Gambit: March 1, 2022

March 1-7 2022 Volume 43 Number 9

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This year’s Wharf Boat and Yacht Show will feature more than $150 million of boats, yachts and gear.

By Amanda McElfresh amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism.

The 32 miles of sugar white sand beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Alabama will be home to multiple special events this spring that will feature the best in boating, music, classic cars and sports.

The waters of the Gulf of Mexico provide an ideal backdrop for the Wharf Boat and Yacht Show, Waterway Village Zydeco and Crawfish Festival, Bama Coast Cruisin’ and NCAA beach volleyball.

In between events, attendees can take part in numerous outdoor activities at the beach or nearby Gulf State Park, dine in one of the 200-plus local restaurants and shop at one of the numerous locally-owned businesses.

With sunny skies and warm temperatures, spring on the Alabama coast is one of the best times of the year. If you head over for an upcoming event, be sure to take time to relax at one of the 10 public access beaches, most of which have picnic facilities and other amenities. Once you’ve had your fill of getting sand in your toes, here are some of the biggest events to enjoy.

The Wharf Boat and Yacht Show, March 18-20 Theshowisbackthisyearwith$150 million worth of boats and yachts for

sale and on display from both established companies and new businesses. Visitors can also see the latest technological advances in marine electronics and fishing gear. Organizers are committed to showcasing how a boating lifestyle is for the whole

Bama Coast Cruisin’ will take place on The Wharf and is set up to be pedestrian-friendly.

Waterway Village Zydeco and Crawfish Festival, April 16 This festival is a longtime favorite for the large number of Louisiana visitors who love to relax in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The craw-

The Waterway Village Zydeco and Crawfish Festival is popular among Louisiana visitors.

family, so the weekend also includes seminars, live music, kids’ activities and the Triple Crown Fighting Chair Challenge to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. For tickets or more information, visit www.wharfboatshow.com.

fish is hot and plentiful, while musical performers like Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys, Excelsior, Buckwheat Zydeco Jr., Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and Chubby Carrier will create an irresistible toe-tapping vibe. There are also arts and crafts vendors and

activities for kids. You can also take part in the 5K run or one-mile fun run to work up an appetite. For more information, visit https://www.gulfshoresal.gov/1430/Waterway-Village-Zydeco-Crawfish-Festival.

Bama Coast Cruisin’, April 29-30 The Southern hospitality that Gulf Shores and Orange Beach is famous for is on full display during this car show that welcomes anyone who loves vehicles and being on the open road. There are no vehicle restrictions, so expect to see a mixture of classics, new models and customs.

The show takes place at The Wharf in Orange Beach, and many areas are closed to through traffic during the show, creating a safe atmosphere to relax with a leisurely stroll through the displays. For more information, visit www.bamacoastcruisin.com.

NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship, May 6-8 The sixth championship tournament winner will be crowned this year after making it through a sixteen-team bracket. The white sands and blue waters create an ideal backdrop for sports enthusiasts to watch some of the top college athletes vie for the title. With a double elimination format, five collegiate courts and five practice courts on the beach, fans will be sure to get their fill. For more information, visit https://www. ncaa.com/sports/beach-volleyball.

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Alabama Gulf Coast gears up for spring will full slate of family-friendly events

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Ward roSbHe

MARCH 1 — MARCH 7,, 2022 VOLUME 43 || NUMBER 9

CONTENTS

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NEWS Opening Gambit ...............................7 Commentary.....................................9 Clancy DuBos..................................10 Blake Pontchartrain......................11 LIVE ON FACEBOOK EVERY WED AT 7PM!

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Songs in the Streets of Life Blessed be the buskers

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5

The real housewives of 1813 ‘The House That Will Not Stand’ opens at Le Petit Theatre

|

by Will Coviello

IT’S BEEN JUST MORE THAN 25 YEARS

since Maxwell released “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite” and helped lead the neo soul movement. He’s only released singles since 2016’s “blackSUMMERS’night.” He’s joined by R&B singer Anthony Hamilton, who released “Love is the New Black” last year, and Joe on this tour. At 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at Smoothie King Center. Tickets $54 and up via Ticketmaster.com.

LA VEUVE IS A MEDDLING AND NOT PARTICULARLY WELCOME VISITOR in Beartrice

Albans’ home in “The House That Will Not Stand.” She claims that the corpse of Albans’ husband, Lazare, groped her. It’s a spirited way of suggesting that he’s not entirely departed, or that his affairs are not ready to be laid to rest.

“You may be the wealthiest colored woman in New Orleans, but you built this house on sand, lies and dead bodies,” La Veuve says.

“Soon, it will lose its foundations and come crumbling down on you like a boot crushing a fat head cockroach.”

It’s a feisty moment, but Beartrice has more pressing concerns than the taunts of her longtime rival. Her husband died the night before, and it’s complicated because she is not his only wife.

Marcus Gardley’s rich comedydrama is set in New Orleans in 1813.

A cast of all Black women mostly play free women of color whose lives and wealth were shaped by the placage system, in which white men had mistresses or second wives who were Black. Beartrice’s daughters are of a marrying age, and she doesn’t want them to live the life she’s led — even though she’s enjoyed wealth and relative autonomy, and her husband lived with her instead of his white wife.

But with new laws replacing the French colonial laws and customs, Beartrice isn’t sure if she’ll inherit his riches. The times are changing, and the drama unfolds in a fast and spirited pace at Le Petit Theatre.

The show opens Friday, March 4, and runs through March 21.

“The House That Will Not Stand” is driven by a host of strong Black women, who are determined, calculating and funny, which spills out in sacrilege, sexual innuendo and sarcasm. It’s not a period piece, but Gardley has situated the drama at a historical crossroads, and the world has become quite uncertain for free women of color in Beartrice’s position.

Beartrice’s daughters are thinking about their futures. Maude Lynn is a bit innocent and more inclined to live by her mother’s edicts. Agnes is looking out for herself and is tempted to go to a masked ball to seek her own arrangement with a desirable and wealthy white man. Odette is younger and is caught between the aspirations of her sisters.

Maxwell

Jazmine Sullivan

VOCALIST JAZMINE SULLIVAN’S 2021 ALBUM “HEAUX TALES” landed at

PHOTO CHERYL GERBER

Makeda is an enslaved woman who’s been a servant to Beartrice. La Veuve has offered her a more promising future, but Makeda also is aware that changes are afoot and the free women of color may not be able to make good on their promises.

“The House That Will Not Stand” premiered in 2014 and had a successful run at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2018. At Le Petit, the show is being directed by abigail jean-baptiste, who is based in New York.

“What resonates so strongly is that it has so many historical references, but the story of family and grief and mourning, colorism, mixed families, motherhood and sisterhood are all things I think about a lot,” jean-baptiste says. “I was excited to dig into (it) as a creative after seeing it as an audience member (in New York).”

Working with a cast of New Orleans women — including Troi Bechet, Tommye Myrick and Jarrell Hamilton — gives the production local grounding the New York production could not have.

“You give this script to people who know this history because it is their own and it’s like, “Oh, well actually, that’s not how that went,’” jean-baptiste says. “Which is magical — being able to question the piece, we found more meaning.”

Gardley’s drama is inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba,” which addressed repression and a matriarch who doesn’t want her daughters forming

‘The House That Will Not Stand’ opens at Le Petit Theatre. relationships during a prolonged period of mourning. But in Gardley’s work, there’s much more humor, including relief that Lazare has finally freed the women, at least of his presence.

The humor spills out in dialogue, and even the pronunciation of the word praline seems like a layered joke about who’s speaking and in what time period.

“The comedy is really important because it allows there to be double meanings behind everything,” jean-baptiste says. “The biting humor of it also allows you to get into their survival tactics. These women find ways to laugh, ways to leverage information, leverage humor to survive in this terrifying reality. Even though Black women are the center, Gardley doesn’t let that tell a false narrative that meant everything was fine and dandy.”

The piece employs sounds as consequential markers, from drumbeats of ancestors to the waltzes at the ball to a storm that erupts in the night. There’s also a bit of magical realism, but it’s Beartrice’s grit and will that shape her last stand at the home she’s ruled.

“The House That Will Not Stand” starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, and Saturday, March 5, and 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 6, and runs on select dates through March 21. Tickets $35-$70 via lepetittheatre.com.

the top of many critics’ lists of the year’s top albums. She hasn’t taken home a Grammy award despite a dozen previous nominations, but she has three more chances in R&B categories when the winners are announced in April. She performs at The Fillmore at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 6. Find tickets at livenation.com.

PHO T O BY BR E T T DUK E / T HE TIME S -PIC AY UNE

Jazmine Sullivan performs during the 2017 Essence Music Festival.

