Offbeat Cover for December, 2009

December 2009 Contents

Letters

December 2009 Letters

Mojo Mouth

Vote for Culture

Fresh

Back to the Country

Con the Con

First HAMP Knowledge

Simien, the Mouse and the Frog

We Write the Songs

What Hall?

Obituaries

Clarinet Player Ralph Johnson Passes Away

RIP Ernest “Skipper” Skipper, Jr., Funeral Services to be held Friday, December 18, 2009

Bookmark

Thomas L. Morgan, Historic Photos of New Orleans Jazz (Turner Publishing)

Features

A Homegrown Christmas

Keys to the City: OffBeat’s Top 40 CDs of 2009

Music from Thin Air

What Will Santa Say?

What’s in the Bag, Santa?

OffBeat Eats

Dining Out: Lakeview Harbor

In the Kitchen with Sophie Lee

Rik Slave Hits the Spot

The Maestro: Patrick Van Hoorebeck, Maitre d’ of Restaurant August

Reviews

Ben Maygarden, Come On, If You’re Coming (Shortstack)

Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart (Columbia)

Bonerama, Hard Times (High Steppin’)

Charlie Miller, Christmas in New Orleans (Independent)

Chuck Carbo, Life’s Ups and Downs (504)

Corey Ledet, A Matter of Time (Independent)

David Greely, Sud de Sud (Give and Go)

Fred Anderson, 21st Century Chase (Live at Anderson’s 80th Birthday Bash at the Velvet Lounge) (Delmark)

Garage a Trois, Power Patriot (Royal Potato Family)

I, Octopus, I’d Rather Be a Lightning Rod Than a Seismograph (Independent)

Kermit Ruffins, Have a Crazy Cool Christmas (Basin Street)

Kristin Diable, Extended Play (Speakeasy)

Mia Borders, Southern Fried Soul (Independent)

Mike Zito, Pearl River (Electro Groove)

Neil Diamond, A Cherry Cherry Christmas (Columbia)

Onward Brass Band, The Tradition Continues (OBB)

Paul Sanchez, Farewell to Storyville (Threadhead)

Ray Charles, The Spirit of Christmas (Concord)

Review: Carla Bley: “Carla’s Christmas Carols”

Review: Lindsay Mendez, Reaching Out (Rabadash)

Shane Theriot, Dirty Power (Shose)

Sugarland, Gold and Green (Mercury)

Various Artists, A Family Christmas (Putumayo)

Various Artists, A Very Threadhead Holiday (Threadhead)

Various Artists, Christmas with Sinatra and Friends (Concord)

Various Artists, Fire in My Bones: Raw, Rare and Other-Worldly African-American Gospel 1944-2007 (Tomkins Square)

Wayne Toups, Live 2009 (Swallow)

Plan A: Upcoming Shows

Plan A: Christmas Concerts

Plan A: John Prine

BackTalk

Harry Shearer