OffbBeat Magazine March 2018

LOUISIANA MUSIC, FOOD & CULTURE—MARCH 2018 Free In Metro New Orleans US $5.99 CAN $6.99 £UK 3.50

PHoto: elsa hahne

Second to None

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Dancing Man 504 leads the way in teaching our kids how to step and step up.

"Backtalk with Terence Blanchard"

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LETTERS

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OFFBEAT EATS

MOJO MOUTH

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FRESH

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Chef Steve Himelfarb of Cake Café dishes on his lox and eggs and Peter Thriffiley reviews Taqueria Guerrero.

My Music with Don Flamingo; Celebrating 30 Years: Zachary Richard; Book of Love’s 30th anniversary tour; Pink Room at BUKU; Lily Keber’s film Buckjumping; Celebrating David Bowie and more.

BEST OF THE BEAT MUSIC AWARDS

REVIEWS

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R&B standouts.

FIRE IN THE HOLE

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The spirit work of Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors.

SONGWRITING WITH SOLDIERS

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Mary Gauthier goes where the hurt is.

IN THE SPIRIT Missy Cross at St. Cecilia mixes up Do Whatcha Wanna for Rebirth.

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Zachary Richard, Zoukeys, Mike Harvey’s Hot Club, Grayson Capps, Mitch Woods, The Malvinas, DiNola, Willem & Dakota and more.

The night in photos.

300 SONGS FOR 300 YEARS

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LISTINGS

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BACKTALK with Terence Blanchard

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“I’m still pinching myself.

You would think that with all my music, I wouldn’t be that way, but I am. It’s monumental for me.

Being a jazz musician is what I love but I know that this is what my mom and my family love so I know it’s going to be big for them.”

—Terence Blanchard

By Jonathan Tabak July 1996 Terence Blanchard was asked: Does the Hollywood tendency to distort reality ever bother you? “...there were a couple of projects that were brought to me that I just couldn’t work on.

Because it just doesn’t make sense. [...] The story has to move me in some kind of way for me to write some music.”

More at offbeat.com/shop/ back-issues/1996/offbeatmagazine-july-1996/).

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Letters

“Had there been no design defects present in the levees in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina [...] would not now suffer the fate of being referenced only as a terrible ‘natural’ disaster.”

—Dr. William Ferguson, Staunton, Virginia

All The News A note to say how much I’m enjoying the smart new slogan which accompanies the Weekly Beat email newsletter: “All the entertainment that’s fit to click.”

Naturally, readers of the New York Times will recognize it as a savvy spin on “All the news that’s fit to print.” And of course devotees of Mad magazine would put it this way: “All the news that fits.”

Either way, as we like to say in the trade: “Talent borrows. Genius steals.”

—Leo Sacks, Beacon, New York

Postal Woes United States Postal Service finally got around to delivering the February issue. All of the magazines I subscribe to (New Yorker, Opera News, Living Blues, etc.) have the same problem now. The magazines arrive halfway through the time period their events calendars cover, even though they are mailed out far in advance. The mailman blames it on sorting, they blame it on someone else, etc. We used to have a reliable postal system. Remember those days?

—Jay Drury, Sacramento, California

Bring Back Storyville The following letters are in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post, “Bring Back Storyville,” suggesting we’d have more money to repair our infrastructure, educate our kids, decrease violence and squelch the drug trade.

Living in Amsterdam and visiting New Orleans twice a year, of course I was interested in your story. Funny thing is you compare New Orleans to Amsterdam. Well I can tell you that our famous Red Light District has had its best time too. A lot of “windows” were closed the last couple of years.

We also have to deal with human trafficking.

People wonder if this thing still is something to be proud of in the twenty-first century. Our Red Light District is the most beautiful part of the city and more and more Amsterdamers think it’s a pity that only drunk people coming from abroad have their parties there. Believe me, very few Amsterdamers or even Dutch people go there. The same goes for Bourbon Street. My guess: In ten years there

is no more Red Light District as we now have it in Amsterdam. Of course, Storyville was something magical, but to bring it back? Times have changed.

—Marc Stakenburg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Federal Flood The [“Bring Back Storyville” blog] post states: “Not too long after Hurricane Katrina almost destroyed this city, and we were wondering what the hell we were going to do to get back on our feet…” While this article presents many intelligent angles, the fact of the matter, according to the experts, is that the flooding of New Orleans was overwhelmingly the fault of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which was responsible for designing and building the levee system—not the hurricane itself.

An irregular, flawed federal funding process led to a piecemeal levee system that included some low-cost solutions that compromised the quality, safety and reliability of the designs, according to a 2007 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel, as well as a 2015 study by the International Water Association.

Had there been no design defects present in the levees in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina would have made much less news and would not now suffer the fate of being referenced only as a terrible “natural” disaster. Rather, it would be labeled a terrible “engineering” disaster. It is my hope, as a former resident of New Orleans, that with wider dissemination of correct information, blame for the city’s flooding will eventually shift from nature to the failed infrastructure.

—Dr. William Ferguson, Staunton, Virginia

Where I Got My Shoes I’ve been to New Orleans 15, 20 times [and] eventually got one of my nephews hooked on New Orleans. Prior to his first visit, he asked me for one important piece of advice not in the travel guides. Without hesitation, I told him: go to Goodwill and get a cheap pair of shoes, and when you leave your hotel, leave the shoes. He told me that’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given him about anything.

—Stan Beyerman, Tampa, Florida

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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Louisiana Music, Food & Culture

March 2018 Volume 31, Number 3 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jan V. Ramsey, janramsey@offbeat.com Managing Editor Joseph L. Irrera, josephirrera@offbeat.com Consulting Editor John Swenson Food Editor Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Listings Editor Katie Walenter, listings@offbeat.com Contributors Stacey Leigh Bridewell, Alex Galbraith, Elsa Hahne, Jeff Hannusch, Raphael Helfand, Tom McDermott, Amanda Mester, Brett Milano, Bartholomew Singer, John Swenson, Peter Thriffiley, Christopher Weddle, Dan Willging, John Wirt, Geraldine Wyckoff Cover Elsa Hahne (photography), Monica Kelly (illustrations) Art Director/Food Editor Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Web Editor Amanda Mester, amanda@offbeat.com Copy Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, theo@offbeat.com Advertising Sales/Promotions Coordinator Camille A. Ramsey, camille@offbeat.com Advertising Design PressWorks, 504-944-4300 Business Manager Joseph L. Irrera Interns Allyson Aleksey, Raphael Helfand, Devorah Levy-Pearlman Distribution Patti Carrigan, Doug Jackson 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

/offbeatmagazine Copyright © 2018, 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 for $45 per year ($52 Canada, $105 foreign airmail). Back issues are available for $10, except for the May issue for $16 (for foreign delivery add $6, except for the May issue add $4). Submission of photos and articles on Louisiana artists are welcomed, but unfortunately material cannot be returned.

MOJO MOUTH

Visual Overload

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ardi Gras is over, and spring festivals are on everybody’s agenda: from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon to the Top Taco festival, Bourbon Fest and Bean Madness.

I’m kind of glad we’ve put Mardi Gras behind us because, for one, I’m tired of seeing pictures of debutantes, krewe kings and queens, and Mardi Gras ball photos.

Everyone certainly likes to see their name and photo in “the paper,” and it occurs to me that maybe instead of publishing a magazine about musicians, we should put out a magazine that’s nothing but photos of people at parties. That way, you wouldn’t have to really read or learn anything about the people who

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make the music and culture here; all you’d need to do is to look at eyecandy. The social scene is becoming more important than the news. If you don’t believe me, check out either of the local newspapers and see how many pages are devoted to the social scene versus news items.

Isn’t that what New Orleans is becoming: a place where you can drink to excess, party, not get too deeply into anything? Where and how do we put our efforts into educating people why New Orleans culture is important?

To be sure, American media is becoming more visual and less indepth. Short blasts of information with photos or an accompanying shallow video are becoming de

By Jan Ramsey rigueur media. Who has the time, or will make the time, to actually read about anything?

We can watch as newspapers and magazines nationwide shrink in size and ultimately go online or go away altogether (trust me, there used to be a lot more music magazines!). And we can also perceive them devolving into advertorials or multiple advertising sections that have nothing to do with objective writing or journalism.

Here’s a fact: No one cares if they get ink from a credible news source.

After all, you can get mentioned in a friend’s blog or on a Facebook page. They just want to be a celebrity; they just want everyone to like them (thank you Facebook).

I bemoan the fact that there's at least a generation and a half of people who don’t care about reading a newspaper, or a book, or a magazine; don’t know the difference between paid advertorial, journalism and “fake news”; or know they are being manipulated by “influencer marketing” instead of doing a little research on their own. Actually doing research on the internet is something the medium does pretty well, if you know how to sift through media, native advertising, infomercials, advertorial, blogs and social media.

Information overload has generated a generation of people who’ll believe anything they see or hear—not what they read. Does it take too much time to think? O

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FRESH

Don Flamingo

Photo: kim welsh

Krewe Of Barkus Parade Has Doggone And Done It Again

MY MUSIC

OffBeat.com

SWEET TWEETS

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hen I was a kid, my mama gave me a dollar and told me to go buy whatever I wanted. So I went and bought candy. When I got back to the car, I was askin’ my mama, like, ‘How is this paper worth anything if it’s made out of what my school paper is made out of?’ You can take that situation and apply it to the music I make. It has to have more than one meaning to me. I write a lot of stories with a lot of narration in between characters. I don’t just rap; I actually make dialogue.

Going from my mixtape days to getting signed to Roc Nation is like a fairytale. But it was also relentless, nonstop grind. I wrote my first rhyme in ’95. I always say, when you’re doing the right things, the universe will take care of you. It just so happened that me having the skill level I have... I just wound up in the right place at the right time. I met Lawrence “Law” Parker [now A&R at Roc Nation] in 2003, when the only ones who were poppin’ in the city were me, Soulja Slim, BG, Young A, Shawt Fella and the Act Right Records crew. Once the storm hit, I grinded out and ended up having a connect at Def Jam and then Mannie Fresh signed me. Ironically, before Jay Electronica was who he was, he and Law were friends. I never knew that 10 years ago. Jay wound up getting signed by JAY-Z [to his Roc Nation label] and he pulled Law up with him. And then Law brought me.

My next project is produced by 9th Wonder and the Soul Council. I’m naming the album 96th Wonder. It’s a mix of 9th Wonder’s name and [the fact that] my favorite number is six. And, I’m born on December 6. The 96 ties into the whole team of Soul Council, too. I’m kind of branding [the album] off the ’96 [Chicago] Bulls. The team with [Dennis] Rodman, [Michael] Jordan, [Scottie] Pippen, Luc Longley. That’s the whole thesis behind it, ya dig?

9th just lets me do what I do. That’s dope to me, because he’s one of those guys who says ‘Don’t let nobody tell you what to do; whatever you feel comfortable with, that should be you.’ He’s one of the easiest producers I’ve ever worked with. He’ll make the beat and be, like, ‘Come up with whatever you come up with. If it’s dope, it’s dope.’ There are no features on the album so far. I don’t put people on my albums often. I like to give people 100 percent me.

When it comes to releasing music, I think dates are overrated.

Like, how dope would it be if Jordan came back today with no announcement?”

—Amanda Mester

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@jeffalbert TFW you are grooving to The Meters in your car and get bugged when the music stops because the phone is ringing, but it is Zigaboo calling you, so it is ok. #namedrop #humblebrag? @JoyTheater Rest easy Mr. Okra—a TRUE New Orleans legend. You will be missed terribly. @mpatrickwelch I think almost anyone who kills anyone is suffering from mental illness. When I hear that someone has gunned down a bunch of people, and authorities are giving him (him) tests to determine his sanity I just think yo, he passed the test already. @JohnPapaGros If you want to contribute to the New Orleans music tradition, then you can never take a day off. If your goal is set high, the bar is set even higher by the “greats” who came before you. You’ll never get there if you don’t put the time in. @theharryshearer “We can’t go without Carnival.” They seem to do it right!

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FRESH

SECOND LINE DANCING ON THE SCREEN

Q&A: Director Lily Keber on Buckjumping

You previously directed Bayou Maharajah about the late, great New Orleans pianist James Booker. How come you wanted to do a film about dance?

When people talk about New Orleans and what’s great about it, it’s the food and the music and the architecture, but dance is never mentioned.

But for me it’s such a crucial part of New Orleans and the experience here.

There’s no gathering where there’s no dance. If you go see a show and there’s no dancing, you know the musicians must be off. And musicians will gage how well they play by how much people are dancing.

Are you a dancer?

No, but I feel my dancing has gotten better while making this film.

Why is dance important in New Orleans?

There’s individual dance and Western, classical, hierarchical dance, and there’s couples’ dancing. But New Orleans has almost like group dancing—a group of individuals where everyone is doing their own thing and yet it’s working together as a group. Nobody really cares if you’re on the beat or not because it’s not about you—it’s about us. A group identity through physical movement, I think that’s gorgeous.

What is buckjumping, exactly?

It refers to second line dancing, what you see on Sunday afternoons, but also to a mentality, which is why it became the title of the film. The term is originally equestrian, from when a horse is trying to buck a rider. So it’s bucking in the sense of throwing off whatever oppression you’re feeling at that time.

[Sometimes] you just need to forget your problems and dance. And it sounds flippant, but in a city with so much institutional racism and poverty, disease Lily Keber and murder, it’s not flippant—it’s an absolutely crucial mental health element. It’s literally the only avenue that people in New Orleans have to feel better about themselves and about our situation.

How far along are you with the shooting and editing?

I’m basically done. I’m now submitting to film festivals and trying to raise money for things like color correction and sound mix and music licensing.

What do you see in the film?

It’s a movie about joy, and about the importance of black culture to America. I think America could really use a little joy right now, and that’s something New Orleans can teach. When politics are bad—go dance! When the economy is bad and it feels like there’s no way out—go dance! Throw a party. It’s literally how New Orleans has gotten through the last 300 years.

—Elsa Hahne A Kickstarter for Buckjumping will run until Wednesday, March 14.

A longer version of this interview is at offbeat.com. www.OFFBEAT.com

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CELEBRATING

FRESH

July 1999 BOOK OF LOVE

30th anniversary tour

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n the 1980s, the electronic dance-pop band Book of Love released the club favorites “Boy,” “I Touch Roses” and “You Make Me Feel So Good.” A co-ed quartet from New York City, the band signed with Seymour Stein’s Sire Records, home to Madonna, Talking Heads, the Ramones, the Pretenders, the Smiths and the Cure. In 1985, Book of Love’s fresh-out-ofart-school members made their first national tour, opening for another Sire act, Depeche Mode.

Despite the tours, dance hits and songs in the movies Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Silence of the Lambs, mainstream success eluded Book of Love. By the early 1990s, during grunge rock’s heavy, angry surge in popularity, melodic dance music was out of time.

“It was difficult for us during the ’90s,” Book of Love singer Susan Ottaviano remembered from her home in New York. “I don’t know if anyone wanted to hear melodic pop songs then. We lost the lust for it and went in different directions.”

In 1993, Ottaviano and her One Eyed Jacks bandmates Ted Ottaviano (Susan and Saturday Ted Ottaviano are not related) Jade March 24 Lee and Lauren Roselli disbanded without animosity. “I’m proud that we did the best we could and that we were kind to each other,” Ottaviano said.

That amicable separation left the door open for Book of Love reunions. More importantly, the band’s fans didn’t forget the songs that saved their lives.

In January, by popular demand, Notefornote/Rhino Records released BOOK OF LOVE, The SIRE Years (1985-1993). The new retrospective follows the 2016 release of MMXVI – The 30th Anniversary Collection and the band’s accompanying 30th anniversary tour. The band’s recent albums and the touring were all made possible by fans’ enduring affection for the Book of Love catalog.

“The legacy we have is a cult following,” Ottaviano said. “Our fans are so devoted and the music has meant so much to them. And that’s a lot more rewarding than if a bunch of people come to our shows with their one song. It’s not a one-hit wonder tour.”

High points in Book of Love’s discography include “Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls.” A Billboard Hot 100 single, it was among the early songs to address the AIDS epidemic.

“Strangers in the night exchanging glances,” Ottaviano sings. “But sex is dangerous. I don’t take my chances. … In this day and age in a city full of fear.”

“Quite a few of our songs struck a chord for people who felt different, who were looking for something else in their lives,” Ottaviano said. “The songs rang true to them. We’re still meeting those people and it’s awesome. It really makes it worth it.”

—John Wirt

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“Zachary Richard: A Tale of Two Cultures”

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ffBeat Magazine is celebrating 30 years and reached that milestone with our November 2017 issue. To mark the anniversary, over the next 12 months OffBeat will re-publish excerpts from features and interviews from the past 30 years. In our fifth installment, from our July 1999 issue, Todd Mouton interviews singer songwriter Zachary Richard whose latest CD is our lead off review in this issue.

“I was never able to go beyond the restrictions of that perception of myself as a Cajun, zydeco, Louisiana thing. [...]

I always thought I belonged in the rock bins between Bonnie Raitt and REO Speedwagon in the Rs...”

“I’m all over the map. I’ve been all over the map. I was a recording artist in Quebec, which is where I knew my first success, and they didn’t know Cajun from a hole in the ground. So it was never this thing of, ‘Okay, Zachary Richard is a Cajun artist.’ And so my flirtations with a variety of styles were just the artistic expression of a songwriter who was gonna try this or try that.

Once you are accepted by the public as a singer songwriter in your own right, then the fact that I would do a reggae-influenced song didn’t make me a reggae singer. The fact that I would do a Cajun song didn’t make me a Cajun singer. I was just a singer songwriter who was flirting with these different styles. That’s never been the case for me in the United States. I was never able to go beyond the restrictions of that perception of myself as a Cajun, zydeco, Louisiana thing. I’m not disappointed, but Cap Enragé in a Cajun bin doesn’t do justice … it’s not what it is.

I always thought I belonged in the rock bins between Bonnie Raitt and REO Speedwagon in the Rs, you know. And I always wound up in the Cajun bin instead, and that’s not where I felt my logical place is. There’s a whole other place that I would like to be able to go, where I’ve been prevented from [by] purely commercial marketing reasons, but I have to admit that I was the doctor that made the Frankenstein.” www.OFFBEAT.com

FRESH

PINK ROOM PROJECT AT BUKU

Pushing the boundary

MORE THAN A TRIBUTE

Celebrating David Bowie

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e sound like and look like what New Orleans sounds like and looks like. Or what it should sound like and look like,” Pink Room Project’s Brandon Ares said. The rapper/producer/visual artist has a signature look, but not the one promoted by the Tourism Board. He’s skinny in an essentially punk way, with short dreads that hang over his eyes like bangs. Co-founder Keith Cavalier (a.k.a. DJ Lil Jodeci) looks less futuristic, but he’s no less passionate about pushing New Orleans culture into the new millennium. “It’s about doing shit on an elevated level,” Cavalier said.

“Not just the norm of jazz and bounce. We wanna put New Orleans on the map from that perspective in a real organic sense. It’s about loving our city and the culture behind it and embodying that and reaching everybody—inclusiveness.”

