Band names often inspire nothing but indifference. Not so with New Orleans' House Levelers. They are not the Housemartins, or the House of Lords, or Crowded House—they are the House Levelers, and their intentions are clear: when the gig is done, the audience will be wrung dry.

Such was the case at a recent Warehouse Cafe show. At the Warehouse, there's no stage to come between audience and performer—both share the same cement floor. As the Levelers' "thrash-folk" set—a rag-tag mix...