Jason Marsalis Quintet’s Ode to Congo Square

PERCUSSIONIST JASON MARSALIS CELEBRATES HIS BIRTHDAY and

leads an Ode to Congo Square to conclude SouthArts’ Roots of Jazz series. Marsalis is joined by Steve Lands, Ricardo Pascal, Shea Pierre and Amina Scott. Shows are at 8 & 10 p.m. Friday, March 4, at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro. Tickets $35 via snugjazz.com.

Dropkick Murphys

YOU CAN KICKSTART THIS YEAR’S ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATIONS a little

early when the Dropkick Murphys play at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 3, at the Civic Theatre. The Celtic punk PAGE 19

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A R T S + E N T E R TA I N M E N T

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Support local music and culture! Tip your buskers well!

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T H U M B S U P/ THUMBS DOWN

The Saints surprised a young fan named Izzy with a teamsigned football and photo after she wrote an application letter for the recently filled head coaching gig. In a letter to Izzy, Saints Owner Gayle Benson said they had received Izzy’s application after they had already hired Dennis Allen, but that they would hold on to her information should any positions open in the future. “Stay well, continue to work hard in school and always remember you can do anything you work for and set your mind to,” Benson wrote.

The Pro Bono Publico Foundation, the Rex Organization’s

charity arm, marked the Carnival krewe’s 150th year by pledging $1.5 million in grants to New Orleans area schools and education groups. A million will go toward operational grants and $500,000 will be used for strategic innovation grants. Founded in 2006, the foundation has now given more than $10 million toward local education.

Racist beads have again made their way into Mardi Gras. At least one person watching the Krewe of Cleopatra parade on Feb. 18 caught beads with a Confederate flag medallion and the words “Southern Pride.” The woman immediately dropped the racist throw, The Times-Picayune reported. Cleopatra captain Colleen Johnson said the krewe does not tolerate offensive throws, is looking into the matter, and will terminate the rider’s membership.

THE COUNT

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THE NUMBER OF SEWERAGE & WATER BOARD OFFICIALS WHO WERE OUSTED FOR CORRUPTION AFTER LAST YEAR’S FBI RAID.

C O U R T E S Y O F E N T E R G Y C O R P.

Entergy gonna get paid, bruh!

Congrats! You get to pay $3.2 billion to fix Entergy’s infrastructure problems while its CEO gets a $4 million raise LOUISIANA UTILITY REGULATORS VOTED WEDNESDAY TO ALLOW ENTERGY to bill its customers $3.2

billion for repairs after five storms in 2020 and 2021. The Public Service Commission approved the storm tariff amid criticism that Entergy paid its shareholders $1.5 billion in dividends and its chief executive received a $4 million pay raise during that same period.

It will take approximately 15 years for Entergy’s customers to finish paying for the company’s infrastructure and assets that were damaged during hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta in 2020, winter storm Uri in 2021 and some of the damages from Hurricane Ida in 2021.

Commissioners approved the monthly fee in a 4-1 vote, allowing the company to pass along the costs as a surcharge on the electricity bills of Entergy’s 1 million customers across the state. The company has given several different estimates of how much the monthly surcharge will be since submitting the proposal last year, citing a low of $5 and a high of $15. It could show up on bills as early as May. Commissioner Foster Campbell, D-Shreveport, cast the lone vote in opposition to the proposal. He said he does not think it’s fair that customers in north Louisiana, who

were not affected as much by the storms, have to pay an equal share of the costs while Entergy “won’t pay a single quarter.” Campbell said he is a “proud Democrat” and is worried about the pocketbooks of poor people. He criticized Entergy CEO Leo Denault for taking a 40% pay raise and approving shareholders dividends.

“Mr. Denault, how are you going to explain to the people of north Louisiana that your salary went from $10 million to $14 million during these troubling times?”

Campbell asked. “How do you explain, Mr. Denault, that you gave out $1.5 billion worth of dividends during these troubling times? … I’m just troubled by your company’s arrogance — absolute arrogance.”

According to the Economic Research Institute, Denault actually earned over $16 million in total compensation in 2020, up from about $9 million in 2018. Entergy recently applied for a $450 million federal grant to make its power grid more resilient. Campbell added this point to his critique and said the company should dip into its own pockets to cover some of the storm damage.

Because of its size, the utility company is self-insured and must PAGE 8

An investigation by WWL-TV last fall exposed S&WB employees involved in a web of self-dealing with contractors and other city building inspectors.

S&WB officials Jay Arnold and Vernon Marcotte have now been fired for using hundreds of installation permits to collect extra pay for private work — often by plumbers who weren’t properly licensed.

C’EST W H AT

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pay the costs of storm damages, which it plans to cover with a loan backed by customer billings.

In response to Campbell, Entergy executives said stopping the payment of dividends would be akin to a homeowner stopping payment on a credit card just before getting a home repair loan.

Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, R-Metairie, called Entergy’s handling of storm recovery “impressive” and said he supports billing customers because the alternative could make Louisiana less attractive to corporate investment.

When a storm hits, the government always tells Entergy to spend whatever it needs to get power back on as soon as possible, and shareholders “bring in money” to make a secure and stable electrical system for the state, Skrmetta said.

“We’ve got a duty and an obligation to make investment come to Louisiana,” Skrmetta said.

Campbell directed PSC staff to look into alternative options for future disasters that spread the costs of recovery more fairly between customers and utility companies.

“There’s no rule that says these companies can’t help,” Campbell said. “They can put up some money too.” — WES MULLER / LOUISIANA ILLUMINATOR

Council calls Cantrell’s Wisner Trust extension illegal with ‘no discernible public purpose or benefit’

A 2020 DECISION BY NEW ORLEANS MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL to per-

manently extend a 100-year-old city land trust — six years after it was supposed to terminate — was made in secret, in violation of city and state law and “with no discernible public purpose or benefit,” a lawyer for the New Orleans City Council argued in a recent court filing.

Early this month, the council announced that it would seek to join an ongoing lawsuit against the city over the Edward Wisner Donation, a 100-year land trust created in 1914 by philanthropist Edward Wisner. The land controlled by the trust includes tens of thousands of acres in Lafourche Parish, including valuable leased parcels on which Port Fourchon was built. In recent years, it has generated

between $3 million and $9 million annually in revenues.

About 40 percent of that money now goes to a group of private individuals, including Wisner’s descendants and the descendants of a group of attorneys who worked for Wisner’s widow, Mary Wisner. The rest has been split between the city, Tulane University, the Salvation Army and LSU Health Sciences Center, the successor to original beneficiary Charity Hospital.

The trust was supposed to expire in 2014, its 100th anniversary. Since the city is the trustee and the entity that is named as the owner of the land in the original trust agreement, many experts have argued that the earnings it generates should have gone to the city alone. But after the termination date, former Mayor Mitch Landrieu, and later Cantrell, repeatedly signed short-term trust extensions, maintaining the split.

Then in 2020, Cantrell quietly authorized a perpetual extension.

That agreement has already been challenged in court, as part of a lawsuit over disputed legal fees filed last year by a group of law firms that previously represented the Wisner Donation. In January, Cantrell filed a petition to intervene as a named defendant in that suit, asking a judge to dismiss the firms’ claims.

Last week, Cantrell moved to withdraw her petition to intervene, which will leave the Wisner Donation as the sole defendant.

But in early February, the administration’s petition prompted council members to authorize joining the suit themselves.

On Feb. 3, the council ordered its attorney to file its own petition to intervene as plaintiffs, seeking to invalidate the 2020 extension.

“To simply give this money away, just because, makes absolutely no sense,” Councilman J.P. Morrell said at the Feb. 3 council meeting. “There have been plenty of news articles on this issue, and I think it’s time for us to step up and say we are here to protect the resources of the citizens of New Orleans.”

— MADELINE ARUFFO / THE LENS

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Protecting buskers protects local culture

THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF GAMBIT HIGHLIGHTS THE CRUCIAL ROLE street

musicians and other buskers play in our community. Historians tell us the practice of playing music or performing in some manner on the streets is nearly as old as civilization itself. Common sense tells us that as long as humans have made music, they’ve done so in public spaces.

In New Orleans, busking has a long and rich tradition. As Renard Bridgewater, community engagement coordinator for the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MACCNO), told our Sarah Ravits, musicians on horse-drawn carts would engage in mobile “battle of the bands” around the French Quarter in the late 1800s. Louis Armstrong is perhaps the most famous — but by no means the only — local musician to perform on our streets at an early age.

During the pandemic, busking became a lifeline for many local musicians, including those who normally play paid gigs in bars and other music venues. It also provided a lifeline for residents, who could venture out of lockdown to enjoy a few hours of music and fellowship in a safe, outdoor environment.

For that alone, we owe buskers a debt of gratitude.

Street musicians don’t just provide the soundtrack to life in the city; they also serve as cultural ambassadors to millions of visitors.

