Ideas for live local music

Below find a few of my picks for live local music shows in the first few days of this year’s conference. I’ll post some picks for next week over the weekend.
Also, check out the Gambit Weekly (a free weekly newspaper) and the Times-Picayune’s (New Orleans’ daily newspaper) Living and Lagniappe sections for other ideas.
Please feel free to add other ideas for good musical outings as you come across them.
A couple of quick notes: 1) Check a map to make sure you know where you are going even if the venue you choose to go to is in the CBD or French Quarter. You may want to take a cab even if I haven’t noted it as necessary here depending on the temperature outside and walking distance...
2) The numbers for United Cab are 504-522-9771 and 504-524-9606.
Here are some of my suggestions for good music venues and shows:

Friday July 13, 2007
Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St. 504-895-8117
Joe Krown, 7pm.
Joe Krown is a great local piano/keyboard player who plays this weekly set at Le Bon Temps. You’ll find an eclectic after work crowd at this uptown bar. Most Friday’s free oysters on the half shell are served to accompany Joe Krown’s acoustic set.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub: 733 Bourbon St. 504-561-0432
Ryan Burrage and his Rhythmakers, 9 pm
Fritzel’s is one of my favorite spots for traditional jazz in New Orleans. Ryan Burrage leads the house band for 9 o’clock shows Wed.-Sat.

Tipitina’s Uptown: 501 Napoleon Ave. 504-895-TIPS (8477); www.tipitinas.com
Tab Benoit w/ Monk Boudreaux & Jumpin’ Johnny Sanson, Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, 10 pm; FREE
This show is part of the “Free Foundation Series.” Tab Benoit is a great live performer and Amanda Shaw is a talented young fiddle player and singer.
Make sure to get there early as the show has no cover charge.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St. 504-949-0696; www.snugjazz.com
Ellis Marsalis Quartet, 8 and 10.
Ellis Marsalis is one of the legends of modern New Orleans jazz and the patriarch of one of New Orleans’ great jazz families. Mr. Marsalis is the father of Branford, Wynton, Jason and other famous jazz musicians in the international spotlight. This weekly gig at Snug Harbor is always a treat.

Saturday July 14, 2007
House of Blues: 225 Decatur St. 504-310-4999; www.hob.com
Steel Pulse w/ Joseph Israel, 8 pm
Catch a night of reggae music with Steel Pulse after the Opening Event.

Spotted Cat: 623 Frenchmen St. 504-943-3887
Washboard Chaz, 6:30 pm
As his name suggests, Chaz is one of New Orleans foremost washboard musicians. Always an entertaining show.

Maple Leaf Bar: 8316 Oak St. 504-866-9359
Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, 10 pm
Both this band and venue will prove to be memorable. The Maple Leaf is a tiny club that is usually packed with sweaty, dancing music lovers all year round. The shows usually do not start on time so be prepared to a full evening of fun and good music.
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Sunday July 15, 2007
Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St. 504-949-0696; www.snugjazz.com
Lionel Ferbos, 8 and 10 pm.
Join jazz trumpeter Lionel Ferbos for an evening of music at a great New Orleans jazz club.

Tipitina’s Uptown: 501 Napoleon Ave. 504-895-TIPS (8477); www.tipitinas.com
Cajun Fais Do Do w/ Bruce Daigrepont, 5:30 pm.
This weekly Cajun dance party is always a great time. The mix of traditional Louisiana French music with Cajun and Zydeco sounds will keep you on your feet. Staying on your feet is also helped by the fact that there are almost no chairs or barstools in Tipitina’s J
**Not within walking distance of the CBD or French Quarter. A cab or other transportation will be necessary.

Preservation Hall: 726 St. Peter St. 504-522-2841
Glen David Andrews & the Lazy 6, 8 pm.
Preservation Hall is a famous music venue in the French Quarter just off of Bourbon Street. This band, led by Glen Andrews, should bring a smile to any traditional jazz lover’s face.

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Preservation Hall Schedule

Schedule for Traditional Jazz Concerts at 726 St. Peter, July 2007

Night Shows from Thursday through Sunday. Gates open at 8:00 p.m. Showtimes from 8:15 to 11:00 p.m. Admission $8.00.

