Hammer of the Witch by Ringworm
Best new metal album in recent memory: Hammer of the Witch, by Ringworm. An absolutely fantastic album in every way–mad drumming, bass guitar cranked to rip your guts out, ungodly vocal performance, and an amazing recording. If you can listen to the title track without ducking occasionally, wondering just how big that hammer is, well, […]
Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse at HOB NOLA
Following on the tail of Machine Head’s fantastic show at the House of Blues: Behemoth, with Cannibal Corpse. While nothing will ultimately compare with our Behemoth experiences on the Barge to Hell, this was a lot closer to home. HOB crackled with energy for these completely packed shows and somehow, CorpseGrinder’s head remained attached, despite […]
Machine Head at HOB NOLA
Like many metal bands that have been around for a while, Machine Head has had a bit of personnel churn over the years. The lineup now includes only one original member, guitarist and vocalist Robb Flynn, after the departure of Adam Duce (tho Dave McClain, on drums, has been in the band since 1995, longer […]
RIP Big Chief Bo Dollis (1944-2015)
The news is spreading that Big Chief Bo Dollis has died, at the age of 71. From both a musical and cultural standpoint, the loss is a heavy burden to bear. The Mardi Gras Indians culture remains notoriously difficult to explain to non-New Orleans, to those who haven’t seen it firsthand. So if you’re “not […]
Leo “Bud” Welch at d.b.a.
We recently caught Leo “Bud” Welch’s show at d.b.a., our favorite no-smoking watering hole on Frenchmen St. Last sighting: our favorite act of the 2014 Blues and BBQ Festival. Tired of over-orchestrated, over-produced blues? Leo plays with a drummer, a chair, and a guitar, and could get away with just the guitar, since at 83, […]
New and Improved: Who made us look closer in 2014
This year brought us closer to artists we’ve certainly heard before, but might not have appreciated enough. Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society conjured a wuthering guitar solo at House of Blues, pulling strings from classical music and opera into a 20-minute musical storm that none of his recordings quite live up to. Another eye-opener was Keith Morris […]
Machine Head and Behemoth at House of Blues NOLA!
There are occasional dry spells in the NOLA metal scene and while Siberia tries to keep that scene going, it’s a small venue and simply can’t draw the big acts. House of Blues NOLA to the rescue, with two huge metal shows in January 2015: Machine Head on January 23 and Behemoth (with Cannibal Corpse) […]
Some Old and New Favorites
We cover a lot of shows and sometimes, when there’s actually some time for reflection, we flip back through the archives and dig up some favorites, while pining for another SXSW, Voodoo Fest, or a gig at the House of Blues. Check ’em out and let us know what you think. And don’t forget the […]
Exhibit BE
If you haven’t had a chance to see Exhibit BE on the West Bank of New Orleans, it will be open again Saturday, 11/29 from noon to 4pm. Exhibit BE is a sprawling, block-wide street art project, masterminded by Brandan Odums, famous for his murals at the Florida Housing Project, which, because of the dilapidated state […]
Voodoo Fest 2014
This year brought a few changes at the festival, including a big improvement in the sound bleed issues that plagued last year’s festival and a relocation of the art market, which seemed to work out better. The lineup seemed leaner, with only four stages (same as last year), but the festival was absolutely packed by […]
Voodoo Music Experience: The Wait is (Almost) Over!