Inclusiveness is central to Pink Room’s philosophy. They draw on punk, house, industrial, bounce, trap and jazz to create a refreshingly edgy sound in a city with a reputation rooted in tradition. Ares, Cavalier and their crew, which includes at least nine other musicians and visual artists, want to push the tradition forward. But like every cultural movement, they started small.

Cavalier (29) and Ares (25) met at in high school at McMain, but only became close in 2015, when they started making music together.

They named their project after a pink-walled room in Cavalier’s Gentilly shotgun. “I was pretty much homeless, so he put me up for a long time and helped me out,” Ares said.

They had humble beginnings but shared a vision. “It was always our idea to bring dope motherfuckers from the city together and give them an opportunity to get their shit out there,” Ares said. “We elevate the city too. We put it on a platform so that this shit can compete on the world scale, because this is world shit that we doing. This is about supporting the idea of the black culture of New Orleans, because at the end of the day, [it’s] the only culture of New Orleans. We can either keep regurgitating the old idea of black culture in New Orleans or we can actually give the new idea… a time to blossom.”

Pink Room Project will hold a showcase at BUKU Music & Art Project on Friday, March 9. Go to pinkroomproject.com for more information.

—Raphael Helfand

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avid Bowie—a.k.a. Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, Aladdin Sane and Major Tom—is gone but surely not forgotten. Celebrating David Bowie, a tour starring Bowie musicians who worked with him on stage and in the studio, keeps his music alive in concert.

Celebrating David Bowie music director Mike Garson performed more than 1,000 shows with Bowie. During Celebrating Bowie performances, the keyboardist said, “The real joy for me comes from hearing the audience sing every word with us. It’s an incredible, spiritual singalongon-steroids show—like having a chorus of 2,000 with us.”

For Celebrating David Bowie’s winter tour of North America, Garson joins fellow Bowie band alumni Earl Slick, Gerry Leonard, Carmine Rojas and Mark Plati. The group’s singers Tipitina’s Monday include Rolling Stones backup vocalist Bernard March 19 Fowler and Grammy nominee Gaby Moreno.

Special guests join in throughout the tour.

The 27-date Celebrating David Bowie tour of the United States, Canada and Mexico follows sold-out shows in France and the United Kingdom.

“The applause in Europe was as loud as any of the shows I did with David,” Garson marveled. “Of course, we didn’t have David, and I miss that.”

Garson experiences emotional moments at every Celebrating David Bowie performance, he said. “We loved each other deeply and respected each other,” he said. “I try to be professional and not fall apart, but there’s hasn’t been a show where I haven’t gotten emotional at some point. We know life is life, but David’s life was cut short. I would have loved to have done another tour with him.”

During Bowie’s lifetime, Garson received many offers to be in Bowie tribute bands. “Why would I do that when I can play with the real guy?” he asked. “But now that the real guy is somewhere else, I feel good about paying respect to David’s music. With four or five alumni, the band is great. We’re not a tribute band. We played on his albums throughout the different phases of his life.”

Garson’s admiration for Bowie has only grown through the years.

“I think he surpassed the Beatles and Bob Dylan. Not only because of his 50 years of singing, producing and writing, but also his acting, sculpting and painting. And he was spiritual leader for his fans. He let them know it was okay to be themselves.

“David wasn’t just a pop star. He was a visionary and Renaissance man.

I probably wouldn’t have said this to him when he was alive. Wherever he is now, he’s probably laughing that I’m saying it now, but it’s the truth.”

—John Wirt www.OFFBEAT.com

TRUMPET PLAYERS

ARTIST OF THE YEAR Tank and the Bangas took home the coveted award after a spectacular year in music.

Left: Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers entertained the crowd joined by Rockin' Dopsie Jr. Below: Cyril Neville joined the tribute to Lifetime Achievement in Music winner and fellow Voice of the Wetlands member Monk Boudreaux.

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TRUMPET PLAYERS

FTW The Best of the Beat Music Awards in photos. Photography by Willow Haley

T

he Best of the Beat Awards, honoring Louisiana musicians, were held on January 25 at Generations Hall.

The big winner this year was Tank and the Bangas, capturing three awards: Artist of the Year, Best R&B/Funk Artist and Best Music Video for “Quick.”

Trombone Shorty took home several awards as well: Album of the Year and Best R&B/Funk Album for Parking Lot Symphony and Best Trombonist. Several artists dominated their categories, winning both best artist and best album awards: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Samantha Fish, Stanton Moore, Sweet Cecilia and Lost Bayou Ramblers.

Paul Sanchez received the Allen Toussaint Songwriter of the Year award and Song of the Year went to songwriters Kermit Ruffins, Irvin Mayfield and Cyril Neville for the song “Allen Toussaint.” All award recipients can be found at offbeat.com.

The Best of the Beat Awards are presented by the OffBeat Music and Cultural Arts Foundation. The Foundation was developed to create opportunities that support Louisiana artists in leading sustainable creative lives. The OffBeat Music and Cultural Arts Foundation merges education, advocacy, community engagement and creative collaboration to foster and uplift Louisiana music, arts and culture.

Above: Drummer Stanton Moore embraced OffBeat business manager Joseph Irrera.

Below: Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians brought the fiya to Generations Hall.

Left: Trombone Shorty won a trifecta of Best of the Beat awards: Album of the Year, Best R&B/Funk Album and Best Trombonist.

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Right: Lost Bayou Ramblers Andre and Louis Michot brought home the Best of the Beat awards for Best Cajun Artist and Best Cajun Album just three days before also winning a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album for Kalenda.

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300 SONGS

300 Songs for 300 Years R&B standouts.

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PHoto: THE CHARLES L. FRANCK STUDIO COLELCTION AT THE HSITORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION, 1994.94.2.2291

n this month’s installment of essential New Orleans songs, we look at some of the cornerstones of New Orleans R&B. Each of these songs made an impression nationally and left a permanent mark on New Orleans music—and “Mother-in-Law” was of course the most important song aside from “Star Spangled Banner”; Ernie K-Doe said so himself.

In the coming months we’ll look at jazz, modern rock and songwriters, even some of the pre-jazz music in the city’s collective consciousness. But with festival season on the way, it’s time to get reacquainted with some songs that you’ll inevitably be hearing played live.

—Brett Milano

“Mr. Big Stuff” Jean Knight, 1970 It’s said that lightning never strikes in the same place twice.

Well not only did it for the benefit of two New Orleans artists, and a struggling record company, on May 17, 1970, it happened within 90 minutes in small Jackson, Mississippi studio. On that day King Floyd recorded the millionseller “Groove Me” while Jean Knight (nee Caliste) waxed her own gold record, “Mr. Big Stuff.”

In the months leading up to the session, Knight was singing on weekends at tiny New Orleans clubs like Jerry’s Ebony Barn on Chef Menteur Highway. During the week, she was a baker at Loyola University.

“I was going downtown to pay a bill when I ran into a guy I never met before,” recalled Knight in 1996. “His name was Ralph Williams and he said he was writing songs for me that he wanted Wardell Quezergue to record. I’d never met Wardell

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before, but when I did, he said he wanted to record me. Ralph brought a tape of songs for me and right away I picked out ‘Mr. Big Stuff.’ It was done in a ballad style, but I wanted to put some sass in it. I knew right away that song was going to do something because when I rehearsed it at home, all the little kids in the neighborhood would be outside the window dancing. Wardell set up the session at Malaco and we drove up to Jackson. We only had four tracks to work with, but we nailed ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ on the second take.”

Even though Knight was certain it was a hit, she went back to baking bread because Malaco initially was unable to lease “Mr. Big Stuff.” It wasn’t until nearly a year later that “Groove Me”

surged up that charts when Stax Records saw promise in Knight’s session and leased it.

Right away the record broke in New York and Washington, but it was slow getting off the ground in New Orleans,” said Knight. “Wardell called me and said I better get on the road because his phone wouldn’t stop ringing. I didn’t want to leave Loyola though without a baker so I waited until the school year was over in June.”

Leave it be said, Knight didn’t stop making bread as she was soon making $5,000 a night while on a national tour. In 1971, “Mr. Big Stuff” was runner up in the Grammys Song of the Year category, second only to Aretha Franklin’s “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”

—Jeff Hannusch

“Walkin’ To New Orleans” Fats Domino, 1960 While “Walkin’ To New Orleans” became one of Fats Domino’s million-sellers and a constant in his live performances, the song’s roots came from Southwest Louisiana (actually Abbeville). The song was written

by Bobby Charles—nee Robert Guidry—who had regional success with mid-1950s swamp pop hits like “Why Can’t You,” “Put Your Arms Around Me Honey” and especially “See You Later, Alligator.”

In the spring of 1959, Domino was performing at a dance in nearby Lafayette. After the show, Charles made his way to Domino’s dressing room to recall old times (they both recorded www.OFFBEAT.com

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at Cosimo’s studio) and inform him he was working on some new material he thought Domino might consider recording.

Domino encouraged Charles and invited him to come visit him at his new Ninth Ward mansion.

“Fats told me to come see him in New Orleans,” said Charles in 1987. “I told him I couldn’t, because I was broke. Fats just laughed and said, ‘Well, why don’t you walk to New Orleans?’

That was my hook.”

While the song was indeed a natural, in order to get Domino to record “Walkin’ To New Orleans,” Charles had to relinquish onethird of the song’s copyright to Domino and one-third to producer Dave Bartholomew.

“That’s the way business was done back then,” lamented Charles. “That was the only way to get Domino to record outside [new] material.”

While over the years Guidry would write other songs for Domino including “It Keeps Rainin’,” none would surpass the majesty of “Walkin’ To New Orleans.”

—Jeff Hannusch

“Sick and Tired” Chris Kenner/Fats Domino, 1957 Of Chris Kenner, promotor Percy Stovall lamented, “I always wondered why Chris had all them hits. He couldn’t sing, he couldn’t dance, he dressed raggedy—he just stood there. He would get so drunk he forgot the words to the songs. They used to boo and throw bottles at him.” However, the otherwise astute Stovall didn’t mention Kenner was one hell of a songwriter.

A man of burly stature (his handle was “Bear”), Kenner worked on the docks as a www.OFFBEAT.com

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“We started playing ‘Ooh Poo Pa Doo’ as a gimmick— it was kicks. It got real popular so I started saying, ‘Y’all ready for my new record?” stevedore hauling bags of sugar.

With dreams of escaping a lifetime of labor, Kenner decided he was going to try to make a hit record. In his spare time Kenner wrote songs and took them around to local producers and record companies to see if they were interested. Apparently, Kenner was shown the door more than once, including a few times by Imperial’s Dave Bartholomew.

“Chris has been coming around for years,” said Bartholomew. “This day he said, ‘I got something really good today.’ I said, ‘It better be, I’m getting ready to go to lunch.’

So he sang ‘Sick and Tired.’ I said, ‘You got it! I don’t need no more.’ Sure enough, we recorded it and it was a very big record for Chris.”

A huge local hit in 1957, Fats Domino’s cover a year later soared up the national charts. It’s pretty much become an R&B standard. At the time, Bartholomew thought Kenner had promise at Imperial primarily as a songwriter, but before that happened Bartholomew’s boss Lew Chudd nixed the idea.

“Lew said he didn’t think Chris could sing or sell records,” said Bartholomew.

Chudd’s decision would soon blow up in his face as Kenner would go on to write and record hits like “I Like It Like That,” “Something You Got” and “Land Of 1,000 Dances” to name but a few.

—Jeff Hannusch

“The Things That I Used to Do” Guitar Slim, 1953 One of the biggest New Orleans records of all time (21

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weeks on the R&B charts, six weeks at number one) the origin and recording of “The Things That I Used to Do” have reached mythical proportion. Recorded by the larger than life Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones), the session took place at the J&M Studio on October 16, 1953.

According to Earl King, the idea for the song came to Slim in a dream. Slim related to King that in the dream he was confronted by a devil and an angel, both of whom held the lyrics to a song. Naturally, Slim chose the devil’s song and it turned out to be “The Things That I Used To Do.” Tales of the recording of the song are numerous among those who took part. Some said “all night.” Some said “all day.”

Lloyd Lambert, who played bass on the session, confirmed “two days.” Frank Mitchell, who was present on trumpet, pretty much concurred with Lambert.

Mitchell said the first day of recording was a bust because Slim got too high on gin and reefer. Two valets had to prop Slim up behind the microphone to get a useable take—but to no avail. Slim was carried back to his room at the Dew Drop and ordered by all parties concerned to sober up.

The next day, Slim pulled himself together and got four shattering songs down on tape, including “The Things That I Used To Do.” The pianist and straw boss arranger, Ray Charles, can be heard yelling “Yeah!” in relief/disbelief at the conclusion of the song.

The song’s selling points were many, including Slim’s scorching solo, and the country boy’s innocent lyric “I’m sending you back to your mother, and I’m

going back to my family too.”

Slim’s song became an instant classic as hundreds of covers and deviations of the song have been recorded over the years.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Pts. 1 & 2)” Jessie Hill, 1960 During the 1950s, Jessie Hill was a wild-man drummer from the Ninth Ward who had stints with Professor Longhair and Huey Smith’s Clowns. By 1959, he was fronting his own band, the House Rockers, who featured David Lastie on tenor sax. At the time, a piano player named “Big Four” was causing a disturbance down in the Parish at Shy Guy’s Place playing a call-and-response ditty called “Ooh Poo Pah Doo.” Jessie wrote Big Four’s lyrics down on a paper sack and stuffed them in his pocket.

Jessie, at the time the sole proprietor and employee of “Poo Cab Service,” picked up the story in 1983.

“We started playing ‘Ooh Poo Pa Doo’ as a gimmick—it was kicks. It got real popular so I started saying, ‘Y’all ready for my new record? We’re gonna cut it pretty soon.’ My little circuit was ready for it when it came out.”

The House Rockers pooled their assets and recorded a crude demo of “Ooh Poo Pah Doo.” With New Orleans fast becoming a hub for hit records, the entrepreneurial Hill shopped the tape to Larry McKinley and Joe Banashak, who at the time were beginning to put Minit Records on the map.

“Jessie came in with this pitifullooking tape,” said Banashak. “It was spliced and kept breaking.

But me and Larry listened to it and I told Larry, ‘Man, he’s really got something going.’”

Indeed Jessie did have something going. In January of 1960, the House Rockers recorded a full-blown session at Cosimo’s with Allen Toussaint added on piano. By Mardi Gras, part one of “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” (part two was basically a David Lastie instrumental) was the biggest record in New Orleans for weeks. It took a little chicanery

by Banashak to break the record nationally, but by the summer, Jessie was basically “putting some disturbance on the mind” of teenagers along the Eastern Seaboard. Ironically though, record buyers in Philly, Boise and Los Angeles were listening to part two of the single. Obviously a song with a long life, “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” has survived more than 100 covers.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Pass the Hatchet” Roger & the Gypsies, 1966 Flavored by a little bit of soul and a dash of the parade beat, “Pass the Hatchet” was a rare New Orleans garage band groove.

The man most responsible for “Pass the Hatchet” was bassist Earl Stanley, who in 1965 led the Stereos, then the house band at Papa Joe’s. To augment his Bourbon Street wages, Stanley began doing session work for Joe Banashak at Instant Records.

“I did a Kathy Savoy session for Banashak and I got him to see if he was interested in my songs,” said Stanley in 2001.

“That’s how he got ‘Pass the Hatchet.’ My cousin, Roger Leon, came by my house and played a little melody on the guitar. We put a song together, but I didn’t think much of it. He wanted to record it though and gave me $300 to get it done—we had www.OFFBEAT.com

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What pleased Stanley most was standing on St. Charles Avenue on Mardi Gras Day ... hearing “Pass the Hatchet” played

by St. Augustine’s Marching 100. some time left at the studio and put it together real quick.

Roger and I played guitar, Art Sir Van was on piano and Little Joe Lambert was on drums.

“My partner Ray Theriot was jumping around in the studio so it must have sounded pretty good. Banashak liked it so we leased it to him and put Roger & the Gypsies’ name on it. I didn’t think it would do a thing.”

Unbeknownst to Stanley, the tape languished on the shelf for months, until Eddie Bo listened to it during some downtime. Bo remixed the tape, added some well-placed grunts, percussion and vocals, and the single was released on Seven B.

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“Eddie got screwed on that record,” said Stanley, who never heard the finished product until listening to it on the radio.

“Banashak didn’t give him cowriter credit, even though what he added to ‘Pass the Hatchet’ really made it catchy and a hit. It did really well here—number one on a few stations. We made a few gigs as Roger & the Gypsies, but not too many. That was the only record Roger & the Gypsies made.”

However, that’s not the end of the story. Although “Pass the Hatchet” was virtually unavailable for two decades, it began showing up in anthologies, movies and television commercials, which began generating a great deal in

licensing income (but sadly none for Bo). At the time of this 2001 interview, Stanley’s share of the song had earned him a six-figure sum. However, what pleased Stanley most was standing on St. Charles Avenue on Mardi Gras Day early in the millennium and hearing “Pass the Hatchet” played

by St. Augustine’s Marching 100.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Working in the Coal Mine” Lee Dorsey, 1966 Surely no Allen Toussaint song fit an artist’s demeanor better than “Working in the Coal Mine” did for Lee Dorsey.

Discovered singing just to pass time while he worked in a body shop, in between tours, Dorsey could be found beating dents out of fenders with his son in the 7th Ward for over two decades.

One of several mid-1960s hits written by Toussaint for Dorsey, “Working in the Coal Mine,” reaching the Top 10, was his biggest. At the time, Toussaint was putting together a funky New Orleans studio band that consisted of a quartet of musicians who would later be called the Meters. That band played on “Working in the Coal Mine” and all of Dorsey’s later records.

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Toussaint allowed K-Doe’s vocal to weave in between Benny Spellman’s repetitive baritone chorus.

As Toussaint pointed out in 1983, he felt that Dorsey was the perfect medium for his music: “Lee certainly inspired a lot of my writing. Who else but Lee Dorsey could pull a song off like ‘Working in the Coal Mine,’ ‘Ride Your Pony,’ ‘Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky,’ ‘Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley’—those songs would probably never have been written if it have not of been for the kind of guy that Lee is. He just inspires all kinds of ideas that nobody else does.

I can always see myself moving through the world and me back there watching and writing about it.”

Dorsey concurred: “I guess Allen saves his best work for me.

He knows what he’s doing. He can write a song to fit just about any style.”

Although Toussaint earned a well-deserved induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the equally deserving Lee Dorsey hasn’t been inducted, and is not even in the conversation.

Hopefully this injustice will one day be corrected.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Mother-in-Law” Ernie K-Doe, 1961 A number one, million-seller, “Mother-in-Law” will forever be associated with the largerthan-life Ernie K-Doe. Written

by Allen Toussaint, the song’s origin has undergone a colorful debate.

“Allen had written it and thrown it away,” claimed K-Doe in 1982. “He had balled it up and threw it in the trash can. I saw it in the garbage can and pulled it out. I looked at the words and said, ‘Hey man this is good. I want to do this.’”

