Ghostland Observatory—Sat., Oct. 1 @ Sugar Mill
Acronycal Wednesday, September 28, 9 p.m.
Shamrock, 4133 South Carrollton Ave. 301-0938
Shamrock on Carrolton Avenue is a new place trying hard to become the best place for music, games, and other events. The bar is filling its calendar with great bands including Acronycal, who will be performing on Wednesday the 28. The Palm Springs, California-based trio is fairly new, but is making waves in the realm of pop rock and alternative, and is making fans through their U.S. tour that is stopping in New Orleans. Acronycal features Keith Madsen on bass and the microphone, Scott Lehman on the guitar, and Jayme Wenzel on drums, each doing backup vocals also. Come to Shamrock to see California’s up-and-coming new rock band Acronycal, and stay ahead of the California music trend.—Emily Hingle
Ghostland Observatory Saturday, October 1, 9 p.m. Sugar Mill, 1021 Convention Center Blvd.
They’ve been compared to the likes of Daft Punk, Prince and Freddie Mercury, but the Austin-based, electro-funk rock twosome behind Ghostland Observatory has hollowed out a unique and dynamic niche all of their own. Aaron Behrens fronts the duo with a distinctive and commanding voice that often bends, moans and shrieks in fits of passion and enthusiasm. While Behrens also occasionally contributes guitar licks, his partnerin-crime Thomas Ross Turner handles the majority of production through keyboards, synthesizers and live drums. Bass lines range from fiercely funky to fat, round and heavy, and are balanced by potent synth melodies and irresistible house-like dance rhythms. Past performances—including Voodoo Fest 2008—have featured frenetic laser shows, strategically-placed mirrors and other simply devised, but captivating visual effects to complement their energetic music and stage presence. Three years later, they’ll kick off another jam-packed October at party-rocking’s latest headquarters, The Sugar Mill.
—Carolyn Heneghan
George Jones featuring Kyle Turley Sunday, October 2, 7 p.m. Mahalia Jackson Theater
George Jones can easily be considered one of the founding fathers in the country music scene inspiring many acts that have come since he first stepped out on the stage over six decades ago. Having just turned 80-years old, this amazing performer has produced hits in every decade of the latter 20th century, including the rockabilly chart-topper “White Lighting” back in 1959. Jones is most known for one of the all-time greatest country hit “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” earning him a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980. Covering his greatest hits, Jones’ concert will be an incredible experience for any country music aficionado. Also performing that evening is Kyle Turley, former Saints football player, storming the stage on his latest Death, Drugs, & DoubleCrossed tour. You’ll be mesmerized by this Gridiron Great on stage!—J.J.
17th Annual Gretna Heritage Festival October 7 – 9 25 city blocks in Downtown Gretna
Enjoy one of West Bank’s biggest event featuring eight stages, carnival rides and games, arts and crafts, and more! Festival goers will savor an assortment of their favorite seafood dishes at the all-new Louisiana Seafood Pavilion. This year’s festival will feature a stellar line-up of musical acts, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sara Evans,Tracy Lawrence, Grand Funk Railroad, Molly Hatchet, Brian Howe (former lead singer of Bad Company), Galactic, Cowboy Mouth, Hunter Hayes, blues legends Bobby Rush, T.K. Soul & Sonny Landreth, plus many more! Admission is $15 per person, free for children 12 years old and under, and $40 for a weekend pass. The Festival offers a free shuttle with free parking from Westside Shopping Center, OakwoodCenter and behind Academy Sporting Goods to the festival grounds. A free pedestrian ferry ride from the Canal Street Ferry Dock to the Gretna Ferry Landing is also available. For more information about Gretna Heritage Festival, call 504-361-7748 or visit www.gretnafest. com.—J.J.
