Mambo Johnette enjoys this dish by itself, but you can serve it over rice or pasta. Actually, this recipe makes up half of Johnette’s jambalaya recipe as well. The other half is Zatarain’s jambalaya mix. “Like they say, don’t fix what ain’t broke. Just add an extra handful of plain rice.”

I do about 250 shows a year so I travel a lot, but anytime I’m home, I like to cook. I do it as often as possible. I use my Today Is Monday in Louisiana book when I travel, and I travel internationally and use the book as a cultural bridge. I’ll sing my version and then, whatever country I’m in, let’s say I’m in Oman, we’ll do their version. They might have biryani, shish kebab, or whatever foods they have in their culture, and then we’ll talk about the foods we have in common. Food is a great way to reach other cultures. Food doesn’t have an agenda. When I give concerts and workshops in other countries, I’ll say ‘What do we have in common?’ and

By Elsa Hahne

usually it’s rice. Or fish, depending on where it is. But usually rice, so I say, ‘See, children? We’re really all just rice. We can be brown rice or jasmine rice or saffron rice; longgrain rice or short-grain rice, but really we’re just all rice.’ Food is non-threatening, non-political and it’s just a nice way to connect the world, I find. The funny thing about traveling and being from New Orleans is that wherever I go, I’ll eat anything. I went to Morocco and I had camel. I’m not sure I want to eat camel again, but I tried it. It was kind of spongy, almost like tofu, and it’s a camel color. People like when you’ll

1 link Polska Kielbasa sausage (Hillshire Farm) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning 1 yellow onion, diced 5 cloves garlic, chopped 1 yellow bell pepper, diced 1 orange bell pepper, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/2 tub sliced mushrooms Slice sausage into doubloons. Heat oil and Worcestershire sauce in a skillet. Sauté sausage until deep red in color, adding parsley and Tony Chachere’s. Add onion and garlic. When onion becomes translucent, add bell peppers and mushrooms. Sauté until vegetables are tender. O www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: ELSA HAHNE

Johnette Downing will try just about anything, from crawfish to camel.

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. K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen: 416 Chartres St., 524-7394. 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. Maison Dupuy Hotel: 1001 Toulouse St., 586-8000. Mat and Naddie’s: 937 Leonidas St., 861-9600.

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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. Chickie Wah Wah: 2828 Canal St., 304-4714. House of Blues: 225 Decatur St., 412-8068. Prejean’s Restaurant: 3480 Hwy 167 N, Lafayette (337) 896-3247. Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St., 895-8117. www.OFFBEAT.com

EATS 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 Chef Austin’s Creole Kitchen: 2005 N Broad St., 940-5786 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.

Ray Moore hits the Why Pho Orchid? I stumbled on it by accident. It’s tucked away, but that’s the unique thing about it: There’s something here in Metairie! I come at least three times a week to get my fix.

The man behind sax, flute and clarinet in Brasilliance! does not come here for the view.

Pho Orchid 3117 Houma Blvd (504) 457-4188

What do you usually order? I often get the noodle soup. It has green onions and whatever choice of meat I want in it. The other thing I like to get is bún with noodles, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and again, whatever choice of meat. Bún is served with a fish sauce, but the sauce does not have a strong fishy taste. Local musicians seem fond of cuisine that’s not so local. A good friend of mine from Brazil said to me that music is like cooking. Playing jazz or improvising is like cooking a dish. If you put too much of a good spice in it, that spice will overpower the dish. But, when you’ve really made a dish well, everything blends together. Nothing stands out. When you start digging in the taste, you’ll taste the different things. Music is the same. Seeking out good food that is prepared well is part of musicianship, I think. —Teresha Ussin www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

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DINING OUT Vega Tapas Café The foodie press will have you believe the small plates revolution has arrived in America with a gusto not seen since the Beatles. But for Vega Tapas Café, small plates have been the specialty for the past 13 years. Vega’s cuisine spans the Mediterranean combining Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, and Moroccan flavors and techniques, and it has remained that way since the namesake owner set sail for the Caribbean a few years ago, leaving former manager and current chef Glen Hogh at the helm. Vega is strictly a tapas restaurant, with paella the only entrée sized option on the menu. Among the several salads, the roasted beets with candied walnuts and goat cheese salad is usually the best, though the carnivores would also enjoy the Ensalata de Vaca of thinly shaved grilled beef and red onions in peppercorn vinaigrette. Dips and spreads lend themselves to this passand-share setting, but the creamy carp roe dip with its mousse-like consistency and pungent fish flavor failed as a crowd pleaser. Instead, think red. Both the smoked beef carpaccio with

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marinated mushrooms and the coriander crusted ahi tuna with tomato-avocado relish are worth a repeat round. The Carpaccio is brilliant with the mushrooms, parmesan and onions delivering the bold flavorings, while the glassy slices of beef are refreshing. The tuna, although stringy on our last visit, melted on the tongue leaving behind a wisp of the sea and a pleasant taste of avocado. The hot tapas were likewise hit-and-miss. The tempura frog legs were crunchy and paired well with a tomato aioli, but the sautéed sweetbreads arrived as pitiful, tiny morsels. The “Vega Dog” of housemade chorizo wrapped in a savory pancake received varying reviews, but the special duck sausage on one visit was an all-around winner. Perhaps the best choices are the simplest: crispy patatas bravas or grilled roman artichokes with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of feta. Vega offers an exceptionally well traveled wine list. The vinho verde from Portugal, with its slight effervescence is your best bet to complement the range of dishes offered by Vega. On Monday, all bottles of wine are half off. Shareable portions and great deals on wine? Sounds like Vega has been ahead of the curve for some time now. 2051 Metairie Rd., 836-2007; Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dinner Nightly from 5:30 p.m. —Rene Louapre

Photo: elsa hahne

EATS

Nellie Torrellas and Yayi Lamy go out to lunch every Tuesday and will return to Vega Tapas Café.

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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

Voice Your Choice

Terence Blanchard Choices (Concord Jazz) “I’m not against smartness and brains; it’s just that it falls so radically short of what it means to be human and making the right mature choices in life.” —Dr. Cornel West This is one of the quotes from Dr. West that run through the album version of Choices and are triggered in live performance by a foot pedal in trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s stage setup. The outstanding young musicians who join Blanchard on this project help him demonstrate that choices are the fulcrum of our existence. It’s a teaching moment for Blanchard, a joyous affirmation of what is possible after the transcendent expression of grief in his last album, A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina). On the last day of July, Blanchard returned to the spot where the album was recorded, the Patrick F. Taylor library at the Ogden Museum complex, to play the music from Choices before a live audience. The event had a dramatic arc that encompassed the meaning of this music in a larger context. The packed house followed every contour of the music’s journey and appeared energized by it. The magnificent,

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cathedral-like structure built by the 19th Century architect Henry Hobson Richardson was a player in this numinous spiritual event, achieving the designer’s dream of constructing a house of worship for the mind and heart. And while the music was subtly different from the recording itself, the program gathered a cumulative power in person that the record can’t completely match, in large part because this unit is made for improvisation, with the intuitive communication and elevated spirit of the great Miles Davis quintet of the mid-to-late 1960s. Blanchard’s plangent trumpet playing and Walter Smith III’s tenor saxophone blend in a gorgeous signature theme, and Smith produced a prodigious solo on his own composition written for the Monk Institute, “Him or Me,” one of the highlights of the album and the evening. All of the musicians contributed impressive set pieces, just as on the record. Pianist Fabian Almazan was particularly dazzling, playing beautiful ensemble work and electrifying the crowd with several magnificent solos that worked so perfectly inside the room’s warm, generous acoustic space that they sparkled like gems against a perfect foil. Drummer Kendrick Scott, who Blanchard said was the best drummer he ever worked with, played with the power of a marching band and the nuance of a symphony, offering dramatic shading throughout. Blanchard’s trumpet playing is aural poetry, and the beauty of his solo constructions mirrored the gravitydefying exhilaration of the library’s massive vaulted wooden dome. On the title track, a gorgeous ballad, Blanchard’s long, emotive trumpet solo, building to searing high note punctuations, had the dramatic impact of a Shakespeare soliloquy.

Vocalist Bilal provided two set pieces that brought their own dramatic flow to the presentation, with the singer adding to the evening’s improvisational experience with hand gestures and body language. Choices is filled with irony, not the least of which is Dr. West’s rumination on music’s superiority to the spoken word. “Beethoven said that music is deeper than philosophy,” he notes at one point. Music is the first language, and it speaks to an aspect of humanity that lies deep within our being, part of our animal nature, our instinct. It can lead us to meditation and prayer, or to war, with equal fervor. In the case of New Orleans, it can lead us to nothing less than recovery, and this night at the Ogden, Blanchard showed us how noble our choices can be if we choose to rebuild our culture on the sturdy foundation of music and art. —John Swenson

Panorama Jazz Band Come Out Swingin’ (Independent) As a writer, I understand the impulse to explain, but I often prefer the Panorama Brass Band in a parade to the Panorama Jazz Band because sometimes explanations get in the way. When I’m reminded of each song’s national origin and the folk dance or rhythm associated with it, the eclecticism sometimes seems forced, as if the songs’ origins matter more than the songs themselves. But when I get song after song after song with no clue of their roots, the joy in Panorama’s performances dominates. Come Out Swingin’ has a similar effect. The behind-the-story info is inside the liner notes, but if you don’t open them, you discover on your own how much popular (and populist) world dance musics share. Or, more

accurately, Panorama suggests how much they share as Ben Schenck and company unify the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and New Orleans through their musical voices. The hell with U.S.A. for Africa; they are the world. Come Out Swingin’ represents the band better than many of the albums by essentially acoustic, ensemble-oriented jazz bands do. Schenck’s production ensures that all the instruments have distinctive voices, so you can always find his clarinet, Walt McClements’ accordion and Aurora Nealand’s saxophone, even during the most raucous passages. And the band’s live energy isn’t lost or muted in the studio. Listeners don’t necessarily have the advantage of beer to make it seem wilder, but the album’s wild enough, and it reminds you that Panorama isn’t getting by live on infectious good cheer and energy. Schenck took his time getting the album out, but it was time well-spent. —Alex Rawls

