Groovescapes

Thumbnail image for Throwdown in New Orleans This Thanksgiving at the Howlin’ Wolf

Throwdown in New Orleans This Thanksgiving at the Howlin’ Wolf

by Groovescapes November 24, 2010 Music

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and, of course, food. In New Orleans, while it may come as no surprise, we add another item to that list – music. After all, music is what has kept the community together, and the relationship between the musicians and the fans is more like a family than anything else. It’s certainly a …

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Thumbnail image for Café Prytania: Something Old, Something New, Something Better

Café Prytania: Something Old, Something New, Something Better

by Groovescapes November 10, 2010 Music

One of the highest hopes that New Orleanians had after “the storm” was that things could get better: not just better than they were in the immediate aftermath, but better than things had ever been.

This was partially just a state of mind. Although in my opinion things are now better than they were even before the hurricane, I often …

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Thumbnail image for Voodoo Fest 2010: Musical Mayhem in New Orleans

Voodoo Fest 2010: Musical Mayhem in New Orleans

by Groovescapes October 27, 2010 Events

Get ready! From the costumes to the crazies to the costumed crazies, Halloween in New Orleans is a scene beyond comparison. Since 1999, the Voodoo Experience, or Voodoo Fest for short, has established itself as the epicenter of the madness and the mayhem. Now in its 12th year, the festival brings the mystique of the Crescent City to the brink …

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Thumbnail image for A Three-Ring Circus of Art, Music, and Everything Under The Sun

A Three-Ring Circus of Art, Music, and Everything Under The Sun

by Groovescapes October 20, 2010 Arts & Culture

New Orleans bars and concert venues tend to be great because of the unique charms or trademarks that each place has to offer to its patrons, which, at this stage of the game, sort of goes without saying. However, there are some places in this city that are truly unconventional and off the beaten path. One such place is The …

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Thumbnail image for Dos Jefes: Cigars and More in NOLA

Dos Jefes: Cigars and More in NOLA

by Groovescapes October 6, 2010 Music

There is a lot to be said for the grassroots movement afoot among New Orleans bars and music clubs to ban indoor smoking of any kind.  Regardless of your personal opinions on tobacco use, it should be easy to classify this sporadic, voluntary prohibition as a positive thing, adding to the diversity of choices available to bar-goers of all dispositions …

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Thumbnail image for The Hi-Ho Lounge… It’s Off to Rock We Go

The Hi-Ho Lounge… It’s Off to Rock We Go

by Groovescapes September 29, 2010 Music

Walk past the Hi-Ho Lounge anytime during daylight hours and you’d swear that the weathered, brick shack on the corner of St. Claude and Marigny has been locked up for years. Swing by after the sun goes down, and you’ll be in for a quite a shock when you find the doors unshackled, neon lights flickering in the windows, and …

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Thumbnail image for Bacchanal… A Cool Breeze in New Orleans

Bacchanal… A Cool Breeze in New Orleans

by Groovescapes September 22, 2010 Food

Finally, after an incredibly long, hot Summer, Fall is around the corner. By the end of September, I can begin to hope for some cool evenings peppered amongst the hot days. Hopefully, some of those evenings will fall on Sundays because that is the best time for Bacchanal.

Though there are many places to take in the Big Easy, few …

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Thumbnail image for d.b.a…. One of the Marigny’s True Treasures

d.b.a…. One of the Marigny’s True Treasures

by Groovescapes September 7, 2010 Music

One of the dirty little secrets of some New Orleans music venues is that while the older buildings in which they are are usually housed are steeped in character and tradition, the acoustics of the performance space can leave something to be desired.  This is not to say that the sound in the renovated sandwich shops, juice stores and warehouses …

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Thumbnail image for Mimi’s in the Marigny… Music, Booze, Bliss, and Tapas

Mimi’s in the Marigny… Music, Booze, Bliss, and Tapas

by Groovescapes August 31, 2010 Music

Have you ever found yourself in the French Quarter muttering “Hand Grenades and Hurricanes are getting kind of old.” Odds are that you’ve gotten all you can out of the “Quarter” experience. Not to worry, though, because (and you may have already suspected this) there is much more to New Orleans than just boozing it up on Bourbon Street.

If …

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Thumbnail image for Blue Nile Captures the True Soul of the New Orleans Music Scene

Blue Nile Captures the True Soul of the New Orleans Music Scene

by Groovescapes August 23, 2010 Music

Over the past few months, we’ve covered many of the Big Easy’s tried-and-true music staples as well as a handful of its best under-the-radar venues. This week, we’re returning to the source: Frenchmen St. The true soul of the New Orleans music scene runs through this three-block stretch of dive bars, music clubs, restaurants, and shops on the outskirts of …

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Thumbnail image for The Greatest Jukebox on This Side of The Moon

The Greatest Jukebox on This Side of The Moon

by Groovescapes August 17, 2010 Music

I guess I am somewhat of a jukebox purist.  As such, I have a healthy disdain for those newfangled touch screen terminals that allow anyone willing to shell out a few extra bucks the ability to not only connect to the Internet and choose from every song ever recorded, but also to jump to the head of the queue regardless …

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The Saint… Let’s Get Weird

by Groovescapes August 9, 2010 Music

The Saint Bar and Lounge defies description; it’s more about the sum of your experiences there. But for the sake of narrative, I’ll say that it’s hidden in the Lower Garden District on St. Mary Street, past where Magazine Street becomes one-way. Other than that, The Saint is a place you just have to know about. I’ve heard people call …

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Carrollton Station… All Aboard for Great Music

by Groovescapes August 2, 2010 Music

It doesn’t take long to feel right at home at Carrollton Station. For three decades, this cozy, cottage-style tavern located just outside of the streetcar barn on Willow St. has opened its doors to thirsty patrons and its bandstand to the finest acoustic, folk, and roots rock the Big Easy has to offer. Tucked away from the hustle-and-bustle and hullabaloo …

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The Saturn Bar… On the Fringe

by Groovescapes July 26, 2010 Music

Don’t call the Saturn Bar a “dive.”  That four-letter word is thrown around far too often these days, and even when dropped with positive inflection to commend a quirky bar’s lived-in aesthetic, it is too broad and pedestrian to be of any real utility.  No matter how complimentary the tone in which it is bestowed upon a unique drinking establishment, …

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Banks Street Bar and Grill… Bank on It

by Groovescapes July 19, 2010 Music

Around here, when it comes to places touting Cheap Drinks and Free Live Music, they’re a dime a dozen. Most of these joints will lure you in with the old “bait and switch” move. They’ll offer up a seemingly unbeatable drink special and con you with a familiar jangle only to leave you with a bruised wallet and battered …

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You Can Stay but That Oil Got To Go… Photos from the Gulf Coast Benefit Concert

by Groovescapes July 12, 2010 Events

On Thursday, July 1st, Tipitina’s, along with 80 other venues from around the country, joined together to host a series of benefit concerts to aid those affected by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. The Gulf Coast Benefit, spearheaded by a small team of volunteer coordinators, partnered with the Gulf Restoration Network in an effort to raise $100,000 for the …

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