New Orleans Jazz Fest Updates

Chickie Wah Wah – On Time Shows and Great Food – What’s Not to Love?

John — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:38:14 +0000

Chickie Wah Wah – a great non-smoking bar, great food, great shows, clean, atmospheric and fun.

2828 Canal Street • New Orleans, LA • 504.304.4714

Just toward the lake from Broad at Canal, this little bar has been quietly playing host to some of New Orleans’ most active songwriters. I’m talking about Paul Sanchez, Alex McMurray, John Cleary to name a few.

Alex McMurray and Bill Malchow at Chickie Wah Wah

Paul Sanchez has recently adopted the work of Dan Baum’s book Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans into a musical. Paul has a fantastic blog here which details the process, thoughts, feelings, efforts and involvement of himself and the host of musicians who appear on the album. That blog is really worth a read. And, after reading it you’ll be amazed you can then go see Paul play a set with Alex McMurray and sit two feet away from them at Chickie Wah Wah for the better part of two hours, with maybe 30 people in the audience, for the $8 cover charge.

I’ve got a blog post here with info on another opportunity to catch Alex on a weekly basis (also has link to his web page etc).

If you are interested in the Nine Lives Adaptation, I recommend the CD over the MP3 download – the liner notes are imporant to filling out / adding meaning to the songs.
Dan Baum’s book:

What else about Chickie Wah Wah? It’s on the Canal Street Car line – so if you’re staying in the CBD or French Quarter, it is easy to get to. Also would be about a $7 cab ride from those areas. There is plenty of street parking. It is the cleanest bar you will ever spend time in while in New Orleans – though not a super bright antiseptic clean. It’s a wonderfully decorated (eclectic) bar, with a nice selection of wine and beer (both bottled and draft). An important rarity for the slightly older crowd in New Orleans – the shows start on time. No waiting around until midnight for the first note to be struck. Also totally awesome – no smoking inside.

Also nice – Taceaux Loceaux has started operating out of Chickie Wah Wah’s kitchen. The link up there is to a Gambit Magazine review on them, and this is a link to their twitter page. They make excellent tacos – I’ve had both the pork and beef tacos and man are they good! They also operate a couple food trucks – the twitter page will let you know where you can find them.

Chickie Wah Wah – Definately worth checking out. Like many places in New Orleans – don’t let the humble outside fool you.

Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse at the Royal Sonesta Hotel

John — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 04:30:21 +0000

Seemingly the antithises of the Saturn Bar (described in this post), Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse in the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon Street is an expensive, nice, modern bar with a small raised stage in one corner. They offer a food menu, a decent wine list, several beers on tap behind a slick bar with an endlessly rotating color scheme (and, as scene on Treme a couple of times).

The night we were there, we were excited to see Shamarr Allen with his band the Underdawgs. Shamarr was my “jazz fest moment” this year (2011) when we caught him at the Gentilly stage – a really incredible performance. It would have been extremely difficult to live up to that performance in the setting of of the Jazz Playhouse – but Shamarr and the band did a nice job keeping things moving, and even soliciting some audience participation.

In any event, it is nice to have live non-karaoke music on Bourbon. For a while choice has been limited to the Sing-Sing which has a good blues scene, or Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub, which is awesome. It’s nice to have another alternative – especially one that is showcasing such great and important New Orleans musicians.

New Orleans Jazz Fest Hightlights Photos

Katie — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:32:43 +0000

When do you eat the pickle?

John — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:14:37 +0000

When you get a sandwich at a deli, or some fried chicken at Fiorella’s in the French Quarter, when do you eat the pickle? Before? With your sandwich? After doesn’t seem right…I mean, a pickle is a weird dessert…

Speaking of Fiorella’s (click for yelp page on them) I have to vote them as the best fried chicken in New Orleans. I know you usually hear Willie Mae’s Scotch House (yelp link) has the best fried chicken in New Orleans. And I’ve heard a vote for Coop’s as well.