Lawrence Sieberth New New Orleans (Musikbloc) Larry Sieberth has been an ace sideman on the local modern jazz scene for decades, rarely drawing attention to himself despite consistently tasty work. In recent years he’s been plumbing traditional jazz www.OFFBEAT.com

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waters, most notably with banjoist Don Vappie, and now we have this album of traditional solo piano. All cuts here are from the trad jazz canon save the James Booker-affiliated “Keep on Gwine” and Professor Longhair’s “Bald Head.” Booker is the main stylistic influence, with more modern touches appearing only here and there on the intros. All in all, this is a very suave affair, and whets the appetite for more Sieberth piano work. In the meantime, check out his playing on the Booker tribute on STR from a few years ago, Patchworks—a pair of rambunctious duets with Leigh Harris that are among the finest tracks she ever recorded. —Tom McDermott

Zigaboo Modeliste & Gaboon’s Gang Funk Me Hard Live (JZM) Legendary drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste’s first release since 2004’s I’m on the Right Track is a relic of sorts—a live EP originally recorded in 1980 from New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre with his postMeters group Gaboon’s Gang. Titled Funk Me Hard Live, of the album’s five tracks, only its opening number “Let’s Get Fired Up,” a hard grooving tribute to the New Orleans Saints has seen the light of day. Like that rare 45 single (which still makes it rounds among audiophiles), “Let’s Get Fired Up” is more of a collector’s piece for the serious funk aficionado. Albeit engaging, the recording quality of Funk Me Hard Live is on par with that of a solid bootleg— fuzzy, muddled and often clamorous. For most of the album, the drums and vocals factor most prominently in the mix, which may or may not be a good thing depending on where you stand. With two www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

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REVIEWS vocalists, two keyboardists (one, a young Ivan Neville), two guitars, an additional percussionist and a bassist (Dumpstaphunk’s Nick Daniels), there’s clearly a lot going on here. Most disappointingly, Daniels’ bass lines are virtually indistinguishable from the bottom end of Neville’s B3 throughout. Without a solid pocket, the grooves lay bare, and with the drums raised so high in the mix, the rhythmic guitar rakes rarely resonate with anything other than the distortion left in the wake of a cymbal splash. The guitar solo on “I Don’t Know Why,” a song dedicated to New Orleans legend Professor Longhair (who had died just a few months earlier), barely rises above the backbeat, and Daniels’ bass solo on “Standing in Your Stuff,” a longtime Zigaboo stable, is an inaudible squabble at best. That being said, there’s a lot of fire on this disc, and an artifact of this nature doesn’t surface often. The stiff, syncopated strut, warped organ and sizzling guitar of the final tune “I Know You Don’t,” almost warrants the purchase alone. If you worship New Orleans funk, your mind should already be made up. —Aaron LaFont

Ernie Vincent Bayou Road Blues (Montegut Road) It’s great to see Ernie Vincent busy these days, and when his young band finds its groove, it could be a powerhouse. On Bayou Road Blues, the only member of the live band to join him on this album of acoustic blues is singer Andrew Duhon, who plays harmonica here. Unfortunately, the album often sounds like a collection of tracks that test-drive different lyrics over the same instrumental bed. I could be generous and think of this as a post-modern statement—that he’s demonstrating how the blues is a form that can contain any thought—but the lyrics rarely get beyond a mix-and-match of phrases from other blues songs, dotted with local references. I could be generous and think of that as post-modern as well—an album of blues songs that reveals the form as a series of gestures and tropes—but “Mardi Gras Chief” departs from the established tempo, rhythm and key. The song also reveals what the album misses—Vincent’s electric guitar. His overdubbed R&B licks that respond to his vocal call invoke history and

tradition as much of the album does, but they also ripple with energy and personality. They’re the part that says Vincent isn’t as generic as Bayou Road Blues. It’s the Vincent that plays live, and the one I’d like to hear on record. —Alex Rawls

Jeff and Vida Selma Chalk (Rosebank) Time out of town has helped Jeff and Vida find a stronger musical voice. Since they’ve moved to Nashville, the bluegrass that brought the couple together has become more pronounced in their music, and as Selma Chalk suggests, that is a mixed blessing. Vida Wakeman and Jeff Burke have always had a strong ear for a song, and that remains. The songs don’t exactly become bluegrass this time around; instead, bluegrass becomes pop or pop-ish, and Wakeman’s voice has never been better framed. Her intense voice is a highly stylized instrument that’s not for everybody, but she’s remarkable in her ability to make the commonplace sound dramatic and vice versa.

Discipline Releases a New Album Jason Marsalis Music Update (ELM) Not surprisingly, much of what’s exciting about Music Update has to do with rhythm. The members of Jason Marsalis’ quartet make rhythmic decisions that enliven ideas throughout, and they often reveal a wit that you might not expect. That sense of humor is evident from the outset; “Guess Who’s Back?” is a solo drum piece that is based on a marching band drum line, and it sets the tone for the album. Marsalis plays vibes for most of the album, turning the drum chair over to David Potter, but drum-only compositions performed by Marsalis filter through the album. Not only do they keep the album from settling too comfortably into one voice, but they’re smartly constructed, multilayered pieces that

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cleverly riff off their titles. There’s a ghost of disco in “Discipline Spotted Baby and Zutty at Studio 54,” and his work on the bells of his cymbals gives an eastern flavor to “Discipline Vacations in Asia.” In the ensemble pieces, pianist Austin Johnson defines the songs. His box-step pattern and Potter’s sizzling hi-hat gives a Vegas go-go excitement to “Seven Come Eleven,” and his pseudo-pomp (with little circumstance) and single-note runs make “Ballet Class” seem awkward and real. If he were a more distinctive soloist, he could steal the ensemble pieces from Marsalis, not because of any weakness but because the nature of vibes and the way Marsalis plays them. Vibes don’t demand the listener’s attention and Marsalis examines melody and space effectively, but not dazzlingly. He’s strongest on the melancholy, mood-oriented “Durango Kid.”

Any musician worth hearing is a work in progress, and Music Update suggests that Marsalis knows he’s one. He salutes the other vibes players in town in the liner notes, and he’s clearly finding his voice on the instrument just as his young bandmates are finding theirs. With Music Update, part of the album’s pleasure is at the meta- level—the performed drama of players in development—but you also hear Marsalis’ creative, conceptual voice, which is already sophisticated beyond his years. —Alex Rawls www.OFFBEAT.com

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The downside of the more pronounced bluegrass element is that songs that once evoked people in trouble in smaller towns now bring to mind people in places that are 100-plus miles outside cities and 100 years ago. In “Letter to My Love,” she sings as lover of an outlaw for whom she takes the rap. That story could be taking place in urban neighborhoods today as easily as in Appalachia or the Old West, but the musical setting brings the more distant options to mind more quickly. As such, the songs feel timeless, but that means they’re also more remote than they have to be. Still, there’s a lot to be said for tracks that bridge times gone by with today, and leaving connections for listeners to discover gives Selma Chalk legs for anyone who gives it a chance. —Alex Rawls

climax, it ends, never resolving what happens next. But that’s all part of the design; Paul models this as a sonic serial akin to R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet.” It’s all an attempt to nudge Paul’s brand of nouveau zydeco closer to the mainstream, especially by featuring rappers like the nationally prominent Scarface on a booming hip-hop reprise of “Bounce Like a Rebel.” Whether or not Paul’s plan ever comes to fruition remains to be seen, but his

contemporary zydeco has never been as artful as it is here. —Dan Willging

Joel Martin and the Family Band 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 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

J. Paul, Jr. and the Zydeco Nubreedz Stronger (Independent) Early on in his career, J. Paul, Jr. was dubbed “Keith Frank, Jr.” due to his heavily influenced/copycat sound. That changed by the time the Houstonian released his fourth disc, Another Level, which signed his own signature and established his independence from his Louisiana brethren. His twelfth disc in 13 years is another of many firsts. It still follows the themes of love and relationships of previous discs, but what’s different are the multi-part harmonies that add a breezy touch of euphoria and optimism. Also novel are the songs sporting lushly synthesized intro tracks that are more akin to contemporary R&B than zydeco. The last track, “Skit Zydeco Trouble,” is also a bit of departure, just voice and piano telling the story of a protagonist getting home to his beloved way too late. About the time the story reaches its emotional www.OFFBEAT.com Sign up for the FREE Weekly Beat at offbeat.com

SEPTEMBER 2009

REVIEWS and his 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 “L’Ange de la Chapelle.” So much for the bar scene on this one; here the protagonist meets his angeliclooking paramour at church and that’s something sure to tug at the cockles of the Cajun heart. —Dan Willging

Craig Caffall Hold Me Up (GRA) During his five-year stint in the Crescent City, Craig Caffall earned his Ph.D in New Orleans music, playing back-up for Irma Thomas and gigging with everyone from Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. to Cyril Neville while playing with his own band, Big Train. But it was “Mudbugs and Dixie Beer” that really put him on the map. This rockin’ paean to local culture blasts over the loudspeakers every time the Acadiana Mudbugs play a home game in Lafayette, spreading the crawfish gospel throughout the Southern Indoor Football League. Like “Mudbugs,” Hold Me Up was written and recorded in New Orleans, then remixed in Sausalito, California, near where Caffall lives when he’s not touring with Maria Muldaur. There’s no mistaking the Big Easy influence, especially on R&B slow-burners such as “Try.” But Caffall busts Southern boogie blues and big rig rock just as hard, making this a great party album. —Cree McCree