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Toussaint, however, offered “a varied” explanation: “I was inspired

by Danny White to write ‘Motherin-Law.’ Danny didn’t make a lot of records, but he was very popular in the city. We weren’t recording Danny then, so when it came time to do a session on Ernie, I thought ‘Well maybe we can get away with these songs I wrote for Danny White.’ So K-Doe ended up recording ‘Mother-in-Law.’” “Mother-in-Law” was a natural hit—the title alone evoking interest.

Instantly catchy, Toussaint allowed K-Doe’s vocal to weave in between Benny Spellman’s repetitive baritone chorus, while leaving enough room for his sparkling piano fills.

In the spring of 1961, “Motherin-Law” became the first record to ever top Billboard’s Hot 100, a feat not even attained by the great Fats Domino. In later years, that Charity Hospital baby and bad motor scooter K-Doe declared: “Only two songs will be remembered until the end of time—’The Star Spangled Banner’ and ‘Mother-in-Law.’” Take that to the bank.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Groove Me” King Floyd, 1970 The irresistible multi-millionseller “Groove Me” was a song that nearly wasn’t recorded—at least by King Floyd. In 1970, the song was originally offered to Charles Brimmer and C.P. Love, who both declined it, before Floyd—then a New Orleans postal employee—decided to record it himself. Even then, Floyd nearly missed his own session because his car broke down on the way to Malaco’s studio in Jackson, Mississippi.

“When we got there, there were only a few minutes of studio time left,” said Floyd in

1983. “We cut two tunes in half an hour. ‘Groove Me’ only took one take. I guess it was destiny.

I really liked the way Wardell [Quezergue] arranged the funk thing.”

Ironically, it was “What Our Love Needs,” the flip-side of “Groove Me,” that was initially promoted and aired locally. As luck would have it, WYLD’s George Vinnett eventually flipped the record over and began to play “Groove Me,” initially to Floyd’s dismay.

“I heard it on the radio and called the station and said, ‘George, you’re playing the wrong side!’ George said, ‘No way man.’ Everybody around here started playing ‘Groove Me.’” It wasn’t just a small R&B station playing “Groove Me” around New Orleans; larger Top 40 stations in the area jumped on the record on WYLD’s cue.

Eventually all the big stations in the country (and around the world) played it and the record jumped into the charts. The record topped the national R&B charts (number six on the pop chart) before Floyd even had a chance to perform the song live.

Besides becoming a dance floor anthem, “Groove Me” has had a second life in television commercials and big-screen sound tracks. It remains one of the most successful New Orleans records of all time.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Shame, Shame, Shame” Shirley & Company, 1974 In an earlier life, Shirley Goodman was one half of “The Sweethearts of the Blues,” one half of the 1950s New Orleans duet Shirley and Lee. Fast forward

to 1974. Shirley, who also sang backup on Dr. John’s 1968 GrisGris album, was doing office work in California with Playboy Records. Shirley had remained friends with Sylvia Vanderpool, who in the late 1950s was one half of the duet Mickey & Sylvia (“Love Is Strange”), and they still occasionally chatted via telephone.

With disco simmering on the front burner, Vanderpool was starting a dance label in New Jersey— Vibration. One night, Vanderpool called Shirley and said she had a disco song that was perfect for Goodman. She convinced Goodman to get on a plane and come record it. Next day she was in an Englewood studio. “’Shame’ was pre-recorded,” said Goodman in 1983. “I heard it about four or five times and said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ Hank Ballard came in to sing (the other part) on it but he couldn’t get it right. A guy named Jesus Alvarez came and he sounded pretty good. Sylvia said, ‘Y’all sound good, try it.’ We did a couple takes, but we took the first one.”

“As I was flying back the next night, a disc jockey in New York started playing it [a demo] and was getting calls like never before.

They put it out without a B-side. I cut it on a Wednesday, and by the weekend they had orders for over a million [records].”

Recorded in November, Goodman made three trips to Europe by Christmas promoting the then-12” single. A hastily produced LP—with a cover that had a drawing of Shirley shaking a finger at Richard Nixon—was compiled and filled out with demos and remixes. It did little.

Ironically, European fans were well aware of Shirley’s early hits from the 1950s and requested them at her shows. www.OFFBEAT.com

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Gayten arranged to record “the frog song” with a band that included members of Fats Domino’s regular band at Cosimo Matassa’s studio.

However, in America, it was different. “Nobody knew,” said Goodman. “Nobody tied the two together even in New Orleans.”

Amazingly, 43 years later, “Shame, Shame, Shame” remains the last single with direct ties to New Orleans to top Billboard’s R&B charts.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Ain’t Got No Home” Clarence “Frogman” Henry, 1956 In 1956, a 19-year-old Clarence Henry and his new band were packing them in six nights a week at Pops Perez’

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Joy Tavern in Gretna. Although the band got off at 2 a.m., one Sunday evening it was particularly busy at the Joy and Perez requested that Henry’s unit keep playing.

“The sun had come up and we ran out of songs to play,” recalled Henry in 1983. “Finally I just hit an old blues lick on the piano and started to sing, ‘Ain’t got no home, no place to roam.’ Then I added the part about ‘I can sing like a frog, I can sing like a girl.’ The audience really went for it.”

Henry auditioned the song to Paul Gayten, who was a popular bandleader and Chess Records’ New Orleans rep.

Gayten arranged to record “the frog song” with a band that included members of Fats Domino’s regular band at Cosimo Matassa’s studio. A single was quickly issued, but initially the reaction was mute, even in New Orleans.

“Chess pushed the wrong side,” said Henry. “Finally, Poppa Stoppa at WWEZ flipped the record over and played ‘Ain’t Got No Home.’ Right away people started calling the station asking for ‘the frog song.’ Poppa Stoppa was the first one to start calling me ‘Frogman.’ Back then everybody called Fats Domino ‘The Fatman.’ Poppa Stoppa

said ‘You got a song about a frog, we’ll have to start calling you ‘Frogman,’” Naturally, “the frog song” hopped into the national charts, eventually peaking at number three R&B and number 30 in the pop charts. “Ain’t Got No Home” would propel Henry to a long and prosperous career, the song has had a very long life. Besides being included in scores of oldies collections, to date it’s also been included in several movie soundtracks, including Casino and Forest Gump. Not bad for a song composed out of sheer exhaustion.

—Jeff Hannusch

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Tina would be summoned to the car door for the transaction.

Apparently, to complete the exchange, it was necessary for Longhair to request—”Tip it Tina!”

“Barefootin’” Robert Parker, 1966 Robert Parker’s musical debut occurred in the late 1940s when he was hired to play saxophone in Professor Longhair’s band— the Shuffling Hungarians. During the 1950s and ’60s, Parker led promoter Percy Stovall’s great road band which, backed various touring artists. It was while touring in 1965 that the inspiration for “Barefootin’” took place.

“We were playing a dance at Tuskegee University,” said Parker in 1999. “The girls there all took their shoes off and piled them in front of the bandstand before they danced. [Later] we played a Chris Kenner date in Miami with a comedian who had two daughters that were shake dancers. When [the comedian] came on stage, he said. ‘Everybody get on your feet, you make me nervous when you’re in your seat.’ That was my opening line and I worked on the rest. I finished the song and took it to Wardell Quezergue [Nola Records]. I cut a demo of it, but they [Nola] offered the song to other artists. No one was interested in recording it, so I cut it. Wardell’s musicians played on it.”

Nola sat on “Barefootin’” for nearly a year, and would have longer, had not Hank Sample, a singing deejay at WNNR who also owned a record shop, heard the demo and told Nola’s brain trust, “Man you better release this. It’s going to go big.”

Of course Sample was right.

Nola initially pressed up 500 singles for local consumption.

Then as Parker mused, “It busted wide open all over the country.

All of a sudden my life turned from worse to better.”

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Parker’s first date behind “Barefootin’” was a week at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York, before touring with the likes Joe Tex and the Temptations. Despite its limited national distribution (always a problem for New Orleans labels), “Barefootin’” made it to number seven in Billboard’s pop chart and number three R&B. “I’m sure ‘Barefootin’’ sold over a million, but I never got a gold record,” said Parker.

Nevertheless, the timeless soul classic punched Parker’s ticket and he went from being a journeyman musician to an international marquee name for years. Obviously “Barefootin’” has endured and has become part of New Orleans’ soundtrack.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Tutti Frutti” Little Richard, 1955 Until September 3, 1955, Little Richard was just a journeyman R&B artist from Macon, Georgia, struggling on the chitlin’ circuit.

On that date, Richard entered the J&M Studio, and along with Cosimo’s crack studio band—Lee Allen, Edgar Blanchard, Earl Palmer, etc.—waxed the seminal “Tutti Frutti,” which would rocket him to rock ’n’ roll superstardom.

“I’ll never forget that date,” recalled the song’s co-composer, Dorothy LaBostrie, in 1983. “I was listening to the radio and an announcement came on that said Bumps Blackwell [Specialty Records producer] was looking for songwriters. I was working as a cook for a lady but I told her I had to quit because I was gonna write a hit record. She probably thought I was crazy, but that’s exactly what I did. I practically broke Cosimo’s door down the next day.”

According to Blackwell, the band took a break after cutting a couple of ordinary tracks.

Everybody then went down to the Dew Drop on LaSalle Street, likely to savor a plate of Paul Pania’s red beans and rice. At that point, Richard thought he’d try to impress the band by getting behind a piano and ripping into a lewd, suggestive boogie he’d been doing on stage. Instantly, Blackwell knew that was the style he wanted Richard to record, but his lyrics need to be tamed to get on wax.

In came LaBostrie to the rescue.

“Little Richard was sitting at the piano,” said LaBostrie. “That was the first time I laid eyes on him. I just asked to hear his voice and I sat down and put ‘Tutti Frutti’ down on paper.”

Apparently, initially Richard wasn’t keen on recording ‘Tutti Frutti,’ but with 15 minutes left on the clock, Blackwell placed LaBostrie’s scribbled lyrics in front of Richard, and begged him to record the song. They nailed ‘Tutti Frutti’ on the third take. The rest as they say is rock ’n’ roll history.

—Jeff Hannusch

“Tipitina” Professor Longhair, 1953 Professor Longhair (nee Henry Roeland Byrd) has long had a special place in the hearts of New Orleans music buffs. Longhair rose to local prominence in the 1940s playing a unique blend of blues and boogie piano, along with a strong calypso/Latin/funk flavoring [rhumba boogie].

He recorded a handful of neighborhood hits, but despite being able to “rock your blues away,” his audience pretty much was confined to LaSalle

and Rampart Street. In 1953, Longhair came to the attention of Atlantic Records proxy Ahmet Ertegun. Ertegun, having recorded Meade Lux Lewis and Champion Jack Dupree, had a keen interest in blues piano and arranged a Longhair session at J&M Studio. One side of the lone commercial 78 r.p.m. was the raucous “Tipitina.”

Over the years, many theories concerning the inspiration of the nonsensical “Tipitina” have surfaced. However, according to a tale Longhair once related, the inspiration of the song’s title came from a Central City female marijuana retailer named Tina.

Tina was either a woman of diminutive stature, a woman that didn’t have any toes, or likely both.

Tina’s specialty was providing curbside service for her product.

Apparently, Longhair employed her services on more than one occasion. After stopping his vehicle near her location, Tina would be summoned to the car door for the transaction. Apparently, to complete the exchange, it was necessary for to Longhair to request—”Tip it Tina!”

Upon release, “Tipitina” was yet another neighborhood record but little more. Later, in the early 1960s, his Mardi Gras singles briefly elevated his stature, but he would sink into relative obscurity for nearly a decade. Finally in 1973, with the release of the New Orleans Piano reissue LP, his career enjoyed an unlikely global revitalization. The centerpiece of the album was the original “Tipitina,” which would soon after inspire the name of what would become a longtime Longhair venue and eventually New Orleans’ most famous music club.

—Jeff Hannusch www.OFFBEAT.com

FI YI YI

Fire in the Hole The spirit work of Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors.

W

hen Victor Harris came out in his beautiful new red suit on Carnival Day 2018, it marked his 53rd year masking Indian, the most in the history of the Mardi Gras Indians.

He made his way to the porch of the Backstreet Cultural Museum, where he spoke of freedom, peace and unity. Soon thereafter, Harris, the Spirit of Fi Yi Yi and the Chief of the Mandingo Warriors stepped into the street and met Chief Donald Harrison Jr. of the Congo Square Nation. Their face-to-face, featherto-bead, emotion-filled encounter demonstrated the sense of love and respect among the members of the Black Indian Nation. This warm, familiar image of the highly regarded Harris is a far cry from the man who is initially, through his own words, introduced in Fire in the Hole, a collaborative visual ethnography made in cooperation with the Neighborhood Story Project and published by the University of New Orleans Press.

In the chapter titled “The Pain of Change,” the reader meets Harris as an angry man who in 1984 had just been ousted, along with his longtime friend and assistant, Collins “Coach” Lewis, from the Yellow Pocahontas Mardi Gras Indian gang. He had been “running” flagboy with the tribe then led by Big Chief Allison “Tootie” Montana, since 1965. Later, Harris explains the cause of this devastating split. “Man, I was out of it,” Harris admits. “Revenge is all I wanted.”

The story of Harris’ transition and subsequent spiritual and literally physical awakening is laid out as if a conversation. Coach, a talented sewer who got his nickname working with the football team at Hunter’s Field and who passed away in 2011, and Harris, who was also a regular at the Field, share their remembrances.

Their words and quotes from others, including the Backstreet’s Sylvester

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Francis, flow throughout the book naturally as if everyone is in the same room at the same time. Harris’ depiction of himself back in 1984 carrying a machete and shield with an aim to do harm to those who he felt betrayed him could be acknowledged as a daring way to begin the tale of Fi Yi Yi. Yet this book is about truth and both the brotherhood and conflict among the Indians and their extended community.

Beyond Coach, who was deemed the Commissioner of the Chief’s Sewing Table and the Ambassador of the Mandingo Warriors, we hear from others who have been vital in helping Harris attain his position as an innovative and important Chief.

Some, like master designer Jack Robinson, have worked ceaselessly behind the scene in creating Fi Yi Yi’s unique, African-inspired suits. A large man with a big heart, Harris makes

By Geraldine Wyckoff

a huge impression, as captured by the many spectacular photographs by the gang’s official photographer, David Ehrenreich. Fi Yi Yi loomed as a ferocious chief as he’d crisscross a street engaging the crowd and always paying special attention to the children who would be frightened and laughing at the same time.

Through his work with Jerome Smith’s organization, the Tambourine and Fan Social Aid and Pleasure Club, a conduit for many young boys and girls who would go on to become musicians and members of social aid and pleasure clubs and Mardi Gras Indians, Harris was always active in steering kids in the right direction.

Central to this book are all of the connections between the main characters, many of whom have known each other most of their lives.

For instance, Big Queen Kim Boutte of Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors

is Harris’ niece and is the cousin of Jerome Smith. As a resident of the 7th Ward, she used to follow the Yellow Pocahontas when Harris was a member and, as a child, hit the streets with Tambourine and Fan. Neighborhood plays an equally important part in the goings on and the support that was essential to Fi Yi Yi, particularly in his early years as a Chief. He became the impetus for the creation of the Backstreet Cultural Museum when Francis, the founder of the nowrenowned institution on Henriette Delille Street, helped Harris out in 1990 when the Chief was running late. “I don’t know how to sew,” Francis admits. “I didn’t know how not to push the needle too hard.”

Francis continues the story explaining that he went to Harris’ house after all the Indian events— Carnival, St. Joseph’s night, Super www.OFFBEAT.com

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The interviews compiled for Fire in the Hole resemble in rhythm and expression that of griots telling their stories to a next generation.

Sunday—were over. “Just like all the rest of the years, the blue suit was thrown in the yard with a little dog back there just wagging his tale.” He spotted the piece he had helped sew and asked Harris if he could have it.

Francis hung it in his garage, a place where some neighborhood Indians would often go to shoot pool and they, of course, spotted it. “I started begging Vic for more pieces. That’s how I started my museum,” he adds.

“He’s the caretaker. He preserves all the culture and history of the inner city,” says Harris, who, of course, was the first to bring his suits to the “official” Backstreet Cultural Museum when it moved into the former Blandin Funeral

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Home, which was made available to Francis by Joan Rhodes. Many of Fi Yi Yi’s suits are prominently displayed in the room dedicated to Mardi Gras Indians.

There is a certain poetry to the spoken word that offers a further glimpse into the personality of the speakers and what’s important to them. The interviews compiled for Fire in the Hole resemble in rhythm and expression that of griots telling their stories to a next generation.

Those stories are also told in the magnificent suits created by Fi Yi Yi and those toiling with bloody fingers at the “sewing table” hour after hour, year after year.

Those tales of work and sacrifice become reality in 12 chapters of

the book that stunningly capture portraits of Fi Yi Yi in suits he wore each year for Mardi Gras from 2006 through 2017. Each section also opens with detailed close-ups of the bead work and action shots with the Chief and his gang among the people and other Black Indian gangs on the streets. Each year boasts a different color though the African and spiritual essence of Fi Yi Yi remains constant.

In the tradition, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors will hit the streets on St. Joseph’s night, Monday, March 19, 2018, which happens to fall on the day after the Mardi Gras Indian Council’s Uptown Indian Super Sunday. The Chief will step out during the early evening—

probably around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.— of the house in the 1400 block of Annette Street as he did long ago.

Though he will roam to meet other gangs, his first stop will be at the Backstreet Cultural Museum to sign books and celebrate the publication of Fire in the Hole.

People often say that when one door closes, another one opens.

The story of the awakening of Fi Yi Yi came as a shout and a vision that transformed Victor Harris into what he always was and will be.

“Victor always was a man who followed himself,” Francis proclaims.

“Who they talk about?” goes the chant that fills the streets on the Chief’s arrival. “Fi Yi Yi!” is the immediate gleeful reply. O

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MARY GAUTHIER

Songwriting with Soldiers Mary Gauthier goes where the hurt is.

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PHoto: dennis gardner

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ary Gauthier digs deeply for a song. She never fears exposing the darker places in the human soul.

“My natural instinct is to go deep,” the Nashville-based singersongwriter from Baton Rouge said. “My heroes go deep. Going deep is my job.”

The honest songs Gauthier writes—such as “I Drink,” “Mercy Now” and “Christmas in Paradise”—are not the province of mainstream country radio.

Even so, stars Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Jimmy Buffett have recorded her songs.

“I’m not interested in escapism,” Gauthier said. “I want to go to where the hurt is.”

Which makes Gauthier the ideal songwriter for SongwritingWith:Soldiers.

Founded in 2012 by Austin singersongwriter Darden Smith, the SongwritingWith:Soldiers program pairs songwriters with military veterans and their spouses. During two-day songwriting retreats, the professional writers help veterans and their spouses express their experiences in song.

Gauthier’s tenth album, Rifles & Rosary Beads, features 11 of her SongwritingWith:Soldiers collaborations.

Darrell Scott, a Nashville singersongwriter peer of Gauthier’s who participated in the program’s early retreats, encouraged her to join a SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat.

Gauthier, despite her customary fearlessness, initially found the prospect of doing so intimidating.

“I thought Darrell had lost his mind,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone who’d served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I didn’t feel qualified.”

Less than one-half of one percent of the nation’s population

are active military personnel. Most Americans, like Gauthier five years ago, don’t know a member of the military or the challenges that military and former military personnel and their families face.