I can’t say I am a friend chicken expert, but I’ve had my share. Fiorella’s is the best. Slightly spicy, cooked to order, crispy and juicy. Oh my.

Best Show I’ve Seen in a While – Alex McMurray and The Happy Talk Band at Saturn Bar

John — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Saturn Bar – Alex McMurray with acoustic set by Happy Talk Band.

Excellent experience at this off the beaten track location. I’ve been going to the Saturn Bar since before Katrina – I used to watch movies on TV there with a couple of elderly gentleman drinking beer with ice cubes back when I didn’t have cable, or a TV. Now, Thursdays is host to Alex McMurray in a funky sideways room at the bar.

The Happy Talk band started almost on time at 9ish (a rarity in NOLA.) It was fantstic watching/listening to them work on new material, tweak older songs – in this intimate setting one could really get the interplay between the three guitarists and see how the band members work together.

Alex went on after a short break – playing an acoustic guitar hooked to an amp – standing on the cement floor level with us, chatting and joking around in between songs, and taking requests. It was a real pleasure to be so close to such an original and talented musician.

The Saturn Bar is a grimy, dirty seemingly scary (but not) slice of New Orleans authenticity, and they might be out of lemons. Worth a visit for the original neon alone.

Ya Ka Mein Soup

John — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:28:07 +0000

Hey Y’all! So last year, Katie mentioned in this post that I was going to make 2010 the year I tried Ya Ka Mein Soup.

I did try it, but I am sorry to report it was a little on the salty side, and it wasn’t as hot (temperature wise) as it should have been.

I guess the saltiness shouldn’t surprise me – a quick perusal of internet recipes shows the base for this soup is:

25 cubes (1 jar) of beef bouillon

WOW! So, this would be a great dish to eat after a few hours of New Orleans summer tennis, or a 50 mile bike ride or something. Some way to get your electrolytes back in sync. Maybe after a particularly hot second weekend of Jazz Fest!

So, a small disappointment in the usual excellent food choices of the Jazz fest. There was a coupon for $0.50 off the price in the Jazz Fest program, so if you are tempted to try Ya Ka Mein (or love salt), don’t forget to look for that.

-John

9 Easy Tips for Improving Your Vacation Photos – Yahoo! News

Katie — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:13:24 +0000

Hi Y’all – Yahoo had a nice article the other day on sprucing up your travel photos, or taking better pics.

9 easy tips for improving your vacation photos – Yahoo! News.

I’ve summarized the tips below, the the article has some nice insights and examples. I would add one tip of my own – PRINT your pictures and put them out on a table somewhere. House guests love looking through them, and so will you. You will be happy to have them out where you can pick them up with a spare moment, instead of locked in your camera, where you only see them when you are trying to decide which to delete to clear out your memory card!

On to the Tips!

Start shooting before you leave home. — learn your camera
When photographing a landscape, make the foreground interesting.
Go beyond the posed picture.
Get as close as you can to your subject.
Plan your outdoor photos for the first and last hour of sunlight.
Know how and when to use your flash
Pay attention to what else is in the shot – check behind edges and behind the subject.
Buy the largest memory card you can afford.
Digital cameras don’t make you a better photographer, but they do allow for more chances to get it right.

Here is a short but growing Flickr slideshow of edited New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival pictures (color corrected, highlights, cropped) I’ve taken over the years where I pretty much ignore all of the above advice! Check it out and let me know what you think (link opens in new window…)

Professor Longhair Reigns Supreme Over the Acura Stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

See you at the Fest!

–Katie

Great Music Lineup Tools

Katie — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:08:08 +0000

Hey Y’all -

This is a short and sweet post. I just wanted to put out a couple of links to sites to help you plan your New Orleans music experience, no matter what time of year you visit us.

Offbeat Magazine is my #1 source. I also love to pick this magazine up to read the many reviews of new releases, food reviews, and to check out the calendar of events. When I sit down with the new Offbeat every week, I end upwith something planned every night. Dangerous!

Another nice site is NolaFunk. Though more limited in scope than Offbeat, it is a nice site, with some great pictures, some video, and links to music.