Indeed, tourists — and many new residents — come to New Orleans because of them. As tourism once again ramps up toward pre-pandemic levels, ensuring our musicians have the space, and the freedom, to play in public is critical.

Over the years, misguided city officials have attempted to crack down on brass bands on

cool

in cot ton

shirt dress

PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

People stop to listen as Caylen Larson and other musicians perform on Royal Street.

Frenchmen Street and in other tourist-friendly areas. Although supporters of the local music industry have so far beaten back those attempts, we remain concerned that the forces of gentrification and cultural dilution will return. We urge the City Council and Mayor LaToya Cantrell to defend our culture, and the heartbeat of our city, by standing with brass bands.

Similarly, we urge the council and mayor to re-open the Royal Street pedestrian mall, which closed to permit vehicle traffic after the Hard Rock Hotel collapsed. Rampart and Canal streets are once again open, so resuming pedestrian-only traffic on its traditional stretch of Royal makes sense. It provides musicians with a safe space to play, is a natural draw for tourists and local shoppers, and is a vehicle-free haven for pedestrians to go to and from restaurants, attractions or jobs from the CBD to Bywater. We also encourage the council to determine if other parts of town could include pedestrian malls to bring safe entertainment and shopping options to all parts of New Orleans.

Of course, any such efforts must include local residents, businesses and buskers as equal partners. Just as the city’s welcome (though long overdue) recent steps to make it easier for outdoor music venues to operate are crucial to supporting local culture, so too are additional steps we can take as a community to nurture buskers and keep our streets filled with the unique sounds of life in New Orleans.

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CL ANCY DUBOS @clancygambit

A ‘half-assed’ attempt to fix a system that isn’t broken

BY ANY OBJECTIVE MEASURE, LOUISIANA’S ELECTIONS SYSTEM isn’t

broken. Republican state lawmakers are determined to fix it anyway — under the guise of preventing widespread election fraud.

Every Louisianan knows our state has a well-earned reputation for corruption. What many don’t know is that our elections officials have a decades-long record of conducting elections without a whiff of fraudulent vote counting.

Nevertheless, legislative proponents of Donald Trump’s Big Lie (that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him) are convinced Louisiana’s vote-counting system is on the cusp of being compromised. They offer zero evidence in support of that notion, but lack of evidence has never stopped our lawmakers from solving problems that don’t exist.

What’s more puzzling is their solution to the imagined problem: a return to paper ballots. Anyone with even a casual knowledge of Louisiana’s checkered political history knows that election-stealing was rampant when our state relied solely on paper ballots — and that election fraud declined precipitously when we switched to voting machines.

Is it possible to commit election fraud in the era of electronic voting machines? Sure, but every known instance of fraud involved either crooked pols paying people for their votes or folks casting ballots who weren’t eligible to vote — neither of which had anything to do with voting machines.

The late Gov. Earl Long, who doubtless benefitted from stuffed paper-ballot boxes, famously opposed the introduction of voting machines. “Gimme five [poll] commissioners, and I’ll make them voting machines sing ‘Home Sweet Home,’” he bragged. Actually, “them voting machines” hastened the end of Huey and Earl Long’s corrupt hold on state politics.

Could we add layers of security to our present system? Absolutely, but not by dispensing with machines altogether. Even proponents of “paper-based” voting suggest using

PHOTO BY BR AD KEMP / T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E

A voter exits the voting machine after casting her ballot during the run off election at Lafayette City Hall in December 2020. machines to count the ballots — as if, somehow, those machines are less susceptible to hacking than our present machines (which are not connected to the internet).

Under a new law hastily passed in the final minutes of the 2021 legislative session, lawmakers created a commission (which includes legislators and others) to devise a new paper-based voting system for Louisiana. The commission has been meeting for several months, most recently on Feb. 23. It is expected to make a recommendation at its yet-unscheduled next meeting.

State Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, who authored the new law and sits on the commission, touted paper-based balloting as “more secure, easier to audit and cheaper, most likely.”

History tells us otherwise.

Local clerks of court (the chief elections officers in their respective parishes) predict that tallying paper ballots will take significantly longer than the current machinebased system. If they are correct, claims of “fraud” and “stolen elections” will become more commonplace than ever.

Why not just add an auditable paper trail to the present system, using printed ballots that could be scanned as well as hand counted?

Hewitt called that idea “half-assed” at the commission’s latest meeting.

What’s really half-assed is replacing something that ain’t broke with something that has proven to be eminently breakable.

11

@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

Hey Blake,

ned.

F a m i ly O w

At Dryades and Philip Streets, there is an old building with a stone image of a book above the doorway. Was it a church or maybe a library? What can you tell me about it?

Dear reader,

The two-story, red brick building at 1924 Philip St. was a former branch of the New Orleans Public Library. It was dedicated in 1915, and its location near the corner of Dryades Street (a section of which was later renamed Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard) led to its name as the Dryades Street branch.

The library was built at a cost of $25,000 and designed by architect William R. Burk. According to The Times-Picayune, the Dryades branch was the last of several library facilities built in New Orleans thanks to a gift by Andrew Carnegie. The steel magnate and philanthropist donated millions of dollars to build nearly 2,000 public libraries nationwide.

The Dryades library was the only library in the city where Black New Orleanians were allowed to use public library services before libraries were integrated in 1954. It also became a community center for members of the Black community. Meetings of the nearby Dryades YMCA, the Negro Board of Trade and the NAACP were

E R AT E D. F A M I LY O P

GREAT GRE

Spring WINES

PHO T O PROV IDED BY MUNICIPA L GOVERNMENT PHOTOGR APHY COLLECTION, NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC LIBR ARY

The former Dryades Street library branch, photographed around 1930 held there. Nationally known figures such as historian Carter G. Woodson and actor-activist Paul Robeson made public appearances at the library as well.

The library closed in 1965 after suffering damage in Hurricane Betsy as well as a fire. The city sold the building in 1966, and it was renovated into a hotel, which was open for several years.

In 1982, the Historic District Landmarks Commission designated the building a protected landmark. The Dryades YMCA owns the building today and has used it for various purposes, including as part of its charter school campus. Last year, the building was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

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acclaim from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Born in New Orleans on March 6, 1927, Treigle studied at Loyola University’s College of Music. In 1947, he made his operatic debut with the New Orleans Opera Association as the Duke of Verona in “Roméo et Juliette.” In 1953, he made his debut with the New York City Opera, then performed in Europe in 1958.

He became known as one of the top bass-baritone singers in the operatic world as well as a talented singing actor. A performer with the New York City Opera for 20 years, his best-known roles were in “Faust,” “Carmen,” “Tales of Hoffmann,” “Susannah” and “Mefistofele.”

“In purely vocal terms, Mr. Treigle had one of the finest bass voices of his generation,” wrote The New York Times in his 1975 obituary. “Dark colored, with a focused, cutting edge and extraordinary amplitude and resonance for a man who stood 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed only 140 pounds … it was as a singing actor that Mr. Treigle was most fervently applauded.”

Treigle died in New Orleans in February 1975. In 2012, Treigle Plaza was dedicated in his honor outside the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts. Treigle’s daughter Phyllis is a noted soprano who has performed with opera companies across the country and is currently chair of the Classical Vocal Music Department at NOCCA. Her daughter Emily studied at NOCCA and is a mezzo-soprano performing with the Houston Grand Opera.

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SONGS IN

s t e e r t The S

of Life

BLESSED BE The Buskers

BY S A R A H R AV IT S

A ND

JOHN S TA N T ON | G A MBIT EDIT OR

THE FIRST TIME CALEB KING PLAYED music on the street, the Arkansas native had barely made his teens.

“The first time I ever busked (the term of art for street musicians, jugglers, dancers and other performers) I was 13 years old. Right out front of St. Louis Cathedral,” King, now 44, said with a proud smile one recent afternoon as he was setting up to play on Decatur Street.

“My family is all musicians, and our choir came down to play at the cathedral,” King explained. He’d seen other musicians working the streets of the French Quarter and figured he’d give it a try. “I just went out, popped my guitar case open and made 40 bucks in 20 minutes,” King said, laughing. “And that’s when I was hooked.”

Still, it wasn’t until recently that the Jefferson Parish resident decided to become a musician full time. According to King, while he continued to play music, he spent 20 years working “in prosthetics” before making the jump.

“Sometimes, life catches up with ya and you realize you don’t like what you’re doing,” he said. Like a lot of other buskers, King said he travels a fair bit, hitting towns along the Gulf Coast to play. But New Orleans is not only home base for King — it’s the best place to play the streets. “It’s so much a part of the culture of the city,” he said.

King is one of the latest generation of buskers to find a home in New Orleans. For more than a hundred years, musicians from across the country and world have made a living on the streets of the city.