In 2013, Gauthier, despite feeling unworthy, participated in her first

By John Wirt

SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat.

The diversity among vets and their spouses surprised her.

“There’s a real cross-section in the service now,” she said. “And I realized that the women have incredible stories to tell. Especially that first generation of women who served in combat.”

Gauthier’s fears about the SongwritingWith:Soldiers program quickly faded. “As soon as I started working with them, I realized, ‘Oh, my God. I love this.’

And I feel like everything I’ve ever done as a songwriter led me to this. This is so incredible. And right away I realized I wanted to www.OFFBEAT.com

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do more of these retreats. It’s an important story for me to tell and it’s a privilege to tell it.”

Gauthier is one of more than a dozen songwriters, including Beth Nielsen Chapman, Marshall Crenshaw and Radney Foster, who’ve attended SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreats throughout the United States. She’s written 55 songs at the retreats.

For Rifles & Rosary Beads, Gauthier divided the songs evenly between male and female veterans. “We’ve had women in combat since 2005,” she said.

“That’s a big story that hasn’t been told yet.”

During her early days in Nashville, Gauthier attempted the common Music City practice of scheduling songwriting sessions with professional tunesmiths. It didn’t work for her.

“I realized that I can’t do the song mill thing,” she explained.

“I’m not interested in writing fast. I’m not interested in writing hits. And I don’t know how to write that way. I’m not where the money is, but I’m okay with that. An artist’s career suits me.”

Although SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreats are, technically, songwriting appointments, Gauthier’s writing sessions with veterans are quite unlike appointments with professional tunesmiths.

“Because the veterans aren’t songwriters,” she said. “They’re human beings who were put into situations where they had quickly figured out how to survive.”

At retreats, Gauthier said, “they tell me what happened and I get it into the song. I want to make the invisible visible.

That’s what a great song does.”

As searing and sad as the Rifles & Rosary Beads songs can be, the www.OFFBEAT.com

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pain they express makes them relevant. “Often, it’s the sad songs that bring hope,” Gauthier said. “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah songs don’t do that. It’s the sad songs that make you feel better.”

Gauthier arrived at songwriting relatively late in life.

She wrote her first song at 35.

She was living in Boston at the time, running her popular CajunCreole restaurant, the Dixie Kitchen. Because the restaurant was near the Berklee College of Music, many of Gauthier’s customers and employees were Berklee students. A Dixie Kitchen waitress who was a singersongwriter invited Gauthier to an open mike night where the waitress-musician was performing. Gauthier’s first open mike experience got her hooked on open mikes and songwriting.

Following years of struggles with drugs and alcohol, Gauthier made songwriting her refuge.

“After I got sober, I could articulate things in a way that I could have never done when I was still using,” she said. “Music started coming to me.”

In 1997, Gauthier released her album debut, Dixie Kitchen.

In a city stocked with far more experienced folk singers and songwriters than she, the album earned a Boston Music Awards nomination. In 1999, she released a second CD, Drag Queens in Limousines, and performed at the Newport Folk Festival. Encouraged by her music career’s progress, she sold the Dixie Kitchen and her Boston condo and moved to Nashville.

18 years later, the music thing is still working for Gauthier. “I’ve supported myself with music since 2000,” she said. “I’m not worried about losing my job. I think I get to keep it.”

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By Amanda Mester Photography by Elsa Hahne Illustrations by Monica Kelly

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n eight-year-old boy fell in love with movement near the intersection of Orleans and Claiborne, where he watched Mardi Gras Indians parade by, chanting the stories of generations. The little boy, born in Charity Hospital and raised around Kentucky Street and N. Rampart, suffered from almost debilitating shyness but admired the bravery in the bodies and spirits of those electrifying the streets with their panache. It was 1975, the year he promised himself to shed himself of reticence.

“And so there I was. I heard the Indians chanting for the first time, and I could feel the spiritual-ness inside of it. That was my earliest experience with hearing the sound of our music,” Darryl “Dancing Man 504” Young recalls, 43 years later. “I wanted to dress up as a cowboy, but my mother used to say ‘Your grandma was a Choctaw Indian, so we’re no cowboys. We’re Indians.’”

That eight-year-old has since grown to become a New Orleans celebrity and international ambassador. Much like the Indians who inspired him as a boy, Young devotes much of his life to preserving the city’s cultural lifeblood, albeit in a less traditional sense. He can be found on dancefloors all around town, tearing it up with locals, tourists, friends and strangers. When asked where he’d send visitors looking to get down, he mentions Blue Nile, Snug Harbor (“especially on Mondays!”), Dragon’s Den and events put on by the NOLA Jitterbugs. But Dancing Man is not bound by the confines of brick and mortar; it’s New Orleans, after all, and we dance in the street.

In spite of his moniker, he says it isn’t his moves people love him for. “The more fun you have, the better you dance. The people love me for the fun more than the dance.

My dance is what causes the fun,” he says. “I tell people, ‘They don’t call me Dancing Man ’cause I like to dance. They call me Dancing Man because I make YOU dance.’”

It’s true. Anyone who has shared a room with him knows it’s impossible to escape his ebullience. If you’ve boogied with Dancing Man, you’ve made a friend for life, even if words are never shared. “A lot of the times, when people see me, they’ll do a dance.

And that’s our ‘hello.’ Some people give me the 5-0-4 hand sign and when they do that, I know that I’ve made it to where New Orleans sees me as a celebrity, but they don’t crowd me—unless it’s crowding time, at Krewe du Vieux or something. ’Cause when I’m out in the street, they out in the street. When Krewe of Freret made me their Grand Marshal for life, I told them I didn’t want a float. I wanna bring a second line to Mardi Gras every year. So people can step out in the streets and get in the parade.”

Eschewing the rigor of choreography for extemporaneous movement, Young is a proponent of doing what makes you feel good—but he doesn’t limit himself to dancefloors. In 2016, Young received the Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award in partnership with OffBeat’s Best of the Beat Awards for his work as a culture bearer, teacher and community leader. He’s an example of what happens when the only formal training you need is life in New Orleans, and he imparts to his students the value of pride in one’s self. www.OFFBEAT.com

“I wanna show [the kids] that we’re all celebrities here. New Orleans is number one in culture because of the people who help grow and nurture that culture. And so, if the kids get a sense of pride, then they wouldn’t do those foolish things, like doing drugs, attacking the tourists, breaking in people’s houses.

That’s because they think they are nobodies. When we’re everything.”

He’s been Dancing Man since one particularly meditative moment in 2007. Standing outside of Apple Barrel on Frenchmen Street, he was pondering what he wanted to achieve in his hometown, now that he was back. Four years prior, he had moved to Colorado, only to return after Katrina and aid in the rebuilding process.

“I said to myself, ‘I did not come back to New Orleans to do anything I’ve ever done before. So I’m gonna do something I never done before.’ And I thought about it, I said, ‘I’ve never danced. I watched it, but I didn’t do it.’”

“So I went home from the Apple Barrel and thought, ‘This makes no sense. I’m not really dancing ... what I’m doing is more athleticism, showing off. They say of New Orleans we’re a bunch of show-offs, so I wanted to show off a little. So they wouldn’t be wrong. I was showing off at the basketball court, the football field, even the rap battles in school, I was always showing off. But then, I added the 504. Because it made sense: If I’m gonna dance, I’m gonna dance New Orleans.”

That same year, Young founded his Heel2Toe program (which was changed in 2009 to Heal2Toe as a nod to dance’s healing capabilities). “I wanted to do something for the kids. That’s the reason I came back home, to show them there’s no place like home. My mom said a celebrity can write his or her own ticket. I saw Brad Pitt do that, after Katrina, building houses. So I wanted to write a ticket for New Orleans kids. ’Cause New Orleans kids, they don’t go on vacation—only evacuation. And that’s only if their parents can afford to evacuate. If you’re not here and this city is destroyed, quit whatever you’re doing and come back. And so I did just that.”

The program gave him access to the city’s kids, many of whom had never connected with dance. He began to connect the kids with their teachers, cafeteria workers, janitors and classmates to rebuild a sense of community for them. “I wanted them to feel like they could be inside of this celebration, inside of that second-line music, and make a bond,” he says. In 2008, he launched the BrassXcise initiative in Audubon Park, www.OFFBEAT.com

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“I would just go to the second lines and eat and have fun with my friends. And then I realized I was dancing.” focusing on getting people of all ages outdoors and active. It’s an invaluable endeavor in a state that once ranked number one in national child-obesity rates. We’ve got people like Young to thank, at least in part, for Louisiana’s slump into the number-eight position.

Heal2Toe’s inaugural classroom introduction took place at Broadmoor School in 2009, when Young worked with a French immersion class. Eventually, the kids performed with him at French Quarter Festival. Shortly thereafter, he performed with the kids of the Freret Street Neighborhood Center, an engagement which brought him overseas a year later. At the Josephine Baker schools in Paris, he taught 300 kids the tenets of the Heal2Toe program: “to savor and respect what sometimes is taken for granted” through the understanding and performance of second-line culture.

One day in 2011, while teaching students at the Freret Center he met an autistic student named Felix. He was quiet and shy, and Young took an immediate liking to him. “I made him my little wild man. I called him up and told the class, ‘This is Felix. Felix is our wild man. That’s the chief’s biggest and strongest warrior. And the tribe takes care of its wild man.’ Those kids took care of him. He would get up and dance and the other kids would say ‘He can do whatever he likes—we’re not going to hit him. We know he’s right there.’” Felix and the rest of his class would go on to perform with Dancing Man at Satchmo Summerfest.

Years later, he and Felix ran into each other at Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette. “This big, tall boy ran up to me and hugged me. Felix and I ended up on the front page of the Times-Picayune together. That was a kid who was able to be confident. So that’s what I want to give these kids, that confidence. Because, my biggest thing is, I’m shy. No one believes that, but I am. That’s why I go out and I do it so big, so my shyness won’t touch me. And so I want those kids to know that, sometimes shyness holds us back.” he origins of his education work really date back to his eight-year-old self’s exposure to second-line culture. It was during those singular moments that he discovered the relationship between dance and pride as well as the difference between technical skill and cultural practice.

“When I was a teenager, some of my friends were saying they were going to the second line.

My mother told me to make sure to be careful—and to be out there with

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my eyes open. Because things happen at the second line, that don’t always have to do with the second line. So we get there, and see the old guys drinking Mad Dog. I see them getting wasted.

The band starts playing and I see them start to dance. To me, they were dancing, but they were actually just drunk. But they were swinging to the beat.

“I’ve noticed that those moves have come to be called ‘the second line moves.’ And that made me happy, understanding that… it’s not what I show anyone, or anyone shows you, that makes you the second line. It’s that thing that comes from inside of you.”

He had dreams of becoming a drum major in high school (at what was then Nicholls High School on St. Claude Avenue) and says dancing wasn’t something he saw as approachable. “I didn’t know how to dance. I didn’t wanna dance like other people,” says Young. “I didn’t want to just be doing choreography. I wanted to just... do whatever the music was telling me to express. But back then, when I was young, you wasn’t dancing unless you were doing the wop, the prep, the triggaman.”

“I would just go to the second lines and eat and have fun with my friends.

And then I realized I was dancing. And people laughed, but they didn’t laugh at me. They were laughing ’cause it was kinda funny, kinda smooth… so we would mimic other people we saw that had a ‘little something.’ And that’s when I realized that New Orleans has characters. Like when I used to see Ruthie the Duck Girl or ‘Uncle’ Lionel Batiste, I understood that we had fixtures embedded in our city. My favorite was when I would see Rebirth [Brass Band] at one of those second lines, ’cause they would play the music and people would go crazy. It was like it would never stop.”

His high-school years dovetailed with those of hip-hop’s nascent period, when black youth culture in New York City permeated cities across the country and eventually the world. With its distinctive style came those distinctive dance moves like the wop, and while tepid about joining in, Young says hip-hop made him appreciate the value in showing off one’s moves.

“When rap music came out, it was then I realized the importance of dance—because dance was that visual part of the music. When I watched the second line music, it was just adults acting like kids. To me, that was more fun.

But then when dance came with hip-hop, it was seemingly more professional.

But I realized that all dance was professional. It’s just what you’re after.”

That’s not to say he hasn’t got some signature moves in his arsenal. “I’m not afraid to act crazy with body movements and turns and twists; I do this spin movement and people say ‘What’s that?’ I say, ‘That’s the Hurricane.’” www.OFFBEAT.com

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“I tell the older generation, there’s no statute of limitations on dance.”

“I do another move I call the Helicopter. I saw on the news in Colorado those big choppers going to New Orleans [immediately post-Katrina]. I wanted to bring some of that onto the ground and show them these things didn’t kill us.”

Despite his affinity for a spontaneous take on dance, Young cherishes the way steps punctuated his childhood. He distinctly remembers watching kids learn to do the heel-to-toe kick step, but the queen of all moves was the bounce. “The bounce hit me in a weird way, because there were girls that went to school with me that we would flirt with. And they would cross their legs and look at you and be like, ‘We don’t talk to boys.’ And then when bounce came… all it took was a beat. And then I watched it become like the sun. People of all ages were doing the bounce. It had that show offness that New Orleans has. They could move certain parts a certain way and keep the rest still—I still haven’t figured that one out,” he says with a laugh.

Ultimately, he sees no fundamental difference between twerking and, say, dancing the bamboula. “Second line dancing stems from Haitian Ra-Ra in that they walk and play horns,” he explains. He recognizes the connections between all forms of dance in New Orleans, whether that be the swaying induced by dub music or the high-energy steps of swing dancing; whether he’s having a dance party at Blue Nile’s weekly reggae night with DJ T-Roy or putting on a full-fledged production with the NOLA Jitterbugs, Dancing Man, too, is telling the stories of generations, for generations.

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“If New Orleans ever goes underwater, the culture ain’t supposed to go with it. And I don’t want to exclude anyone. I want to be able to teach locals, tourists, newbies … I tell the older generation, there’s no statute of limitations on dance.”

When he’s not busting moves, Young says he spends time with his beloved Shih Tzu Rosie, who just turned one. He’s also picked up painting as a hobby. “I started doing art because I wanted to stop watching TV,” he says. “When I’m home I don’t want to be stuck on the TV… except for Lethal Weapon and Taken.”

“Anyway, they were building a house in the neighborhood, and got all these new boards and material all cut up into pieces so I went and asked if I can have what was in the scrap pile. And some of them were made like door-stoppers. So I took them and painted them, because the only door-stoppers are plastic or rubber … so I paint them for my friends.”

As for the future, Young is looking to launch a reality show in which he travels to different cities with his little dancers in tow. “I want them to get paid, know what it’s like to go backstage or be in a green room.

I want them to see what it’s like to jump on a tour bus, and all the rest of the things that make second lines work.

“I want to be able to bring people to places they thought they didn’t belong.”

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or this cocktail, I start by pouring a double shot of espresso over ice before adding the other ingredients. Then I’m ready to shake it up.

Because this is a strong, caffeine-fueled cocktail, it makes sense to have something like this before a night out or maybe during Sunday brunch— something to get you ready for whatever you want to do.

Doing this for Rebirth was obvious to me, just seeing that band live and hearing their music in this city. They’re what made me fall in love with New Orleans and move here—I used to vacation here quite a lot before I moved down a little over three years ago. I remember a Halloween maybe five-six years ago when I was in Armstrong

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Park where they were playing and everybody was dancing. That cemented for me that this is the city I wanted to live in.

I’m from near Corpus Christi, Texas, but I moved down here from Seattle. My stepdad was in the Navy so we moved around a lot of places.

The last place he was stationed was Seattle and meanwhile, I fell in love with New Orleans.

Hearing Rebirth, I had just never heard music played like that in other cities. It’s uplifting, original, and feels like what New Orleans feels like to me as well.

Having traveled and lived in different places in general gives you a pretty good idea of what’s unique about a place.

Bartending, I’ve found a creative outlet and something I’ll likely do for the rest of my career—while I thought I was just

By Elsa Hahne

trying to make some money for college! St. Cecilia has been open for about a year now and I came on before we opened to run the bar program. The owner chose St. Cecilia as our namesake because she was the patroness of musicians and poets, and we donate a dollar to the Roots of Music from all of our frozen daiquiri sales. It’s a great partnership.

I’ve created music-related drinks for our cocktail menu before. I made one called Sister Golden Hair, inspired by a song I love by the band America. I did that one for our first menu and it went over really well. ‘A Horse with No Name’ is a wonderful song and I had a running joke that I never did it because I felt like it had to be like the best drink I’d ever created. So I said I

photos: Elsa Hahne

Missy Cross/St. Cecilia

should make a drink called I’ve Been to the Desert on a Drink with No Name. Maybe one of these days I’ll get to it...”

Do Whatcha Wanna 1 1/2 ounces espresso 1 1/2 ounces Cathead Pecan Vodka 1/2 ounce Bénédictine liqueur 1/4 ounce Demerara simple syrup 2 dashes Bitter Truth Chocolate Bitters Shake with ice until nice and frothy. Strain into a chilled glass. www.OFFBEAT.com

Kingfish: 337 Chartres St., 598-5005 Mr. B’s Bistro: 201 Royal St. 523-2078 Restaurant R’evolution: 777 Bienville St., 553-2277

FRENCH Café Degas: 3127 Esplanade Ave., 945-5635 La Crepe Nanou: 1410 Robert St., 899-2670

GERMAN Bratz Y'all: 617-B Piety St., 301-3222

ICE CREAM/CAKE/CANDY Aunt Sally’s Praline Shops: 2831 Chartres St., 944-6090 Bittersweet Confections: 725 Magazine St., 523-2626 La Divina Cafe e Gelateria: 621 St. Peter St., 302-2692 Sucré: 3025 Magazine St.,520-8311 Tee-Eva’s Praline Shop: 4430 Magazine St., 899-8350

INDIAN Nirvana: 4308 Magazine St., 894-9797

ITALIAN

AFRICAN Bennachin: 1212 Royal St., 522-1230.