The Last Waltz Ensemble Friday, October 7 Maple Leaf, 8316 Oak St., 866-9359
The Last Waltz Enemble, as their name suggests, has made it their singular mission to spread the gospel of Bob Dylan and the Band throughout the world – or at least the Southeastern United States. This project was originally conceived in November of 2004, when the Marietta-based Southern rock band Houndog decided to perform a tribute to the music from Martin Scorsese’s classic film on the Band. By 2006, the Last Waltz Ensemble had transformed from an annual tribute show into a touring act, selling out numerous venues throughout the Southeast. The Ensemble’s reputation for calling forth the spirit of this timeless music has continued to snowball over the years as they draw upon a complete repertoire that spans decades of work from Dylan, the Band, the Hawks and related acts. Moreover, as the surviving members of
Scream Tour Sunday, October 2, 7 p.m. UNO Lakefront Arena, 6801 Franklin Ave. 280-7171
Known for catapulting the careers of young R&B and rap stars such as Bow Wow, B2K, Trey Songz, T-Pain, Lloyd and more, the Scream Tour is back and rebooted to make the next generation of tween-aged girls, well, scream. This year, The Scream Tour: The Next Generation, or NXG, will feature up-and-coming Beiber-esque boy band, Mindless Behavior, along with Rev Run’s son and budding shoe designer, Diggy. Also hitting the stage is the skinny jean sporting performers, The New Boyz, who taught the nation how to jerk in 2009 with their hit, “You’re A Jerk,” followed by teaching us about the goings-on of the “Backseat” of a car, featuring “Like A G6” singer, Dev. A seemingly more-kid friendly lineup this year as opposed to some of the sexually-charged acts of Scream Tour’s past (aka Pretty Ricky & B2K), the tour also brings along Radio Disney sensation, Jacob Latimore, and introduces the nation to the freshly signed OMG Girlz as the only female the Band have fanned out to pursue their individual projects, the LWE is quite possibly as close as one can come to experiencing one of their fabled performances. Boasting that they never repeat a set list, the Ensemble is sure to bring both the passion and the prowess the stage of the Maple Leaf later this month. —Garrett Pittman
New Orleans on Tap Saturday, October 9, 2 p.m. City Park, 1 Palm Dr., 368-5191.
The Louisiana SPCA and The Bulldog want you to come out and enjoy a few beers for charity. Come celebrate the first annual New Orleans On Tap Beer Festival and Fundraiser. Sample over 200 different beers from around the country, and listen to the Rotary Downs and Flow Tribe. The event is free, but you must pay for beer samples, which start at $1 per sample. The festival takes place near the Big Lake, and you are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket to sit on. All proceeds from the event go to support Louisiana SPCA services and programs.—Misty Faucheux
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Tuesday, October 11, 8 p.m. House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 310-4999
The original lineup of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones has reunited and in support of their new album, Rocket Science. Active in professional music since the mid-1970s, banjo-player Bela Fleck, has been nominated for Grammys in a broader variety of categories than any other artist to date. He has dedicated his career to exploring new frontiers of banjo music and breaking the instrument out of the bluegrass mold that has defined it since the 1950s. With the formation of the Flecktones in 1989, the genre-defying blend of be-bop, fusion jazz, funk and bluegrass – dubbed “blue-bop” by Fleck – finally came to fruition. More than 20 years later, the sound remains as inimitable as it is revolutionary, as is underpinned by a team of musicians that are virtuosos in the truest sense of the word. Fleck is backed by the perennial lineup of bassist Victor Wooten, who has been called the most revolutionary bassist since Jaco Pastorius, and his brother Roy “Future Man” Wooten, who has invented several new electronic percussion instruments that have become foundational to the Flecktone sound. Furthermore, they are rejoined by founding pianist/ harmonica-player Howard Levy, who, since leaving the band in 1992, has developed innovative new scales never before heard on a standard diatonic harmonica. While the upcoming performance will undoubtedly showcase music developed for Rocket Science and earlier Flecktone albums, the intensely exploratory and improvisational instincts of these musicians promise an evening of music directed equally by the spontaneous spirit of creation and inventive compositions. Tickets are $35.—Garrett Pittman
Patrick Williams and Blues Express Friday, October 14, 9 p.m. Parkside Café, 601 Terry Parkway, 361- 3474
At 35-years old, Patrick Williams has been steadily earning notoriety for his command of the harmonica. For over a decade, Williams has been best known for his work with Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters where, in addition to sharing the stage with the thundercloud of a rub board-player, he found himself teamed up with musical monsters like “Lil’ Buck” Sinegal and Alonzo Johnson. Though he has been less active on the local scene for the past couple years, Williams has recently reemerged as the leader of the Blues Express, a straight-ahead, nofrills electric blues band. Even after his time backing Dopsie on numerous festival stages throughout the region, Williams still seems most at home in small clubs and blues bars where he can build an intimate energy that at times feels a lot like a conversation. This is exactly what one can expect to pour through the amplifiers when Williams takes the stage at the Parkside on the Westbank later this month – cathartic electric blues from a man that approaches his art like a familiar friend. —Garrett Pittman
The Airborne Toxic
Event Friday, October 14, 9p.m. The Howlin’ Wolf, 907 South Peters
529-5844
The Los Angelos indie Rockers, The Airborne Toxic Event are making a return once again to New Orleans via the Howlin’ Wolf. After touring non-stop since their 2008 visit with The Fratellis, ending up with residencies overseas in the U.K. and a stop at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which was filmed and recorded for the CD/DVD release of All I Ever Wanted, the band has been very, very busy since leaving New Orleans. To top it all off is their newest album, All at Once released in Album. If you’d like to see an international indie sensation or a pretty girl playing violin, you won’t be disappointed.—John Valdespino
OFF! Saturday, October 15, 8 p.m. Siberia, 2227 St. Claude St.