And from their perches on French Quarter street corners, along Bayou St. John and in our parks large and small, they’ve impacted culture across the globe.

Much of the roots of modern music begin in Congo Square.

Seminal figures in American music from Louis Armstrong to Little Freddie King got their start playing in New Orleans streets. And when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world and music halls and barrooms went silent, the buskers provided a rare ray of hope, and glimpse at a future not so bleak, to thousands of our residents.

Without the hundreds of street musicians and other buskers we all too often barely see in our daily lives, New Orleans wouldn’t be, well, New Orleans.

“Busking and street performance has an incredibly long history,” said Ethan Ellestad, executive director of the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MaCCNO). “So many of the world-famous bands have come through there and built their experience and legacy.”

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BUSKING in one form or another for nearly as long as we’ve been living together. According to Aram Parrish Lief, who wrote one of a handful of sociological papers on New Orleans buskers for their master thesis at the University of New Orleans, there are accounts of buskers in the writings of ancient Greek philosophers. In Europe during the Dark Ages, merchants hired musicians, jugglers and other performers to set up outside their shops to draw in customers.

Those traditions have lasted in cities across the world: London, for instance, is a major hub for buskers, and a number of neighborhoods have become incubators for musicians. Indeed, even The Beatles’ Paul McCartney has claimed to have busked London’s streets in his youth.

Making a living off street performance may be unconventional,

P H O T O B Y K I M B E R LY J A C K S O N / PROVIDED BY ALICIA RENEE

Alicia Renee, aka “Blue Eyes.”

but like many of New Orleans’ best elements, it’s been woven into the cultural fabric since the beginning.

Renard Bridgewater, MaCCNO community engagement coordinator, said these outdoor, public performances have long delighted both locals and visitors and played an important role in the city’s economy and culture.

“Dating back to the 1800s, you had wagons that would circle the Quarter and would have these battle-of-the-bands between two jazz bands,” he said. “It was all very happenstance.”

It’s not the easiest life. It’s a tip based, cash industry, so it can be tough to find housing for some buskers since so much of their income is off the books. And even in the fat season between the start of Carnival and the end of Jazz Fest, musicians can go days or even weeks without big paydays. Many longtime buskers have more permanent gigs playing in music halls or bars — or even take other jobs

like bartending to make ends meet.

But the trade-offs are worth it for many musicians, and even for musicians who regularly play paid gigs or go on tour regularly, performing on the streets allows them to control not only their time, but also their income.

Alicia Renee, aka “Blue Eyes” or “The Gem of the Vieux Carre,” is a multi-instrumentalist and singer.

She performs five or six days a week — often in front of the Rouses on Royal Street.

She is also a full-time bandleader who plays in clubs, but busking is her passion. It gives her creative control, the ability to make her own hours and the chance to connect with many different types of people. Like a lot of performers, she is driven by the human connections that music fosters.

“People have such personal connections to music,” she said.

“I might be singing ‘Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans’ or ‘What a Wonderful World’ or

SONGS IN The Streets of Life some fellas who were like that,” he said.

In 1992, he started playing with the Big Mess Blues Band, a rotating cast of some of New Orleans’ best musicians, including Washboard Lissa, guitarist Jeremy Lyons, guitarist and vocalist Augie Junior and Butch Trivette. Piano player Scott Kirby would also play with the band in the afternoons. “He’d push his piano out to Jackson Square to play ragtime in the mornings, and then push his piano over onto Royal Street to play with the band,” Lewis said.

His time on the street helped Lewis become a better harmonica player. “I already knew a lot of the newer stuff [like] the Chicago blues, but I really wasn’t familiar with the pre-war blues until I got here,” he said.

And it helped him land a spot in Little Freddie King’s band. “Freddie used to play on the streets when he was a kid, and he’d come down and listen to the street bands,” Lewis said. In 1994 “when his harmonica player Percy Randolph passed away, he asked me to play Jazz Fest.”

At the same time, musicians like Kermit Ruffins, Trombone Shorty and Anthony “Tuba Fats” Lacen were also regular fixtures on Jackson Square and Royal Street. In fact, Lewis said musicians could occasionally get territorial over their spots, though thanks toTuba Fats it rarely got too ugly. “He really was the peacemaker, man,” Lewis said.

P H O T O B Y J O H N S TA N T O N

Shawan Rice.

Today, Jackson Square and Royal Street remain prime real estate for buskers like Shawan Rice. The 27-year-old guitarist and singer sets up on the corner of Royal and St. Peters Thursday through Saturday, one of several musicians and bands who rotate through the coveted spot. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Rice began playing on the street in her hometown at the age of 14.

Although she has a regular gig at Ruffins’ Mother-in-Law Lounge and several other spots in town, she still loves busking. “It’s that there’s a spontaneity [to playing on the

P H O T O B Y J O H N S TA N T O N

Caleb King.

street],” she said between sets one afternoon. Unlike in a club where people specifically go to see her, “people don’t expect to come across it, and there’s more room for connection that they’re not expecting.”

And over the last two years as the city found itself in various forms of Covid lockdowns, playing the street was one of the few ways she could make a living.

THE COVID PANDEMIC sent much of the city’s creative community into crisis in March 2020 — a time of year normally robust with opportunities given the influx of visitors and festivals.

Without people flocking to venues and gathering en masse, musicians and other performers lost revenue and opportunities to monetize their talents.

Organizations such as MaCCNO scrambled to set up grants for struggling performers.

“One of the reasons we started a micro-grant program for Covid relief was specifically because we knew that some of the buskers who are more off-the-grid were unable to access relief in ways that people with regular gigs and documentation of wages could,” Ellestad said.

“There were some very specific challenges to aid and resources and a loss of income.”

Even though buskers were struggling, the art of busking also became a solution for artists who had regular gigs indoors. And areas of the city that usually do not draw performance artists on a regular basis, like the banks of Bayou St. John and Audubon Park, became hotspots for small crowds to gather

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > M A R C H 1 - 7 > 2 02 2

‘At Last’ — that seems to be the No. 1 song that brings people to tears. Sometimes people will say they were in town for a funeral, or ‘My brother got so drunk, and I’m so mad I didn’t want to talk to him anymore, but then I heard you and you picked up my mood’ ...

It’s a good feeling, good vibes, all through music.”

Being a street performer is a noble profession, she said, and she finds it insulting when people say things like, “But you’re so good; why are you on the streets?”

“I make a good living,” Renee said. “I’m a full-time artist! People see us on the streets and they might think something’s wrong — but it feels good. It’s a humbling experience … Busking in New Orleans is more gratifying, emotionally, spiritually and financially than anything in the world.” Afterall, she points out, “Louis Armstrong did it. There’s a history and a dignity to it.”

And for many musicians, setting up shop on the corner has been key to their development.

When Bobby Lewis first moved to New Orleans from Boston in 1989, the streets were both a way to make money and learn his craft. “I used to just go out there by myself when I first came here because I was so broke,” Lewis said, laughing.

Like a lot of musicians, he enjoyed the freedom of working on the streets. “You get to leave whenever you want. If you’re having a tough time on the streets or I got enough money for my drugs for the day, you can leave. Believe me, I knew

13

SONGS IN The Streets of Life

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and still abide by safety guidelines. It not only boosted morale during a troubled time but also became a way for out-of-work artists to generate revenue.

“I played all through the pandemic,” said Rice, adding that while “it was slow, [there’s been] a steady increase of people” since July 2020.

One of the biggest challenges facing buskers has been the closure of the Royal Street pedestrian mall. After the Hard Rock Hotel collapsed in 2019, Rampart Street was shut down and Royal Street became one of the closest streets to re-route traffic. With more vehicles in the area, it made the strip less pedestrian friendly and thus less friendly to performers hoping to engage with people meandering down the street.

“There are multiple explanations for [the closures],” Ellestad said. After the hotel collapsed, the explanation was that they needed that street for emergency vehicles to go down. “We got the pedestrian mall reinstated for one weekend. Then they shut it down the next weekend because of Covid. It’s basically been closed ever since, and the side streets are constantly under construction.”

That’s created a space crunch for musicians, though buskers said they are generally self-regulating fairly well. “There’s not very many rules, really. You respect people’s space [and] set up on street corners so you don’t bother shop owners,” Rice said.

Andy Rossoff agreed. “With a little bit of effort, it’s self-regulating,” said the 70-year-old legal aid lawyer turned piano player.

“Sometimes somebody new to town who doesn’t know the rules shows up,” said Rossoff, who generally plays outside Café Amelie. “If they’re a trumpet player and playing really loud, ya just kind of walk over and tell them they’re stepping on [your

P H O T O B Y D AV I D G R U N F E L D / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Harmonica player Bobby Lewis.

sound],” he said with a laugh.