Street Sweeper Social Club Street Sweeper Social Club (SSSC) It’s hard to resist the draw and the firepower of the Street Sweeper Social Club, the teaming of musical activists Tom Morello and Boots Riley of the Coup. As their name suggests, the SSSC’s mission is simple: to rid the streets of the selfabsorbed elitists who run around strutting their statues. On their self-

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titled debut, Riley and Morello enlist the aid of Galactic’s Stanton Moore as they hit the pavement in search of a horde of soldiers, a good time and a world of trouble. Yet, while the SSSC unfurl a well-stocked arsenal of hardcore grooves, menacing riffs and gung-ho raps, much like a street riot, their onslaught more closely resembles an overrun melee as opposed to a well-timed rampage. The barrage comes on swiftly, out of nowhere and at full force with the call, “Fight! Smash! Win!” But after a few sinister guitar solos, spit-fire raps and fist-pumping choruses, the surge loses steam. Many of Riley’s verses feel retrofitted to Morello’s mayhem. The blue collar battle cry “The Oath” never quite rises to the occasion, and as the brigade marches on, the villainous anthem “Clap for the Killers” and the apocalyptic ho-down “Promenade” sink under the toil and repetition of clunkers like “Shock You Again” and “Megablast.” When the dust settles, this battles ends in a stalemate. —Aaron LaFont

Ray Landry and Friends Mes Racines Cadien Sont Creux (My Roots Run Deep) (Swallow) Ray Landry’s latest is not as dancehall-centric as his last disc, 1999’s Ray Landry and the Basile Cajun Band, which featured the last recording sessions of beloved accordionist Nonc Allie Young. Instead, the focus here is on songs and showcasing various musician pals, 19 of which sang or played a combined total of 25 instruments. Though Landry sings lead or www.OFFBEAT.com

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bookmark

harmony on all tracks and plays some accordion and guitar, this is more of a statement emphasizing the importance of playing music socially and recognizing the talents around him to form a cohesive whole. Helen Boudreaux wrote the disc’s most important track, the culturally sentimental title song that expresses Landry’s pride and devotion to his heritage. The woman dubbed “the Kitty Wells of Cajun Music” duets with Landry

on six tracks and adds a verse to two songs (“La valse d’ennuie,” “La maison à deux portes”) to relay the often-overlooked female perspective. Amazingly, Boudreaux still retains her pristine soprano pipes after all these years. Landry was also gracious enough to share the accordion chair with Sheryl Cormier, who shines on “Big Texas Jam,” a super-sized adaptation of the Cajun staple “Grand Texas” and Hank Williams’ melody-borrowing “Jambalaya.”

Brown, Bowen, Blood Ethan Brown

Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder That Rocked New Orleans (Henry Holt) In the fall of 2006, a year after Katrina, Times-Picayune headlines detailed the murder of young French Quarter denizen Addie Hall, murdered by her boyfriend. Her body was found butchered and in pieces in the refrigerator and cooking pots in the couple’s French Quarter apartment. A few days after the murder, the boyfriend, 26-year-old Zackery Bowen, committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, and police were led to the grisly crime scene by a note in Bowen’s pocket. It’s the account of a volatile relationship gone terribly wrong, but it’s a lot more than that. Author Brown, who has two other investigative non-fiction books under his belt, delves into the lives of Bowen and Hall, their relationship with each other, New Orleans, and the unique little world of the French Quarter—almost another character in the book. Brown clearly is fascinated by our little corner of the world. He also demonstrates a deep understanding about how New Orleans is: inept and corrupt politics, its avant-garde citizenry, its attraction for creative folk, crazy folk, and people who might be considered quite eccentric in other parts of America. He gets

New Orleans and the people who choose to reside here, despite all the crap that we have to deal with as a trade-off for living in the country’s most fascinating city. Brown speculates over why Bowen “snapped,” offering severe, untreated PTSD as a possible explanation (Bowen served in both Bosnia and in Iraq). But Brown goes further and does a lot of investigative work about PTSD, its effects on young military men returning from battle, and how the U.S. government has not addressed the problems these soldiers face when they return home. While the crime was horrifying, our government’s failure to address the mental issues that come from serving in battle is even more so. Two young lives were lost in a terrible way, he contends, but many others were affected by the crime and the PTSD that may have precipitated it. And Shake the Devil Off shows that there could be more Bowens and Halls all over the U.S. if the problem isn’t addressed. —Jan V. Ramsey

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SEPTEMBER 2009

REVIEWS Though Landry can still bust out an exhilarating number like “La Pouissièrre’s Two Step,” maintaining a sense of community and cultural devotion overrides all. —Dan Willging

Markings Markings (Independent) Singer-songwriters have quite a balancing act before them. They have to weigh the mark of their influences against their own vision, reverence vs. deference in the hopes that something personal and engaging comes out in the mix. You can almost hear the click of the CD changer belonging to James Van Way, songwriter for Lafayette band Markings, swapping between Richard Buckner and R.E.M.—the confessional, fragmented lyrics of the latter furtively rounding the corners of the jangly comforts of the latter. It opens bravely—and bravery is perhaps the most important element in a singersongwriter—with an 8-minute epic, “Rhino Sebastian Robot Rain,” a song put together like a train of salvaged cars with a pastoral segment here, jagged racket there, all powered and held together by the gruff rasp of his voice. That voice leads us to the second balancing factor facing a songwriter: how do I use the tools at hand to realize the ideas in their head. Van Way and members of his former band the Frames of Reference make a cohesive body of work that underscores his background in painting. The differences in the songs are in the details, the hues employed. “The Vampire, the Thief, the Birdman & Its Lover” opens with the line, “I don’t believe in miracles,” coaxing optimism out of the realistic to wind up with “I’m not lonely all the time.” “The Desert Years” strips its riff down to the carcass while “The Registry” adopts a cautious effervescence. These songs feel close to the bone, like facets of a self portrait that individually reveal the personal, but together make a portrait of something a little bigger than the artist, showing that Markings has the balance right. —Alex V. Cook

O SEPTEMBER 2009

The Rhythm Jesters Big Easy Swing (Independent) Guitarist Larry Scala leads the misnamed Rhythm Jesters, a trad jazz band that isn’t clowning around. They aren’t mocking or satirizing jazz in a jesterly fashion; instead, they approach the jazz songbook with a clear focus on the value of swinging. In that respect, they got the “rhythm” part right. Big Easy Swing moves beautifully, and its unassuming quality is part of its charm. The song choices aren’t the obvious ones made out of concern for audiences, and none of the principal voices—Scala, Rick Trolsen and Tom Fischer—reach for bravura statements. Instead, the album feels like a collection of songs that they like playing, and ones that allow them to speak meaningfully to each other and whoever else might be in the room. The joys are in the textural shifts as Scala alternates between scraped, chorded solo passages such as the opening to “Moten Swing”

and warm, single-string leads, and Trolsen’s solos dance melodically and toe the line of becoming big, brassy and theatrical. There are three vocal tracks with Julia LaShae, who sounds over-controlled here. She enunciates so precisely that it’s distracting, but even those numbers have their appeal as the solos reveal how differently the players approach them when they’re accompanying a vocalist on a song with a strong melody. Ultimately, Big Easy Swing is about the group’s musical interests and values with minimal concern for listeners. I’m sure they want them, but I doubt they listen to Big Easy Swing and hear a compromised note, and there’s a lot to be said for that. —Alex Rawls

Joe Hall and the Louisiana Cane Cutters Live at Nunu’s (Fruge) At the confluence of bayous Teche and Fuselier stands Nunu’s, the highly unusual cultural center where visual arts, an indigenous

GrooGroo King for a Day Dave Matthews Band Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (RCA) In the wake of the tragic and unexpected death of founding member, saxophonist LeRoi Moore, in mid-August 2008, the Dave Matthews Band retreated to New Orleans’ Piety Street Studios in early 2009 to complete the recording of their seventh studio album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. From the Matthews-penned cover art, which depicts a fantastical Mardi Gras morning in the French Quarter led by a float adorned with a kingly, lion-like image of Moore, to the album’s opening and closing tones, Big Whiskey pays homage to the late saxman. Over the years, Matthews’ arresting howl has lost a bit of its wild, riveting tempestuousness. Here, producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day) designates Matthews’ scratchy, reverberant tenor to the middle of the mix, molding a brawny, rougharound-the-edges sound that draws

out Matthews’ enigmatic charm—his ability to swim against a fierce rhythmic undercurrent, sink into a sea of strings and scat atop sailing horn harmonies. Though less dynamic than the DMB’s previous endeavors, Big Whiskey is arguably the band’s most intricate and compelling affair. Whether musing over life’s ironies (“Funny the Way It Is”), rejoicing in the duality of man (“Why I Am”) or raging against twisted ideologies (“Time Bomb”), Matthews shows that even when dancing in a parade he is just as cunning, rhapsodic and savage as ever. Make way for the GrooGrux King. —Aaron LaFont www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS cuisine café, poetry readings, music classes and performance all converge under one roof. Many a dance has been played in the grand salon that doubles as an art gallery of sorts. But surprisingly, after many moons of incredible ambience, Nunu’s had never witnessed the birth of a live recording. Until now. From the opening bell to the final round, the old-time, Creole-centric Joe Hall and the Louisiana Cane Cutters with guest fiddler Mitch Reed blast through a set of amped-up Creole chestnuts, Cajun staples and a few zydeco and blues tunes. With the big guy leading the charge and the rhythm section slamming it down, energy is released here in epic proportions. “Mardi Gras Jig” is particularly interesting, a onechord vamp that steadily builds up suspense and intensity, but never quite hurdles over the top. In the middle of “Nunu’s Breakdown,” the rest of the Cutters drop out, allowing Hall, Reed and second fiddler Blake Miller to play a wild interlude before everyone comes roaring back for

the disc’s last hurrah. Yet, it’s not all the Hall renewable energy show. Occasionally he reveals the beautiful expression (“La Valse Criminelle,” “Jolie Blonde”) that the delicate little box can have, even when played by super-sized hands. —Dan Willging

