April 2007
BackTalk
- R.I.P. Bob French (1938-2012) | BackTalk with Bob French (April 2007)
When Bob French starts talking, who knows where he’ll go or what he’ll say. Over the course of an hour-and-a-half, the…
Cover Story
- Love is in the Air
Literature and real life are full of characters that have fallen in love in the French Quarter, many with the French…
Features
- Blue Room Blues
John Autin smiles broadly from behind the glass-topped piano in the Carousel Lounge at the Monteleone Hotel. He is having a… - French Quarter Fest A-Z
The French Quarter Festival is free, with 15 stages dotted throughout the Quarter. That’s a lot of stages and a lot…
Fresh
- Fats Domino Is Back…Almost
As inconceivable as it seemed 19 months ago, Antoine "Fats" Domino is moving back into his Ninth Ward home. He had… - A Neighborhood Named Desire
Coming Out the Door for the Ninth Ward documents life in the Desire Project, written by the people who lived it.… - The Cupid Shuffle
The biggest news from the cradle of zydeco and Cajun music has nothing to do with either genres. Cupid, a 24-year-old… - Hanging on the Telefon
Some of it, I hear and wonder, “Were we smoking rocks?” Joshua Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv is talking about Remixes… - OffBeat Contributes to Hurricane Relief Fund
This year’s Best of the Beat Awards at the House of Blues was a benefit for the New Orleans Musicians’ Hurricane… - The Low, Low Down
How does an indie record label distinguish itself today? In many cases, by identifying the narrowest of niche markets and delivering… - New Home Sweet Home
Al “Carnival Time” Johnson bought his house on Tennessee Street in the Lower Ninth Ward in 1969. It wasn’t in the…
Letters
- April 2007 Letters
MUSICIANS VILLAGE As a musician with excellent credit, I felt compelled to write after reading “Backtalk” in the March issue. My…
Live Wire
- Lily Allen, House of Blues, March 17, 2007
Kicking off her all-ages show with “LDN” and “Nan You’re A Window Shopper” must be Lily Allen’s way of dispelling the… - Lupe Fiasco Opening for the Roots, House of Blues, February 22, 2007
An hour after the doors opened, a hooded-figure sauntered on to the stage of House of Blues holding his britches, but… - The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Republic, March 18, 2007
Parents and guidance counselors lied. Smoking is cool, at least the way Damon Albarn and Paul Simonon do it. Then again,…
Mojo Mouth
- Somewhat Optimistic?
Festival season is upon us. First, there’s French Quarter Fest, the most glorious of New Orleans’ spring festivals—the best little festival…
OffBeat Eats
- The Countdown: Chef Scott Boswell
Scott Boswell is an ambitious man. Scott Boswell wants to be New Orleans’ top chef. And Boswell, the chef and owner… - Dining Out: Café Amelie
Walking the French Quarter’s cramped streets, I sometimes glimpsed more expansive spaces. Beyond the clumps of tourists who seemed to have…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: Café Amelie
Walking the French Quarter’s cramped streets, I sometimes glimpsed more expansive spaces. Beyond the clumps of tourists who seemed to have…
Reviews
- The High Llamas, Can Cladders (Drag City)
Sean O’Hagan, part of the Stereolab community, has explored the world of pretty, lyrical music—cocktail music, Pet Sounds Burt Bacharach,… - Butch Hancock, War and Peace (Two Roads)
Ely’s fellow Flatlander also has a new album, a classic protest album that opens with the a cappella “Give Them… - Joe Ely, Happy Songs from Rattlesnake Gulch (Rack'em)
Joe Ely’s career has been legendary on one hand—a member of the Flatlanders with Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock… - Ruthie Foster, The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster (Blue Corn)
With this new CD, the gifted Texas singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster stretches out of the acoustic folk world where she is much… - Tishamingo, The Point, (Magnat_ude)
The album name is fitting as Tishamingo’s third release is aggressive, straight-forward Southern rock, foregoing the stylistic diversions and musical vignettes… - Southern Culture on the Skids, Countrypolitan Favorites (Yep Roc)
Countrypolitan Favorites is Southern Culture’s covers album, and the fun of covers albums is that they lay bare the bands’… - Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Colorblind (Warner Bros.)