Bridgewater also said there’s rarely much in the way of beefs between musicians. “I didn’t see conflict” between artists competing for space, he said. “There was always space.”

Unsurprisingly, the one source of friction for musicians comes from their interactions with local officials and law enforcement.

Ellestad and Bridgewater both point out that at any given time there are roughly eight or nine agencies patrolling the French Quarter. Bridgewater said, “It’s not just a problem within eight or nine law enforcement agencies saying eight or nine things.

Even [officers] within one sole agency can say several different things over the course of a day, and that can be to the performers’ detriment.”

These commands or suggestions can include asking an artist to simply relocate across the street, turn down the volume of their amplifier, or shut down their act completely.

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P H O T O B Y B R E T T D U K E / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

People stop to listen as Caylen Larson and other musicians perform on Royal Street

“You do not need a permit for street performance,” Ellestad said. “There are conflicting laws within the city code. But long story short, you don’t need a permit to busk.”

Meanwhile, the city often uses buskers to promote New Orleans to tourists — without giving the actual artists compensation. For instance, Renee said she was upset when New Orleans & Co. used her image on social media to promote tourism.

“It was all over social media,” she said. “It was like a picture of me singing and said something like, ‘Come to New Orleans and see this singer in the Quarter.’

People started [tagging] me on social media and [advocating] like, ‘Say her name, don’t just use her image. Give her some respect.’ I had no idea that they took this image.”

Technically, of course, these performers are in the public domain, and thus “fair game” for having their likenesses shared throughout social media and through photography and videography. But one of the worst feelings, she said, is when others profit from her own work without any compensation or acknowledgement.

“One of the worst feelings is when people videotape you, and then they tape you three or four times, they get in front of you, they give you a thumbs up, then walk away, then they come back with professional cameras,” she said. “You feel bad because you know in the back of your head, that’s going to go on YouTube, you’re going to make a cute penny and you can’t put a dollar in my bucket?”

15

Fit for a King

FORK + CENTER

Thaihey NOLA serves Thai food in the French Quarter ONE BITE OF PLAHANG TANGMO IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ANYBODY feel like a king. And

no wonder, the recipe for this sweet and savory watermelon salad offered as a starter at Thaihey NOLA was first created for the king of Thailand more than 100 years ago.

“Thailand is hot like New Orleans,” says chef Orawin Yimchalam Greene, who runs the recently opened restaurant at 308 Decatur St. with her husband Nathan Greene. “The cooks were always trying to please the king and the royal family, so they created this recipe.”

Orawin Greene tops squares of watermelon with a crumble of dried local catfish, sugar, salt and fried shallots — a mix of flavors and textures that must have filled the Thai monarch with glee. “It’s not something you see on many Thai menus,” she says.

When she first opened Thaihey at the White Star Market on Government Street in Baton Rouge back in 2019, pad thai wasn’t on the menu. “But that’s what our customers wanted, so we put it on,” Nathan Greene recalls. “Baton Rouge customers tended to be conservative and ordered dishes they were familiar with. In New Orleans, we get a mix of tourists who have traveled and local foodies — it seems like everybody is a foodie here.”

The couple, who met in the San Francisco Bay area and married in 2017, moved to Louisiana to be closer to family after their daughter was born. Nathan Greene’s sister and her husband live in Lafayette.

Nathan Greene was doing government work, which was scarce in Lafayette, but an option in Baton Rouge. After the pandemic shuttered White Star Market, the couple moved to another location but set their sights on New Orleans.

“We’d met Jimmy Cho from Cho Thai and we became friends,” he says. “He has helped us every step of this transition.”

Orawin Greene grew up in the hospitality business, working in her mother’s restaurant in her hometown of Lopburi, north of Bangkok.

She worked at hotels in Bangkok,

|

by Beth D’Addono

spent time on Princess Cruises and then settled at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California.

“I like to take traditional flavors and recipes and do something a little bit different,” she says.

Her green curry has a richly flavored coconut milk base. She serves it with grilled eggplant rounds, Louisiana crawfish and tri-color cheese tortellini, topped with flash-fried Thai basil. “I think New Orleans people like pasta, so instead of rice or noodles, I use tortellini,” she says.

Plump Louisiana frog legs are flavored with red curry spice, quickly dredged in seasoned cornstarch and fried, resulting in tender meat cloaked in crunch.

Thaihey’s version of drunken noodles is a spicy wonder — a stir fry of squid ink pasta topped with large Gulf shrimp and nibs of crispy bacon. The chef’s take on massaman curry is a marriage between Thai- and Indian-style curries. It bathes grilled rib-eye and potatoes in a fragrant brown sauce and is served with a bowl of cucumber, red onion and birds-eye chilis and rice topped with fried shallots.

One of the most unusual dishes is a mushroom and shrimp salad centered around a reconstituted tremella mushroom. The large, snow-white spongy fungus looks like something you’d see while snorkeling, but the spongy mushroom has a light, refreshing flavor and a texture a bit denser than glass noodles. It is the centerpiece of a plate with head-on shrimp, micro greens, red onions, tomatoes and fried shallots.

The menu also offers spicy oxtail soup, larb duck salad and crab fried rice. Northern Thai-style hunglay curry is a pork belly stew with peanuts and fresh ginger, but no coconut milk.

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Pit Crew

YOU MIGHT NOTICE A DIFFERENT LOOK TO THE PACKAGING for some bags of

PHOTO BY CHERYL GERBER

Orawin “Nim” Yimchalam Greene and her husband Nathan Greene opened Thaihey NOLA in the French Quarter.

The small bar is stocked with wine, spirits and Thai and local beers. A row of large glass jars store whole spices and dried herbs for the chef’s creations.

The inviting space has exposed brick and is lined with subway tile that Orawin Greene painted herself (“I had time because of Ida,” she says). There is a scattering of tables inside and out.

The response has been good since the restaurant opened in late November, the couple says.

“Our neighbors have been so welcoming,” Nathan Greene says. “Everyone has stopped by to say hello.”

“New Orleans is my second home,” Orawin Greene adds.

“People help each other, like in Thailand.”

?

WHAT

Thaihey NOLA

WHERE

308 Decatur St., (504) 354-8646; thaiheythaifood.com

WHEN

Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sun.

HOW

Dine-in, outdoor seating and delivery available

CHECK IT OUT

Uncommon Thai dishes in the French Quarter

Kingsford charcoal.

It’s artwork by New Orleans artist Brandan “BMike” Odums, and it’s part of a larger initiative with other local ties meant to promote and preserve the Black cultural connection to barbecue around the U.S. Last year, Kingsford started its Preserve the Pit initiative, which offers fellowships to Black barbecue pros. The program comes with mentoring, networking and business development grants.

In its first year, one of the fellowships went to Gerald Vinnett Jr., creator of the Destrehan-based catering and barbecue events business Big Papi’s Smokehouse.

The program is aimed at giving participants hands-on training, forging relationships in the industry and building up finances for their businesses.

Mentorship is a key to the program. One of the mentors Kingsford tapped to guide the program is New Orleans-based pit master and barbecue educator Howard Conyers, whose work has focused on the Black cultural tradition in barbecue.

This year, Kingsford plans to award six fellowships and 10 small business grants, with applications open through March 1. The company said it will assess applications on criteria including “their connection to barbecue, contributions to the legacy of the Black barbecue community and commitments to fueling its future.”

Applications and program details are available online at PreserveThePit.com.

Odum’s art piece is called “Pass It On.” The special bags featuring it are distributed through Walmart locations around the country. The work has also been installed as a mural at the acclaimed Payne’s BBQ in Memphis, Tenn. A portion of the sales from the charcoal bags will help fund the Preserve the Pit program. — IAN McNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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Alex Snodgrass

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WEEK

Cookbook Author

by Will Coviello Alex Snodgrass is a home cook who lives with her family outside of Dallas. She started publishing recipes on her blog and now shares them on Instagram (@ thedefineddish) and TikTok. In 2019, she released the New York Times best-selling cookbook “The Defined Dish,” which was endorsed as Whole30, a diet that eliminates sugar, dairy, grains and more. She’s currently on a book tour for her new cookbook, “The Comfortable Kitchen,” which is health-conscious but not Whole30. She’ll be at the Garden District Book Shop for a book signing from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 7. In the spring, she’ll launch a line of food products with a couple of salad dressings. For more information, visit thedefineddish.com.

What was your idea for “The Comfortable Kitchen”?

ALEX SNODGRASS: I feel like every time someone thinks about dinnertime, it’s become this huge stressor and so daunting. You have to cook, you have to clean and all these things — that joy and comfort of being in the kitchen has left. I wanted to lean into the fact that I share pretty easy, comforting dinners — and the other aspect that it can bring us so much joy and make our relationships stronger and make our lives better. It’s a play on the word “comfortable” in a lot of ways.