Sonny Rollins Reel Life (Milestone) In the 1950s, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins’ sheer virtuosity made him a rising star in Harlem’s hard bop scene. As he progressed, his vivid solos and deft rhythmic nuances saw him stretch the form’s textures into something more tangible and tuneful than the free-tonality exercises his peers often engaged in. Unquestionably one of the greatest improvisers of his era, it’s Rollins’ melody-driven approach to jazz that has come to define his legacy. His strolling, spontaneous style seemingly paved the way for the straight-

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ahead approach to modern jazz. By the time that the 1980s rolled around, Rollins had long since established himself as one of the seminal figures in the jazz world. Though not quite as groundbreaking as his earlier works, the recently reissued Reel Life (1982) stands as one of Rollins’ most significant contemporary efforts. Here, in top form, Rollins combines finesse and flair with matchless fluidity as he colors the rich grooves of bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Jack DeJohnette while rippling through the rhythmic tide of guitarists Bobby Broom and Yoshiaki Masuo. His golden tones, unaccompanied for the first three bars of the opener, “Reel Life,” set the stage for this laidback endeavor. While the brooding blues ballad “My Little Brown Book,” echoes with timeless emotional depth, the showy fusion workout “Sonny Side Up” certainly dates itself. Despite its slick production, which bears many of the

unmistakable characteristics of ’80s jazz, it is hard not to sink into Reel Life’s effervescent compositions— especially “Rosita’s Best Friends,” a calypso gem splashed with Caribbean polyrhythms, a sunny acoustic guitar and Rollins’ trademark sparkle. Speaking of trademarks, Rollins shows off his chops on “McGHEE,” Reel Life’s headiest excursion. Always enjoyable, yet not entirely essential, Reel Life mostly appeals to the jazz enthusiast looking to bridge the gap between his 1970s and the 1980s. —Aaron LaFont

More Reviews For reviews of the following CDs, go to OffBeat.com: J. Dilla: Jay Stay Paid (Nature Sounds); Michelle Shocked: Soul of My Soul (Mighty Sound); Corey Harris: blu.black (Telarc)

SEPTEMBER 2009

TUESDAY SEP 1

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, Kenny Schwarz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Big Fat & Delicious & Friends (RG) 10p Blue Nile: And Then it Got Weird 10p BMC: Ed Dowling’s New Orleans Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Marc Penton & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 10p Circle Bar: the Tom Paines (RR) 6p, Papermoons, Caddywhompus, Giant Cloud (RR) 10p Columns: John Rankin (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Cottonmouth Kings of New Orleans (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Mobile Deathcamp, Brotherhood, Mojo Method, High in One Eye, Big, Fat and Delicious (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Roman Skakun (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Slewfoot & Friends (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall-stars feat. Albert Gardner (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Joe Krown Trio (PK MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL) 6p

WEDNESDAY SEP 2

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Blue Nile: the Live Oaks 10p BMC: Domenic (BL) 6p, Monday’s Date (OR) 8p, Eric Gordon & the Lazy Boys Music Group (OR) 11p d.b.a.: Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p 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 (the Parish): Rebelution, Outlaw Nation, Iration (RR) 8p

House of Blues: Lee “Scratch” Perry (FK) 9p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: Sweet Spot (RR) 10p Maple Leaf: Wednesday Residency feat. the Iguanas (LT RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: the New Orleans Moonshiners (SI) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p

Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & Friends (BL) 6:30p, Kim Carson (BL) 9p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. Tornado Brass Band (BB) 8p Rusty Nail: Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown Jazz Jam Session (JV) 10p Snug Harbor: John Rankin (TJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Choral Evensong (CL) 6:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

THURSDAY SEP 3

FRIDAY SEP 4

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 8p, Shotgun House (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Banks Street Bar: Rhythm Cruisers Reggae Party (RG) 10p Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p BMC: Margie Perez (BL FK) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR FR) 9:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 6:30p d.b.a.: Nick Curran & the Lowlifes feat. CC Adcock (RR) 10p Donna’s: Sunflower City (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Bassbin Safari feat. DJ Proppa Bear, DJ Bombshell Boogie (DN RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Harrah’s: Glitz, the Arts of Female Impersonation (SH) 9p House of Blues: Paolo Nutini, Anya Marina 8p Howlin’ Wolf: the Knux, Kidz in the Hall, Skipp Coon feat. Mr. Nick, Jealous Monk (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnay Kendrick (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Paul Tobin Trio (BL) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (BB) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny V. & guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Curley Taylor (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Ponderosa Stomp Foundation Collaboration (VR) 6p

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (RR) 7p, Local Skank Beer Fiesta feat. Start/Select, the Local Skanks, Maddie Ruthless (RR) 9p Blue Nile: Marco Benevento, Johnny Vidacovich, Stanton Moore, Kirk Joseph (FK) 10p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Paul Sanchez (JV) 8p Circle Bar: Jim O. & the Sporadic Fantastics (RR) 6p, ActionActionReaction Indie Dance Party (DN RR) 10p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (RR) 6p, Honey Island Swamp Band (RR) 10p Donna’s: New Orleans Jazz Giants (JV) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Gov’t Magik, Slangston Hughes presents Uniquity (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 Harrah’s: Glitz, the Arts of Female Impersonation (SH) 9p House of Blues: the A List (VR) 11:30p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): For Karma (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Friends of Fire CD-release party, Alias Orion (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chris Segar (BL) 5p, Kim Carson & Friends (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Jesse Moore (BL RR) 9:30p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, J. Monque’D Blues Band (BL) 11p

Maple Leaf: Carolyn Wonderland (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: the Boogiemen (PP) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Rusty Nail: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 10p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Trio feat. Johnaye Kendrick (MJ) 8p, 10p, Cliff Hines Quartet (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: Brandon Foret Band (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Soul Sister’s 3rd Annual Funky Birthday Jam feat. Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY SEP 5

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Banks Street Bar: Silent Cinema (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Marco Benevento Trio (FK) 10p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (FK) 7p, Louisiana Hellbenders (BL) 10:30p d.b.a.: John Boutte (OR) 7p, Little Freddie King (BL) 11p Donna’s: Leroy Jones Jazz Quintet (JV) 9:30p Dos Jefes: Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots (JV BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: DJ Proppa Bear & DJ Resin, Truth Universal, Grass Rootz (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Charlie Fardella (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p Gattuso’s: One (RR) 6p Hi Ho Lounge: Hawgjaw, Sons of Tonatiuh (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shamarr Allen (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Balsawood Flyers (BL) 5p, Rites of Passage (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Annual Luau with Watusi Radio (BL RR) 10p Le Bon Temps Roule: Chris Mule Band (RR) 11p Maple Leaf: Groovesect, John Mooney (FK AU) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Deacon John and the Ivories (RB) 10p Old Point Bar: Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 5p, Hey-Wire (BL) 9:30p

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 44

SEPTEMBER 2009

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC One Eyed Jacks: Ballzack, the Buttons, Odoms (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: James Andrews (free) 3p; Steve Masakowski & Nola Nova (TJ) 8p, 10p Southport Hall: Casa Samba (LT) 10p Tipitina’s: MyNameisJohnMichael (RR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY SEP 6

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Adam Crochet & I Tell You What (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Jay the Savage (RR) 8p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (CW) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p d.b.a.: Pametto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Mas Mamones (OR) 10p Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: the Local Skank (RR) 6p, Sun Hotel (RR) 9p, Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR) 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): D12, Potluck, Truth Universal (RG) 9p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Howlin’ Wolf: Labor Day Comedy Explosion feat. Jodi Borrello, Redbean, Carrey B., Brian Bonhagen (CO) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Lynn Drury (BL) 9p La Maison de la Musique: Blues Jam feat. Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Bag of Donuts (PP) 9p One Eyed Jacks: Good Enough for Good Times, Gravity A (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: St. Peter All-stars feat. Thais Clark (JV) 8p Dragon’s Den: the Local Skank (RR) 6p, Sun Hotel (RR) 9p, Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR) 10p Southport Hall: the Morning Life (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Trinity Church: Navy Band New Orleans (CL) 5p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY SEP 7

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Earphunk (RR) 9p BMC: the Franklin Avenue Underpass Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Mario Abney (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road (JV) 7p Circle Bar: Missy Meatlocker (RR) 5p Columns: David Doucet (JV) 8p Donna’s: Les Getrex (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Debauche, the Tanglers (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Ben Polcer and Richard Scott (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Damien Louviere (BL) 4p, Kim Carson & Friends (BL) 8p

Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Old Point Bar: the Brent Walsh Jazz Trio (JV) 8p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: closed for vacation

TUESDAY SEP 8

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, Kenny Schwarz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Big Fat & Delicious, Flow Tribe (RG) 10p Blue Nile: Nelsort (OR) 10p BMC: Ed Dowling’s New Orleans Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Marc Penton & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 10p Columns: John Rankin (JV) 8p Dragon’s Den: Live Oaks (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Ton Fisher & Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Glen David Andrews (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall-stars feat. Albert Gardner (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: closed for vacation

WEDNESDAY SEP 9

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, Big Soul (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Blue Nile: call club BMC: Domenic (BL) 6p, Monday’s Date (BL) 8p, Eric Gordon & the Lazy Boys Music Group (OR) 11p Columns: Ricardo Crespo (JV) 7p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p 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 Le Bon Temps Roule: Sweet Spot (RR) 10p Maple Leaf: the Iguanas (LT RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: closed for vacation

THURSDAY SEP 10

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 8p, Washboard Chaz (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Banks Street Bar: the Rhythm Cruisers Reggae Party (RG) 10:30p Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p BMC: Margie Perez (BL FK) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR) 9:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 6:30p Columns: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Andrew Duhon (JV) 7p, Good Enough for Good Times (OR) 10p Donna’s: Sunflower City (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Bassbin Safari feat. DJ Proppa Bear (DN) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Howlin’ Wolf: the Underwater Aces, Enharmonic Souls, Easy Company, City Zoo, Snuff Sugar (RR) 10p

