When are we going to catch a break? This Saturday (and last Saturday), it rained like cats and dogs, and washed away a lot of the business for local clubs and for local retailers–at least those who weren’t in malls! A good friend just came into the office who’s a club owner, and told us that business this last Saturday was about 10% of what it usually is on a Saturday night. I’m pretty sure most others are feeling the crunch, too. Bad weather on top of a recession can’t be good for anyone who’s in business.  At least the Saints won, but that isn’t helping the people in the music and entertainment business. So unless you wanna tie all your hopes to the Saints, please go out and listen to some live local music–the musicians and local music clubs need your support! And don’t you need a little musical cheer in these rough economic times?

Of note: the Soul Rebels have a new live CD hitting the street in February. It’s a live CD and will be the band’s first CD release in over four years…OffBeat will have some pairs of tickets to the Eric Clapton show in March that we’ll be giving away in upcoming weeks on the Weekly Beat, so sign up to get it now!

Tickets for Best of The Beat are now on sale. It’s going to be a great show, with Galactic, Bonerama, MyNameIsJohnMichael, the Panorama Jazz Band, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, and many more. Tickets are only $25 each and include free food from some of New Orleans best restaurants: the Gumbo Shop. the Praline Connection, the Joint, and many more. Please buy a few and give as gifts!