Thanks! – Katie

HBO’s Treme – What Did You Think of Season 1?

Katie — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:50:03 +0000

So – season one of HBO’s Treme just finished up. We really enjoyed watching it, but have to wonder what the rest of the country thought. The season finale had 931,000 viewers, which was down about 100K from the season premier. But all in all, those are decent numbers for a cable show. Unless you compare it to The Sopranos which according to Wikipedia had 11.9 million viewers for its season finale, after six seasons. Here’s a link to HBO Treme website that will open in a new page.

What is Treme, besides a television show? Again, according to my favorite informal go-to source Wikipedia Treme is a neighborhood officially “A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area.” One of the streets that make up this subdistrict is “Esplanade Ave” which also just so happens to be a main cross-street of the New Orleans Fairgrounds, the location of our very own Jazz and Heritage Festival!

Dave Walker, a writer at the Times-Picayune, New Orleans’s excellent newspaper, has a fantastic series of articles each week discussing the minutia of every episode (who played what, what the songs were, how they tie in to the various themes, etc.) His series of articles, videos and more can be found here – but be careful because there are some spoilers if you aren’t caught up, or haven’t started watching yet.

One of the reasons we liked Treme so much was we could so easily recognize the locations, and musicians. Just off the top of my head I remember seeing Upperline Restaurant (where we once saw Saints QB Drew Brees having dinner with Cooper and Peyton Manning and their wives), The Spotted Cat, DBA (John’s favorite), and the Apple Barrel all on Frenchman Street, and plenty of Rue De La Course coffee shop mugs (of which we have a few around the office ourselves)- even if they were sometimes carried out of different coffee shop locations! As for musicians, we mention a few of our favorites in this blog entry here, and from that list, on the show we’ve seen John Bouttee (a couple of times), Paul Sanchez, Matt Perrine, Glenn David Andrews just to name a few. Matt wasn’t even show playing- he got an “acting” gig with his scene taking place across the Mississippi in Algiers Point at the Old Point Bar.

Glen David Andrews

Glen David Andrews and Paul Sanchez 2009 Jazz Fest Gospel Tent

John Boutte Tambourine Hands

Anders Osborne on the Acura Stage Big Screen 2010

Anders Osborne Up Close Guitar Hands

We could also identify with a lot of the emotional content of the series, having been through hurricane Katrina ourselves, and having our first floor condominium flood. The fights with the insurance companies, the SBA loan paperwork, wheeling our refrigerator out to the street – don’t get me started. BUT, that is behind us, and New Orleans is growing stronger every day.

If you are planning a trip to the Big Easy, and are considering our Jazz Fest Tour, you might really love Treme if you haven’t already seen it. To leave you with a final Treme related link, you can get a full time flavor of New Orleans by tuning in to our local radio station WWOZ online from this link. One of the main characters of the show, Davis McAlary (played by Steve Zhan), begins and ends the season working here. Of course, this is programmed in our cars and home radios. If you give us a call at the office, there’s a good chance you may catch a hint of WWOZ in the background!

Best Online 2010 New Orleans Jazz Fest Schedule? NOLA.com

Katie — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:19:37 +0000

So, every publishing contingent in New Orleans has their own version of the Jazz Fest schedule. The NOLA online interactive schedule is really cool (link below.)

Hover your mouse over an artist and audio and video links will pop up (links take you to myspace or youtube etc.) As you study the schedule, you can plan your day with previews of the artists.

2010 New Orleans Jazz Fest Schedule – NOLA.com.

We have been busy in preparation for our visitors here at Huron Tours and Travel world headquarters in New Orleans. We picked up our group of tickets, have distributed our final tour documents and Jazz Fest “Insider’s Guide.” We’ve confirmed hotel arrangements, eating arrangements, coach arrangements and can’t wait until Thursday!

Right now I am making my list of recommendations for “after-fest” shows our visitors may want to check out. Should I add the Friday 2AM George Porter Tipitinas FQ show? How important is sleep? But how awesome is George Porter?