Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?

Subject: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 04:29 PM

Preservation Hall is on my list, of course. Looking for other other don't-miss places to hear music (we like all kinds). My wife and I will be there (for a convention) next week. Most of our evenings are free.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 07:05 PM

Nothing to hear, but something to see is the clarinet mural on the side of the Holiday Inn.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine sans cookie
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 09:53 PM

The Louisiana Music Factory (record store) on Decatur St. across the street from House of Blues has free in-store concerts every Saturday afternoon, and the record store is worth a visit in its own right. Also check who is playing at Rock 'N' Bowl, a bowling alley that has live music every night.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 17 Oct 13 - 10:14 PM

Eat,eat, eat.

Give up your diet, all concerns about healthy eating, and eat.

In Nola you can pick a hole-in-wall restaurant that hasn't made anybody best restaurant list, and you might have one of the best meals of your life.

Eat, eat, eat.

Russ (Permanent GUEST)

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 02:26 AM

When I visited New Orleans (before Katrina did so something might have changed) there was a great jazz session at a place called "Donna`s", don`t remember which day of the week. Look out for Wahboard Chaz if you like Blues. Mountain Sprout for Bluegrass. Lots of good street musicians too.

Most important: try to contact Mudcatter PoppsaGator, he was very helpful. If you see him, please say hello from me (Stefan from Berlin).

Have a nice trip!

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: melodeonboy
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 02:49 AM

Turbo Dog beer!

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Tunesmith
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 07:53 AM

Check out the Storyville area!
It's a bit dodgy with lots of brothels but there are some fantastic piano players.
Look out for Jelly Roll Morton. He's terrific!

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 09:48 AM

Thanks, all. Hey, tunesmith, I've heard about this Jelly Roll dude. also heard about a kid who plays cornet, Louis something...

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Ernest
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 11:15 AM

ups - Guest 2:26 AM was me from office computer.....

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST,Mary Katherine
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 11:57 AM

The Monday night jams at Donna's are long gone - as for that matter is Donna's itself.
Kermit's Treme Speakeasy on Basin St. has great home cooking and live music - they are open all day for lunch but I think the music only starts at about6-7 p.m. - call and see. Serious fried chicken!

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Dead Horse
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 06:33 PM

The whole waterfront area near to the French Quarter has some amazing acts both inside & outside buskers. Eat a Muffaletta. Then a few Beignet as an antidote. The t-shirts in the French market. Lots of cheap, trashy must-haves in there too. Ride on a tram down Basin Street way. Then get out of town and visit REAL Louisiana and its cajun music in Lafayette, Breaux Bridge or Mamou. For zydeco head for Opelousas.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 18 Oct 13 - 07:10 PM

Frenchmen St. area, in the Treme area (the "other" side of Esplanade). Good music clubs without as much tourist nonsense.

I realize Tunesmith was joking, but don't expect to find anything in "Storyville" anymore. It's just housing projects now.

Congo Square is not much to see, but you can stand where much of American music started.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST,Eddie1
Date: 19 Oct 13 - 06:45 AM

Don't know what happened there – sorry folks!!
My only visit to New Orleans was pre-Katrina. The French Quarter in the evenings had all the sophistication of The Golden Mile in Blackpool. Packed, full of falling-down drunks and music seemed restricted to rock & heavy metal. Managed in during the day and what a difference! All kinds of music on the streets including a string quartet!
Totally agree on comments about the food – look around – and the Waterfront, especially the Cafe Du Monde. Look out for the guy who plays trumpet and sings, almost, but not quite, at the same time.
I'm insanely jealous – must get back some time!

Eddie
Cafe Du Monde

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 19 Oct 13 - 07:27 AM

Try Lulu White's place.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: ian1943
Date: 19 Oct 13 - 09:24 AM

Eat at Muriels along Bourbon Street towards the cathedral. We found it excellent.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Oct 13 - 06:52 PM

Go to The Spotted Cat. Great music.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST, Paul Slade
Date: 19 Oct 13 - 06:59 PM

Watch Treme and Spike Lee's When The Levee Breaks. Both will enhance your appreciation of the city enormously.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Bobert
Date: 19 Oct 13 - 08:09 PM

Just walk around the French Quarters... Lots of music... Street buskers... Bands in every joint... No reason to ever leave...

If you see a skinny black guy playing a drum kid made from plastic paint buckets tell him, "Bobert says "hey", Stickman"...

B~

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: catspaw49
Date: 20 Oct 13 - 09:47 AM

I'm with my buddy Russ up there.......20 years ago my ideal vacation would have been to stay at the Royal Orleans and eat til my money ran out......Eat.......Eat.......Eat.......


Spaw

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Big Ballad Singer
Date: 20 Oct 13 - 07:50 PM

Want a bit of cool history while enjoying some legendary food at the same time?

You'll have to take a cab there, and you DON'T want to hang around the neighborhood these days, but there's a restaurant on Orleans Ave called Dooky Chase's. "Mama" Leah Chase still runs the place. The food is incredible, the atmosphere is pleasant and comfortable, and Mrs. Chase herself is a sweetheart of a lady; all class.

The upstairs room used to be where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Ralph Abernathy and others in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference used to meet and dine while discussing what we know now as the modern civil-rights movement. Mrs. Chase can tell you all about those days and those men.

Take the time to check Aaron Neville's tour schedule; if he's home, you might catch him at dinner at the Commander's Palace, a rather swanky but delicious spot.

You can always look out for sons, nephews and cousins of les brers Neville in their various bands around the city. Also look for Kermit Ruffins or one of the other brass players keeping the funky lineage of Crescent City jazz alive. Totally worth it.

Also, roger that advice to skip the touristy areas and experience some truly anachronistic folk culture by visiting bayou country and hearing legit Cajun music and zydeco.

You also cannot go wrong looking into the history of voodoo** in New Orleans; while, of course, there is much plasticky tourist-trap junk to be had, there are still legitimate practitioners of the art in the city who can spin some mighty good tales about what street life was like when the marginalized ethnic groups in New Orleans were creating their own music, fashion, religion and social culture right under the noses of the bourgeoisie.

** I don't mean any offense; I am not suggesting you practice voodoo or approve of or disapprove of any sort of religious activities. I simply suggested the idea that seeking out some of the traditional practitioners of those magicks can be a great source of folk knowledge and colorful local lore that often can't be had through the usual guide-book means.

Above all, laissez les bon temps roulez! Kick up your heels some, eat like a pig at least once and do something crazy enough to make the grandkids tell it every Christmas! Have fun!

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Oct 13 - 09:28 PM

Note that if you want to visit any of the excellent upscale New Orleans restaurants, such as Commander's Palace, recommended above, or Galatoire's, Antoine's, etc., they do have a dress code. You may feel that it's not worth packing an entire evening ensemble (coat and tie for men, evening dress for women) just to have dinner once or twice during your stay. If you're not sure whether a place you want to eat has a dress code, check out their web site ahead of time.

Subject: RE: Visiting New Orleans. Any suggestions?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 28 Oct 13 - 01:27 PM

Thanks, everyone! Had a blast in N.O. Made it to Galatoire's, Spotted Cat, French Market, Louisiana Music Factory, Congo Square...all of which you recommended. Walked all over the French Quarter, heard excellent music in the street. Liked the dinner with jazz at Palm Court. Took streetcars everywhere. You can keep Bourbon Street (except for Galatoire's): nothing but drunks.