New Orleans Southern Gothic
It does seem a little bit strange that New Orleans has such a powerful goth scene, but it’s been like that for awhile now. There are great goth bars all over the city, and in any crowd after dark there’s going to be a couple people wearing black and white stripes. But in a town that gets as hot as New Orleans does, mascara tends to run more than usual, and wearing layers of dark clothes can be a little unbearable. Sort of like being a clubber in February in Minnesota. But culture happens, and when it happens here, it’s all the way.
Even with the generous excesses of the city, and the penchant for public displays of distinctive over-the-top-ness, it’s still a very subtle place. The front of the city’s face can be rather bizarre and also rather extreme, most of the time, but the back is even bigger. One of the most wonderful things about it is its layer of complexity, where even something as innocuous as moss on a tree stump suggests a much deeper story. This is the milieu one walks into for the Southern Gothic Festival , and this year’s promises to be as good as they get. It is an extraordinary event, enough to warrant blocking off the weekend for the locals, and many New Orleans hotel s to be booked by the out-of towners.
Twelve bands are signed on for the July event, where it’s two nights on two stages. It’s slated to go from evening until dawn, and in New Orleans, they mean it. This year’s festival is at Howlin’ Wolf , and it’s nothing special for the venue to be open late even in the middle of the week. There’s no curfew in New Orleans, so some of the bars in town never close.
That can be good news for the barflies, but it’s even better news for someone wanting to check out what the locals and the rest of the world is offering for goth and industrial music these days. It promises to be a perfectly ghastly affair.
Met to Get Stung by Sting
So Sting has already played Carnegie Hall, and no doubt, it was the result of practice, practice, practice. A lifetime of musical accomplishments certainly helped, as well as being a charismatic figure with striking good looks that seem to improve with age. There’s something to all the yoga and other interesting physical fitness regimens that he’s been practicing over the years. It will all be put to the test, and one he will most certainly pass, when Sting plays the Met in July .
There are lots of moments like these that make New York a place to be. It hasn’t lost its edge at all, and probably never will. The steady stream of young artists coming to test their mettle in one of the world’s most difficult crucibles means that there’s always something new and interesting. The discerning citizens, along with the many visitors who frequent New York’s hotels , are a ready audience for work by established artists, along with the tried and true artists who have reached maturity.
Sting may be mature, but there’s plenty of boyish charm left to make a whole new generation jealous or swooning, and the work always goes in new directions. Sting is perhaps entering another great phase of experimentation, and the show in New York will combine his own music with some classical variations that sound stunning in theory.
They’ll likely be wildly successful, pleasing the large crowd that’s bound to show up, but there is always a chance that something might go wrong, and the new direction might not be a perfect match for the cultural moment. But that’s what’s always kept his work so very interesting. The early work with the Police mixed forms well enough to re-create punk rock when it needed new life, and as old fans complained when they were getting too commercial, another generation began to notice that there was something compelling here.
That particular story has had multiple repetitions in every phase of Sting’s career, and enough to suggest that this is another musical direction, and one that will lead to new honey.
Erykah Badu At One with Paris
Paris has a particularly unusual appeal for artists in any number of mediums, with a population that is very cosmopolitan, worldly, and critical. In many respects, Paris has historically been the center of world culture in many epochs, and many different art movements. Today, there is still a lively atmosphere that’s infused with both past and present, and this makes it a city worth visiting more than once in a lifetime. Thankfully, the hotels in Paris do live up to the most romantic expectations, and the city’s sights are as breath-taking as one could imagine.
In terms of musical artists, the taste is exquisite, and one of the wonders of the world would be to see a favorite artist play here. Later this summer, music lovers will get an amazing opportunity to hear some phenomenal sounds in the city as Erykah Badu plays Paris . The city has a certain love for the eclectic, the bold, and daring, and the sensual, and she is all that, and a bag of chips.