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SEPTEMBER 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Ryan (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Newspaper Levee (BL RR) 7p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (BB) 10p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter, Jr. and Skerik (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Geno Delafose (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Helen Gillet (VR) 6p Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & Friends (BL) 6:30p, Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) 9p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. Paulin Brothers Brass Band (BB) 8p Rusty Nail: Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown Jazz Jam Session (JV) 10p Snug Harbor: closed for vacation Trinity Church: Choral Evensong (CL) 6:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

FRIDAY SEP 11

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Banks Street Bar: Anniversary Extravaganza Parishioners (RR) 7p, Juice (FK RR) 11p Blue Nile: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 11p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p Carrollton Station: Susan Cowsill Band “Covered in Vinyl” series feat. Jackson 5’s greatest hits (RR) 10p d.b.a.: Ingrid Lucia (SI) 6p, the Dead Kenny G’s (RR) 10p Donna’s: New Orleans Jazz Giants (JV) 9:30p Dos Jefes: Eric Traub (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: Curb, Flesh Parade, DJ AA Birthday Party (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 Hi Ho Lounge: Green Genes (RR) 10p House of Blues: Secondhand Serenade “Fast Times at Secondhand High Tour”, Parachute 5:30p the A List (VR) 11:30p Howlin’ Wolf: Antenna Inn, the Peekers (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Foot & Friends (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Space Heaters (BL RR) 9:30p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, Gal Holiday & the Honk Tonk Revue (CW) 11p Maple Leaf: Topaz and Mudphonic (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: the Wiseguys (PP) 10p Mimi’s: Zazou City (JV) 10p Old Point Bar: Amanda Walker (BL) 6:30p, Westbank Mike & the Fisher Projects (BL) 9:30p Palm Court: Lucein Barbarin & the Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Rusty Nail: Country Fried (CW) 10p Snug Harbor: closed for vacation Southport Hall: Weathered (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Dragonsmoke feat. Ivan Neville, Eric Lindell, Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio, DJ Brice Nice (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SEPTEMBER 2009

SATURDAY SEP 12

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p”, Banks Street Bar: Misled, Mad Dog, 11Blade (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Soul Rebels (BB) 11p BMC: Monday’s Date (OR) 7p, Sweet Jones Film Party (OR) 10:30p Carrollton Station: the Tanglers Bluegrass Band (BU) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Voodoo Blue Krewe International Blues Challenge Kickoff feat. The Lagniappe Rhythm & Blues Band, Lil Red and Big Bad (BL) 10p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Otra (LT) 11p Donna’s: Jesse McBride & the Next Generation (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Acoustic Swiftness (JV BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Simple Play & Louisiana Drum N Bass present Back to School (RR) 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: Hairy Lamb, Local Skank, DJ Jeremy Avegno, DJ AML (RR) 10p House of Blues: Official New Orleans Burlesque Festival’s Late-night Burlesque Bash (SH) 11p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Saturate, Bullets and Numbers (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Soundclash Beat Battle (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shamarr Allen (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jim Smith & his Damn Friends (BL) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Blackened Blues (BL RR) 10p Maple Leaf: PBS (RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Creole Stringbeands CD-release party (RR) 10p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lionel Ferbos (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: closed for vacation Tipitina’s: Rebirth Brass Band, Groovesect (FK BB) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY SEP 13

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Johnny J. & Benny Maygarden (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Slick Idiot, Suicide Assyst (RR) 8p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (CW) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 10p Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, Earl da Pearl, Suicide Assyst (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Fritzel’s Jazz Band (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Simon Lott Group, David Polk, Brian Coogan, Chril Ulland, James Singleton (VR) 10p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Howlin’ Wolf: Gorilla Battle of the Bands (RR) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: T-Bone Stone & the Lazy Boys (BL) 9p La Maison de la Musique: Blues Jam feat. Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p

Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Wimsatt Fundraiser (VR) 4p Palm Court: Sunday Night Swingsters feat. Tom Fischer (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: St. Peter All-stars feat. Thais Clark (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: closed for vacation Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Trinity Church: Matt Holt (CW SS) 5p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY SEP 14

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Eve’s Lucky Planet (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Flow Tribe (RR) 9p BMC: Franklin Avenue Underpass Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Mario Abney (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road (JV) 7p Columns: David Doucet (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Donna’s: Les Getrex (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Andrew McGowan, Action Afterdark, Stratus Project, Starluck, Better Off Dead (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Fritzel’s Jazz Band (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Pary (BU) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: the Tom Paines feat. Alex McMurray and Jonathan Freilich (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: open blues jam feat. Chuck Credo (BL) 8:30p Preservation Hall: 726 Jazz Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Taize (CL) 6p

TUESDAY SEP 15

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, Kenny Schwarz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Big Fat & Delicious (RG) 10p Blue Nile: Ed Barrett Trio (FK) 10p BMC: Ed Dowling’s New Orleans Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Marc Penton & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 10p Circle Bar: the Tom Paines (RR) 6p, Stephanie’s id feat. Dylan Sneed and Taylor Hildebrand (RR) 10p Columns: John Rankin (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Cottonmouth Kings of New Orleans (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Female Demand, Gamma Ringo, Ragfoll (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (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: Dave James (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Christian Serpas & Ghost Town (CW) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Shannon Powell & the Preservation Hall-stars (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Yaron Herman Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL) 6p

WEDNESDAY SEP 16

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) 10:30p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Blue Nile: call club BMC: Domenic (BL) 6p, Monday’s Date (OR) 8p, Eric Gordon & the Lazy Boys Music Group (BL) 11p d.b.a.: Tin Men (JV) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p 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 Le Bon Temps Roule: Sweet Spot (RR) 10p Louisiana Humanities Center: Armand St. Martin feat. Interview with David Kunian (PK) 7p Maple Leaf: the Iguanas (LT RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Joe Krown (SI) 8:30p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lars Edegran (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY SEP 17

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 8p, Andy J. Forest (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Banks Street Bar: the Rhythm Cruisers Reggae Party (RG) 10:30p Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p BMC: Margie Perez (JV BL) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR) 9:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 6:30p Columns: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Paul Sanchez (JV) 7p, New Orleans Klezmer All-stars (JV) 10p Donna’s: Sunflower City (JV) 9p Dos Jefes: Todd Duke (JV) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Bassbin Safari feat. DJ Proppa Bear, DJ Bombshell Boogie (DN) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p House of Blues: Pat Green 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jim Smith & his Damn Friends (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Harvest the Music feat. Eric Lindell (RR) 5p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (BB) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Mike Dillon and guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Lil Nathan & the Zydeco Big Tymers (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Louisiana Crossroads (VR) 6p Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & Friends (BL) 6:30p, One (OR) 9p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. New Birth Brass Band (BB) 8p Rusty Nail: Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown Jazz Jam Session (JV) 10p Snug Harbor: Phillip Manuel Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Homegrown Night (RR) 8:30p

Trinity Church: Choral Evensong (CL) 6:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

FRIDAY SEP 18

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (RR) 7p, Guitar Lightnin’ Lee (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Flow Tribe feat. Special guests 10p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p Carrollton Station: Zama Para (RR) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Paul Sanchez (JV) 8p Circle Bar: Jim O. & the Sporadic Fantastics (RR) 6p, the Myrtles (RR) 10p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, Los Po-Boy-Citos (LT) 10p Donna’s: Betty Shirley and David Torkanowsky (JV) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Shadow Gallery, Madd Conductor (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 House of Blues (the Parish): the A List (VR) 11:30p House of Blues: From Legends to Nancy, Hey Caesar, I Scream Hello, the Unwilling Commencement (RR) 6:30p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Partners N Crime, Alkatraz Out Patient, DJ Scrim, Idil Tha Frontrunna (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Off the Dome Emcee Competition feat. Slang Angus (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Schatzy & Associates (BL) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Soul Revival (BL RR) 9:30p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, King James Blues Band (BL) 11p Maple Leaf: Good Enough for Good Times feat. Rob Mercurio, Jeff Raines, Simon Lott and Joe Ashlar (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Kermit Ruffins (MJ) 10p Old Point Bar: Amanda Walker (BL) 6:30p, Honey Island Swamp Band (RR) 9:30p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lucien Barbarin (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Trio feat. Johnaye Kendrick (MJ) 8p, 10p, Brent Rose Trio (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: the Rockenbraughs (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Instruments Have Come! feat. many bands (VR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY SEP 19

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Sneaky Pete (BL) 8p, Hip Shakers (BL) 11p”, Banks Street Bar: Spickle’s Birthday Bash (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Backbeat Foundation Showcase (VR) 10p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (FK JV) 7p, Kermit Ruffins (MJ) 10:30p Carrollton Station: the Kinky Tuscaderos CDrelease party (RR) 10p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, King James feat. Eric Lindell (RB) 11p Donna’s: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 9p

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SEPTEMBER 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Dos Jefes: Gringo do Choro (JV BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: DJ Frenzi, DJ Proppa Bear (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: Jodi Borrello & Friends (OR) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Reverend Spooky LeStrange’s Church of Burlesque (SH) 10p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Bucktown All-stars (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shamarr Allen (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Balsawood Flyers (BL) 5p, Rites of Passage (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: the Rivershack Run and the Mustard Brothers (BL RR) 10p Le Bon Temps Roule: Rotary Downs (RR) 11p Maple Leaf: Gravy, the Russell Batiste Band (FK RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Sgt. Pepper’s Beatles Tribute Band (RR) 10p Old Point Bar: Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 5p, the Brint Anderson Band (RR) 10p One Eyed Jacks: Telefon Tel Aviv feat. The Club of the Sons (RR) 10p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lionel Ferbos (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Larry Sieberth Trio feat. Germaine Bazzle (MJ) 8p, 10p, Woodenhead (MJ) 12a Southport Hall: the Molly Ringwalds (PP) 10p Tipitina’s: New Orleans Funk 101 Mardi Gras to the World Tour feat. 101 Runners, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Three Piece Spicy, War Chief Juan & the Golden Comanches and more (FK VR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY SEP 20

