February 2009
BackTalk
- Papa Mali
Guitarist Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne made his reputation in Texas with the Austin-based Killer Bees; in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he grew…
Cover Story
- BeauSoleil: Beau Brothers
Back in 1986, when BeauSoleil was first starting to tour a lot outside Louisiana, back when the Doucet brothers still had…
Features
- Cajun Mardi Gras: The Rules of the Road
Like its New Orleans counterpart, Cajun Mardi Gras is a processional festivity. But unlike its better-known brethren, it’s rooted in the… - Amanda Shaw: Beads and More
- Mardi Gras Indians: New Times for New Suits
Fresh
- Carnival Time's New Home
It’s Carnival Time again in New Orleans and no one is happier to be a part of it than the man… - A Century of Zulu
The Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and to commemorate the occasion, Zulu and the… - Three Sides to Every Story
To the casual observer, the triangle plays a simple and repetitive role in Cajun music, but for the initiated, its high-pitched… - Still the Guide
Food blogs, message boards, and Twitter pages have made restaurant reviews a more democratic process. Each person with access to a… - A Whole New World
Whenever anyone—New Orleanian or otherwise—hears the name “Blaine Kern,” images of elaborate Mardi Gras floats typically come to mind. Barry Kern,…
Letters
- February 2009 Letters
TOP 50 Thanks for the great year-end albums list, but not including Anders Osborne’s Coming Down in the Top 50 seems…
Mojo Mouth
- Mardi Gras and Inspiration
I started working on the publication that would become OffBeat because I loved music, always have. I played instruments in the…
OffBeat Eats
- Topsy Chapman Hits the Spot at Palm Court Jazz Cafe
Palm Court Jazz Cafe 1204 Decatur Street (504) 525-0200 How long have you been coming to the Palm Court? I… - Dining Out: Casamento's
Some things deserve near maniacal obsession and devotion in order to achieve a perfect result. Rocket science, gymnastics, and oysters all… - OffBeat Eats: Aged to Perfection
Dining Out
- Dining Out: Casamento's
Some things deserve near maniacal obsession and devotion in order to achieve a perfect result. Rocket science, gymnastics, and oysters all… - Still the Guide
Food blogs, message boards, and Twitter pages have made restaurant reviews a more democratic process. Each person with access to a…
The Spot
- Topsy Chapman Hits the Spot at Palm Court Jazz Cafe
Palm Court Jazz Cafe 1204 Decatur Street (504) 525-0200 How long have you been coming to the Palm Court? I…
Reviews
- Mark Olson and Gary Louris, Ready for the Flood (New West)
The two principal figures in the Jayhawks reunite, and they're good for each other. The songs they perform together seem far… - Tom Jones, 24 Hours (S-Curve)
He made ersatz bachelor pad soul for years, and it’s what he makes here. And the results are just as much… - Raul Malo, Lucky One (Fantasy)
On Lucky One,former Maverick Raul Malo scales down his commercial ambition and ups his artistic ones. There’s no chart for his… - Royce Osborn, All on a Mardi Gras Day (Spyboy DVD)
From the beginning moments of Mardi Gras Indians parading, Skull and Bones groups eerily taunting, and Baby Dolls shaking their moneymakers… - Various Artists, Festivals Acadiens Live 1981 (Louisiana Crossroads)
In addition to a crammed, 37-band line-up spread over three stages and two days, this year’s Festivals Acadiens also commemorated the… - Various Artists, Delmark: 55 Years of Blues (Delmark)
Delmark was the label that bridged the gap between the post-war Chicago blues style heard on Chess Records and the contemporary… - Various Artists, The Solo Art Story, Volume 1 (Piano Blues and Boogie 1938-39) (Solo Art)
Among the more interesting items in George Buck’s massive catalogue of classic jazz are a good number of recordings of the… - T-Broussard and the Zydeco Steppers, Super T (Independent)
In the competitive world of zydeco, you always have to work an angle. Starting with the cover shot of T-Broussard emerging… - LeRoy Thomas, The People's Favorites of LeRoy Thomas (Independent)
In the competitive world of zydeco, you always have to work an angle. Starting with the cover shot of T-Broussard emerging… - Aaron Parks, Invisible Cinema (Blue Note)
The crux of pianist Aaron Parks’ fifth album as a leader: time and tide. Time, in that even from the first… - Duke Heitger and Bernd Lhotzky, Doin' the Voom Voom (Arbors)
With his daytime gig on the Steamboat Natchez ended by Katrina, trumpeter Duke Heitger has been hard to hear in New… - Christine Balfa, Christine Balfa Plays the Triangle (Valcour)
On only the most moonless of nights deep in the Acadiana bayou, if on the unlikely chance you can get someone… - Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcom, 2 Man Wrecking Crew (Delta Groove)
Just as the Nevilles preserve the legacy of Crescent City funk, so too does the Burnside family preserve the legacy of… - Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship, No Blood No Blooms (Domino Sound)
Too often New Orleans indie releases lack that innate sense of place that clings to so many of the recordings by… - The Figs, What Keeps You Up at Night (Independent)
It’s so ironic. In some ways, the Figs never intended to be the group it is now. The all-women roots music… - Glen David Andrews, Walkin' Through Heaven's Gate (Threadhead)
As we make our way through the fourth year after the Federal flood, the burden of maintaining the city’s historic culture… - BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Alligator Purse (Yep Roc)
BeauSoleil has long been a band that can be taken for granted. To win Grammys, to become representative of a genre,… - Tom Jones, 24 Hours (S-Curve)
He made ersatz bachelor pad soul for years, and it’s what he makes here. And the results are just as much… - Mark Olson and Gary Louris, Ready for the Flood (New West)
The two principal figures in the Jayhawks reunite, and they're good for each other. The songs they perform together seem far… - Raul Malo, Lucky One (Fantasy)
On Lucky One, former Maverick Raul Malo scales down his commercial ambition and ups his artistic ones. There’s no chart for…