I am a home cook myself. I never went to culinary school. That’s something I was a little self-conscious about when I first started out. My recipes aren’t super daunting for the home cook, and after someone might cook five of my recipes that lean on the easier, lighter ingredients — the Instagram-lovable ones — once they get used to my style of cooking, they feel really comfortable in the kitchen again, and maybe are willing to try the recipes that cook all day or seem cumbersome. I love leaning into wanting to make a pot of meatballs and put it on the stove and let them cook all day and feed my family, but that’s not realistic for all our daily lifestyles.

How do diets figure into the book?

S: My first book was right after I personally did a Whole30. It was

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ALEX SNODGR ASS

really impactful on me and the way I cook in the kitchen. I was struggling at the time with postpartum (depression) and wasn’t taking care of myself in general. That reset helped me get a grip on my health overall, not just my kitchen.

My first book was endorsed by Whole30. That was more strict about how many recipes needed to be Whole30 or easily modified to be. On the second book, I cook the way that I cook, and a lot of the recipes lean Whole30, and a lot of my pantry staples are.

I like to lean toward a grain-free and gluten-free diet. I use a lot of almond flour. I use arrowroot and tapioca flour. They’re a great substitute for corn starch — works almost exactly the same. You thicken gravies with it. You can make a roux with it. The almond flour is really good if you want a breadcrumb-esque coating around chicken or anything like that.

I think it’s daunting at first for people — what are all these ingredients? How do I cook with them? But once they do, they realize they’re very cookable. They’re different than how we grew up cooking. It’s a little different from everyday flours, and it’s not a one-to-one swap when you’re baking. You can’t just be like, “I want to make this dish grain-free, so I’ll just throw some almond flour in it.” It will not work the same. Once they try my recipes and get in the groove, it’s the same thing, but a little bit different. The main way people try my recipes is through word of mouth or seeing me physically cook it on social media, which is a great way to use my platform to show how simple these recipes are.

How did a book about getting back to enjoying cooking at home stretch from Southern to Italian, Asian and Middle Eastern dishes?

S: I just love food. Obviously, the things I am most influenced by from my upbringing are Southern style cooking, Tex-Mex and Italian, because my mother is half Italian, so I have that Mediterranean influence from her. My mom put anchovies in everything. It really takes it up a notch.

I have always been obsessed with food. Restaurants and travel have inspired me. I love bringing the things I taste out and about into my home and playing with those ingredients at home. It’s not overthought. But I did round out the chapters to give people experiences with new flavors, and it’s not focused on just one type of cuisine throughout the book.

I have always loved Vietnamese food. I feel like the Whole30 community started using fish sauce a lot too, and that introduced it to me.

Through travel and Whole30 swaps and learning new flavors … I am really familiar with adding these umami things. Some people are like “eww” and turn their noses at them. But I am willing to try anything and play with any ingredient in my cooking.

I always encourage people to try things. You can always omit it, but I tell people you’re going to miss the flavor. But I give them a nudge, because I think you should try it and I think it gives this meal a big boost.

People have foods that they think they don’t like — anchovies, for sure.

I am like, do you eat Caesar salad?

Then you eat anchovies.

Frank Family Carneros

Chardonnay 2020

This wine is perfumed in brioche and baked apple, with seasonings of nutmeg and vanilla. It opens in a rich, full-bodied concentration of citrus and white peach and evolves on the palate to show structure and depth. Bright acidity lifts hints of toasted oak, maintaining a fresh and plush finish.

NOW DISTRIBUTED BY

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WINE

3 COURSE INTERVIEW

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O U T T O E AT C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S A T W W W. B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M

Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers. Unless noted, addresses are for New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: Email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

CBD Juan’s Flying Burrito — 515 Baronne St., (504) 529-5825; juansflyingburrito.com — See Uptown section for restaurant description.

Outdoor dining available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$

CARROLLTON Mid City Pizza — 6307 S. Miro St., (504) 509-6224; midcitypizza.com — See Mid-City section for restaurant description. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Sun.-Fri., dinner daily. $$ Nice Guys Bar & Grill — 7910 Earhart Blvd., (504) 302-2404; niceguysbarandgrillnola.com — Char-grilled oysters are topped with cheese, and a lobster tail or fried catfish fillet are optional additions. The menu also includes wings, quesadillas, burgers, sandwiches, salads, seafood pasta and more.

No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$

CITYWIDE Breaux Mart — Citywide; breauxmart. com — The deli counter’s changing specials include dishes such as baked catfish and red beans and rice. Lunch and dinner daily. $

FRENCH QUARTER Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 586-0300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu features Gulf seafood in traditional and contemporary Creole dishes, po-boys and more. Char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan, herbs and butter. Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 733-3803; theospizza.com — There is a wide variety of specialty pies and toppings to build your own pizza. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11-$20 $$$ — $20-up

LAKEVIEW

The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 284-2898; thebluecrabnola. com — The menu includes sandwiches, fried seafood platters, boiled seafood and more. Basin barbecue shrimp and grits features eight jumbo shrimp over creamy cheese grits and a cheese biscuit. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; lakeviewbrew.com — This casual cafe offers coffee, pastries, desserts, sandwiches and salads. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with Monterey Jack and Parmesan.

Takeout and delivery available.

Breakfast and lunch daily. $

METAIRIE

Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; andreasrestaurant.com — Chef Andrea Apuzzo’s speckled trout royale is topped with crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce. Capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in cream sauce. Delivery available.

Lunch and dinner daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop — 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, (504) 835-2022; gumbostop.com — The Seafood Platter comes with fried catfish, shrimp, oysters and crab balls and is accompanied by fries and choice of side. There are several types of gumbo on the menu.

Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 888-2010; koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available. Lunch Sun.Thu., dinner Mon.-Thu. $ Martin Wine Cellar — 714 Elmeer Ave., Metairie, (504) 896-7350; martinwine. com — See Uptown section for restaurant description. No reservations.

Lunch daily. $$ Nephew’s Ristorante — 4445 W. Metairie Ave., Metairie, (504) 5339998; nephewsristorante.com — Chef Frank Catalanotto is the namesake “nephew” who ran the kitchen at his late uncle Tony Angello’s restaurant.

The Creole-Italian menu features dishes like veal, eggplant or chicken parmigiana, and Mama’s Eggplant with red gravy and Romano cheese.

Reservations required. Dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Short Stop Po-Boys — 119 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, (504) 885-4572; shortstoppoboysno.

com — The menu includes more than 30 po-boys along with other Louisiana staples. Fried Louisiana oysters and Gulf shrimp are served on a Leidenheimer loaf with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Frey Smoked Meat Co. — 4141 Bienville St., Suite 110, (504) 4887427; freysmokedmeat.com — The barbecue restaurant serves pulled pork, St. Louis ribs, brisket, sausages and more. Pork belly poppers are fried cubes of pork belly tossed in pepper jelly glaze. No reservations.

Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Juan’s Flying Burrito — 4724 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-9950; juansflyingburrito.com — See Uptown section for restaurant description. Outdoor dining available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity. com — Favorites include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic and scallions. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Mid City Pizza — 4400 Banks St., (504) 483-8609; midcitypizza.com — The neighborhood pizza joint serves New York-style pies, plus calzones, sandwiches and salads. Signature shrimp remoulade pizza includes spinach, red onion, garlic, basil and green onion on an garlic-olive oil brushed curst. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows. com — The menu includes New Orleans favorites such as red beans with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as grilled or fried seafood plates, po-boys, raw or char-grilled oysters, pasta, salads and more.

Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; theospizza.com — See Harahan/ Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

NORTHSHORE The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 118 Harbor View Court, Slidell, (985) 315-7001; thebluecrabnola.com — See Lakeview section for restaurant description. No reservations. Lunch Fri.-Sat., dinner Wed.-Sun. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

UPTOWN

Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 891-0997; joeyksrestaurant.com — The menu includes fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and red beans and rice. Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Juan’s Flying Burrito — 2018 Magazine St., (504) 569-0000; 5538 Magazine St., (504) 897-4800; juansflyingburrito.com — The Flying Burrito includes grilled steak, shrimp, chicken, cheddar-jack cheese, black beans, yellow rice, salsa la fonda, guacamole and sour cream. The menu also has tacos, quesadillas, nachos and more. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$ Martin Wine Cellar — 3827 Baronne St., (504) 894-7444; martinwine. com — The deli at the wine and spirit shop serves sandwiches, salads and more. The Sena salad includes pulled roasted chicken, golden raisins, blue cheese, pecans and field greens tossed with Tobasco pepperjelly vinaigrette. No reservations.