For those of you gearing up for Voodoo Music Experience, here’s a high resolution map of the grounds–note that the stage locations have changed. Click through for a super high resolution version:
Gwar, Decapitated, American Sharks at HOB NOLA
Gwar If you haven’t been to a Gwar show, it’s a little like trying to explain Mardi Gras to someone who’s never visited New Orleans. No one understands, until they actually experience it (and many times, not even then) why New Orleanians watch endless streams of floats, screaming like they’re on fire to be pounded with […]
Upcoming: Voodoo Music Experience 2014
Time once again to spend your Halloween time on the festival grounds at the 2014 Voodoo Music Experience. See Slayer, Gogol Bordello, Red Baraat, Rise Against, the Foo Fighters, Outkast, Big Freedia, and let Skrillex pound your brains out (presumably at Le Plur), all set for one awesome weekend. Our advice: retire from trick or […]
Blues and BBQ Festival
The 2014 Blues and BBQ Festival is near, the lineup is set, and both some old favorites (Little Freddie King, Walter “Wolfman” Washington”) and some new faces (Ana Popovic, who had a fantastic set at Jazz Fest) are set to play. Some favorite photos from previous Blues and BBQ Festivals to warm you up:
Jazz Fest 2014 Reboot
The withering heat of summer is past and festivals once again abound. We’ve particularly looking forward to the Blues and BBQ Festival and Voodoo Music Experience, both of which have great lineups this–but that’s for our next article. For now, an excuse to spend a few minutes (or hours) flipping through our comprehensive visual retrospective […]
Keith Morris and OFF! at Siberia
We missed both Mayhem and Vans this year for a variety of reasons and are looking forward to the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival and Voodoo, but we needed some energy right now. OFF! at Siberia delivered, as if we had any doubts in Keith Morris, even after all these years. If you’re just […]
Butcher Babies and Black Label Society at HOB NOLA
Hot on the tail of some private discussions about the state of affairs in music (and particularly rock, whatever that means anymore), consoling ourselves by (re-)watching videos by Henry Rollins and Bill Hicks telling it like it is regarding the then and now, and planning our trips for Vans Warped Tour and Mayhem to suck […]
Upcoming scatterjazz Show: Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey
Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey If you’re not familiar with scatterjazz, it’s Andy Durta’s music booking project, which brings a host of amazing (and eclectic) shows to the New Orleans area (tag line: “intense original music to scare the children and soothe the stormy mind”–no worries, though, our children have attended scatterjazz shows and […]
Jazz Fest 2014!
Jazz Fest 2014 is done, and the time for recollecting has arrived. Seven days, three tired cameras, more than three blisters, and a a lot of photos. As usual, click through any photo to browse the entire gallery of images from Jazz Fest. Second Weekend: Cowboy Mouth has played a bunch of Jazz Fests, and […]
Jazz Fest Moments: Recent Favorites
To kick off our coverage of the 2014 Jazz and Heritage Festival, we offer some visual highlights of our favorite moments at recent Jazz Fests. See you on the grounds this weekend and next! The Wayne Shorter Quartet, featuring Damilo Perez, John Patitucci, and Brian Blade, perform at the 2013 Jazz and Heritage Festival […]
2014 Essence Festival!
Ready for another Essence Festival? The 2014 edition kicks off on July 3, and features a killer lineup, including Prince, Mary J. Blige, Charlie Wilson, Jill Scott, Ledisi, and Lionel Ritchie on the main stage and a host of talent on the SuperLounge stages. We pity the fool that misses some of the amazing […]
Dr. John and New Orleans
My favorite Dr. John quote of all time: “I’m from this MF-er, too”. In an address to the members of Krewe du Vieux, when he served as our king. Very close second, from Elsa Hahne’s book, The Gravy, “My favorite thing with squirrels is eating squirrel brains. I like to crack them heads open and just […]
George Clinton at Tipitina’s
George Clinton (of Funkadelic / Parliament fame, not the 4th Vice President of the United States, who was almost certainly not as interesting) has been laying down the funk for a long time. Some musicians who’ve been playing this long, and who’ve had as much success as George Clinton has, show up, smile, drop a […]
Voodoo Fest 2013
Voodoo is one of our favorite festivals–and we hope it will continue to be–but logistical issues, some related to the new layout, really marred our experience and that of a number of other attendees that we spoke with this year. The lineup was great and we caught several outstanding shows, but the musicians can only […]