Her new album, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, is a continuation of her lifelong experiment in being Erykah Badu. This album is a mix of all the styles she’s been pushing toward since the birth of Seven, and is also, at the same time, a recapturing of some of the more classic elements of her work. It’s a perfect moment for her to play Olympia Bruno , and not only because it’s a perfect venue for an international star who needs a lot of room for her fans.
It’s also a moment to be marked, and the venue is auspicious for her. There is a harmony in the location that blends with her own particular spiritual outlook, and it’s one that’s certainly present in the music. She takes turns, and heads down long tangents that sometimes appear to be fruitless, only to reveal at the 11th hour, there is a scheme behind it. Or, at the very least, some kind intelligence, giving her work equal portions of honey and urgency.
Joan Jett Runs Away in San Diego
It’s hard to find a voice in rock and roll as loud and true as Joan Jett’s, and there can’t be a better time to hear her play live and loud than this 4th of July. It’s a free show, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for the San Diego County Fair . The fair’s been around a lot longer than rock and roll, but the history of each institution is pretty electric.
The fair began in the 1880s as an agricultural event, so that the farmers in the area could share secrets and showcase their successes. They added a racetrack in the 1930s, to generate more income. That was a fairly easy stretch, because the horses had already been shown at the fair since its beginnings, and the west coast is a spectacular place for races.
Joan Jett’s beginnings weren’t as calm and wholesome as a fair, but that’s rock and roll. The new biopic this year, the Runaways , goes through the early years in Jett’s career, and her band before she went solo with the Blackhearts. The Runaways were an experiment that went well, and ultimately went in too many directions at once. With the likes of Lita Ford and Cherie Currie in the lineup, there were plenty of arguments about the artistic direction, and the band split after just a few years of working together.
Meanwhile, Jett was off and running with her journeys into punk rock styles, and these turned out to be the perfect touch to her special blend of 3-chord classic rock. It gave her an edge that no one else could ever touch, and it will be a great thing to see at the free show for San Diego’s Independence Day . Locals will get a great treat, and out of town guests with bookings at hotels in San Diego are in a perfect position to take advantage of a rare opportunity.
San Diego loves rock and roll!
San Francisco’s Mates of State
Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, the two who make up the wall of sound duo Mates of State , met in Lawrence, Kansas in 1997. Three months later, they were working together, and involved personally. Four years later, they were married, and living in San Francisco. It’s a perfect fairy tale, with a rock and roll backbeat, and multiple rhythms running on multiple simultaneous tracks, that gives it a kind of fantastic reverberation. It’s one that’s sweet and sometimes bitter, where the irony of the presentation starts to gently but shockingly give way to a more poignant meaning right beneath the surface.
There might be two ideal places to hear them perform, then, either in Kansas or in California, and fans will get the opportunity in June, when they play two nights at the Great American Music Hall as June turns into July. Keeping in mind that the coldest winter is sometimes spent in San Francisco in the summer, out of town guests should dress warm, just in case, but also dress fashionably, just because it’s always a good idea. A stylish hotel in San Francisco is a perfect temporary home for seeing this perfectly wonderful band.
Lawrence and San Francisco have a lot in common, actually, and a move from there to here, in the name of making a name, is a logical, and sublime progression. Lawrence is one of the great unsung funky cities in the country, where alternative culture that is radically interesting and absolutely thriving pops up suddenly and without warning. The people there are about as interesting a collection of subcultures one can meet anywhere, with the possible exception of, well, San Francisco.
That part of their story also serves as a running track, and makes the music even more perfect. The pieces fit together, and they also don’t quite fit, where a lovely balance is always poised on the edges of a little bit of heartbreak, the price you pay for following the path with the heart.
Dave Matthews Band Takes 2011 Off the Road
Dave Matthews Band has been touring for 20 years. Often with back to back engagements and always on the road it is surprising that it has taken them this long to decide that they need a summer off. They announced it earlier this week in the hopes of giving everyone as much notice as is possible. It is of course still possible that some people will miss the message, but with the large number of people buying tickets for their concerts this year it would seem that the major fans who are already planning on attending the now non-existent concerts next year will find out about it. Other people will probably come to the conclusion when they realize there are no advertisements for them next year.
