August 2011

Buy Now

BackTalk

Treme Bloggers
The second season of Treme ended last month, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you really should set this story… – Alex Rawls

Bookmark

Ricky Riccardi, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years (Pantheon Books)
A friend I know as intellectual and a roots music aficionado waved off Satchmo, saying the man’s main interests “were pot… – Andrew Hamlin
City Songs: John Swenson's New Atlantis and Keith Spera's Groove Interrupted
Television before Treme treated musicians as outsiders—frequently as degenerates, at least as self-absorbed and often predatory. The HBO drama implies that… – Alex Rawls

Cover Story

The Hot 8 Brass Band: Home in My Horn
The indelible image of the Hot 8 Brass Band at a Sunday afternoon second line parade is that of sousaphone player… – Jacob Leland

Features

Locking Horns: When Miles Davis Met Wynton Marsalis
In hip-hop, they call it “beef.” Someone’s slight at a summer festival leads to another’s mixtape verse and the next thing… – Brian Boyles
The New Orleans Moonshiners: The Many Moons of Frenchmen Street
You might say that the trajectory of banjoist Chris Edmunds’ musical career has been a bit backwards. In 2008, dismayed at… – Zachary Young
Satchmo SummerFest: All Things Armstrong
[UPDATED] Trumpeter and New Orleans’ patron saint of froggy singers, Louis Armstrong, claimed throughout his life to be born on July… – Michael Patrick Welch
Déjà Davis Rogan
It's a Tuesday night at the Hi Ho Lounge and Alison Fensterstock sits at the bar waiting for contestants to solve… – John Swenson
Man Signs Dog: Jimi Hendrix in New Orleans
On July 30, 1968, the Jimi Hendrix Experience kicked off its second United States tour with two shows in Baton Rouge.… – Randy Savoie

Fresh

Trombone Shorty vs. Prince
The Montreal International Jazz Festival offers a broad palette of styles covering disparate jazz formats, and, like the New Orleans Jazz… – John Swenson
Groove Interrupted by Keith Spera: Renew, Regroove
Most books about New Orleans musicians repeat the musical history we all love and grew up with, but few describe the… – Barbie Cure
Press Club Awards
OffBeat’s Art Director, Elsa Hahne, won the Press Club of New Orleans’ award for Best Cover for last September’s issue featuring… – OffBeat Staff
Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame: Feathers in Their Caps
The Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame Crystal Feather Awards Ceremony honors Mardi Gras Indians and community members alike are honored… – Eli Gay
Strutting with Satchmo Club Strut
Satchmo SummerFest returns August 4-7, and with it comes the Satchmo Club Strut on Friday, August 5. This year’s club crawl… – Annie Weldon
The Grammys: Behind Closed Doors
[OffBeat gave NARAS’ Bill Freimuth a chance to respond to some of the questions raised in the story below. They didn’t… – Herman Fuselier
Ricky Riccardi's One Armstrong
Ricky Riccardi’s book What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years focuses on the largely unexamined later years… – Hannah Romig

Letters

August 2011 Letters
RADIO REQUESTS I was told that a guy from River Ridge was in the write-up on a band called the Missing… – OffBeat Readers

Mojo Mouth

Is the New Orleans Live Music Scene Growing?
When OffBeat was still in its infancy and I was club hopping I mostly did my hanging Uptown at the Maple… – Jan Ramsey

OffBeat Eats

Dining Out: Hansen's Sno-Bliz
In a city whose weather makes it difficult to notice the change in seasons, the opening and closing of Hansen’s Sno-Bliz… – Peter Thriffiley & Rene Louapre
Sophie Lee Hits the Spot at Stein's Market and Deli
Stein’s Market & Deli 2207 Magazine Street (504) 527-0771 What do you think makes Stein’s so unique? I like places where… – Caitlyn Ridenour