AMERICAN Barcadia: 601 Tchoupitoulas St., 335-1740 Brown Butter Southern Kitchen: 231 N Carrollton Ave., 609-3871 Poppy’s Time Out Sports Bar & Grill: 1 Poydras St., 247-9265 Port of Call: 838 Esplanade Ave., 523-0120

BARBECUE The Joint: 701 Mazant St., 949-3232

COFFEE HOUSE Café du Monde: 800 Decatur St., 525-4544 Morning Call Coffee Stand: 56 Dreyfous Dr., (504) 300-1157, 3325 Severn Ave., Metairie, 885-4068

CREOLE/CAJUN Cochon: 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 588-2123 Cornet: 700 Bourbon St., 523-1485 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 New Orleans Creole Cookery: 508 Toulouse St., 524-9632 Restaurant Rebirth: 857 Fulton St., 522-6863

DELI Stein’s Market and Deli: 2207 Magazine St., 527-0771

FINE DINING Bombay Club: 830 Conti St., 586-0972 Broussard’s: 819 Conti St., 581-3866 Commander’s Palace: 1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221

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House of Blues: 225 Decatur St., 412-8068 Howlin’ Wolf’s Wolf Den: 907 S. Peters St., 529-5844 Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St., 895-8117 Little Gem Saloon: 445 S. Rampart St., 267-4863 Maison: 508 Frenchmen St., 289-5648 Mid City Lanes Rock ‘N’ Bowl: 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133 NOSH: 752 Tchoupitoulas St., 581-7101 Palm Court: 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 Three Muses: 536 Frenchmen St., 298-8746

NEIGHBORHOOD JOINTS Biscuits and Buns on Banks: 4337 Banks St., 273-4600 Cake Café: 2440 Chartres St., 943-0010 City Diner: 3116 S I-10 Service Rd E, 8311030; 5708 Citrus Blvd., 309-7614 Cowbell: 8801 Oak St., 298-8689 Dat Dog: 601 Frenchmen St., 309-3362; 5030 Freret St., 899-6883; 3336 Magazine St., 324-2226 Live Oak Cafe: 8140 Oak St., 265-0050 Parkway Bakery and Tavern: 538 Hagan Ave., 482-3047 Sammy’s Food Services: 3000 Elysian Fields Ave., 948-7361 Tracey’s: 2604 Magazine St., 897-5413

Adolfo’s: 611 Frenchmen St., 948-3800 Little Vic’s: 719 Toulouse St., 304-1238

LOUISIANA / SOUTHERN Fulton Alley: 600 Fulton St., 208-5593 Mondo: 900 Harrison Ave., 224-2633 Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934

MEDITERRANEAN Byblos: 3218 Magazine St., 894-1233 Mona’s Café: 504 Frenchmen St., 949-4115

MEXICAN/CARIBBEAN/SPANISH Barú Bistro & Tapas: 3700 Magazine St., 895-2225 Juan’s Flying Burrito: 2018 Magazine St., 569-0000 El Gato Negro: 81 French Market Place, 525-9846

MUSIC ON THE MENU Banks Street Bar & Grill: 4401 Banks St., 486-0258 B.B. King’s Blues Club: 1104 Decatur St., 934-5464 Buffa’s: 1001 Esplanade Ave., 949-0038 Chickie Wah Wah: 2828 Canal St., 304-4714 Dmac’s Bar & Grill: 542 S Jefferson Davis Pkwy, 304-5757 Gattuso’s: 435 Huey P Long Ave., Gretna, 368-1114 Hard Rock Café: 125 Bourbon St., 529-5617

PIZZA Midway Pizza: 4725 Freret St., 322-2815 Pizza Delicious: 617 Piety St., 676-8482 Slice Pizzeria: 1513 St. Charles Ave., 525-7437 Theo’s Pizza: 4218 Magazine St., 894-8554; 4024 Canal St., 302-1133; 1212 S Clearview, 733-3803

SEAFOOD Basin Seafood and Spirits: 3222 Magazine St., 302-7391 Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill: 1 Poydras St. 569-3380 Deanie’s Seafood: 841 Iberville St., 581-1316; 1713 Lake Ave. Metairie, 834-1225 Pier 424 Seafood Market: 424 Bourbon St., 309-1574 Royal House Oyster Bar: 441 Royal St., 528-2601

SOUL Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934

STEAKHOUSE La Boca: 870 Tchoupitoulas St., 525-8205

VIETNAMESE Namese: 4077 Tulane Ave., 483-8899

WEE HOURS Buffa’s Restaurant & Lounge: 1001 Esplanade Ave., 949-0038 Mimi’s in the Marigny: 2601 Royal St., 872-9868

The Dish

JAPANESE/KOREAN/SUSHI/THAI Chiba: 8312 Oak St., 826-9119 Mikimoto: 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 488-1881 Seoul Shack: 435 Esplanade Ave., 417-6206 Sukho Thai: 4519 Magazine St., 373-6471; 2200 Royal St., 948-9309 Wasabi: 900 Frenchmen St., 943-9433

Ye Olde College Inn: 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-3683 Warehouse Grille: 869 Magazine St., 322-2188

Chef Steve Himelfarb on Cake Café’s Lox & Eggs

Which of the dishes on your menu says the most about you?

The whole menu is really a cross section of my life—what I grew up with in Washington DC, JewishAmerican, Sunday brunch...

Then in Los Angeles—fresh foods, roasted vegetables, tofu sandwiches, things like that. And then coming to New Orleans—Southern shrimp and grits meets catfish, meets boudin, meets andouille sausage... So the menu is a total cross section of my life.

As a kid, during football season people would come over for bagels and lox and my dad would make lox and eggs. That was his dish, and a big deal.

A New Yorker might call it a LEO—lox, eggs and onions—but basically it's seared lox in onions and tomatoes and then you scramble eggs into that and put capers and onions on top. That's directly what I grew up with, watching my dad cook. So to me, it was really important putting that on my menu because it's directly from my childhood. Straight from 5-year-old Steve, standing next to his dad.

—Elsa Hahne www.OFFBEAT.com

DINING OUT

Taqueria Guerrero “Did you like the food?”

Countless times—I dare say, more than a hundred—Ciro Garcia has asked me this same question at the cash register at Taqueria Guerrero, the neighborhood Mexican restaurant he opened in 2007. In the decade since the initial wave of Hispanic eateries has waned, Taqueria Guerrero has established itself as a local favorite for Mexican fare and as an integral member of the Mid-City dining scene, which continues to thrive and evolve.

A survey of the dining room on a typical Saturday morning is a case study in how people from all walks of life can rally together behind a well-made taco. In one corner sits a group of construction laborers, slowly slurping menudo, the Mexican tripe soup widely touted as a hangover cure. At the table behind them is a wife dressed in yoga pants with her husband in his LSU fishing shirt, the two of them alternating

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between bites of al pastor tacos and helping their two children with spoonfuls of beans and rice. Across the way is a group of hipsters piecing together their recollections of last night while drinking agua fresca. And finally there’s Ciro Garcia, sitting at a table in the back corner with his family members (who are also his co-workers and employees) and enjoying a steaming bowl of caldo de res. Ain’t that America.

Tacos come three to an order and dressed simply with diced onion and cilantro. The aforementioned al pastor is tender and flavorful, its blood orange–colored marinade staining the double layer of corn tortillas. Chicharrón alternates between soft and crispy, its richness offset by the heat and crunch of the raw onion and a dressing of Valentina hot sauce. Half-moon-shaped quesadillas are filled with queso Oaxaca, which stretches from here to eternity while slow-cooked beef barbacoa serves as excellent filler in the torta.

Breakfast is an underrated meal at Taqueria Guerrero, where the baleadas (a Honduran specialty) are created with a freshly pressed flour tortilla (thinner than most) and a harmonious balance of eggs, beans and cream. Huevos rancheros are ladled over mild tomato salsa, but the huevos con chorizo deliver a healthy dose of spice from the pork sausage flecked with red pepper. Hand-formed pupusas filled with

Photo: Guinnevere C.

EATS

cheese, or cheese and pork, are crisped on the flat-top grill and served with a tart slaw of thickcut cabbage and rounds of carrot.

But for all of the depth of the menu (40-plus dishes), perhaps the piece de resistance is the pale green salsa served in squeeze bottles. This addictive elixir—concocted from an undisclosed ratio of avocado, lime, jalapeño, cream and more—engages all of your taste buds and delivers just enough heat to turbocharge your endorphins.

Treat yourself to a coconut popsicle from the selfserve freezer case next to the register and don’t forget to smile, nod and answer in the affirmative when Ciro Garcia asks: “Did you like the food?”

—Peter Thriffiley 208 N. Carrollton Ave.; Tue-Thur 9a-9p, FriSat 9a-10p, Sun 9a-9p, (504) 484-6959

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REVIEWS

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

CDs reviewed are available now at 421 Frenchmen Street in the Marigny 504-586-1094 or online at LouisianaMusicFactory.com

Zachary Richard shows no signs of slowing down

Zachary Richard Gombo (RZ Records) A masterful storyteller, Zachary Richard paints a picture every bit as textured, vibrant and full of emotion as any Van Gogh masterpiece. And speaking of masterpieces, Richard is building a catalog of recordings that is truly an everlasting tribute to our heritage, a heritage that he is fiercely protective of. Regardless of whether you understand Richard when he sings in French, you cannot help but feel the storyline of Richard’s songs as they unfold. Love, longing, desperation and joy hit you so hard and in such a meaningful way that you realize that music is indeed the universal language.

Gombo kicks off with “Zydeco Jump,” a reworking of the song originally released on Snake Bite Love. This version, which benefits from the production work of David Torkanowsky, features tasteful slide guitar paired with a driving accordion that lets you know that Richard is back with a vengeance.

“La Ballade d’Emile Benoit” immediately draws the listener in with a deep groove as Richard pays tribute to the Newfoundland fiddler.

The stories continue in French as Richard laments the sinking of the Irving Whale in 1970 off Prince Edward Island. With “Jena

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Blues,” Richard returns the story to Louisiana where he moves from environmental disaster to the inequities of mankind. That theme is further developed as Richard goes back in time to regale us with a love story as old as time itself, this time between a Creole maid and an Indian brave.

“Jena Blues” and “Manchac” both show that Richard makes no qualms about addressing the less savory sides of the state he loves so deeply, and this gives a credibility to his writing that perfectly complements the songs about the good times the state is so well known for. “Catherine, Catherine” is the first of two duets, this one co-written by and featuring Robert Charlebois.

“Catherine, Catherine”, fits nicely between “Jena Blues” and “Manchac” as it allows for a respite before stirring the roux for the darker, more complex flavors of social marginalization contained in “La Ballade De L’Exclus” and the fragility of love and life explored in “Au Bal Du Bataclan.” “Dans Les Grands Chemins” and “Pop the Gator” bring us back to Louisiana as Richard honors John Delafose on the former and gives us advice on what to do with a 20-foot alligator on the latter.

Gombo closes out with five songs about love. “It Might Be Love”, “Sweet Little Darling Of Mine” and “Somebody Calling” are each sung in English and explore various aspects of love with each song drenched in the imagery that we have come to expect from Zachary Richard. Richard returns to singing in French for “La Saskatchewan” and “Fais Briller Ta Lumiere,” a gorgeous paean extolling the virtues of unconditional love and everlasting hope that finds him

paired with Angélique Kidjo.

Like the title suggests, Gombo features all of the ingredients that we have come to expect from Zachary Richard. As usual, Richard has surrounded himself with an excellent cast of musicians, including Roddie Romero, Shane Theriot, Rick Haworth, Harry Hardin, Helen Gillet, and Francis Covan.

Thankfully, even after 45 years and the release of 21 studio albums, Zachary Richard shows no signs of slowing down; and we are all the better for it. Bon appétit!

—Christopher Weddle

Zoukeys Senzorga (Speak Jolly) You’d expect a New Orleans fusion band to be eclectic, and Zoukeys are just a little more so. The five songs on their debut EP include a taste of progressive rock, a touch of Broadway and Bernstein, some New Orleans piano and an original song that’s more or less pop. Just your typical New Orleans musical gumbo, right?

Not quite. The catch is that Zoukeys has only two members— pianist Josh Paxton and singer/ bouzouki player Beth Patterson— and it works so well because their backgrounds are so different.

Paxton is steeped in local piano traditions, while Patterson’s worked her own Celtic-prog fusion. Put that together and you get something unique: Paxton turns to melodica and Patterson takes the rhythm on “Hoedown,” the Aaron Copland piece as reinvented by Emerson, Lake & Palmer; and this unplugged version has all the exuberance of ELP’s synth-heavy take. Paxton swings like mad on the Chick Corea tune “Armando’s Rhumba”

and adds some stately piano to “Heights,” a richly melodic Patterson tune. They save the most audacious track for last: the Police’s “Murder By Numbers” is musically fused with “My Favorite Things,” and the cold irony (and Patterson’s steely delivery) makes it work in a Tarantino kind of way.

During a recent live show (opening for the Radiators, no less) Zoukeys stretched further in both directions, doing some straightup Dr. John and Toussaint, while reaching deeper into the prog songbook (they opened with a Crack the Sky song, probably a first at Tip’s). You don’t have to be quite as much of a music junkie as they are to relate.

—Brett Milano

Creole United Tu Kekchause A’ Korrek: Volume II (Zydekool Music) As Sean Ardoin will proudly attest, Creole United is not a band but a movement to unite Creole artists, create new material merging the old and new and incorporate the Louisiana Creole language as much as possible.

As evidenced by its sophomore effort, the movement, still spearheaded by Ardoin and West Coast accordionist Andre Thierry, is indeed in fine shape. And like last www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS

time, there’s a star-studded guest list of accordionists/vocalists (mostly bandleaders) but other than Rusty Metoyer, everyone else—“Chubby” Carrier, “Sunpie” Barnes, “Step” Rideau and Kaleb LeDay—is new.

It’s an unusual concept but this all-original affair looks more to

the present and future than the past, even with Thierry’s blistering, bluesy, Clifton Chenier–recalling performance on “Cookies.” “Easy Riding” mixes Carrier playing a riff of his grandfather Warren Carrier with atypical modern rhythms. The title track, phonetically spelled in Creole, practically ventures into swamp funk territory while “Je Pas Fou” sounds like the Neville Brothers on zydeco.

But where this disc excels is in its unveiling of new sounds flavored with fresh seasonings, stuff not normally heard on a typical z-platter. “Come Back to Me” soars to its emotional zenith on an evershifting arrangement showcasing Jairus Daigle’s artsy,

The greatest renaissance since Satch' Jack Sullivan New Orleans Remix (University Press of Mississippi)

bookmark

When you pass a mirror, it’s hard to not look at your reflection. It’s human nature to be curious about what others see when they look at us. New Orleans Remix provides just such an opportunity for New Orleanians. For nearly three decades, Jack Sullivan, English Department Chair at Rider University in New Jersey, has been visiting New Orleans and observing its music scene. “[...] I heard The Preservation Hall Band and that really changed my life,” says Sullivan in an interview for OffBeat Radio, “I’d never heard anything like that before.”

In almost thirty years of travel he has conducted numerous interviews with the city’s musical elite, including Ellis Marsalis, Gerald French, Jon Batiste, and many others. The quotes from these interviews, which he utilizes liberally, are perhaps the most enticing feature of the book. It’s a who’s who of New Orleans music weighing in on what makes this city’s style of playing so unique as well as the changes that the city has been experiencing over the past three decades.

Mr. Sullivan lays thorough groundwork in the way he traces the origins of New Orleans jazz, brass, and funk to their roots in the city. He puts a surprising emphasis on opera among other influences. He uses this research to put the current music scene into context and concludes that fierce adherence to tradition, along with regular influxes of new creative energy, have facilitated a vibrant, diverse and intensely creative music scene. “[...] I realized from interviewing people, especially Jason Marsalis, that it actually all started up in the ‘90s in terms of what’s happening now” says Sullivan. “It’s this great renaissance, as I call it. I think it’s probably the greatest renaissance since the Armstrong era in New Orleans music.”

—Stacey Leigh Bridewell www.OFFBEAT.com

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REVIEWS progressive violin playing. It’s also Ardoin’s best vocal performance of the disc as he imploringly pleads for a second chance. “What You Get” is almost a radio pop hit with Efron Simon’s keys and Rideau’s accordion bouncing infectiously along.

Though Ardoin and Thierry collaborated on these songs, it’s obvious that Ardoin played a huge role in their development, especially given the creative finishing touches and strength-in-numbers background vocals. He sings on all tracks but often alternating with another vocalist, giving the movement a feeling of solidarity and brotherhood.

—Dan Willging

Mitch Woods Friends Along the Way (eOne) Pianist Mitch Woods has always found creative ways to maximize the interest level he brings to recordings, mixing good studio concepts with some unique live settings, including his longstanding gig at the piano bar of the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Blues Cruise. This time, though, he has pulled out all the stops on a starstudded session in collaboration with what amounts to a living blues hall of fame, although James Cotton has passed since Woods joined him for “Chicago Express” and the late John Lee Hooker crackles off electric guitar fills behind his world-weary vocal on “Never Get Out of These Blues Alive,” with Woods playing an Otis Spann-like accompaniment.

With Friends Along the Way Woods shows a breadth in his playing he’s never exhibited before.

Taj Mahal’s acoustic guitar sets the base for Van Morrison’s vocal on “Take This Hammer,” with Woods playing a slow, understated piano

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accompaniment. Woods takes the lead with the same trio on the terrific “Midnight Hour Blues.”

Morrison and Mahal share the vocal on a unique version of “C.C. Rider,” with Woods laying out until the second verse and adding sparse piano accents to the stark reading.

Woods continues to demonstrate an impressive accompaniment style behind Maria Muldaur on “Empty Bed Blues,” Ruthie Foster on “Singin’ the Blues,” John Hammond on “Mother In Law Blues,” Kenny Neal on “Bluesmobile” and Charlie Musselwhite on “Blues Gave Me a Ride.”

Musselwhite returns the favor, backing up Woods’ vocal and piano on “Cryin’ for My Baby.” Woods also takes the lead on the raucous “Saturday Night Boogie Woogie Man,” with Elvin Bishop backing him up on some nasty slide guitar.

Bishop and Woods both sing on “Keep a Dollar In Your Pocket” with Bishop on guitar and Larry Vann on drums. In a similar vein, Woods sings and tickles the ivories on “Nasty Boogie” and Joe Louis Walker joins in on vocals and guitar.

Two of my favorite songs on the record are a vocal duet with Cyril Neville, “The Blues,” accompanied only by Woods on piano, and a soulful piano/vocal duet by Woods and Marcia Ball on “In the Night,” a fitting finale to a blues album for the ages.

—John Swenson

The Malvinas God Bless the Grass (Soona Songs) It’s not easy being a folk trio when your furthest members, Breaux Bridge resident Gina Forsyth and Canadian Beth Cahill, live

1,650 miles apart (in between is Texas refugee Lisa Markley, now of Woodstock, New York). But since The Malvinas’ 2001 inception, the group’s tight-knit chemistry has kept them together, even when playing only a handful of gigs annually.

On their third album, they demonstrate why they’re not

Malvina Reynolds revivalists per se but do follow in their iconic namesake’s footsteps, such as on the title track led by Forsyth’s splendid finger-picked guitar lines. Their harmonies are often breathtaking and the group seamlessly blends elements of first generation folk, Cajun and Appalachian music with

Raw, gritty and evocative Grayson Capps Scarlett Roses (Royal Potato Family) After a six-year absence, Grayson Capps has returned with what is arguably his best outing yet. Scarlett Roses features a core band of Capps on vocals, guitar and harmonica; Corky Hughes on guitar (acoustic, electric and lap steel), bass and piano; Rufus Ducote on bass; and Russ Broussard on drums and washboard. Joining in are Trina Shoemaker on percussion and harmony vocals and Dylan LeBlanc on harmony vocals on “New Again.” As with his other releases, Scarlett Roses revolves around Capps’ lyrics. Raw, gritty, evocative, visceral yet intellectual, Capps has a way of writing that cannot be faked; and with a naturally road weary baritone voice that sounds like it has been smoothed over with a taste of honey, Capps’ voice is the perfect instrument for his lyrical style.