2010 Players Championships Golf
Sometimes sports are something worth talking about and lately golf has been the sport to be watching. At first when the world heard that Tiger Woods was coming back it seemed as though he was sure to win the Players Championships, that was one reason why a lot of people made a point of getting in there and getting their tickets early. However, when he started playing bad, and now that he’s gone it became anyone’s game. With that in mind, here is a video of some of the best shots of the past week. As it is the game is going well, so if you have the money and the time you should get down there to watch it.
Shots of the Week: 2010 PLAYERS Championship – For more of the funniest videos, click here
Cosby in Seattle
He has a stand-up routine about Seattle, where he talks about the rain, like most people do, but there’s a little something in between the lines. The lines themselves are pretty funny, to be sure, but the observational power really comes through in the subtle details, and this is what marks Bill Cosby as one of the great comedians of our time, and time will tell, perhaps of all time.
He’s coming to Seattle again in June, for two shows on the same day, at Benaroyal Hall , and for anyone who’s ever laughed at anything, this is something not to miss. That might be saying that everyone in the world should go, and maybe that’s true. Everyone in the world should listen to this comedian. In his 70s now, his mind is still so quick and bright, betraying the doctorate he earned in the 1970s for his dissertation on his own television show, Fat Albert. He’s also a national treasure, and his achievements are great, and seem to be continuing to build.
The tributes to him as he moves on in the years are building up, and they always suggest that it’s time for him to accept the awards and take it easy, but he’s not resting on laurels. Instead, he’s entertaining everyone who’s lucky enough to live here, as well as anyone who might be staying in town at one of the hotels in Seattle .
This is a town that’s had a remarkable history, that almost dovetails with his own career. It has a long past of social action, especially when it comes to Civil Rights, and also has a fantastic jazz scene, past and present. Cosby’s always been a jazz lover, giving time and money to that causes for promoting the music, and his breakthroughs for other African-Americans have been substantial.
He is a beautiful man, and still so very, very funny.
The Black Crowes Coming to Michigan
It looks like the Black Crowes added recently a new show to their growing list of shows, and that is at the FireKeepers Casino in Michigan. This is kind of big of the people in the area because this will be the first major rock act to come to Battle Creek since the Casino opened on August 5th.
If you don’t know who they are, the Black Crowes formed in the 80s in Atlanta Georgia and had some of their biggest hits in the 90s. They are going to be on tour once again and their tickets have been selling fast.
Ryu Goto in Seoul
Seoul is a fascinating place with an incredible history, and visitors here will find themselves in love rather splendidly with the intensely vibrant urban landscape. There are plenty of attractions during the day, and at night, the city really comes alive. Restaurants and bars are filled with lively scenes, where the locals and visitors blend to make an exciting scene every evening. In terms of music, it’s got a lot to offer. There are plenty of clubs to hear world-class djs kicking out the latest beats, as well as venues for live rock music. It’s also got a very established classical music scene, and guests here can get a good taste of it on July 4th.
It’s a fitting date, too, considering Seoul’s sizable expat community, and also considering the star of the evening is a native New Yorker. Child prodigy Ryu Goto is giving a recital at the Seoul Music Center, in what promises to be a spectacular evening. Now 21 years old and hardly a child, he’s still a prodigy, and one of the most accomplished violinists playing today. He began playing concerts when he was seven years old, and has had a consistently spectacular career ever since.
This will be coming in after he’s hot off of playing Carnegie Hall , no less, and his position in world classical music is very well-established. He’s also a black belt in karate, and is a student at Harvard, studying physics. He may not need the day job, considering all the success that he’s had at playing music, but it point up the fact that his remarkable talent doesn’t only lie in the arena of music. But his talents here are obviously considerable, and it will be a lovely evening for everyone attending. Guests in town who are booked for their hotel in Seoul will be well-advised to pick up tickets soon.