Lunch daily. $$ Red Gravy — 4206 Magazine St., (504) 561-8844; redgravycafe.com — Thin cannoli pancakes are filled with cannoli cream and topped with chocolate. The menu includes brunch items, pasta dishes, sandwiches, baked goods and more. Takeout available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; theospizza.com — See Harahan/ Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 5015 Magazine St., (504) 267-7612; titoscevichepisco.com — The Peruvian menu includes a version of the traditional dish lomo saltado, featuring beef tenderloin tips sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and pisco, and served with fried potatoes and rice. Dine-in, outdoor seating and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT

Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant.com — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in Creole, Cajun and Southern dishes. Fried oysters and skewered bacon are served with meuniere sauce and toasted French bread. Reservations required. Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$$ The Mill — 1051 Annunciation St., (504) 582-9544; themillnola.com — Short ribs are braised with red wine and served with risotto. Reservations accepted. Dinner Thu.-Sat., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$

WEST BANK

Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available.

Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$

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A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T PAGE 5

band from Boston are currently on a national tour, building up to their St. Patrick’s Day blow out show in their hometown on March 17, which will be livestreamed. The Rumjacks and the Bombpops also perform. Tickets for their New Orleans show are $42.50 at civicnola.com.

Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra

THE MARDI GRAS INDIAN ORCHESTRA CLOSES OUT CARNIVAL

with everything from Mardi Gras Indian songs to heavy funk and more. Vocalist David Montana of the Washitaw Nation is joined

by Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, Terrence Higgins, Brad Walker, Helen Gillet and more. At 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, at Cafe Istanbul inside the New Orleans Healing Center.

Chanteuse Concert Series

THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FOUNDATION WILL CELEBRATE WOMEN in New Orleans music

with a four-concert series on Fridays, March 4 and March 11, and Saturdays, March 5 and March 12. Singer-songwriter Kristin Diable opens the series on March 4, and Leyla McCalla — who recently announced a new album will be released in May — will perform on March 5.

Then, Robin Barnes & The Fiya Birds play March 11 and vocalist Quiana Lynell performs on March 12. All shows start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 per show at jazzandheritage.org.

The Rumble

IF YOU MISSED THE RUMBLE’S FEBRUARY RESIDENCY AT THE MAPLE LEAF, there’s another chance to

see the new band on Oak Street on Mardi Gras Day. The Rumble — made up of former Cha Wa members and fronted by vocalist Joseph Boudreaux Jr., second chief of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indian tribe — plays at 9 p.m.

Tuesday, March 1. Tickets are $20 advance at mapleleafbar.com and $25 at the door.

$20-$30. Proceeds benefit the New Orleans Abortion Fund.

OperaCreole

OPERACREOLE PLANNED TO CELEBRATE ITS 10TH YEAR WITH A CONCERT featuring works of opera

and classical music by Black composers, highlighting famous Black singers and civil rights leaders who were also proficient musicians. That show was postponed by the pandemic last year and by Omicron earlier this year. The rescheduled show is at Laurenia, the performance space at Pythian Market, at 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 6. Tickets $10$25 via neworleansopera.org.

Krewe du Pooch

ANYONE WHO HASN’T GOTTEN ENOUGH CARNIVAL OR COSTUMED CANINES can head to the

Mandeville lakefront for the Krewe du Pooch parade and party on Saturday, March 5. The theme is A Fairy Tail, and the parade begins at Foy Street and Lakeshore Drive and ends near Lakeshore and Lafitte Street.

There is a costume contest for dogs and dog-human duos.

Four Unplugged performs at a post-parade party and there’s an adoption fair, food and drink vendors and more. Visit krewedupooch.org For information and to register to be in the parade.

Hunter Diamond Quartet

CHICAGO SAXOPHONIST HUNTER DIAMOND EXPLORES ALL SORTS OF MUSIC, and some of his proj-

ects dip into traditional New Orleans jazz. In the Hunter Diamond Quartet, he’s joined by a first-rate group of local improvisational masters: James Singleton, Aurora Nealand and Rex Gregory. The group performs one set beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, March 7, at Cafe Istanbul inside the New Orleans Healing Center. Suggested donation is $15.

BrechtFest 3

Iliza Shlesinger

Bertolt Brecht’s work with a variety show of selections of his work. Performers include Harry Mayronne, Bremner Duthie, Chris Wecklein, Donald Lewis, Karen Kunkel, Lydia Stein, Dr. Sick and more. The show is at 7 p.m.

Monday, March 7, at the AllWays Lounge. Suggested donation

since released several comedy specials and appeared on TV and film. During the pandemic, she and her chef husband launched an online cook-at-home show to encourage people to social distance. She performs at 7 p.m.

Friday, March 4 at Orpheum Theater. Tickets are $45-$85 via orpheumnola.com.

MUSICIANS, ACTORS, PUPPETEERS AND OTHER PERFORMERS CELEBRATE German playwright

ILIZA SCHLESINGER WON “LAST COMIC STANDING” IN 2008 and has

NEW ORLEANS | METAIRIE | MANDEVILLE | BATON ROUGE

SPRING EVENTS

ISSUE

FAIRS & FESTIVALS • MUSIC • THEATER • ART FUNDRAISERS • FOOD • EVENTS • AND MORE! RESERVE SPACE

MARCH 4

ISSUE DATE

MARCH 15

Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

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MUSIC

F O R C O M P L E T E M U S I C L I S T I N G S A N D M O R E E V E N T S T A K I N G P L A C E I N T H E N E W O R L E A N S A R E A , V I S I T C A L E N D A R . G A M B I T W E E K LY. C O M To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com

Note: Due to COVID-19, events may have certain restrictions or may be postponed; we recommend checking out a venues social media sites or call before you go for the most up to dateinformation.

TUESDAY 1 BAYOU BAR AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL — Peter Harris Quartet, 7 pm BLUE NILE — The Fessters, 5 pm CARNAVAL LOUNGE — MARS/CIKADA/BRAT, 9 pm D.B.A. NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, 2 pm DOS JEFES — Haruka Kakuchi, 8:30 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Sam Friend Trio, 11 am; Mark Weliky Trio, 2 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 5 pm; Fritzel's All Star Band, 8 pm THE MAISON RESTAURANT AND MUSIC CLUB — Brass Tyrannosaurus, 10 pm TREME HIDEAWAY — Juvegras, 9 pm

WEDNESDAY 2 BAYOU BAR AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL — Peter Harris Trio, 7 pm D.B.A. NEW ORLEANS — Walter "Wolfman" Washington & the Roadmasters, 9 pm D.B.A. NEW ORLEANS — Tin Men, 6 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band, 8 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Mark Braud, 5, 6:15, 7:30 pm & 8:45 THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Funkin' It Up with Big Sam !!, 7:30 pm

THURSDAY 3 BAYOU BAR AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL — Peter Harris Quartet, 8 pm

CAFE NEGRIL — Sierra Green and the Soul Machine, 10 pm CIVIC THEATRE — Dropkick Murphys: St. Patrick’s Day 2022 Tour, 7 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Doyle Cooper Trio, 2:30 pm; John Saavedra Trio, 6 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band, 8 pm PEACOCK ROOM, HOTEL FONTENOT — Da Lovebirds with Robin Barnes and Pat Casey , 8 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation Legacy Band feat. Will Smith, 5, 6:15 & 7:30 pm SMOOTHIE KING CENTER — Mercyme feat. Rend Collective, Andrew Ripp, 7 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Brass-AHolics, 7:30 pm

FRIDAY 4 BAYOU BAR AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL — Peter Harris Trio, 8 pm BLUE NILE — Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers, 11 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Rose and Thorns , 8 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Sam Friend Trio, 2:30 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 6 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band, 9 pm GEORGE AND JOYCE WEIN JAZZ & HERITAGE CENTER — Chanteuse 2022: Kristin Diable, 8 pm KRAZY KORNER — DayWalkers feat.

Waylon Thibodeaux, 1 pm NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM OF ART — Music at the Museum: Carlos Conducts the Brass Section, 6 pm ORPHEUM THEATER — Iliza Shlesinger, 7 pm POUR HOUSE SALOON — Tiffany Pollack & Co., 8 pm

PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Mark Braud, 5, 6:15, 7:30 & 8:45 pm REPUBLIC NOLA — Jessica Audiffred, 10 pm SOUTHPORT HALL LIVE MUSIC & PARTY HALL — Contraflow, 9 pm ZONY MASH BEER PROJECT — Funk Monkey featuring Arsene DeLay, 7 pm

SATURDAY 5 BAYOU BAR AT THE PONTCHARTRAIN HOTEL — Jordan Anderson, 8 pm CAFE NEGRIL — The Sierra Green Show, 10 pm CARNAVAL LOUNGE — VIVIAN, 6 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Joe Kennedy Trio, 2:30 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 6 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band, 9 pm GEORGE AND JOYCE WEIN JAZZ & HERITAGE CENTER — Chanteuse 2022: Leyla McCalla, 8 pm KRAZY KORNER — DayWalkers feat.