The gentle acoustic guitar strumming at the start of “Scarlett Roses” gives way to a shimmering electric guitar before the groove solidifies with a marching band drumbeat. It sets the scene for a story of lost love, a theme that Capps mines frequently. It’s not often (or ever) that you’ll hear a roots rock song that references scuppernongs, but that’s just one example of the ability and attention to detail that sets Capps apart from his peers.

“Hold Me Darlin’” starts off with a psychedelic introduction that is reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s “Cosmic Charlie,” and it slowly veers into the territory of Piedmont blues as Corky Hughes brings it all together on lap steel.

Both “Bag Of Weed” and “Thankful” are country rockers done right, without the slick overproduction of much of what passes for country music today. I imagine that each will be a crowd-pleaser in a live setting.

The highlight of the album may be “New Again,” a poignant song that addresses the fragility of life. Capps’ relaxed harmonica playing gently caresses the lyric like a lover’s soft kiss on the cheek; and for those of us lucky enough to have children and living parents, the line “I find myself caught between generations either side of me” should really strike a chord. It’s a beautiful song, and it’s nice to hear a reference to Coco Robicheaux, who was certainly a kindred spirit of Capps.

Where “Hold Me Darlin’” starts with a nod to psychedelia, “Taos” is a psychedelic tour de force. It’s the story of a man who falls asleep behind the wheel, killing his lover and unborn child, and the resulting emotional fallout is described in Capps’ compelling story line.

Finally, while life, love and death are aptly covered throughout Scarlett Roses, the album’s final track, “Moving On,” ties is all together with the line “it’s time we fear when we ain’t done living yet.” It’s a fitting end to an outstanding record from Grayson Capps.

—Christopher Weddle www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS Cahill’s pop-sheen vocals and Forsyth’s driving fiddling.

Unlike Reynolds, who wrote topical songs, the Malvinas’ seven originals are rooted more in personal experiences, such as love lost and love gained, and observations like the seemingly aimless teenager on Cahill’s “Moses.” Though Forsyth’s “Somewhere Off the Foot of This Mountain” is reprised from her 2001 You Are Here release, it’s still a powerful statement of coming into one’s own being and holding steadfast to that identity.

—Dan Willging

Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma Songs for the Hangman’s Daughter (Independent) To live in New Orleans is to master the art of juggling.

On the one hand, that’s a great thing. Residents fighting to keep various food traditions from hitting the floor lead to the city’s famously blended culinary culture. On the other, you have a locale with terrible transit and neighborhoods that will flood if the faucet’s left on. You take the good with the bad, the bowling pins with the chainsaws, and you do your best to not make a mess of it.

With that said, it’s not surprising that Mark Rubin ended up here.

It’s actually a wonder he didn’t land here sooner. The member of defunct folk-punk icons the Bad Livers is both outspokenly Southern and proudly Jewish. He’s been juggling all his life, y’all.

On his sparse new collection of tunes, Rubin doesn’t mind letting you see him sweat as he struggles to keep both sides of his identity balanced. The cuts are rough—often the first take—but

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Mark’s skilled playing and Catskills wit keep the whole enterprise aloft as he cycles between stories of cultural appropriation (“Royal Street Shuffle”), the War on Drugs (“Single Joint”) and parking lot fights (“Ballpeen Clawhammer”).

—Alex Galbraith

DiNola Up High (Saustex) You can’t say too much about a disc whose best song is called “Shut Up,” and DiNola are the type of band that you’d rather just play really loud. Led by the husband-wife team of Sue (vocals) and Jimmy (drums) Ford—whose collective ties to local music go back a good few decades—they’re a worthy addition to the city’s under-the-radar circuit of punk/garage/rock ’n’ roll bands. The standout of their previous self-titled CD, “I Wanna Die in New Orleans,” was a can’t-miss anthem by virtue of its title and sentiments; the whole disc was suitably raw and gritty.

With this five-song follow up, DiNola get more serious about having fun. Eagles of Death Metal guitarist Dave Catching returns as producer and applies a bit more polish this time, which usually means pushing Sue’s vocals upfront and underlining the fact that they can write songs (and borrow a worthy one, namely “I Put a Spell on You”).

The title track is even melodic enough to qualify as radio-friendly, with a surprise bridge that comes along toward the track’s end. There’s still plenty of punk appeal here, courtesy of Eric Laws’ riff-slinging and Edward Payne’s fuzz bass, and Sue tells the real-life story of a dangerous beauty on “Apocalipstick.” And then there’s the snotty shout-along chorus of “Shut Up,” which I‘m now gonna do and turn this up a little more.

—Brett Milano

Willem & Dakota Basically, Anyway (Independent) Willem & Dakota’s Basically, Anyway is a slightly addictive, sometimes haunting, always hopeful 14 song CD. The band is Willem

McCormick on guitar, bass and vocals; Dakota Emerson on vocals and percussion; Jay Cruz on bass and Perry Ostrin on drums. In Willem’s songwriting, you can feel the pull of the bayous, tugging on a local boy gone afar. Dakota’s harmonies, even when singing a sad tone, feel positive.

“Somewhere along the Way” is the story of falling in love, but giving up too soon. McCormick sings, “Should have stayed in Thibodaux a little bit longer/ Can I bribe you with some red beans.” Former John Denver sideman John Martin Sommers adds a plucky banjo line that helps carry the song through the middle chorus and pairs nicely with Dakota’s laid-back harmonic vocals.

“My Charlatan” is a guitar-led tune with a simple drumbeat and nice harmonies. Jamison Hollister

adds pedal steel—an atmospheric counterpoint to the upbeat major chords. Willem and Dakota sing well together, each at times pushing or playing with the melody. While this is at heart a poppy song, there is enough minor to give it shape, an arc, and let you know it’s a love song. I really like what the pedal steel adds.

There is joy about this project that comes from people who love to make music, making music.

—Bartholomew Singer

Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble Rise Up (Louisiana Soul Records) If some of these tunes sound vaguely familiar, there’s good reason.

Only five tracks on Curley Taylor &

Genre-defying intentions Mike Harvey’s Hot Club Mike Harvey’s Hot Club (Independent) The Courtyard Kings have held down Thursdays at Bacchanal for over 10 years. As of last year the band no longer exists but former members have split into different bands.

Violinist Mike Harvey’s spinoff band Mike Harvey’s Hot Club has released a new album.

You’ll recognize several of the tunes on this album, but you won’t have heard them played this way. The band has taken selections from a diverse range of sources and interpreted them with gypsy style and instrumentation. They’ve also included some Django classics, jazz standards, a choro song and a few original tunes as well. The band calls their interpretation of this eclectic mix of influences “progressive New Orleans gypsy jazz,” and it’s spot-on for the Bacchanal crowd.

It seems a bit unorthodox to head off the album with “Giorgio by Moroder,” a track from Daft Punk’s 2013 disco nostalgia album, Random Access Memories. However, the original version features a monologue from disco-synth maestro Giorgio Moroder about the evolution of genres and taste. Music is music is music being the idea. Perhaps the band is making a subtle statement about their genre-defying intentions. “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” is another intriguing and surprisingly effective choice.

Paul Simon’s verbosity lends well to lightning-fast gypsy styling. “Life on Mars” is a smart choice for a cover, just ask Seu Jorge. “I Like to Ride My Bike” is a catchy original from guitarist Mark Weliky. Mike Harvey and Nathan Lambertson also have originals on the album, “Djaphunkta” and “October” respectively, which make for good acreage to show off each member’s technical skills. Speaking of technical skills, props to Mike Harvey for recording, mixing, mastering and designing the album layout. It’ll be interesting to see where their progress takes them on future albums.

—Stacey Leigh Bridewell www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS Zydeco Trouble’s fifth CD are new; the rest (“Country Boy,” “Zydeco Cutie,” “Curley 2 Step”) are legacy staples re-recorded to match their hard-hitting live show intensity since they’ve evolved substantially since the band’s 2003 inception.

The new songs dovetail perfectly with the revamped material.

“Everybody’s Goin (To the Trailride)” is the most rollicking, especially given Shelby “Get Money” Johnson’s zealous rapping performance about the much anticipated event. The keyboard-crunchy title track is the most socially significant since it deviates from the prevailing loveparty atmosphere with a message of rising above the haters of the world. Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” is the only cover of this baker’s dozen affair and its arrangement is somewhat surprising. It’s not full-on dreadlock-skankin’ zydeco, though Ray Mouton’s guitar riffs do add a Caribbean flavor. Instead it blossoms into a beautiful, lush zyde-soul ballad.

For the uninitiated, Rise Up is the perfect portal into Taylor’s signature brand of hipster zydeco. For longtime listeners and dancers, he’s never sounded better.

—Dan Willging

Mighty Brother The Vibe (Independent) Taking inspirational cues from the Crescent City, Mighty Brother’s five-song five-piece line-up EP The Vibe showcases the band’s musical adaptability, songwriting skills and grasp of putting it all together.

The recording sets out to capture musically some of our city’s unique charms, incorporating a nextgeneration melding of funk, rock and Avett-Americana to paint the scenes. The album starts with the airy “Menagerie”—a subtle song with a picked arpeggios intro, slowly adorned with simple lyrics.

A touch of a Latin beat works its way in and out of the rhythm on the sound of claves. In the middle, you hear some nice upbeat vocal call and response that drives the song, top-down, over the halfway point. From there we drift out into repeated phrases over saxophone, www.OFFBEAT.com

chimes and charm. Felt like a good wake-up in the French Quarter.

The title track, “The Vibe,” finds the sweet spot exploring tasty vocal harmonies and a stand-up beat. It has all the good flavors of New Americana, Beatles and even Buddy Holly earnestness to it. This song, carried by the shuffling, swinging drums, is the heartbeat of the album—and an energizing tune.

The five songs that make up The Vibe take us on a tour of a young band’s distillation of New Orleans.

Mighty Brother is an upbeat, refreshing band that delivers a embraceable album. I bet these dudes would be great live.

—Bartholomew Singer

Chris Champagne Secret New Orleans (Jonglez Publishing) This is a most unusual travel book: a guide for New Orleanians who’ve lived here for decades.

There are 113 places listed; I’ve lived here 34 years and have been to only 16 of these sites.

While some can’t really be considered “secret,” to musicians at least (The Music Box Village, the Dew Drop Jazz Hall on the North Shore), others are truly, fetchingly odd: The Irish Channel Tiny Museum, the Saint Expedite Statue and the Lee Harvey Oswald Memorial Plate, to name three.

Oddball museums, massive artworks hidden away outside of museums, celebrity oddities (Groucho’s beret at Antoine’s, Nicholas Cage’s pyramidic plot in St. Louis No. 1); the strangeness doesn’t stop. I suggested to Chris Champagne (one of the city’s star stand-up comedians and author of three books) that he must have collected these tidbits for years.

He answered: “Some I knew about but I did quite a bit of research. Plus help from friends.

My daily life luckily takes me all over the city and I do have an eclectic group of friends.”

Here’s to eclectic friends and fascinating books.

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Find complete listings at offbeat.com—when you’re out, use offbeat.com/mobile for full listings on any cell phone.

Listings

EXPRESS

These listings are abbreviated. For complete daily listings, go to offbeat.com. These listings were verified at the time of publication, but are of course subject to change. To get your event listed, go to offbeat.com/add-new-listings or send an email to listings@offbeat.com.

AF African AM Americana BL Blues BU Bluegrass BO Bounce BB Brass Band BQ Burlesque KJ Cajun CL Classical CR Classic Rock CO Comedy CW Country CB Cover Band DN Dance DX Dixieland DB Dubstep EL Electro FO Folk FK Funk GS Gospel GY Gypsy HH Hip-Hop HS House IN Indian Classical ID Indie Rock IL Industrial IR Irish JB Jam Band

MJ Jazz

Contemporary TJ Jazz Traditional JV Jazz Variety KR Karaoke KZ Klezmer LT Latin MG Mardi Gras

Indian ME Metal RB Modern R&B PO Pop PK Punk RE Reggae RC Rockabilly RK Rock RR Roots Rock SS Singer/

Songwriter SK Ska PI Solo Piano SO Soul SW Spoken Word SP Swamp Pop SI Swing VR Variety ZY Zydeco

THURSDAY MARCH 1

Buffa’s: Gumbo Cabaret (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p Bullet’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 6p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Alexis and the Samurai (ID) 7p, Wahala Boys (VR) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues Restaurant: Jake Landry (BL) 6p House of Blues: J.I.D., Earthgang (HH) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: Brass-A-Holics (BB) 8:30p Joy Theater: Tape Face (VR) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Will Dickerson (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Introducing Gabrielle Cavassa: the Music of Billie Holiday (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Allen Hebert (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Maison: Good For Nothin’ Band, Sweet Substitute, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Matt Lemmler (PI) 7p, Johnny Vidacovich, June Yamagishi and Keiko Komaki (FK) 10p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Dustan Louque (SS) 6p Palm Court Jazz Café: Leroy Jones and Katja Toivola with Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 8p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. Starry Olsa (KL) 9p Snug Harbor: Jasen Weaver CD-release party (JV) 8 & 10p

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Spotted Cat: Up Up We Go (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Roland Guerin Band (BL) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Mia Borders (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

FRIDAY MARCH 2

Apple Barrel: Adam Crochet (BL) 6:30p Bacchanal: the Tangiers Combo (JV) 12p, Harmonouche (JV) 5p, Willie Green (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Calvin Johnson and Native Son (JV) 6p, Haruka Kikuchi (JV) 9p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 6p, Bon Bon Vivant, Dirty Bourbon River Show (JV) 10p Dos Jefes: Panorama Jazz Band (ZY) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Jelly Toast, Anne Elise Hastings and her Cast of Revolving Characters (FO) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues Restaurant: Dick Deluxe (BL) 12p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hash Cabbage (RK) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Stefan Moll (JV) 4:30p, Quiana Lynell (JV) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Three (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (PI) 5p, Introducing Gabrielle Cavassa: the Music of Billie Holiday (JV) 7:30p; John Sinclair with Carlo Ditta’s Orleans Records All-Stars feat. Freddie Stahle, Johnny Pennino, Tom Worrell and Jerry Pikento (BL) 8p Little Tropical Isle: Reed Lightfoot (RK) 5p, Styk (RK) 9p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Lil Glenn and Backatown, Gumbo Funk (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Wooten/Struthers Band (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a Old Point Bar: Rick Trolsen (PI) 5p, Jamey St. Pierre and the Honeycreepers (RK) 9:30p Orpheum Theater: Noel Gallagher (RK) 8p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Louisiana Spice (VR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Egg Yolk Jubilee (BB) 9p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings (JV) 6p, Rhythm Stompers (JV) 10p Three Muses: Royal Roses (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Low End Theory Players: A Tribute to Outkast, Koan, My Theme Music (VR) 10p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p UNO Lakefront Arena: Winter Jam Tour Spectacular (VR) 7p

SATURDAY MARCH 3

Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Carmella Rappazzo (JV) 6p, Betty Shirley (JV) 9p

d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 7p, Little Freddie King (BL) 11p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: A Living Soundtrack CD-release show, AF the Naysayer, BLK, Shuvuuia (VR) 9p House of Blues Restaurant: Geovane Santos (LT) 12p Jazz Playhouse: Oscar Rossignoli (JV) 5p, Shannon Powell Quartet (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Vali Talbot (IR) 5p, Jamie Lynn Vessels (FO) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7 & 9p; Introducing Gabrielle Cavassa: the Music of Billie Holiday (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Reed Lightfoot (RK) 5p, Styk (RK) 9p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, Royal Street Winding Boys, Smoking Time Jazz Club (VR) 1p, Big Easy Brawlers (BB) 11:59p Maple Leaf: Ari Teitel with Jamison Ross, Paul Randolph and Shea Pierre (VR) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Bubble Bath Records Launch Party (VR) 8p Orpheum Theater: Bianco Del Rio (CO) 8p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger and Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Mike Zito (FK) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Jacqui Naylor Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Know Your Enemy, Green Gasoline, Stepping Sideways (VR) 8p Spotted Cat: Antoine Diel and Arsene DeLay (JV) 2p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Davis Rogan Band (JV) 10p Three Muses: Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Miss Mojo, McKenna Alicia (VR) 10p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p UNO Performing Arts Center: Musical Excursions presents Sakura Cello Quintet (CL) 7p

SUNDAY MARCH 4

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Susanne Ortner and Nahum Zdybel (JV) 2p, Pfister Sisters (JV) 4p, Steve Pistorius Quartet (JV) 7p Circle Bar: Alex McMurray (RR) 9:30p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: the Catahoulas (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Anuraag Pendyal (JV) 7p; Upstairs: Church (EL) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Generations Hall: L’Extravagance Benefit for Lycee Francaise de la Nouvelle Orleans feat. Helen Gillet, Anais St. John, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots (VR) 5p House of Blues Restaurant: Jason Bishop (FO) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Little Tropical Isle: Styk (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (VR) 9p Maple Leaf: Michael Lemmler, June Yamagishi, Paul Randolph and Shea Pierre (RR) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Snug Harbor: Ricky Sebastian Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p

Spotted Cat: Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses (JV) 2p, Kristina Morales and the Inner Wild (JV) 6p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Big Easy Playboys (KJ) 3:30p, Juju Child and the Hypnotic Roots Band, Paul Randolph (BL) 9p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Sunday Youth Music Workshop feat.

Chapter Soul (VR) 1p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

MONDAY MARCH 5

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Big Sam and the Krewe (FK) 10p Funky Pirate: Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p House of Blues Restaurant: Sean Riley (BL) 6p House of Blues: Coast Modern (RK) 8p Jazz Playhouse: Gerald French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Roy Gele (FO) 8:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio feat. Michael Lemmler and Terrence Houston (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a New Orleans Jazz Market: the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra with Eric Benét (JV) 6:30p One Eyed Jacks: Puddles Pity Party (VR) 8p, Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 10p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Three Muses: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Joe Cabral (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Cajun Drifters (KJ) 7p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9p

TUESDAY MARCH 6

Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Prettier Than Matt (RK) 7:30p House of Blues (the Parish): Stephen Kellog and Pat McGee (RK) 8p House of Blues Restaurant: Michael Liuzza (BL) 6p House of Blues: Flogging Molly (PK) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Jazz National Historical Park: Courtney Bryan (VR) 12p Jazz Playhouse: James Rivers Movement (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Yoshitaka Tsuji Trio (JV) 7p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Pentone (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maison: Gregory Agid Quartet, Gene’s Music Machine (VR) 6:30p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Old U.S. Mint: Down on Their Luck Orchestra (JV) 2p Siberia: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 9p Snug Harbor: Stanton Moore Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Three Muses: Sam Cammarata (JV) 5p, Josh Gouzy (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9:15p

WEDNESDAY MARCH 7

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (BL) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, DanceHall Classics (RE) 10p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (BL) 6p House of Blues Restaurant: Jake Landry (FO) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Couch Jackets, Biglemoi, Skelatin, Dusty Tupelo (VR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf: Front Porch: Devin the Dude (HH) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Tim Robertson (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Cole Williams Band (SO) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Old U.S. Mint: Emily Fransen (VR) 2p One Eyed Jacks: Vixens and Vinyl (VR) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p The Sandbar (Loyola University): Jazz at the Sandbar feat. Jamison Ross (JV) 7p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Helen Gillet +1 (MJ) 9p Three Muses: Andre Bohren (JV) 5p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: Debi and the Deacons (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

THURSDAY MARCH 8

Buffa’s: Yvette Voelker and Harry Mayronne (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Alexis and the Samurai (ID) 7p, MainLine (FK) 10p Dragon’s Den: Juice (PO) 10p; Upstairs: Rival NOVA, Asia Sky, Stephanie Fruge (EL) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues (the Parish): Jason Bishop (FO) 7p House of Blues Restaurant: Jake Landry (BL) 6p House of Blues: Willie Nelson and Family, Kenton Bryant (CW) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Howlin’ Wolf: Perpetual Groove, Organized Crime (FK) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Ashlin Parker Trio (JV) 6p, Brass-AHolics (BB) 8:30p Joy Theater: Papa Roach, The Devil Wears Prada (VR) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: the One Tailed Three (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (FK) 11p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Marc Stone Band with special guests (BL) 7:30p Maison: Good For Nothin’ Band, Michael Watson Quintet, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: David Pigot (PI) 7p, Johnny Vidacovich, Eric Benny Bloom and Joe Ashlar (FK) 10p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Quiana Lynell (JV) 6p Old U.S. Mint: Al Jackson and Dave Thomas (VR) 2p Palm Court Jazz Café: Tim Laughlin with Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 8p The Rat (Tulane University): Jazz at the Rat feat.