Sunday, 01 July - Glen David Andrews & The Lazy Six
Thursday, 05 July - Paulin Brothers Jazz Band
Friday, 06 July - Trombone Summit
Saturday, 07 July - Tenor Summit
Sunday, 08 July - Glen David Andrews & The Lazy Six
Thursday, 12 July - Paulin Brothers Jazz Band
Friday, 13 July - Joe Lastie's Lil' Jazzmen
Saturday, 14 July (Bastille Day)- New Orleans Jazz Summit
Sunday, 15 July - Glen David Andrews & The Lazy Six
Thursday, 19 July - John Royen
Friday, 20 July - Trombone Summit
Saturday, 21 July - Tenor Summit
Sunday, 22 July - Gregg Stafford
Thursday, 26 July - New Birth Brass Band
Friday, 27 July - Joe Lastie's Lil' Jazzmen
Saturday, 28 July - New Orleans Jazz Summit
Sunday, 22 July - Gregg Stafford

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Preservation Hall

For those of you who have never been to Preservation Hall at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter, let me give you a quick description. Preservation Hall is not really a hall but more of a room in the front of the building. The building itself dates from 1750, and before Allan and Sandra Jaffe founded the club in 1961, it was used for a variety of other purposes. The limited seating is not comfortable, consisting of some benches and a few chairs, and many will need to sit on the floor. There is no air conditioning; no refreshments other than bottled water are sold (although you may bring in a drink); and there are no rest rooms. The reason people form a line down the street waiting to get in is the music, pure and simple. The Jaffes wanted a place where New Orleans musicians could play New Orleans jazz, and many of the first musicians who performed at Preservation Hall had played with some of the early jazz greats.

Please take a look at the cover story of the July 2007 issue of OffBEAT Magazine by associate editor Alex Rawls. The article looks at how the second generation of the Jaffe family, Ben Jaffe, is guiding Preservation Hall to stay true to his parents' desire to save the heritage of New Orleans jazz, while incorporating new ideas. http://offbeat.com/artman/publish/article_2335.shtml
Mr. Rawls is going to see that we have some copies of the July issue to give out at the AALL Hospitality Booth.

And take a look at the Preservation Hall website as well: http://www.preservationhall.com/

The two photos of Preservation Hall performances from the 1970's come from the collection of the State Library of Louisiana, and I thank them for making them available. You may wish to search for a number of interesting Preservation Hall photos at the LOUISiana Digital Library: http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/

I will post the July schedule on the blog as well.

So, I guess food is not always the most important thing in life to New Orleanians.


Georgia Chadwick
AALL Hospitality Committee

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Hot Music Scene in Frenchmen Street – Check It Out At The 2007 AALL Annual Meeting

New Orleans, right, everyone thinks Bourbon Street. Sure, lots of clubs, lots of fun. But where’s the happening scene lately? Frenchmen Street baby. If you’d like to join Micrographics/AV SIS folks, carve out a little time Saturday and/or Tuesday evening for a musical journey.
Saturday, July 14th, we’ll start at Checkpoint Charlie’s (501 Esplanade Avenue; 504-281-4847)...
In addition to great music without a cover charge, here you’ll find good bar food, pool tables, and, just in case your luggage got a bit trashed on the way to New Orleans, a laundromat. Remember when Julia Roberts sat on the washing machine in a bar in Pelican Brief? That’s Checkpoint Charlie’s. Also, my good friend Joshua T-Bone Stone and the Lazy Boys will be playing for your listening pleasure that Saturday, 7pm-10pm. So cut out of the Opening Reception a little early and head on over to Checkpoint Charlie’s to really start off a great evening. Then, it’s a must trip to the Apple Barrel Bar (609 Frenchmen Street; 504- 949-9399). Coco Robicheaux plays his legendary mojo soul there every Saturday night.11pm-3am. For more information, check out http://www.spiritland.com/.
Tuesday evening, there are several great clubs clustered behind Checkpoint Charlie’s and near the Apple Barrel. Snug Harbor (626 Frenchmen Street; 504-949-0696) includes a bistro restaurant, bar, and music club. Its scene usually starts a little earlier, and showcases excellent local and national jazz. For more information, see http://www.snugjazz.com/. Café Brasil (2100 Chartres Street; 504-949-0851) features superb Afro-Cuban, Latin, and world music. Things get started a little early here too, and it can get crowded in the later hours. Sorry, no website, so give them a call when you get into New Orleans for details on who’s playing. d.b.a. (616 Frenchmen Street; 504-942 3731) is a spin off of the New York club by the same name, and has a renowned beer list. The bar’s motto is “drink good stuff.” Great wines as well as jazz, funk, and blues abound. For more information, see http://www.drinkgoodstuff.com/no/default.asp.
Hope to see you Saturday evening at Checkpoint Charlie’s to kick-start the Annual Meeting. Let the good times roll!

Laura E. Ray, MA, MLS
Education Coordinator, AALL Micrographics/Audiovisual
Special Interest Section

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Dennis Quaid and The Big Easy, June 21st!!!