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Dominic Grillo (BL) 10:30p”, Banks Street Bar: Terror Optics live Movie filming feat. the Bills and more (RR) 8p Blue Nile: the Salon (VR) 10p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (CW) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Lost Bayou Ramblers (RR) 10p Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: the Cotton Mouth Kings (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: HellBastard, Resistant Culture, Helkontrol, Lahar (RR) 9p House of Blues (the Parish): Ten out of Tenn feat. Madi Diaz, Kyle Andrews, Andrew Belle, Joy Williams, Ashley Monroe and more (VR) 8:30p House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch (GS) 9:30a Howlin’ Wolf: Imperative Reaction, Psclon Nine, Suicide Assyst, Velcro Voodoo, DJ Vendetta, DJ Dead Sexy (RR) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Slewfoot & Friends (BL) 5p, Mike Ryan (BL) 9p La Maison de la Musique: Blues Jam feat. Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnues (BL) 10p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p

SEPTEMBER 2009

Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: March of Dimes Fundraiser (VR) 6p One Eyed Jacks: New Orleans Bingo! Show (RR) 10p Palm Court: Sunday Night Swingsters (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: St. Peter All-stars feat. Thais Clark (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Rob Wagner Trio (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY SEP 21

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, 19th St. Red (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Earphunk (RR) 9p BMC: Franklin Avenue Underpass Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Mario Abney (JV) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road (JV) 7p Circle Bar: Missy Meatlocker (RR) 5p Columns: David Doucet (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Donna’s: Les Getrex (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Martin Krusche, Johnny Woodstock (JV RB) 10p Fritzel’s: Tim Laughlin Quartet (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Pary (BU) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Kim Carson & Friends (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: open blues jam feat. Chuck Credo (BL) 8:30p Preservation Hall: 726 Jazz Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Taize (CL) 6p

TUESDAY SEP 22

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, Kenny Schwarz & the Palace of Sin (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Big Fat & Delicious, Flow Tribe (RG) 10p Blue Nile: David and Joshua Polk (OR) 10p BMC: Ed Dowling’s New Orleans Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Marc Penton & Smokey Greenwell (BL) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Anders Osborne, John Fohl and Johnny Sansone (JV) 8p Columns: John Rankin (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Cottonmouth Kings of New Orleans (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Liquid Peace Revolution (RR) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Ed “Sweetbread” Petersen (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Johnny J. & the Hitmen (RR) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall-stars feat. Shannon Powell (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Thelonious Monk Institute Ensemble (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL) 6p

WEDNESDAY SEP 23

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, Mike Darby & the House of Cards (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p

Blue Nile: call club BMC: Domenic (BL) 6p, Monday’s Date (OR) 8p, Eric Gordon & the Lazy Boys Music Group (OR) 11p Columns: Ricardo Crespo (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Tin Men (JV) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p 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: Victor Wooten, the Lee Boys (RR) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: Sweet Spot (RR) 10p Louisiana Humanities Center: Dirty Dozen Brass Band with interview by David Kunian (BB) 7p Maple Leaf: the Iguanas (LT RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Swing-a-Roux (SI) 8:30p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Jesse McBride Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p

THURSDAY SEP 24

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 8p, the Louisiana Hellbenders (BL) 10:30p Bacchanal Wine: New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 6:30p Banks Street Bar: Rhythm Cruisers Reggae Party (RG) 10:30p Blue Nile: Bayou International Reggae Night feat. DJ T-Roy (RG) 10p BMC: Margie Perez (BL FK LT) 6p, Schatzy’s Honky Squonk Trio (RR) 9:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Pfister Sisters (JV) 6:30p Columns: Fredy Omar (LT) 8p d.b.a.: Luke Wilson King (JV) 7p Donna’s: Sunflower City (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Bassbin Safari feat. DJ Proppa Bear, DJ Rusty Lazer, Sissy Nobby (DN) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (BL) 8p Hi Ho Lounge: Matt Dillon’s Go-Go Jungle (FK) 10p House of Blues: Mitchel Musso, KSM, Jimmy Robbins 6:45p Howlin’ Wolf: Paramya, Apathy Ensues, Peel, Lowdrag, the Blue Eclipse (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Johnaye Kendrick (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Damien Louviere (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Harvest the Music feat. Irma Thomas and the Professionals, Shamarr Allen & the Underdawgs (VR) 5p Lafayette Square: Ghost Town (BL RR) 7p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (BB) 11p Maple Leaf: the Trio feat. Johnny V. & guests (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys (ZY) 8:30p Ogden Museum: Ogden After Hours feat. Washboard Chaz (VR) 6p Old Point Bar: Marc Stone & Friends (BL) 6:30p, Adam Crochet & I Tell You What (BL) 9p One Eyed Jacks: Peelander-Z, Birthday Suit (RR) 7p, Fast Times ‘80s Night (PP) 10p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Duke Heitger (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Brass Band Thursday feat. Tornado Brass Band (BB) 8p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Rusty Nail: Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown Jazz Jam Session (JV) 10p Snug Harbor: Samir Zarif & the Story (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Homegrown Night (RR) 8:30p Trinity Church: Choral Evensong (CL) 6:30p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p Vaughan’s: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 10p

FRIDAY SEP 25

Apple Barrel: Kenny Holladay and Rick Westin (BL) 8p, the Hip Shakers (BL) 11p Banks Street Bar: the Parishioners (RR) 7p, Rev. Spooky LeStrange’s Billion Dollar Baby Dolls (SH) 10p Big Top: Friday Night Music Camp feat. Onda Nova (VR) 5p, Smiley with a Knife, Auia, the Silent Game (RR) 9p Blue Nile: Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers (MJ) 11p BMC: Sasha Masakowski (JV FK) 7p, Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 10:30p Carrollton Station: Tom’s House Reunion Show (RR) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Paul Sanchez (JV) 8p Circle Bar: Jim O. & the Sporadic Fantastics (RR) 6p d.b.a.: Ingrid Lucia (SI) 6p, John Mooney (JV) 10p Donna’s: Belle du Jour feat. Mayumi Shari and Cari Roy (JV) 9:30p Dos Jefes: Eric Traub (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: KB’s Hip-Hop Party, Monday’s Date, Kourtney Hear (RH BB RB) 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

House of Blues (the Parish): Ingrid Michaelson, Greg Holden (OR) 9p House of Blues: Buthole Surfers (RR) 8p, the A List (VR) 11:30p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Bonerama (FK RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Buddy Francioni (BL) 5p, Foot & Friends (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Kim Carson (BL RR) 9:30p Le Bon Temps Roule: Joe Krown (PK) 7p, Juice (FK RR) 11p Maple Leaf: Big Sam’s Funky Nation (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: the Mixed Nuts (PP) 10p Mimi’s: Zazou City (JV) 10p Old Point Bar: Amanda Walker (BL) 6:30p, the Jesse Moore Band (RR) 9:30p One Eyed Jacks: Rock City Morgue CD-release party (RR) 10p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lucien Barbarin (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Jazz Masters feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Trio with guest vocalist Johnaye Kendrick (MJ) 8p, 10p, Charles Brewer Trio (MJ) (free) 12a Southport Hall: Know Your Enemy (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Dirty Bourbon River Show, Honey Island Swamp Band (RR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SATURDAY SEP 26

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

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Banks Street Bar: Clockwork Elvis (RR) 9p Blue Nile: Bionica feat. Sasha Masakowski, Giant Cloud and Caddywhompus (FK VR) 10p BMC: Pat Casey & the New Sound (JV FK) 7p, New Orleans Moonshiners (JV) 10:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Flamenco, Ven Pa’ Ca (LT) 9p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Joe Krown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Russell Batiste, Jr. (JV BL) 11p Donna’s: Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 9:30p Dos Jefes: Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots (JV BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: New Orleans Partying Presents (VR) 10p Fritzel’s: Mark Braud (TJ) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark & the Pentones (BL) 4p, Big Al Carson & the Blues Masters (RR) 8p House of Blues (the Parish): Jolie Holland, Matt Bauer (OR) 9p House of Blues: Every Time I Die, Bring Me the Horizon (RR) 6p Howlin’ Wolf NorthShore (Mandeville): Pandemic, Atomsmash, Falls From Grace (RR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: EJ & Friends Reunion, On the Beach (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Shannon Powell (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Balsawood Flyers (BL) 5p, Rites of Passage (BL) 9p Lafayette Square: Refried Confusion (BL RR) 10p Le Bon Temps Roule: Mike Dillon’s Go-Go Jungle, Detrybird (RR) 10p Maple Leaf: Flow Tribe (RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Bonerama (FK) 10p

Old Point Bar: Marlon Jordan Jazz Show (JV) 5p, the Space Heaters (RR) 9:30p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lionel Ferbos (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band feat. William Smith (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Sweet Home New Orleans Trio (TJ) (free) 3p; Dr. Michael White and the Original Liberty Jazz Band (TJ) 8p, 10p; Ed Barrett Trio (MJ) (free) 12a Southport Hall: Jens Ex (RR) 10p Tipitina’s: Jon Cleary, Shamarr Allen & the Underdawgs (RR VR) 10p Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p, Willie Locket (PP) 9p

SUNDAY SEP 27

Apple Barrel: Maxwell (BL) 4p, Rollin’ Hills (BL) 8p, Johnny J. & Benny Maygarden (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Eve’s Lucky Planet (RR) 8p Blue Nile: Bankie Banks (OR) 9p BMC: Lantana Combo (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday (CW) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Sweet Olive String Band (JV) 3p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p, Washboard Rodeo (BL) 10p Donna’s: Donna’s Jazz Jam feat. Victor Atkins Trio (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Corrosion, Earl da Pearl (RR) 10p 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 In Flames, Between the Buried and Me, 3 Inches of Blood, the Faceless (ME) 7:30p