Waylon Thibodeaux, 1 pm MUSIC BOX VILLAGE — Taylor Shepherd House Band, 10 am POUR HOUSE SALOON — Lakeshore Drivers, 9 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Wendell Brunious, 2:30 & 3:45 pm; Preservation AllStars feat. Shannon Powell, 5, 6:15, 7:30 & 8:45 pm REPUBLIC NOLA — um.. x Vibe Emissions, 11 pm SANTOS — Ox w/Wizard Dick and Raccoon City Massacre, 9 pm SMOOTHIE KING CENTER — Maxwell, 8 pm SOUTHPORT HALL LIVE MUSIC & PARTY HALL — Supercharger, 9 pm

ST. PAUL'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL BRIGGS CENTER — Northshore Classics: Mozart's Prague Symphony, 7:30 pm THE BOMBAY CLUB — Anais St. John, 8 pm

SUNDAY 6 300 BOURBON STREET — James Rivers Movement, 7:30 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Hunter Burgamy Trio, 12:30 pm; Joe Kennedy Trio, 2:30 pm; Marla Dixon Trio, 6 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band, 8 pm PEACOCK ROOM, HOTEL FONTENOT — Jelani Bauman , 11 am POUR HOUSE SALOON — Gwen & the Old Man, 5 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation Legacy Band feat. Will Smith, 2:30, 3:45, 5 & 6:15 pm; Preservation Legacy Band feat. Gregg Stafford, 7:30 & 8:45 pm ROYAL FRENCHMEN HOTEL & BAR — Grayson Brockamp and the New Orleans Wildlife Band, 7 pm SAENGER THEATRE — Johnny Mathis, 7:30 pm ZONY MASH BEER PROJECT — Will + The Foxhounds, 5 pm

MONDAY 7 CAFE ISTANBUL — Chicago X New Orleans: Diamond/Nealand/Singleton/Peake, 8 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Twisty River Band, 8 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation Brass , 5, 6:15, 7:30 & 8:45 pm

21

The Gambit Interview: “Bassy” Bob Brockmann

by Eliza Baquet | JRNola

“BASSY” BOB BROCKMANN IS A NEW ORLEANS-BASED RECORD PRODUCER who has worked with the

Fugees, Toni Braxton, and Biggie, as well as local artists like Dumpstaphunk and Ivan Neville. He also produced Cha Wa’s “My People,” which was just nominated for a 2022 Grammy.

The following has been edited for brevity.

What are the big differences between working in New York vs. New Orleans?

BROCKMANN: I was in New York for 35 years and didn’t expect to be dropped into the origins of hip-hop. I was coming out of University of Miami as a jazz trumpet player and applied to about 30 jobs at recording studios. Most offered me no money, but subway tokens instead. The first recording session I was on was Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh’s “The Show,” which is one of the most famous early hip-hop recordings of all time.

I was definitely attracted to it at first, but it took me years to fully understand how deeply profound hip-hop is.

I moved back down here in August 2018, and it’s a very different city than when I was a kid.

A lot of musicians are finding things that aren’t quite traditional jazz, Dixieland or brass band.

And unlike New York, people play live down here — it’s seminal to what they do. Sessions are with a rhythm section, and they track stuff live. I really love that about New Orleans.

What was it like working with Cha Wa? B: Working for Cha Wa was an eye opener for understanding the deep influence that New Orleans Indian culture had on music. I worked on these grooves and started to understand what a Spy Boy is, the significance of the costumes, Mardi Gras Day, and how that all folds into the deeper historic New Orleans culture. You can’t separate Indian culture from the music — and Cha Wa was specifically dedicated to fusing New Orleans funk and local New Orleans Indian

culture. That the record got nominated for a Grammy is just icing on the cake for me.

What other local artists have you worked with?

B: I’ve been working mostly with New Orleans artists since I got down here. I did a bunch of stuff with Tank and the Bangas. I’ve worked with Dumpstaphunk, Ivan Neville. I worked with this artist Bianca Love, who’s just getting ready to drop her full length this year. Jenna McSwain. I did an EP with Berkley the Artist. I co-produced a record down here with this incredible trumpet player/singer Emily Mikesell.

What is something about being a record producer that most people don’t know?

B: I’d say how much they help create the music.

There are a handful of producers who don’t actually touch a keyboard. I’m very much a hands-on record producer. I play, I program, I edit, I mix, I vocal produce. But being a producer also includes setting an environment conducive to an artist doing their best work. If you think about any heavyweight singer, they need to have somebody in the room paying close attention to what’s going on with their voice and how they present the arc of the song. It’s a really crucial part of getting a great recording and performance.

Has there been anything that you worked on where when hearing the final mix, when it’s released, where you thought it could have used improvement?

B: [laughs]

P R O V ID E D P H O T O BY K H A E LY N JA C K S O N, P H O T O G R A P H Y A S S I S TA N T A R E T H A M C K IN N E Y

Bob “Bassy” Brockmann

[laughs] I know you have a bunch, but ...

B: It’s not that. It’s just that I had some really successful records early in my career when I was in my early twenties ... I had a couple records that were unexpectedly successful. One was Debbie Gibson’s first single (“Only in My Dreams”). It was basically a demo that I had mixed in the producer’s house down in south Brooklyn.

I didn’t even know that it was released. It was basically a demo. She had a single deal with Atlantic, and they wanted a mix of the song to evaluate whether they actually wanted to release anything. It turned out they had hired Little Louie Vega to do a dance remix of it as well, and the dance remix blew up and went number one on the dance charts. So Atlantic Records went and found this DAT (Digital Audio Tape) that I had done this rough mix on, and they mastered it and put it out.

It went to No. 4 on the Hot 100. It was a life-changing event for me because suddenly I was working all the time because I had a hit record, but I didn’t think that it was a very good mix. I kind of feel that way about a lot of early records that I did.

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MUSIC

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COMEDY

Back in Rehab

by Will Coviello

COMEDIAN ZANE HELBERG KNOWS HIS AUDIENCE . It’s

Written by Marcus Gardley Directed by abigail jean-baptiste March 4 - 20, 2022

SHOWTIMES

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clear at the start of his 2018 album, “Zane Helberg: Live from Rehab.”

“Do you like to draw?

What are you drawing?” he asks someone in the audience as he’s beginning his set. “Oh, you’re filling shit in.

So meth is your thing?”

The crowd howls in laughter, and it’s no joke that Helberg is recording his show for an audience of people in a rehab program.

He’s been booking his own rehab-friendly tours around the country since 2018.

Helberg brings his show to New Orleans and Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge on March 2.

Comedian Aaron Patrick opens.

Helberg got into comedy because it was on his bucket list, he says by phone from his home in Southern California. He had been interested in theater when he was young but had put off trying stand-up comedy out of fear.

“I took a class and did a workshop and did a little recital at The Improv in 2008,” he says. “I hit the ground running and started doing open mics because it was not as terrifying as I thought it would be.”

Several years later, after years of alcoholism and drug addiction, he got sober, and being more clearheaded helped him focus on his act.

After a few more years of performing at open mics and some booked gigs around Southern California, however, he was still looking for his place in the comedy scene.

“I decided to start doing shows for people in recovery in Los Angeles, and then a hospital in Encino gave me a call,” he says.

“They said, ‘Hey, we heard about your show. We can’t bring people to your show because they’re in drug detox, but why don’t you come and do a show here?’ Me and my buddies went and did a show for a handful of people, and they absolutely loved it and were so excited they were able to get some laughs in without any drugs in their body. I realized at that moment that this is an awesome thing that I had to keep doing.”

Helberg toured California hospitals and rehab centers, eventually quit his day job, recorded his album and toured across the country.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ZANE HELBERG

His act includes jokes and stories from before, during and after addiction, and plenty of material has nothing to do with substance abuse. He starts one dark-humored bit about solving the problem with homelessness with the concession that it’s hard to get past the fascist-sounding beginning of the plan: “You have to round them up first,” he says.

Most of his shows are no holds barred, and his interactions with audiences during shows proves that they appreciate it.

“If you’re in a rehab with someone who is missing teeth, then you’re going to talk about that, just like if there’s a couple, you’re gonna work in their relationship,” he says. “Absolutely they want to laugh at themselves. Ninety-nine percent of the time what they want is someone to talk to them like they’re a normal human being and make fun of them the way you would make fun of anything else.

So often drug addicts and alcoholics are shamed, ostracized, considered second-tier citizens. When you find humor in things that other people shame, it puts you on a level playing field.”

In addition to touring, Helberg also books tours for comedian Sam Tripoli, and he has a podcast called “How to Seem Rich So People Like You.” Zane Helberg performs at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 2, at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge. Alcohol will not be served on the night of the show.

Tickets are $20.

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