“We had a blank sheet of paper,” Chef Rick Tramonto says. He and Chef John Folse are showing off R’evolution, the restaurant that they will open in the Royal Sonesta on Monday, and a restaurant they had a free hand in creating. The two announced their partnership at a press conference in the Cabildo in [...]
One of my favorite Sonny Landreth moments was hearing him perform the instrumental “Z Attack” at a Wednesday at the Square concert, as the raw electricity of his sound and the percussive nature of his riff sounded even bigger and fuller as it banged off the CBD office building walls. For the most part, Elemental [...]
In the last year, the Mississippi Rail Company has been generating some buzz for its live show, and its debut album, Coal Black Train, hints at what people are hearing in concert. The piano/upright bass/drums trio takes a youthful, rowdy approach to piano-based roots music, which requires some nerve in New Orleans. Travers Geoffray doesn’t [...]
Watching the second season of Treme again, I’m struck by the quality of the casting. Making DJ Davis a small man as played by Steve Zahn gives him an underdog quality, even when he’s the architect of his own problems. The regular cast members are thoroughly credible, even in the moments that aren’t. It’s a [...]
Sonny Landreth is in Cleveland to start touring in support of his new album, Elemental Journey. It often takes a few gigs for his band to click on all cylinders, but he didn’t get warm-up time after the release of his first instrumental album. “We had two of our favorite gigs of the year, Festival [...]
“Okay Theresa, walk toward me.” Playback starts and Theresa Andersson begins walking in a secluded alley in the Bywater with a slightly distracted sense of purpose when Portland-based director Alicia J. Rose calls “Action.” Andersson is shooting a video for the title track from her new album, Street Parade, at the Music Box, the musical [...]
[Updated] Wednesday, Chuck Brown, the godfather of go-go, passed away. Here’s an interview I conducted with him in 2009 in advance of his appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. We started by talking about his most recent album at the time, We’re About the Business. Why did you decide to record [...]
Tonight, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band headline Wednesday at the Square in Lafayette Square with the Breton Sound opening. The Dozen have a new album, Twenty Dozen, which includes “Dirty Old Man,” a song that has been a staple of the band’s live show for a few years now. Here they are performing the vehicle [...]
“We understand that anything that comes to New Orleans musically is an underdog.” David Simon is talking about the upcoming Treme vs. The Wire Battle of the Bands, produced by Blown Deadline, the production company that is responsible for both shows. On Friday night, it is bringing Baltimore jazz pianist Lafayette Gilchrist with the New [...]
A last day of school vibe was in the air at the Louisiana Music Factory last Wednesday for the signing of the DVD set of Treme season two and the CD Treme, Season 2: Music From the HBO Original Series. The series wraps shooting for season three on April 17, and some of the actors [...]
