[UPDATED] “Okay, can you swing it now? Can you swing it, please?” 17-year-old Natalie Clark implores New Orleans piano legend Henry Butler. “Uh, what do you mean?” an amused Butler asks. Differing music aesthetics aside, moments later Clark and Butler hammer out a passable—and decidedly non-country—version of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Butler’s piano [...]
Bionica’s debut EP, Take Your City, is a half-hour of swirling, frenetic electropop. After the first four measured chords from the Rhodes, it’s a non-stop train of rapidly ticking hi-hats, meandering synthesizers, and jingling bells—enough to get anyone’s heart rate up. Bionica, the electronic experiment of James Westfall and four other young local musicians more [...]
The upcoming HBO series Treme hasn’t suffered from a lack of attention, although it premieres April 11. We have a story on it this month, and a story on it is the cover of last week’s Village Voice. Unfortunately, the untimely death of writer/co-executive producer David Mills has dominated recent coverage: Vanity Fair promptly picked up [...]
It was the most safe I ever felt in a pitch-black abandoned warehouse out by the train tracks. All I could see were silhouettes out the door against the foggy outline of the Crescent City Connection. All I could hear were the murmurs of the crowd and the occasional train horn. Suddenly, the puttering of [...]
In Die Young, Blair presents a sonorous indie-pop gem five years in the making. The New Orleans native’s first full-length album, Die Young is a daydream swimming with resonant instrumentation and melodic vocals. Blair (Gimma, when she lived here, before moving to Los Angeles then Brooklyn) sounds like a natural at crafting compelling, catchy pop [...]
This past Friday night, the Marigny Theatre played host to a rather, er, unusual fashion show, even for New Orleans’ standards. The Righteous Fur Fashion Show celebrated Louisiana’s favorite rodent, the nutria—particularly the animal’s luscious, luxurious mane. Luckily, OffBeat‘s Tom Macom was on hand to document the night of fashion, fun & fur with photos [...]
It’s time to break out your nutria furs: it’s getting down right cold in New Orleans. Maybe slip into your nutria ball gown if you’re feeling fancy or don your nutria bikini if you’re feeling a little risqué. While temperatures will be sub-freezing outside, these furry fashion innovations and more will be taking center stage [...]