Courtney Bryan performs the Music of Geri Allen (JV) 7p

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Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Lil Nathan and the Zydeco Big Tymers (ZY) 8p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. Szkojani Charlatans, G-String Orchestra (KL) 9p Snug Harbor: Joe Dyson Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Up Up We Go (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Little Cosmicana, Lawn, SunSeeker, Liza Anne (ID) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Arsene DeLay (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

FRIDAY MARCH 9

Buffa’s: Anais St. John and Harry Mayronne (JV) 6p, Meryl Zimmerman (JV) 9p Bullet’s: Original Pinettes Brass Band (BB) 9p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, John “Papa” Gros Band (FK) 10p Dos Jefes: Walter “Wolfman” Washington (BL) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Issa Vibe (VR) 11p House of Blues: Matisyahu, Eminence Ensemble (HH) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues (the Parish): Missio (EL) 9p House of Blues Restaurant: Dick Deluxe (BL) 12p, Captain Buckles Band (FK) 3:30p, Jason Bishop Band (FO) 7p Howlin’ Wolf: Holi Hai Festival of Colors (VR) 9p Jazz National Historical Park: Johnette Downing (SS) 11a Jazz Playhouse: Stefan Moll (JV) 4:30p, Grayson Brockamp and the New Orleans Wildlife Band (JV) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat.

Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Van Morrison and Tom Waits Tribute (FO) 9p Little Tropical Isle: Reed Lightfoot (RK) 5p, Styk (RK) 9p Mahalia Jackson Theater: New Orleans Opera Association presents Terence Blanchard’s Champion: An Opera in Jazz (JV) 8p Maple Leaf: Sam Price and the True Believers (RR) 10p Mardi Gras World: Buku Music + Art Project (VR) 2p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Republic: Borgore, Ducky, Svdden Death, Big Freedia (EL) 11:59p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Mixed Nuts (VR) 9:30p Siberia: United Bakery Records Showcase feat.

Laughter, No Money Down, Shane Sayers (FO) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: 12 Stones, the Vettes, Akadia (VR) 8p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (JV) 6p, Ecirb Muller’s Twisted Dixie (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Darcy Malone and the Tangle (RR) 9p Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Funk Monkey (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

SATURDAY MARCH 10

Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Alexandra Scott and her Magical Band (VR) 6p, Lynn Drury (BL) 9p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p Creole Cookery: Trad Stars Jazz Band (JV) 11a d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 7p, Lightning Malcolm (BL) 11p MA RC H 2 018

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall: Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots (ZY) 6:30p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Community Records 10-Year Anniversary feat. Jeff Rosenstock, Donovan Wolfington, Laura Stevenson and others (VR) 3p Gasa Gasa: Shopping (PK) 9p House of Blues: Shoot to Thrill All-Female Tribute to AC/DC (CB) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Spogga: Brother Hash (PO) 7p House of Blues Restaurant: Geovane Santos (LT) 12p, Marcos and Crescent Citizen (FK) 3:30p, Captain Buckles Band (FK) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Engine Joe, Blue Velvet, Pierce and the Gals (ID) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Steve Jessup’s Comedy Roadshow (CO) 10p Jazz and Heritage Center: Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet (JV) 8p & 9:30p Jazz Playhouse: Tom Hook (JV) 5p, Michael Watson and the Alchemy (JV) 8p Joy Theater: A Very Boogie Buku feat. Boogie T., Russ Liquid, Eprom, CloZee (VR) 12:30a Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Kerwin and Geoff Coats (FO) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7 & 9p Little Tropical Isle: Reed Lightfoot (RK) 5p, Styk (RK) 9p Louisiana Music Factory: Red Bean Madness feat.

Bon Bon Vivant, Brittany Purdy and others (VR) 2p Maple Leaf: Post-Buku Rage feat. Russ Liquid, Khris Royal, Deven Trusclair, Ari Teitel, Andriu Yanovski and Max Moran (FK) 10p Mardi Gras World: Buku Music + Art Project (VR) 2p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger and Lester Caliste with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Soul Rebels (BB) 9:30p Smoothie King Center: Luke Bryan, Brothers Osborne, Granger Smith (CW) 7p Snug Harbor: Jamison Ross CD-release party (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): MainLine (FK) 10p Three Muses: Salvatore Geloso (JV) 6p, Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 9p Tipitina’s: Water Seed, Omari Neville and the Fuel feat. Cyril Neville, Lilli Lewis, Corey Henry, Erica Falls (VR) 9p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: the Troubadour (KJ) 1p, Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p

SUNDAY MARCH 11

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Little Coquette (JV) 4p, Steve Pistorius Quartet (VR) 7p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p, Hill Country Hounds (CW) 10p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Anuraag Pendyal (JV) 7p; Upstairs: Church (EL) 10p House of Blues (the Parish): Exodus, the Void, Six Pack (ME) 7:30p House of Blues Restaurant: Jason Bishop (FO) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Easy Star All-Stars (RE) 10p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Traditional Irish Session (FO) 5p, Patrick Cooper (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road (JV) 11a Little Tropical Isle: Styk (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (VR) 9p Mahalia Jackson Theater: New Orleans Opera Association presents Terence Blanchard’s Champion: An Opera in Jazz (JV) 2:30p

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MARCH 2018

Maison: NOLA Jitterbugs Jazz Band, the Function, Nickel-A-Dance (JV) 10a, Royal Street Winding Boys, Higher Heights (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: Bolivar’s Birthday Bash feat. Eric Bolivar, Donnie Sundal and Ron Johnson (FK) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Bruce Daigrepont (KJ) 5p Siberia: Sam Doores presents For the Sake of the Song (SS) 8p Snug Harbor: Roger Lewis and friends (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Gouzy Band (JV) 2p, Kristina Morales and the Inner Wild (JV) 6p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Juju Child and the Hypnotic Roots Band (BL) 9p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

MONDAY MARCH 12

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Sarah Quintana (JV) 7p, Funk Monkey (FK) 10p Funky Pirate: Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p House of Blues Restaurant: Sean Riley (BL) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, the Trongone Band (CW) 8p Jazz Playhouse: Gerald French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Two Sheets to the Wind (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Maison: Chicken and Waffles, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (JV) 4p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio feat. Michael Lemmler and Terrence Houston (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 10p Orpheum Theater: Fleet Foxes, Natalie Prass (ID) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Three Muses: Bart Ramsey (JV) 5p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: Graham Robinson Band (RK) 5:15p, Trop Rock Express (RK) 9:15p

TUESDAY MARCH 13

Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 9p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Vundabar, Ratboys, Treadles (ID) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: Stranger Ranger (ID) 8p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Songwriter Sessions (SS) 7p House of Blues Restaurant: Michael Liuzza (BL) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: James Rivers Movement (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Yoshitaka Tsuji Trio (JV) 7p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Pentone (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maison: Bon Bon Vivant, Gregory Agid Quartet, Sam Friend (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Old U.S. Mint: Down on Their Luck Orchestra (JV) 2p One Eyed Jacks: Ezra Furman (VR) 8p Siberia: Jack Donovan EP-release show, Wilder Maker, Midriff (RK) 9p Snug Harbor: Stanton Moore Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p Tipitina’s: Nahko and Medicine for the People, Xiuhtezcatl (VR) 9p

Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9:15p

Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

WEDNESDAY MARCH 14

FRIDAY MARCH 16

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RK) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, DanceHall Classics (RE) 10p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (BL) 6p House of Blues Restaurant: Cary Hudson (FO) 6p Jazz Playhouse: James Williams Jazz (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Lafayette Square: Wednesday at the Square feat.

Lost Bayou Ramblers (VR) 5:30p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Cole Williams, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots (VR) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p One Eyed Jacks: Vixens and Vinyl (VR) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p The Sandbar (Loyola University): Jazz at the Sandbar feat. Evan Christopher (JV) 7p Siberia: LaMifa (SI) 9p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p Three Muses: Andre Bohren (JV) 5p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Original: Debi and the Deacons (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

THURSDAY MARCH 15

Buffa’s: Gumbo Cabaret (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Alexis and the Samurai (ID) 7p, Little Freddie King (BL) 10p House of Blues (the Parish): the Wind, the Wave, Jesse Ruben, Rachel Price (RK) 8p House of Blues Restaurant: Jake Landry (BL) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: Brass-A-Holics (BB) 8:30p Kerry Irish Pub: the One Tailed Three (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (FK) 11p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Monty Banks Is Fats Sinatra (PI) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Allen Hebert (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Maison: Good For Nothin’ Band, G and the Swinging Gypsies, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Richard Scott (PI) 7p, Dirtyvich (FK) 10p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Bayou Saints (VR) 6p Old Point Bar: Luna Mora (LT) 9p Old U.S. Mint: Betty Shirley Band (JV) 1p Orpheum Theater: the LPO presents Pines of Rome with Bela Fleck (CL) 7:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Tim Laughlin with Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco RoadRunners (ZY) 8:30p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. Sages of Khelm (KL) 9p Snug Harbor: Evan Christopher and Clarinet Road feat. Vinny Raniolo (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Up Up We Go (JV) 2p, Sarah McCoy and the Oopsie Daisies (JV) 4p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Maggie Belle Band Music Video-Release Show, Tasche and the Psychedelic Roses, Helen Gillet (FK) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Mia Borders (JV) 8p

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 6p, Cole Williams (VR) 9p Bullet’s: Original Pinettes Brass Band (BB) 9p Contemporary Arts Center: Miguel Zenon: Tipico (LT) 7:30p d.b.a.: Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 6p, Honey Island Swamp Band (RR) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 7p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues: New Politics, Dreamers, the Wrecks (RK) 7:30p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues (the Parish): Iced Earth, Sanctuary, Kill Ritual (ME) 7:30p House of Blues Restaurant: Dick Deluxe (BL) 12p, Restaurant: Captain Buckles Band (FK) 3:30p, Jon Roniger Trio (BL) 7p Jazz Playhouse: Joe Krown (JV) 4:30p, Quiana Lynell (JV) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat.

Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Joy Theater: Above and Beyond, Spencer Brown (VR) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Vali Talbot (IR) 5p, Paintbox with Dave James and Tim Robertson (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (PI) 5p, Naydja Cojoe (JV) 8p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Raw Deal, Big Easy Brawlers (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Sonic Bloom (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Bonerama (BB) 9:30p Siberia: Tommy Stinson, Cowboys in the Campfire, Chicken Snake, DJs D. Lefty Parker and James Weber (CW) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings (JV) 6p, James Martin (JV) 10p Three Muses: Royal Roses (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

SATURDAY MARCH 17

Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band (JV) 6p, the Royal Rounders (GY) 9p Contemporary Arts Center: Miguel Zenon: Tipico (LT) 7:30p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p Creole Cookery: Trad Stars Jazz Band (JV) 11a d.b.a.: Brass-A-Holics (BB) 11p House of Blues: Jeezy, Tee Grizzley (HH) 9p House of Blues Restaurant: Geovane Santos (LT) 12p, Marcos and Crescent Citizen (FK) 3:30p, Gypsy Elise (BL) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Stoked: NOLA’s Best Comedians (CO) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Oscar Rossignoli (JV) 5p, Shannon Powell Quartet (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: St. Patrick’s Day with Van Hudson (IR) 11:30a, Speed the Mule (IR) 2:30p, Roux the Day (IR) 7p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7 & 9p Little Tropical Isle: Reed Lightfoot (RK) 5p, Styk (RK) 9p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, Royal Street Winding Boys, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 1p, the Wahala Boys, Roccadile (FK) 10p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Maple Leaf: St. Patrick’s Day with the McSuspects (FK) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Thou, Space Cadaver, Vile Creature (VR) 8p Orpheum Theater: the LPO presents Pines of Rome with Bela Fleck (CL) 7:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: the Topcats (VR) 9:30p Siberia: Debauche, the Zydepunks, Rotten Cores (PK) 9p Snug Harbor: Phillip Manuel Birthday Salute to Nat King Cole (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Russell Welch’s Gypsy Jazz (JV) 2p, John Lisi and Delta Funk (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Muses: Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

SUNDAY MARCH 18

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, BellaDonnas (JV) 4p, Steve Pistorius Quartet (JV) 7p Bullet’s: VL and Just Eight Band (RB) 6p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Anuraag Pendyal (JV) 7p; Upstairs: Church (EL) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Gasa Gasa: the Glorious Sons (RK) 9p House of Blues Restaurant: Jason Bishop (FO) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Will Dickerson (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Maison: NOLA Jitterbugs Jazz Band (JV) 10a, Tuba Skinny, Higher Heights (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: Roland Guerin Band (VR) 10p One Eyed Jacks: Marina Orchestra (VR) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Snug Harbor: Johnny Vidacovich Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Mac Sabbath, the Unnaturals, House of Goats (VR) 7p Spotted Cat: Hunter Burgamy (JV) 2p, Kristina Morales and the Inner Wild (JV) 6p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Juju Child and the Hypnotic Roots Band (BL) 9p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Sunday Youth Music Workshop feat. Joy Orleans (VR) 1p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

MONDAY MARCH 19

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Big Sam and the Krewe (FK) 10p Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing feat. Jeremy Joyce Trio, Madeline’s Forgotten Treasures (SI) 8p, AudioDope with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Funky Pirate: Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p House of Blues Restaurant: Sean Riley (BL) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Father Mountain (ID) 8p Jazz Playhouse: Gerald French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Mahalia Jackson Theater: Bill Murray, Jan Vogler and Friends: New Worlds (CL) 7:30p Maison: Chicken and Waffles, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (JV) 4p Maple Leaf: Terence Higgins’ Greasy Organ Trio (FK) 10p

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Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 10p Republic: the Frights (RK) 9p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Three Muses: Monty Banks (JV) 5p Tipitina’s: Celebrating David Bowie feat. Joe Sumner, Mr. Hudson, Evan Rachel Wood (VR) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: Graham Robinson Band (RK) 5:15p, Trop Rock Express (RK) 9:15p

TUESDAY MARCH 20

Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Gasa Gasa: the Nude Party (ID) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: Felix, Nyce, Mighty Brother (RK) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Songwriter Sessions (SS) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Joy Theater: Suicide Girls Blackheart Burlsesque (BQ) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Yoshitaka Tsuji Trio (JV) 7p Maison: Gregory Agid Quartet, Gene’s Music Machine (VR) 6:30p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Snug Harbor: Tribute to Scott Joplin feat. Tom McDermott (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Noruz record-release show (JV) 9p Three Muses: Sam Cammarata (JV) 5p, Josh Gouzy (JV) 8p Trinity Episcopal Church: North Star Boys Choir with Albinas Prizgintas (CL) 6p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9:15p UNO Performing Arts Center: Musical Excursions presents Ilya Yakushev (PI) 7p

WEDNESDAY MARCH 21

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RK) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dixon Hall (Tulane University): Louis Moreau Institute presents Visions and Revisions: Music of Reflection and Refraction (CL) 7:30p French Market: Patrick Cooper and Natasha Sanchez (FO) 1:30p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Jared and the Mill (RK) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: Delta Revues (BL) 6p House of Blues Restaurant: Cary Hudson (FO) 6p Jazz Playhouse: Band of Freeman (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Lafayette Square: Wednesday at the Square (VR) 5:30p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maison: Eight Dice Cloth, Jazz Vipers, Roccadile (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Cole Williams and friends (SO) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Old U.S. Mint: Sarah Quintana Duo (SS) 1p One Eyed Jacks: Hinds, Albert Hammond Jr. (VR) 7p, Vixens and Vinyl (VR) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p The Sandbar (Loyola University): Jazz at the Sandbar feat. Jane Bunnett and Maqueque (JV) 7p MA RC H 2 018

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Siberia: LaMifa (SI) 9p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p St. Louis Cathedral: the HNOC and LPO present Musical Louisiana: America’s Cultural Heritage (CL) 7:30p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Ivan Neville’s Nola Nites with special guests (VR) 9p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Schatzy (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: Debi and the Deacons (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

THURSDAY MARCH 22

Buffa’s: Leslie Cooper and the Music Street Jazz Band with Doyle Cooper (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p Bullet’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 6p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p d.b.a.: the Bailsmen (JV) 7p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: River Dragon (RK) 6p, Jockum Nordstrom and Joakiim Ahlund (JV) 9p House of Blues: Eli Young Band (CW) 8p House of Blues Restaurant: Jake Landry (BL) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: Ashlin Parker Trio (JV) 6p, Brass-AHolics (BB) 8:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Anette and Mark (FO) 5p, Roy Gele (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Deacon John and the Ivories (RB) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Allen Hebert (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Maison: Good For Nothin’ Band, Roamin’ Jasmine, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Andre Bohren (PI) 7p, Johnny Vidacovich, Brian Stoltz and Roland Guerin (FK) 10p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p Old U.S. Mint: Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 1p Palm Court Jazz Café: Ben Polcer and Tim Laughlin with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Rusty Metoyer (ZY) 8:30p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. Blato Zato (KL) 9p Snug Harbor: Jane Bunnett and Maqueque (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Up Up We Go (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Soundbytes with PJ Morton (RB) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

FRIDAY MARCH 23

Bacchanal: the Tangiers Combo (JV) 12p, Harmonouche (JV) 5p, Willie Green (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Banu Gibson (JV) 6p, Margie Perez (SO) 9p d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 6p, George Porter Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners (FK) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Alfred Banks, Chase N. Cashe, Dappa, E.F. Cuttin’ (HH) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: Morgan W. Presents Partyoke (HH) 10p House of Blues: Strangelove: Tribute to Depeche Mode, Gentlemen Commoners: Tribute to the Smiths (CB) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues (the Parish): LouMuzik Live (HH) 10p House of Blues Restaurant: Dick Deluxe (BL) 12p, Captain Buckles Band (FK) 3:30p, Jillian and the Mix (JV) 7p