SEPTEMBER 2009

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Kerry Irish Pub: Irish Session (FE) 5p, Mike Darby’s House of Cards (BL) 9p La Maison de la Musique: Blues Jam feat. Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus (BL) 10p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Russell Batiste and Walter “Wolfman” Washington (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: St. Andrews Village Fundraiser (VR) 7p Palm Court: Sunday Night Swingsters (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: St. Peter All-stars feat. Thais Clark (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Pierr Pichon & Gypsy Swing (MJ) 8p, 10p Tipitina’s: Cajun Fais do do feat. Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5:30p Trinity Church: Wayne Pope and Julia Pride (CL) 5p

Tropical Isle Beach Club: Waylon Thibodeaux (PP) 5p

MONDAY SEP 28

Apple Barrel: Sam Cammarata and Dominick Grillo (BL) 8p, Butch Trivette (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Flow Tribe (RR) 10p BMC: Franklin Avenue Underpass Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Mario Abney (FK) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road (JV) 7p Columns: David Doucet (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Glen David Andrews (JV) 9p Donna’s: Les Getrex (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Bastard Son of a Bastard Son (ME) 10p Fritzel’s: the Tim Laughlin Quartet (TJ) 9p

Funky Pirate: Willie Locket (BL) 8p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Kim Carson & Friends (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Papa Grows Funk (FK) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: open blues jam feat. Chuck Credo (BL) 8:30p Preservation Hall: 726 Jazz Band (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville & Friends (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Taize (CL) 6p

TUESDAY SEP 29

Apple Barrel: Kenny Claiborne (BL) 8p, Adam Crochet & I Tell You What (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Big Fat & Delicious (RG) 10p

Blue Nile: WATIV (VR) 10p BMC: Ed Dowling’s New Orleans Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Marc Penton & Smoky Greenwell (BL) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Anders Osborne, John Fohl and Johnny Sansone (JV) 8p Columns: John Rankin (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Cottonmouth Kings of New Orleans (JV) 9p Dragon’s Den: Westbank Krewe (RH) 10p Fritzel’s: Tom Fisher and Friends (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: Jason Bishop (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (BB) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Chuck Credo IV (BL) 8:30p One Eyed Jacks: the Minus 5, the Basketball Project, the Steve Wynn IV and more (RR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall-stars feat. Shannon Powell (JV) 8p Rusty Nail: open mic feat. Whiskey T. of Country Fried (OR) 8p Snug Harbor: Thelonious Monk Institute Ensemble (MJ) 8p, 10p Trinity Church: Organ & Labyrinth feat. Albinas Prizgintas (CL) 6p

WEDNESDAY SEP 30

Apple Barrel: Wendy Darling (BL) 8p, Andre Bouvier & the Royal Bohemians (BL) 10:30p Banks Street Bar: Gravity A (RR) 10p Blue Nile: Casey Robinson Band (VR) 10p BMC: Domenic (BL) 6p, Monday’s Date (BL) 8p, Eric Gordon & the Lazy Boys Music Group (OR) 11p Columns: Ricardo Crespo (JV) 7p d.b.a.: Tin Men (JV) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Donna’s: Fredy Omar con su Banda (LT) 8:30p 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: GWAR, Job for a Cowboy, the Red Chord (RR ME) 7:30p Howlin’ Wolf: Dr. Dog feat. Members of Rebirth Brass Band, the Generationals, MyNameisJohnMichael (RR) 10p Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Royal Sonesta): Irvin Mayfield’s NOJO Jam Session (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (BL) 9p Maple Leaf: the Iguanas (LT RR) 10p Mid-City Lanes Rock ’n’ Bowl: Joe Krown (SI) 8:30p One Eyed Jacks: the Walkmen, Here We Go Magic, Brass Bed (RR) 10p Palm Court: Palm Court Jazz Band feat. Lars Edegran (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Hall Band feat. Mark Braud (JV) 8p Rusty Nail: Opera on Tap (OR) 6:30p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet (MJ) 8p, 10p

LOUISIANA MUSIC ON TOUR ASTRAL PROJECT Sep 14 Little Rock AR Afterthought Sep 15-16 Memphis TN University of Memphis

SEPTEMBER 2009

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Sep 17 Urbana IL Iron Post Sep 18-19 Chicago IL Green Mill Sep 20 Cleveland OH Nighttown Sep 21 Cleveland OH Tri-State College Sep 22 Bloomington IN Indiana University Sep 23-24 Madison WI Overture Center Sep 25 St. Paul MN McNally Smith College Sep 25-26 St. Paul MN Artist Quartet Sep 28 Denton TX University of North Texas BEAUSOLEIL AVEC MICHAEL DOUCET Sep 5 Carterville IL Walker’s Bluff Vineyard Sep 6 Rockford IL On the Waterfront Festival Sep 9 Norfolk CT Infinity Hall Sep 10 Cambridge MA Regattabar Sep 11 Northampton MA The Iron Horse Sep 12 Portland ME Port City Music Hall Sep 13 Fall River MA Narrows Festival of the Arts Sep 26 Long Beach CA Carpenter Performing Arts Center Sep 29 Berkeley CA Ashkenaz BIG AL & THE HEAVYWEIGHTS Sep 4 Waveland MS The Knock Knock Sep 5 Gulfport MS The Shed THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND Sep 12 Albany NY Riverfront Jazz Festival Sep 13 Fall River MA Narrows Festival of the Arts Sep 19 Fort Collins CO Hughes Stadium Sep 20 Boulder CO Fox Theater DR. JOHN Sep 4 San Francisco CA Regency Ballroom Sep 7 Napa CA Napa Valley Opera House Sep 12 Richmond BC River Rock Casino Resort Sep 13 Guerneville CA Johnson’s Beach HONEY ISLAND SWAMP BAND Sep 12 Ocean Springs MS The Shed THE IGUANAS Sep 5 Eugene OR Eugene Celebration Sep 6 Spokane WA Pig Out in the Park Sep 7 Sparks NV Best in the West Sep 19 Memphis TN Cooper-Young Festival TOM MCDERMOTT Sep 3 Ann Arbor MI Kerrytown Concert House Sep 4-5 Winnetka IL Little Ricky’s THE NEVILLE BROTHERS Sep 4 San Francisco CA Regency Ballroom Sep 7 Napa CA Napa Valley Opera House IVAN NEVILLE’S DUMPSTAPHUNK Sep 4 Spokane WA Riverfront Park Sep 5 Pataskala OH Frontier Ranch Music Center Sep 10 Shreveport LA Festival Plaza PAPA GROWS FUNK Sep 1 Petaluma CA Mystic Theater Sep 2 San Francisco CA Boom Boom Room Sep 3 Los Angeles CA Knitting Factory Sep 4 San Diego CA Winston’s Sep 24 Chicago IL Martyr’s Sep 26 St. Louis MO Broadway Oyster Bar THE RADIATORS Sep 4 Equinunk PA Camp Equinunk Sep 6 Rowayton CT Bailey Beach Sep 11 Boulder CO Fox Theater Sep 18 San Diego CA Winston’s Beach Club

Sep 20 Hermosa Beach CA Saint Rocke Sep 25 San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall THE SUBDUDES Sep 5 Pagosa Springs CO Folk Festival Sep 23 Madison CT Madison Beach Hotel Sep 24 New York NY B.B. King’s Sep 25 Philadelphia PA World Café Live Sep 26 Alexandria VA The Birchmere Sep 27 Annapolis MD Rams Head Tavern IRMA THOMAS Sep 5 Detroit MI Downtown Detroit Sep 6 Toronto ON Harbourfront Centre Sep 12 Durham NC The Hayti Heritage Center ALLEN TOUSSAINT Sep 11 Ft. Worth TX Bass Performance Hall Sep 12 Silver Spring MD Jazz Festival Sep 13 New York NY Joe’s Pub Sep 20 New York NY Joe’s Pub Sep 26 Chicago IL Old Town School of Folk Music TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE Sep 1 Berwyn IL FitzGerald’s Sep 2-3 St. Paul MN Minnesota State Fair Sep 12 Durham NC Bull Durham Blues Festival Sep 15 Baltimore MD 8 X 10 Sep 16 Bondville VT Red Fox Inn Sep 17 New York NY Sullivan Hall Sep 18 New Haven CT Yale University

CONCERTS SEPTEMBER 3-4 Glitz: Experience a show put on by some of the country’s finest female impersonators. Harrah’s. 9p. SEPTEMBER 12 Gino Vannelli: The Canadian pop singer and songwriter plays the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts at 8p. SEPTEMBER 19 Creed: Still rocking on after more than a decade, the rock band plays the New Orleans Arena at 7:30p. SEPTEMBER 26 Journey: Certain to attract crowds of both teens and baby boomers, this legendary rock band will play the New Orleans Arena at 8p.

FESTIVALS SEPTEMBER 2-7 Southern Decadence Festival: As one of the largest gay events in the country, Southern Decadence features parties, a parade and plenty of fabulous fun. www.southerndecadence.net. SEPTEMBER 3-7 Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival: Shrimp and petroleum might not sound good together but they’re the lifeblood of Morgan City. Celebrate the both of them with great food, live music and fun. That is, if you can afford the gas to get down there! www.shrimp-petrofest.org.

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SEPTEMBER 5 Project 30-90: Pass a good time at New Orleans’ own environmentally conscious music festival where stages will be run on solar and wind turbine power, with paperless tickets, recycling, carbon offsets and more. Performers include Ghostland Observatory, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Benjy Davis Project and more. www.project3090.com. SEPTEMBER 5 Annual Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival: Head to Plaisance for a full day of authentic Zydeco and French music, regional cuisine and African-American crafts. (337) 942-2392, www.zydeco.org. SEPTEMBER 6 Creole Zydeco Festival: This fun festival in St. Martinville features great cuisine, zydeco music and Creole cooking demonstrations. (337) 394-4635. SEPTEMBER 25-27 Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival: Take a drive out to Cajun Country and celebrate sugar cane in New Iberia with great music and food. www.hisugar.org. SEPTEMBER 25-OCTOBER 24 Oktoberfest: Celebrate German heritage and culture with food, music, dancing and fun at the Deutsches Haus. www.deutscheshaus.org.