Dining Out

Dining Out: Hansen's Sno-Bliz
In a city whose weather makes it difficult to notice the change in seasons, the opening and closing of Hansen’s Sno-Bliz… – Peter Thriffiley & Rene Louapre
Sophie Lee Hits the Spot at Stein's Market and Deli
Stein’s Market & Deli 2207 Magazine Street (504) 527-0771 What do you think makes Stein’s so unique? I like places where… – Caitlyn Ridenour
Is the New Orleans Live Music Scene Growing?
When OffBeat was still in its infancy and I was club hopping I mostly did my hanging Uptown at the Maple… – Jan Ramsey

Photo Op

Miss Pussycat
Photographer: Erica Stavis How does one capture music in a photo? The beat can’t be displayed in black and… – Erica Stavis

The Spot

Sophie Lee Hits the Spot at Stein's Market and Deli
Stein’s Market & Deli 2207 Magazine Street (504) 527-0771 What do you think makes Stein’s so unique? I like places where… – Caitlyn Ridenour

Reviews

GIVERS, In Light (Glassnote Records)
It’s surprising that a band like Lafayette’s GIVERS (their all-caps) didn’t happen sooner. In a time when major music festivals have… – Alex Rawls
Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, A Tribute to Sidney Bechet: Live in New Orleans (Independent)
Sidney Bechet’s music and prowess on the soprano saxophone was every bit as powerful, soulful, and inventive as his New Orleans… – David Kunian
Billy Iuso, Trippin' (Independent)
In an era of music when imitation is as important as innovation, Billy Iuso shows his ability to do both while… – Eli Gay
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Won't Bow Down (f.Boo Music)
With the Wild Magnolias albums, Willie Tee created a template for Mardi Gras Indian funk that reverberates to this day, a… – Brian Boyles
Charmaine Neville Band, Before the Storm (Independent)
In May 2005, the Charmaine Neville Band undertook what was to be a six-month recording project: to record her weekly performances… – Jacob Leland
Steve Earle, I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive (New West Records)
After 25 years of running and rebelling, Steve Earle’s 14th album, I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive, renders a… – Aaron Lafont
Branford Marsalis/Joey Calderazzo, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy (Marsalis Music)
For the past decade, the Branford Marsalis Quartet has been one of the best working jazz bands on the planet. The… – David Kunian
Spencer Bohren, Blackwater Music (Threadhead Records)
The inside cover of this album lists the guitars employed in its making—a 1950 Tonemaster, a 1928 National, an 1897 Bruno—the… – Brian Boyles
Spencer Bohren, The Blues According to Hank Williams (Valve Records)
Hank Williams died at the age of 29, leaving behind what sometimes feels like half the American country music songbook. Listening… – Jacob Leland
Big Blue Marble, The Big Blue Marble (Lettuce Prey Records)
In indie rock years, the time between 2007 when Big Blue Marble released Natchez and now is an eternity—practically long enough… – Jacob Leland
Terranova, Tried & True (Independent)
Terranova’s an all-woman trio that walks the line between punk and metal like L7 once did, but there’s nothing that obviously… – Alex Rawls
Slangston Hughes and L’Daialogue DiCaprio, Dollar$ & Daialogue (Independent)
On the joint release Dollar$ & Daialogue, New Orleans emcee Slangston Hughes and Memphis rapper/producer L’Daialogue DiCaprio show they aren’t afraid… – Aaron Lafont
Willy DeVille, Come a Little Bit Closer: The Best of Willy DeVille Live (Eagle Records)
Reviewing a deceased artist of lesser renown can be problematic. You have to take music on its own terms, but you… – Brian Boyles
Blind Boys of Alabama, Take the High Road (Saguaro Road)
Updated Listen to Lee Ann Womack take the early lead on “I Was a Burden,” wavering from each pitch like a… – Andrew Hamlin
Nasimiyu, It Ain't Pretty But It's Beautiful (Independent)
Vocalist Nasimiyu Murumba came to New Orleans from the Twin Cities in 2009, and it’s clear from the title to the… – Jacob Leland
Booker T. Jones, The Road from Memphis (Anti- Records)
Booker T. Jones, still occasionally of Booker T. and the MGs, reminded us of his mastery of the Hammond B3 two… – Andrew Hamlin