The challenge for Robert Randolph has been how to stay true to his constituencies and make a good record. Considering… - Various Artists, Pure Swamp Gold Volume 7 (CSP)
An apt subtitle for this one would be Working the Catalog Volume 7, as more than 20 percent of CSP’s catalog… - Bart Ramsey and 39 Strangers, Live in Italia (Independent)
This CD was recorded live in Forli, Italy at the Strade Blu music festival in August 2005. Violinist Neti Vaan and… - Alvin Batiste/Bob French, Marsalis Music Honors (Marsalis Music)
Branford Marsalis pays tribute to Bob French and Alvin Batiste, two of New Orleans’ best-known jazz musicians, on the latest releases… - Mario Matteoli, Hard Luck Hittin (Independent)
Roots music aficionados might recognize Mario Matteoli from his role as the guitarist and singer in the high-energy Austin, Texas band… - Joe Zawinul, Brown Street (Heads Up International)
Joe Zawinul is the patron saint of Austrian jazz, and his lavish club Birdland, located in the heart of downtown Vienna,… - Freddy King, The Very Best of Freddy King: Volume Three (Collectables)
There are several “Kings of the Blues” including B.B., Albert, Earl and Saunders. However, the “King of the Blues Strings” was… - Duke Heitger's New Orleans Wanderers with Bob Havens, What Is This Thing Called Love? (Jazzology)
What Is This Thing Called Love? is a first class recording by some of the finest musicians playing traditional jazz in… - Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin' Cajuns, I Know Dat's Right (Juicy Pear Productions)
Borrowing from other genres has always been the name of the game in Cajun music. Cultural heroine Cleoma Breaux Falcon translated… - Greezy, Soul City EP (Independent)
Contemporary R&B singer Greezy’s voice on Soul City is reminiscent of the male vocals found on a ’90s Boyz II Men… - Various Artists, Soul Sides, Volume Two: The Covers (Zealous)
The short story here is that former rare grooves DJ Oliver Wang runs a good soul/hip-hop Web site, SoulSides.com, and… - Lloyd Price/Larry Williams, Specialty Profiles (Specialty)
These two mid-line reissues (part of a 10-CD series) are especially of interest to New Orleans R&B buffs. The centerpiece on… - Peter Stampfel, Good Taste Is Timeless (BlueNavigator.net)
They’re calling what the young folks with roots in old timey music are playing “freak folk,” a genre invented 40 years… - Zeke Fishhead, Prodigal (LiveDownloads.com)
The real appeal of downloads is that they’re the secret stuff that illustrates the age-old pop music truth that each fan… - Barbara Lee, Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? (Audiophile)
It is generally bad taste to refer to longevity when discussing a woman’s talents and achievements, but it is amazing how… - Les Amis Creole, Les Amis Creole (Arhoolie)
Old-time Creole la-la music was pushed aside by the advent of zydeco some time ago. Luckily, the rural, acoustic Creole house… - Various Artists, How Low Can You Go? Anthology of the String Bass (1925-1941) (Dust-to-Digital)
It’s more than a little ironic that this package, which purports to demonstrate the validity of the headline “String bass replacing… - Various Artists, The Instant & Minit Story (Charly)
In my limited stint in New Orleans CD retailing, the reissues the public most often requested were the original “Home of… - Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle, Battery Milk (Hyena)
Jam/jazz/funk percussionist/vibraphone player Mike Dillon moved to New Orleans and has immersed himself in the local club scene, playing with… - Pine Leaf Boys, Blues du Musicien (Arhoolie)
“They’ve played seven gigs in five days and they’re not even breaking a sweat!” exclaimed zealous emcee Todd Ortego in his…
