Pig And Punch

Sunday afternoon will mark the 10th anniversary of the Pig and Punch party at Crescent Park.  This event has long served as the unofficial close of Tales of the Cocktail and features a great selection of unique punch as well as five all star teams from Hogs for the Cause cooking whole roasted hogs.  This year the musical entertainment is provided by the TCB Brass Band, the Treme Brass Band and Little Freddie King.  The whole thing is for charity supporting several local charities including KIPP Schools and the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic.  The event runs from noon till 5.  More details here

 

Stef Chura tonight at Gasa Gasa

Tonight, Detroit based singer songwriter Stef Chura will stop in at Gasa Gasa as part of her tour for her recently released sophomore record Midnight.  This record—produced by Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest—has a remarkable urgency and tone.  Chura has a knack for taking her own frustrations and building them into universal observations.  Her style and delivery is simply mesmerizing.  You’ll want to be sure to catch this show.  Check out the video for “Scream” below.

 

 

Rolling Stones Return to New Orleans

I can’t imagine that there is anything to be said about the Rolling Stones that hasn’t been said before.  For the last 20 years or so the reviews of their live performances always involve a fair bit of hand wringing over their age or the crowd’s interest.  At the top of his review of their 1994 show in the Dome, Scott Aiges asked, “Could it be that time isn’t on their side after all?”—before answering “No” through the rest of the review.

In his thoughts on the Monday night show Keith Spera ends with a bit of a philosophical take – “It is virtually impossible, in the present day, to consider the Rolling Stones in and of themselves. They carry with them 50 years of legend and legacy, decades of darkness and light, all of it writ large across the pop culture landscape.”  This is part of the issue with the Stones, they have been doing this thing for so long and with so much success that it seems a bit petty in the end to complain about the minutia of the performances themselves.  As a fan you know what you’re in for from the start – this is not an experience that pretends at uncharted depth beneath its surface, which I think is its true strength.  This is about feeling as though you as a fan are part of something.

A couple of weeks ago in one of his excellent Red Hand Files Issues, Nick Cave wrote some thoughts about the relationship between songwriters and songs.  He said, “Personally, when I write a song and release it to the public, I feel it stops being my song. It has been offered up to my audience and they, if they care to, take possession of that song and become its custodian. The integrity of the song now rests not with the artist, but with the listener.”  I can’t think of a truer understanding of the relationship between the Rolling Stones and their fans.  These songs belong to road trips, dances, late nights in bars and beach days—they are part of the fabric of our cultural experience.  To see them performed activates those memories, those experiences and makes the specifics of the performance less important.  It is a sort of cultural church were one is in the presence of this seemingly fundamental thing—but it is our experiences that give these moments their emotional weight.

 

To Do This Week

Tonight, Papa Mali and Friends is the Free Friday show at Tipitina’s while the outstanding Stef Chura plays Gasa Gasa with French Vanilla.  On Saturday, Danny Burns plays Chickie Wah Wah while Hash Cabbage plays Gasa Gasa with Strange Roux.  Saturday also finds the Will Rast Organ Trio at Le Bon Temps and Gal Holiday at The Starlight.  Sunday, the Secondhand Street Band are at the AllWays Lounge while Daryl Johnson plays the Maple Leaf.  Don’t forget about Pig and Punch Fess on Sunday as well.  Monday, Alexis and the Samurai are at d.b.a. and The George Porter Jr Trio are at the Maple Leaf.  Tuesday, Little Death plays Gasa Gasa while Larry Sieberth and Brad Walker are at The SideBar.  Wednesday, Meschiya Lake, Russell Welch & Stoo Odem are at Chickie Wah Wah while the Tin Men and Wolfman Washington hold their usual spots at d.b.a. and Roadside Glorious are at the Maple Leaf.  Thursday, Darcy Malone is at the Backroom at Buffa’s while Tom Fischer and Joe Kennedy are at Fritzel’s.

 

 

To Listen This Week