Oh Joy, Oh Joy. Netflix is sponsoring a series of "Live On Location" films and concerts. The concept is "watch a movie star who may or may not also possess musical talent perform live and then watch an old movie with that star in it". So on June 21st (sorry, unless the out of town folks reading this are coming to the AALL Annual Meeting and Conference REALLY early, this is just for us local folks), we can see Dennis Quaid and his band The Sharks perform live and then watch a screen of "The Big Easy", ALL FOR FREE!!!! More information is here:

Dennis Quaid and The Sharks/The Big Easy, June 21st

Wow. I'm just, just speechless. His singing in the movie was passable, and now he's performing live before an outdoor screening of what may be one of the dumbest movies ever about New Orleans (well, dumbest mainstream movie about New Orleans - hands up if you've seen "Hot Thrills and Warm Chills", "Monster and the Stripper" or "Mardi Gras for the Devil"). Maybe part of his contract to agree to do this was that it had to be in late June where even at 7:00pm it can be pretty stiffling outside.

Maybe we can turn the movie viewing into a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" - type experience, with the audience talking back to the characters and throwing things at the screen. Or - and THIS is what I'm REALLY hoping for - maybe Dennis Quaid will come back on stage DURING the scene in the movie where his character is singing and he can do a duet with his twenty-years younger cinematic doppleganger. Then the next morning we can hope to see this story in the Times-Picayune: "Last night on the banks of the Missisippi, Dennis Quaid played with himself in front of a crowd of adoring fans."

Quaid's movie career led him back to New Orleans six years later in "Undercover Blues" which, while a pretty silly movie about a pair of government agents on maternity leve here in the city (co-starring Kathleen Turner as his wife and fellow undercover super-agent), it at least knew that that was all it was going to be and just camped it up for fun. "The Big Easy" tries too hard to be both a serious corrupt-cops police drama with every cliche of that genre thrown in for good measure AND an exotic New Orleans travelogue, with every cliche of THAT genre also included.

My pick for a New Orleans movie and music night, with a star who at least has a modicum of musical talent, would be "A Love Song for Bobby Long" and a concert by John Travolta singing hits from throughout his career, starting with a medly of songs from "Grease" up through his drag-queen performance in "Hairspray". But then Travolta has been getting great reviews for that movie-turned-musical-turned-movie/musical, and two of Dennis Quaids most recent films - "Flight of the Phoenix" and "Yours, Mine, and Ours" have been remakes of great old movies that should never have been touched by modern cinematic money-grubbers. (But he was great in "In Good Company".)

Oh, and the concert/movie with Dennis Quaid's band and the screening of "The Big Easy" is completely free! And if you live in either Baltimore or near - huh? - the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, you can catch the other two Netflix "Live on Location" concerts: The Bacon Brothers (Kevin and .... uh, the other Bacon brother) followed by a screening of "Diner" or The Bruce Willis Blues Band following by Armageddon (the movie, not the prophesized end of the world, as much as you might wish for that after seeing Bruce Willis perform live.) More information on those concerts here:

Netflix Live on Location

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Oh, the Music!

I just spent a couple of hours at my home desk, sorting through bank statements and looking for some tax information. A highlight of this time was listening to an album called "Our New Orleans" -- twice! And that inspired me to write my first Second Line post.

"Our New Orleans 2005" was recorded not long after Katrina and its aftermath wreaked havoc on the city. It's a benefit CD, with net proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity to aid those affected by the hurricane. So with that context, the album has a particular poignancy. "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" sung by someone who might have lost his home -- "What a Wonderful World" performed despite the devastation -- Randy Newman singing "Louisiana 1927," about a devastating hurricane from the last century.

Blues, Zydeco, Cajun, Dixieland, and more -- and each cut is great! When you go to New Orleans, you'll be treated to some great music, whether you go out to a club, walk around Jackson Square, or simply attend official AALL events (where I'm sure they'll have wonderful bands).

The liner notes are by Nick Spitzer, a professor of folklore at the University of New Orleans and the host of Public Radio International's American Routes. One anecdote I like:

Pianist, songmaker, and producer Allen Toussaint spoke with remarkable calm after the storm: "My Steinway, my records, my arrangements, my studio -- it's all gone. I had eight feet of water in my house near Bayou St. John." He escaped from his drowning city with little more than the clothes he had on, and a few family keepsakes. Dressed in a new suit with matching silk tie and pocket-handkerchief, Toussaint added, "But the spirit didn't drown. I still have my music. Give me a hammer. I'm ready to do my part."

With a funky new rendition of his classic call to action -- "Yes We Can Can," Toussaint strikes a blow for the collaborative labor, good will and essential soul it will take to rebuild New Orleans -- not so much materially as spiritually.

Check out Nick Spitzer's multimedia presentation, Rebuilding the "Land of Dreams": Expressive Culture and New Orleans' Authentic Future, on Southern Spaces (Aug. 29, 2006). It includes some of the same musicians and music as the CD.

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