Punk supergroup OFF! comes to Siberia on Saturday, October 15, along with fellow punkers Cerebral Ballzy. Started in 2009, Off! is composed of Black Flag front man Keith Morris, Burning Bridges frontman Dimitri Coats, Redd Kross bassist Steven Shane McDonald, and Hot Snakes drummer Mario Rubalcaba, making for a truly well-rounded ensemble. OFF! is touring in support of their first album, First 4 EPs, which has garnered rave reviews across the board. Though the lights will be on for their set, the band considers their show to be a “dark party,” harnessing their energies and aggression into a thrashingly good time.—April Siese
O.A.R. Wednesday,
October 19, 8 p.m. House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-2583
Sometimes, you wonder what to do with your Wednesday nights. You could be productive. You could go out to the bar. It’s not early enough in the week to be defined as a working night, not late enough in the week to be a part of weekend (yet there are still Wednesday happy hours). However, let me solve this dilemma for you. You want to have a night to remember, but you’re not into the party scene. You’re down-to-earth, you’re chill. You could spend tonight going to your favorite bar and feeding the jukebox quarters to play your favorite Dave Matthew’s band songs, but there’s another song caught in your head. Maybe it’s “Heaven,” “Shattered,” “This Town,” or all of them. Face it, you want to spend the night listening to O.A.R. and this Wednesday night at 8 p.m. you have your chance. Make tonight the perfect night, with O.A.R.—John Valdespino
Mutemath Friday, October
21 One Eyed Jacks, 615 Toulouse St.
The NOLA-based band Mutemath comes home, Friday, October 21, hitting One Eyed Jacks in support of their latest album, Odd Souls. Mixing funky alternative rock with tinges of electronica, Mutemath has been crafting complexly danceable hits for over a decade. The band started as a long-distance project between lead singer and keyboardist Paul Meany in New Orleans and drummer Darren King in Springfield, Missouri, though the band recorded their first album in guitarist Greg Hill’s New Orleans studio. 2007 saw the hit “Typical” as well as a Grammy nomination for the band. Their latest single and title track of their new album is a slight change from their usual pop-rock, with a bluesy jam feel, but also a great sign of things to come. Tickets are $21 and doors open at 9 p.m.—April Siese
Big Sam’s Funky Nation Saturday, October 22, 10:30 p.m. Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak St., 866-5323
Former Dirty Dozen Brass Band trombonist Ryan White leads this high-energy New Orleans funk band. The group has been touring around the country, and they are renowned for their festival performances. The band is coming back to their hometown for a few shows this fall to get local fans out of their seat and shaking their moneymaker. This fan-favorite epitomizes big band funk with its combination rock and jazz sound. Big Sam has made a solo name for himself, touring with bands like Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic and Ozomatli. The band’s signature Noladelic Powerfunk sound encourages you to dance the night away. You won’t want to miss this show.—Misty Faucheux
Minus the Bear Sunday, October 23, 9:00 p.m. House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 310-4999
A decade in the music industry is few and far between these days, with various and numerous one-hit-over-produced-wonders debuting on the YouTube scene by the thousands and in an instant, are a distant memory of the past. This was not the case for Seattle-based rockers, Minus the Bear, who commemorate their tenth year in music this fall, and who are celebrating with a new nostalgic tour kicking off this October. The tour, which boasts pre-ticket sale swag from their Web site, will not only feature a variety of music from their latest 2010 release, OMNI, but band members will also perform their 2002 label debut, Highly Refined Pirates, in it’s entirety.—Briana Prevost
DJ Afrika Bambaataa, the Amen-Ra of Hip Hop and Father of Electro Funk Thursday, October 27th, 9:30 p.m. Howlin’ Wolf, 907 South Peters St.
I just want everyone who loves hip-hop to consider what they are doing or where they will be as one of the originators of hip-hop just happens to pass through New Orleans. What will you do? Will you get a camera? Will bring him things to sign? Will you prepare journals to document this moment? This is the man who created Hip Hop to change the world around him, not because he wanted money, not because he wanted fame. He wanted to allow those around him to have an outlet rather than to continue in the harsh ganglife they had grown up with. This Thursday at The Howlin’ Wolf you can see history.— John Valdespino
Walter Wolfman Washington Monday, October 31, 8 p.m. Burffa’s Bar, 1001 Esplanade Ave.
So when you ask yourself what can I do this Halloween, I think even before that you should ask yourself do you love New Orleans Music. If the answer to this question is yes, then ask yourself why am I not going to Walter Wolfman Washington concert? This is a trick question because you actually are going to hear the smooth and funky stylings of R&B he’s going to be laying down for the one Halloween Concert everyone is trying to see. So make sure you are there this Halloween, at 8 p.m. because even New Orleans understands you’re going into work on Tuesday.. — John Valdespino
Minus the Bear—Sun., Oct. 23 @ House of Blues