SPECIAL EVENTS AUGUST 28, SEPTEMBER 25 Fridays at the French Market: This new event features free live entertainment, drinking, dancing, local cuisine and fun at the French Market. 5-8p. www.frenchmarket.org. SEPTEMBER 3-24 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. SEPTEMBER 6-27 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. SEPTEMBER 11-13 Burlesque Festival: Head to Harrah’s for three nights of burlesque performances in the Harrah’s Theatre by Mondo Burlesque, Queen of Burlesque and Naughty New Orleans. SEPTEMBER 19 Bywater Art Market: Head to this art market for paintings, pottery, glass, furniture and more. 9a-4p. www.bywaterartmarket.com. SEPTEMBER 23 As Told by Themselves: Experience a live oral history recording of New Orleans brass bands at the Louisiana Humanities Center with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. 7p. www.leg.org. SEPTEMBER 2009

BACKTALK

Jordan Hirsch

[of Sweet Home New Orleans]

Photo: ELSA HAHNE

weet Home New Orleans metamorphosed from the New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund, a non-profit relief organization that sprang to life within 72 hours of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. It has coordinated the efforts and resources of non-profit agencies and those who wish to give, and used them to assist members of the city’s music community in a needs-based way. Sweet Home has paid particular attention to the second line community—Mardi Gras Indians and social aid and pleasure clubs—but it has helped musicians across the musical spectrum. Last year, the agency conducted a demographic and economic study to ascertain the state of New Orleans’ musical recovery. Its clients reported that before Katrina they played an average of 10.5 dates a month, but only 5.7 a month since. The per-gig take dropped from $131 to $108, which meant their income dropped almost $750 a month—a substantial hit in a city where the cost of living has increased. Sweet Home is in the process of completing a second study to see how things have changed. What happens when more of the city has returned, but a recession has set in? According to executive director Jordan Hirsch, the answers are guardedly positive. You’re finishing up your second state of the musician/culture bearers report; what are you finding? A couple of things. The first is that we’ve gained some ground in terms of helping artists get back into their pre-Katrina neighborhoods. That was a point of emphasis for us a couple of years ago. In the last report, we saw that it was an uphill climb, particularly in the 8th and 9th wards for helping people get back. We’ve seen a 15 percent gain in the people who are back in the 8th and 9th wards. We’ve seen a nine percent gain in the 6th and 7th wards and modest gains across the city. Last year, we figured that 75 percent of the community was back, and this year it’s up to 80 percent. It’s really encouraging to see incremental gains like that in the face of the recession, in a time where things could have fallen further back. That’s the most encouraging news. Something which is slightly less impressive is the amount of gig activity that musicians in town are reporting. Again, we weren’t sure what the effect of the larger recession would be, and what we’ve www.OFFBEAT.com

found is that we’ve more or less hit a bottom. The recession did not push anything further down.

talks back

So things were already as bad as they could get? Well, certainly they were worse in ’06. But what we have seen is that Sweet Home clients have reported some modest gains in their take per gig. We’ve had some signs of encouragement for what our gig program can do, but across the board we’ve got hundreds of musicians providing us with information and the basic story is that there is not enough audience. We also talked to venues in addition to artists and the overall story was the same. There just aren’t enough bodies coming through the door to compensate the artist. Fewer clubs are charging a cover in order to go for the smaller audience in town, and it takes away from the guarantee of the artist. Folks are still trying to adapt to the smaller size of the city because often these are clubs that attract locals. Clubs that attract out-of-towners also have down attendance, but not to the extent of clubs which rely on locals. You got 80 percent of the music population back, but we don’t have 80 percent of the paying local audience. So what you’re basically seeing is that the two are moving proportionately. Essentially the same percentage of people who went to see live music before are still going, but it’s just a smaller number. That’s the number I wish I had, but yes. Local audiences are going out to listen to live music at least at the same rate they were prerecession and pre-flood. Do your numbers say anything about the health of the Mardi Gras Indian

By Alex Rawls

community? This year at Jazz Fest, I heard a rumor that the number of Mardi Gras Indians was seriously down, and Indians would jump from tribe to tribe to perform and create the appearance of a healthy Indian community. SEPTEMBER 2009

BAC

KTA

We’re not going to change the social function of what it means to mask Indian, but we can put an Indian in the position where he doesn’t have to choose between the hospital bill and his clothes for next year.

We have yet to isolate the financial and demographic data for our Indian clients. I certainly can’t speak to what folks were scraping together for Jazz Fest, but going out on Super Sunday—where there’s no option of trading off suits—most of the Indians out there were pretty pleased with the turnout. What we have seen is that among Indians and club members, folks are going to great lengths to stay in touch with their participation in that community, even though they are in very unhealthy or unsustainable situations. For example, we knew one Indian who was sleeping in his car. You’ve got folks who were driving in from Houston. You’ve got folks who may be dealing with really difficult situations on a personal level financially or with their family or health. But their devotion to this is so strong that it may overcome some of these issues. Their average income is around $15,000. Age is a factor as well. You’re talking about guys in their fifties and sixties who often have health issues. Hasn’t it always been like this? A few years ago we had an interview with Monk Boudreaux, who talked about how people used to have parties to pay the bills for members who overextended themselves trying to get a suit made. There are a few differences. One is the cost of living in New Orleans, which is considerably higher. The cost of rent is up. It’s more expensive to live here; that seems to affect everybody we come into contact with. The other is if you lost a house. Now every cent is going to the electrician or the plumber to get your house back up, and your ability to mask is impaired by that. Another issue for me personally is that the Indian tradition and second line tradition is a selfdetermined practice where people who don’t have a lot of money are producing really elaborate and costly, beautiful things. The question that we’re asking is, should the people who do this be so vulnerable to deal with basic issues of housing and health care? Should their kids have uniforms, too? We’re not going to change the social function of what it means to mask Indian, but we can put an Indian in the position where he doesn’t have to choose between the hospital bill and his clothes for next year. I would imagine social aid and pleasure clubs are doing better. They are. We’ve been really pleased. The number of second lines is at least at its pre-Katrina level, possibly above. There have been a few new

O SEPTEMBER 2009

clubs which have come along. There have been a number of challenges obviously, but the clubs have really flourished, and we have provided funding for well over a hundred second lines. We basically provided funding for all but three second lines since Katrina and we’re working with the clubs now to help them make money for themselves. We don’t want to be in that position forever, but we’ve been really pleased at what the clubs have been able to accomplish with that subsidy money—really made second lines in the city one of the biggest successes of the commercial recovery. You can go out on a Sunday and vendors are out, bands are out, people look great and it’s a goodsized crowd. We were particularly nervous about that in light of the permit fees and in light of the decreased populations in these neighborhoods. Would there be a critical mass of people who are able to form clubs? But we’ve seen that in uptown as well as downtown, there’s a whole lot going on. I don’t remember hearing this season about as many issues with the police. Was this a better year or did people just stop talking about it? I don’t think people ever stop talking about those issues, so I would hope things went smoother. It seems to have been a really great season. Is there a section of the musical community that is suffering worse than others? Anecdotally, trad jazz activity seems to be a little lower; Indian stuff, R&B guys seem to be lower. This is why we are trying to focus our job creation efforts on R&B and trad jazz right now. Particularly the elder artists are hurting the most when it comes to finding gigs. Are convention gigs coming back? Our clients’ earnings from private gigs are not coming back. Our clients are not generally seeing those paydays to the extent that they were. Private gigs in general seem to be at a much lower level. It [affects] certain bands more than others. Free Agents Brass Band, for example—they weren’t at the Convention Center every week. But there were a couple of trad bands or other brass bands whose bread and butter were those convention gigs, and those aren’t there. The effects of that tend to vary based on who you are talking about because there are certain groups who were hooked into those gigs, and they have been hit really hard from the decline in activity.

You are paying musicians to play at Snug Harbor, the Banks Street Bar and the Columns, right? We no longer have the Columns. We will be starting up at the Mother-in-Law Lounge in the fall. We are paying the musicians union scale and we are partnering with the venue in such a way that the financial responsibility for paying the artist transfers to the venue with time. It’s a partnership; we are basically providing funding and partnering on marketing to allow the audience to build to a sustainable level. Are older artists harder to help? I am not a case manager, but I will say what I have seen from my perch. I have heard social workers talk about help-seeking behavior. And in some of the communities we are serving, there is not the type of help-seeking behavior that makes this an easy job. There is a certain level of trust that we’ve had to earn in the community for the folks to share personal information with us. That is to a large extent why this data has never been recorded before—because there has never been a systematic and reliable way to ascertain how much some of these guys are earning or how they are living. Sweet Home provided a level of direct aid for a duration in the community where our case managers and social workers have a level of trust. And some guys of a certain generation don’t want to ask for help. We’ve paved the way so that some of the guys can drag them in here when it is necessary, whether for health or financial issues, folks who are really living close to the edge. Previously we’d hear of these things after something horrible had happened. One of the successes of our work is hearing of these things before and being able to intervene in some cases. This is a huge issue in this community; we have got all these people who have a lot of ideas and resources on how to help, but then the world of those resources and the world the individual artist lives in don’t always line up in a way that allows those resources to flow and those ideas to be developed. So we had some successes as a broker between that community and that world. We have talked to a few clients who I honestly believe would not have relocated to the city if they had not been talking to our case managers, because at that point, everything had become an obstacle—computer literacy, having a new phone number every week, not wanting to disclose that you have a certain health condition, or not disclosing your finances in a way that allows you to get help. O www.OFFBEAT.com