It may be mid summer on Oak Street, but signs all over the rest of the city suggest that summer’s over. School zones are being enforced, the clubs are brimming with music and the first second line of the 2012-2013 season is Sunday. Here’s a look at my picks.
Tonight is the last of the Battle of the Bands, which has been taking place all week at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse. It’s Team Irvin vs. Team Kermit and the real winners have been the non-profit beneficiaries.
The video is hype from last year’s battle, but it’s SO worth watching again. The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic gets the cash tonight and according to Ruffins, this is going to be the best of the seven-night showdown. The gig starts at 8:30 PM and ends when Kermit and Irvin play the last note sometime around one in the AM.
If you prefer to funk it up, there are two hot shows going on downtown. Over at the Hi Ho Lounge on St. Claude Avenue, Kermit’s old pal trombonist Corey Henry is throwing down tonight with his new band, the Tremé Funktet. Good Enough for Good Times, featuring two members of Galactic, turns up the heat old school style at D.B.A.
Head back to the Hi Ho on Saturday night for a performance by Vagabond Swing (pictured). This irreverent outfit hails from Lafayette and their sound is as unique as their name. With a drummer who loves to clown and a guitarist who loves to jam, they take old timey sounds and update them for the steam punk generation. I saw the band for the first time two summers ago and was smitten. They have lots of energy and their songs are as inventive as their instrumentation.
There’s a dance-a-thon going all afternoon on Saturday and into Sunday morning at Café Istanbul in the New Orleans Healing Center. It benefits the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and features a performance by the Stooges Brass Band. For the details go to their website.
Sunday kicks off the second line season with the Valley of the Silent Men. This social aid and pleasure club puts on a great parade that tends to be rather intimate given the hot temperatures associated with the end of August. It starts at 3 PM at 1718 St. Andrew. That’s uptown, ya’ll! See ya there!