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MARCH 2018

Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Wes Williams Band (SO) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Luke’s House Brass Bash (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Joe Krown (JV) 4:30p, Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, the One Tailed Three (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (PI) 5p, Deacon John and the Ivories (RB) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Reed Lightfoot (RK) 5p, Styk (RK) 9p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Raw Deal, Musical Expression (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: DJ Soul Sister presents Soulful Takeover (FK) 10p Siberia: Valparaiso Men’s Chorus, Malevitus (FO) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Contraflow, Adam Pearce (VR) 8:30p; Deck Room: Fighting For Frequency, One Time Jupiter, Vedas (VR) 9p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (JV) 6p, the Catahoulas (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Cha Wa (MG) 10p Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p UNO Lakefront Arena: Arena Grounds: Hogs For the Cause (VR) 3:30p

SATURDAY MARCH 24

Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Marla Dixon (JV) 6p, Catie Rodgers (JV) 9p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Roamin’ Jasmine (JV) 7p, Cyril Neville and Swamp Funk, the Fuel (FK) 11p Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall: Aurora Nealand and Tom McDermott (JV) 6:30p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues Restaurant: Geovane Santos (LT) 12p, Marcos and Crescent Citizen (FK) 3:30p, Big Al and the Heavyweights (BL) 7p Jazz Playhouse: Tom Hook (JV) 5p, Michael Watson and the Alchemy (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Big Easy International Film Festival (FO) 1p, Van Hudson (IR) 5p, Invisible Cowboy Band (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Deacon John and the Ivories (RB) 7:30p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, the Bailsmen, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 1p, Big Easy Brawlers, RnR Music Group (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: the Iceman Special (VR) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Book of Love (VR) 9p Orpheum Theater: the LPO presents Simply Sinatra with Steve Lippia (CL) 7:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Pontchartrain Wrecks, Remedy (RK) 9:30p Siberia: High, Lawn Chairs, the Stacks (RK) 9p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis CD-release party (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Dark Effects, Fly Molo, Solunar, Vega (VR) 8p Spotted Cat: Jazz Band Ballers (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): HOUxNOLA with Jack Freeman and friends (RB) 9p Three Muses: Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Time Out: Andre Bouvier and the Royal Bohemians (VR) 11a Tropical Isle Bayou Club: the Troubadour (KJ) 1p, Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

UNO Lakefront Arena: Arena Grounds: Hogs For the Cause (VR) 11:30a

Tropical Isle Original: Graham Robertson (RK) 5:15p, Trop Rock Express (RK) 9:15p

SUNDAY MARCH 25

TUESDAY MARCH 27

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Songwriter Circle feat. Natasha Sanchez, Natalie Mae and Kelcy Mae (SS) 4p, Steve Pistorius Quartet (JV) 7p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Anuraag Pendyal (JV) 7p; Upstairs: Church (EL) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Gasa Gasa: the Weeks, Caroline Rose (ID) 9p House of Blues Restaurant: Jason Bishop (FO) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Big Easy International Film Festival (FO) 1p, Will Dickerson (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Maison: NOLA Jitterbugs Jazz Band, the Function, Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 10a, Brad Walker, Higher Heights (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: Jamie Galloway’s Big-Ass Crawfish Party Benefiting the New Orleans Musicians Clinic (VR) 3p One Eyed Jacks: Patrick Shuttleswerth Plays You Records (VR) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Siberia: Sam Doores presents For the Sake of the Song (SS) 9p Smoothie King Center: Bon Jovi (RK) 7:30p Snug Harbor: Cindy Scott Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Jamey St. Pierre and the Honeycreepers (JV) 2p, Kristina Morales and the Inner Wild (JV) 6p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Mickey Avalon, Dirty Nasty (VR) 9p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Roland Cheramie and friends (KJ) 5p, Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p UNO Lakefront Arena: Justin Moore, Dylan Scott (CW) 7:30p

MONDAY MARCH 26

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Big Sam and the Krewe (FK) 10p Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing feat. Neela, Chris Johnson and the Jazz Band Ballers (SI) 8p, AudioDope with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Funky Pirate: Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (JV) 10p House of Blues Restaurant: Sean Riley (BL) 6p Jazz Playhouse: Gerald French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maison: Chicken and Waffles, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (JV) 4p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio feat. Michael Lemmler and Terrence Houston (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 10p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Moonshine Taste with Nicole Lynn Foxx (VR) 9p Three Muses: Bart Ramsey (JV) 5p, Washboard Rodeo (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9p

Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Columns Hotel: New Orleans Guitar Masters feat.

Jimmy Robinson, Cranston Clements and John Rankin (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Songwriter Sessions (SS) 7p House of Blues Restaurant: Michael Liuzza (BL) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Howlin’ Wolf (Front Porch): Random Rab, Push/ Pull (PO) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: NOLA Dukes (VR) 7p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Pentone (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Siberia: Alexandra Scott, Dayna Kurtz, the Light Set (FO) 9p Snug Harbor: Matt Perrine Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9:15p

WEDNESDAY MARCH 28

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RK) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, DanceHall Classics (RE) 10p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Delta Revues (BL) 6p, New Orleans Guitar Night (VR) 9p House of Blues: Brian Fallon and the Howling Weather (RK) 8p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (BL) 6p House of Blues Restaurant: Cary Hudson (FO) 6p Jazz Playhouse: James Williams Jazz (JV) 8p Joy Theater: Broken Social Scene, the Belle Game (VR) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Tim Robertson (FO) 8:30p Lafayette Square: Wednesday at the Square (VR) 5:30p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maison: the Bailsmen, Jazz Vipers, the B Miller Zone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Cole Williams Band, Trapper Keaper (VR) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p One Eyed Jacks: Vixens and Vinyl (VR) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): SONO presents Nutria Trio record-release show (JV) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: Debi and the Deacons (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

THURSDAY MARCH 29

Buffa’s: Gumbo Cabaret (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC d.b.a.: Lulu and the Broadsides feat. Dayna Kurtz (JV) 7p, Deltaphonic (FK) 10p Dos Jefes: Matt Lemmler Trio with James Singleton and Steve Masakowski (JV) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Crescent Fresh Comedy (CO) 7p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Monogold (ID) 9p House of Blues Restaurant: Jake Landry (BL) 6p Jazz National Historical Park: 12th Street Jazz Connection (JV) 2p Jazz Playhouse: Brass-A-Holics (BB) 8:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Madeline Ford (VR) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Allen Hebert (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Maison: Tuba Skinny, Good For Nothin’ Band, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: CR Groover (PI) 7p, Johnny Vidacovich, Papa Mali and Ron Johnson (FK) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Ben Polcer with Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas (ZY) 8:30p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. Panorama Brass Band, Hot Blood Orchestra (KL) 9p Snug Harbor: Shannon Powell Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Up Up We Go (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Keith Burnstein (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Cajun Drifters (KJ) 5p, Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 9p

FRIDAY MARCH 30

Buffa’s: Dayna Kurtz (JV) 6p, Marina Orchestra (VR) 9p d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 7p, Marc Stone and friends feat. John Mooney, Kirk Joseph, Darcy Malone and Micah McKee (BL) 10p Dos Jefes: Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots (ZY) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 7p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues: R&B Only with DJ Printz and Jabari (RB) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues Restaurant: Dick Deluxe (BL) 12p, Captain Buckles Band (FK) 3:30p Jazz National Historical Park: Sugar Foot Stompers (VR) 1:30p Jazz Playhouse: Joe Krown (JV) 4:30p, Little Freddie King (BL) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Guitar Slim Jr. (BL) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (PI) 5p, Naydja Cojoe (JV) 8p Maple Leaf: Smoke N Bones (VR) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a Old Point Bar: Rick Trolsen (PI) 5p, One Percent Nation (RK) 9:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Sarah Quintana, Up Up We Go, Nebula Rosa (FO) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Mothership: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin (VR) 8p; Deck Room: Leafdrinker, Natural Velvet, Gools, Killer Dale (VR) 8p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings (JV) 6p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 10p Three Muses: Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p UNO Lakefront Arena: Big Easy Blues Festival (BL) 7p

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SATURDAY MARCH 31

Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Kyle Roussel (JV) 6p, Carolyn Broussard (VR) 9p d.b.a.: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns (JV) 7p, Lost Bayou Ramblers (KJ) 11p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Pink Room Project (VR) 11p House of Blues: Bustout Burlesque and the Bustout Jazz Band (BQ) 9p House of Blues (the Parish): the Throwback (HH) 10p House of Blues Restaurant: Geovane Santos (LT) 12p, Marcos and Crescent Citizen (FK) 3:30p, Bon Bon Vivant (SI) 7p Howlin’ Wolf: WellRed: From Dixie With Love Tour (CO) 7:30p Jazz Playhouse: Tom Hook (JV) 5p, Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 8p Joy Theater: Cut Copy (VR) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Lynn Drury (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7 & 9p; Marc Stone Presents Alana Davis (BL) 8p Little Tropical Isle: Reed Lightfoot (RK) 5p, Styk (RK) 9p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, Royal Street Winding Boys, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 4p, Brass-A-Holics, Gene’s Music Machine (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Jeff Watkins’ Hip Pocket (VR) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: John “Papa” Gros Band’s Big Lebowski Party (FK) 9p Siberia: Alex McMurray (RR) 6p, Yes Ma’am (FO) 9p Snug Harbor: Herlin Riley Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: the Molly Ringwalds (VR) 8p Spotted Cat: Jazz Band Ballers (JV) 2p, Ecirb Muller’s Twisted Dixie (JV) 6p, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns (JV) 10p Three Muses: Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Time Out: Andre Bouvier and the Royal Bohemians (VR) 11a Tropical Isle Bayou Club: the Troubadour (KJ) 1p, Faubourg Ramblers (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p UNO Lakefront Arena: Katt Williams (VR) 8p

FESTIVALS March 3-4 The Congo Square Rhythms Festival at Armstrong Park featuring Mardi Gras Indians, African dance and drum circles, brass bands, live music and food vendors. CongoSquareRhythms.com March 9-10 The Buku Music + Art Project at Mardi Gras World features live music, art installations, and food and drink vendors. TheBukuProject.com March 15 Admission to the Top Taco NOLA Festival in Woldenberg Park includes cocktail, tequila and taco tastings and live music. TopTacoNola.com March 23-24 Hogs for the Cause includes a barbecue cookoff, tastings, food and drink vendor and live music on UNO’s Lakefront Arena grounds.

HogsForTheCause.org

SPECIAL EVENTS March The Bean Madness competition determines the best restaurant-cooked red beans and rice in New Orleans throughout March.

March 9, 11 The New Orleans Opera Association presents Terence Blanchard’s Champion: An Opera in Jazz at the Mahalia Jackson Theater.

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BACKTALK

Terence Blanchard

talks back

PHOTO: lee crum

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nitially renowned as a jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, New Orleans native son and five-time Grammy winner Terence Blanchard, 55, has since delved into music from numerous angles. He became director/producer Spike Lee’s go-to guy for film scores, has composed classical pieces and continues to be deeply involved in music education. Blanchard was once the head of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and he currently teaches one week a month at Boston’s Berklee College of music.

In 2011, Blanchard took on the challenge to write his first opera. His selected subject was the life of Emile Griffith, a boxer who, being bisexual and having pummeled a man in the ring who subsequently died, faced overwhelming battles of his own. “Champion: An Opera in Jazz,” which premiered in 2013 in St. Louis, will be presented on March 9 and March 11 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. It will be performed by the New Orleans Opera with music by the Louisiana Philharmonic and a four-piece, jazz rhythm section. The jazz group includes all local talents with pianist Michael Pellera, guitarist Steve Masakowski, bassist Jason Stewart and drummer Herman LeBeaux. The performances will feature the creators of the original roles, vocalists Arthur Woodley, playing old Emile, and Aubrey Allicock, playing the young Emile.

“The thing that’s been freaking me out and what’s so ironic about it is that my life has come full circle,” Blanchard reveals. “What a lot of people don’t know about me is that my father was a big fan of opera. He was a baritone and he sang in church and did recitals.”

Even so, the hugely talented trumpeter never actually, and he says regrettably, saw an opera until 2011 when he attended the Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ production of John Corigliano’s “The Ghosts of Versailles.”

Blanchard understands that some of his fans might be intimidated by the prospect of going to an opera. “The thing I would tell people is to stop thinking opera,” he offers. “Think musical theater in its highest form performed at a high level of proficiency by great musicians and great singers. That’s the way I really feel about it.”

While composing a large-scale opera with international sights was a first for Blanchard, boxing, he explains, was familiar territory. He www.OFFBEAT.com

began heading to a boxing gym some 20 years ago and continues hitting the bag to this day.

How did your being commissioned to write an opera for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis come about?

What happened was that they wanted to broaden their audience and they kept thinking that jazz had to be a part of the equation. So they talked Gene Dobbs Bradford who heads Jazz St. Louis about the possibilities of doing this. He remembered the conversations that I had with him about my father years ago. So he said I have the perfect person. So when they met with me they said we want you to write an opera. And I said, ‘Wow.’ At first they wanted me to do something about Hurricane Katrina but I thought it was too close. So I kept saying I didn’t want to do that.

I had this thought about Emile on my mind.

Michael Bentt, who was a good friend of mine, also was a heavyweight boxing champion, and I would always have conversations about fighters

By Geraldine Wyckoff

and fights. He’s the one who told me about Emile Griffith and when I learned of his story I kept saying wow, that’s a powerful story. I mean it’s not about boxing, it’s about redemption and forgiveness. And when I read the line in his [Griffith’s] biography, ‘I killed a man and the world forgave me. I loved a man and the world still hasn’t forgiven me,’ I said, you know what, this is what the story [for the opera] has to be.

When I first brought the idea to them they turned it away thinking it was going to be about boxing. I said no, it’s not really about boxing. I told them to get the book [Nine…

Ten… and Out!] and look at the documentary [Ring of Fire]. They agreed it was powerful story.

Why is it called an Opera in Jazz rather than a jazz opera?

The reason I didn’t want to say jazz opera is because I didn’t want people to think there would be swing throughout the entire thing with a rhythm section and maybe a big band. I MA RC H 2 018

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“It’s profound for me—it’s not lost on me—to have an opera that I’ve written be performed in my hometown.” use the language of jazz throughout the opera but there are moments when it’s totally just orchestra. I’m using that European language to tell the story. It’s a combination of both things.

When it was mentioned to a friend that you had written an opera and it was about boxer Emile Griffith, he laughed and said, “Oh so they won’t be wearing Viking hats?”

[Terence laughs.] There has always been stereotypes about opera just like there are about jazz. People who don’t venture out are missing out. What I tell people is just go check it out for yourself. Don’t allow pop culture to dissuade you from having what could possibly be a very beautiful experience. Me, myself being one of those persons. It took me until 2011 to actually go and see opera for the first time—and that’s a shame—and I was totally floored and blown away by the entire experience. To me it’s like 3-D before 3-D ever existed—bodies moving around a stage, singing lines and telling stories through music. It’s amazing.

Was the first opera you saw sung in English?

Yes, it was. I think Opera Theatre of St. Louis does all of their operas in English. It’s been met with some blowback but they have a thriving opera company that’s supported by the community and a lot of people show up to the performances. So hurrah for them for understanding how to broaden their audience.

Your jazz and classical compositions are instrumental pieces. Have you written lyrics? Did you and Michael Cristofer, who wrote the libretto, work cooperatively?

No, I haven’t written for lyrics—well, maybe years ago for something Spike [Lee] did. It was a totally different experience for me. The way I worked with Michael is that he wrote the libretto first. There was a bit of going back and forth but not a whole lot. I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic whenever I write because of my film background. I just felt like a fish out of water throughout the entire experience. In fact we all did. They [the vocalists] thought I was going to ask them to be like Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Williams. Everybody was a little nervous but once we got to the workshop and got to rehearse, we started to realize that this is music, this is just storytelling so let’s go from that vantage point.

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The cool thing about it, when we were working on it, the singers were expecting me to just come in with written music and say, ‘Sing this.’ Well I have the written music but I kept telling them that I’m open to suggestions. They helped me learn by constantly asking me questions. Denise asked me, ‘Hey can I do this in the libretto? It gives me more time to take a breath.’ I’m like sure.

In any great art form, there’s the craft of it, there’s the theory of it and there’s the history of it.

When a practical application comes, it’s all about how you make your statement. What differentiate our statements is the little adjustments we make.

It’s the same way playing jazz. You play with one drummer and you swap it out [for another] and you have to learn how to adjust. Boxing is always about adjustments. You may train because the guy may have a strong jab and then you get into the fight and he might not jab at all and you have to learn how to compensate.

You’ve been into boxing a long time.

How did you get into it?

I’ve been boxing for 20 years, though I’ve never been to a professional fight. I love going to the gym and I love hitting the heavy bag and sparring with some of those young boys who are much quicker than me. There was a guy called Charlie Gallager here who had a boxing gym and I walked by—I had been doing some kickboxing—and when I saw it I just walked in. He was my first trainer. Charlie got me into it and I haven’t looked back.

Did your boxing experience help you in writing the music for “Champion”?

Oh, definitely. It helped me in telling the story. For any guys to make it into the ring is a serious accomplishment and they work extremely hard. We wanted the element in the opera of him [Emile] working hard, learning and training. Not making it seem as if these guys are up there just throwing punches. We do it through the libretto. I have some rhythmic grooves that are going on underneath to give people an understanding of the tempo and the pace that these guys are working at.

As you know, the first opera house in the United States was in New Orleans. Does that impact the significance of this performance?

One of the things about being from New Orleans is the history of our culture is always

there no matter what you do. It’s so embedded in us. The most interesting thing about this for me, because people look at me as a jazz musician, is that the culture of choral music has made an appearance in this project. I grew up listening to that. I grew up in the church. I grew up hearing that all of the time. A lot of the prominent African American singers that do opera—a good portion of them—started singing in the church. And you can hear that.

It’s profound for me—it’s not lost on me—to have an opera that I’ve written be performed in my hometown. I still remember when I would go to the symphony performances and how in awe I was of the orchestra. When I finally got to play with those guys, it was an amazing experience.

Now to have something like this be put on the stage of the Mahalia Jackson Theater, it’s an overwhelming thing. I get a little emotional about it sometime because my father is not around to see it. My dad used to rehearse every Wednesday night with a guy named Osceola Blanchet. He was guy who taught a lot of young African American men opera. My dad learned opera from him. He was the organist in our church and he had a group called the Osceola Five. Every now and then, my dad would bring me over there [to the rehearsals].

I played the piano at the time and as soon as I walked in the door, he would say, ‘Play your piece Terence, play your piece.’ That was the culture that I grew up in, with these black men sitting around singing operatic excerpts. They sang them in their native tongue—Italian, German—as well as doing spiritual music.

I’m still pinching myself. You would think that with all my music, I wouldn’t be that way, but I am. It’s monumental for me. Being a jazz musician is what I love but I know that this is what my mom and my family love so I know it’s going to be big for them.

You always seem to have many projects going on at the same time. What else are you up to?

I’ve written another opera based on the New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s memoir, Fire Shut Up in My Bones. I also have a new album, Liar, coming out in April that was recorded live in Cleveland, Minneapolis, Dallas and New York where there was gun violence against unarmed African Americans. Also, Spike Lee’s new film, Black Klansman, [which Blanchard scored] is now in post-production.

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