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New Orleans: the Underground Guide - Frenchman Street MusicWe wrote New Orleans: The Underground Guide to counter the false
image of New Orleans that you have in your head. Sure New Orleans still sounds like brass bands,
Mardi Gras Indians and trad-jazz. But the French Quarter has turned into a beautiful
shopping mall where almost none of the city’s important modern
day music is made, or even played (Bourbon Street in particular
is more than happy to accommodate your outdated notions of the
city).
Instead, there are things happening here, now, that in fact are in the process of changing the
way the world views music and art – again, as New Orleans always
has.
We made this music-focused guidebook partly to prove that
new millennium New Orleans sounds pretty damned different.
New Orleans’ artistic communities are still as unique and vibrant,
and conjure up as many important new creations as ever.
Here's one example.
Frenchmen StreetFrenchmen Street is the current music capital of New Orleans. Similar to Austin’s famous 6th Street (but less overwhelmingly touristy, we think) Frenchmen Street is back-to-back clubs and funky, inexpensive restaurants. There’s no real reason for us to itemize every Frenchmen eatery and bar featuring free music; Frenchmen is to be enjoyed as a whole. Just go down there and wander around. But if’n you are interested, here are six favorite spots:13 Restaurant and BarVegetarian dining is one area where New Orleans comes up kinda
short. But whether or not you partake of animals (not even
seafood? Really? C’mon!), 13 Restaurant and Bar (owned by the
owners of Molly’s bar, where you'll surely end up, whether we
suggest it or not) is located in the midst of Frenchmen Street’s
many clubs, and open as late as possible. They serve great drinks
alongside carnivorous deli sandwiches, vegetarian options such
as gourmet pizzas and salads, and original concoctions like tatertot
nachos (“tator-tachos”) covered in cheese and black beans.
Especially during the summer, 13's frozen Irish coffee (topped
with a sprinkle of grounds and shaved chocolate) is unbeatable.
517 Frenchmen St
New Orleans, Louisiana Phone: 504-942-1345 Adolfo'sAdolfo's Louisiana Italian restaurant doesn't host music, but it's such a great place that we can't bear to leave it
out (Plus, you can hear the bands from the bar downstairs coming through the floor). For those whose budgets sometimes allow travel to cool places,
but then dictate frugality once they get there, Adolfo’s will make you feel kingly. The amazing seafood you might get in the Quarter’s well-advertised
fine dining places costs only half as much at Adolfo’s, and with some small extras included.
As of this writing, a giant grouper filet stuffed with crawfish, crab and shrimp with a salad and perfect hot garlic bread, was $16.95.
Upstairs from the colorful, dark and snug Apple Barrel (609 Frenchmen St., 504-949-9399) blues dive, with a view out over the music clubs of
Frenchmen Street, Adolfo's is absolutely European.
611 Frenchmen St.
New Orleans Louisiana Phone: 504-948-3800 Blue NileThis extremely eclectic club with two nice stages and sound
systems (separate door costs) hosts everything from live hiphop
MCs and DJs (DJ Real and Earl the Pearl Saturdays at
11pm, and the Soundclash beat battle the second Saturday
of each month), dancehall nights hosted by DJ T Roy, lots of
traditional New Orleans music (from Kermit Ruffins to various
Nevilles), a marginal amount of indie rock, a few fashion shows
and even a quirky improvisational jazz series. That being said,
their programming varies so wildly, it's advisable to make sure
you know who's playing before you pay the cover.
532 Frenchmen St.
New Orleans Louisiana Phone: 504-948-2583 dbaDuring the week there’s often no cover for dba's well-curated
roster of New Orleans music, jazz vocals to rowdy funk to straightahead
rattling blues. This is also where Stevie Wonder chose to
pop in after Jazz Fest, and countless others. Right next door to
Snug Harbor.
618 Frenchmen St.
New Orleans Louisiana Phone: 504-942-3731 Dragon's DenUp a steep, precarious twisty red stairwell you'll find a dim, redlit
room with pillows on the floor – anchored on one end by the
bar and the other by a wrought-iron balcony overlooking the
grassy Esplanade Avenue neutral ground and the mouth of the
lower Decatur dive-bar strip. After the flood, the Den (once a Thai
restaurant with music only upstairs) was sold to a crew led by local
DJ Proppa Bear. Proppa installed turntables both upstairs and
downstairs, where a second stage was also added. More electronic
music parties featuring hip-hop, jungle, reggaeton and the like,
were added to the club's already near-perfect roster of brass bands
and alternative music. Also, during the day, Café Bamboo (940-
5546) downstairs serves vegetarian cuisine.
435 Esplanade Ave.
New Orleans Louisiana Phone: 504-949-1750 Snug HarborThough more adventurous spirits may find some of the jazz shows here too staid, Snug is nonetheless promoted as the city's premier spot for big-name
local and international jazz acts, with sets nightly at 8 and 10 pm.
Jazz patriarch and educator Ellis Marsalis plays here with his quartet monthly. The other half of the building is given over to a casual-upscale supper club
focusing on steaks, burgers and Gulf seafood. Tip: the often-pricey upstairs show is usually broadcast on closed circuit TV you can watch at
the downstairs bar.
626 Frenchmen St.
New Orleans Louisiana Phone: 504-949-0696 Yuki IzakayaHesitant to write much about this comfy upscale-ish Japanese
place on Frenchmen, since it hasn't been here long. But for the
sake of their menu of late-night fried dumplings, yakitori and
sake (modeled after the after-work spots Tokyo businessmen
booze it up in) plus unusual live music (Yuki is the best place to
catch cellist Helen Gillet's French chanson combo, Wazozo) and
good DJs, we hope Yuki sticks around.
525 Frenchmen St.
New Orleans Louisiana Phone: 504-943-1122 By Michael Patrick Welch. Author of the memoir Commonplace (Screw
Music Forever Press), Y’all’s Problem (Dirty Coast) and the New Orleans
novel The Donkey Show (Equator Books). He has freelanced for Gambit
Weekly for many years, served as a staff writer/editorial assistant at the
St Petersburg Times and penned a column in New Orleans’ oldest music
magazine, OffBeat. His freelance work has also appeared in Newsweek,
Spin, and several Village Voice publications. Welch also teaches a music
writing class for public school kids (myspace.com/mrmichaelsclass) and acts
as bandleader for electro-rock-n-R&B band, The White Bitch. Email
him at michaelpatrickwelch@gmail.com
New Orleans: the Underground Guide is published by University of New Orleans Press - unopress.org
Written with Alison Fensterstock who served as Gambit Weekly’s music writer from 2006-
09, before moving on to write about music for The Times-Picayune.
Photos by of Zack Smith - an editorial and fine art portrait photographer, and Jonathan Traviesa - has been photographing in New Orleans since
1997.
© 2012 |
