The Sazerwrap has been the @RockBodyElec way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest in New Orleans. We will breaking the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the Music. Only 11 Months until next years festival!
It has been a few years, but RtBE is bringing back the Sazerwrap for the 50th Anniversary of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This is our 11th straight year of catching the fest and needless to say each year is magic. The trips keep evolving as does the festival and city which hosts it. Today we will chat about the food we sampled and tomorrow the tunes we heard.
The Sazerwrap has been RtBE way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest
in New Orleans. This year we will breaking
the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the food. Only 11 Months until next years
festival!
Every year it gets harder and harder to put into words how amazing the NOLA Jazzfest experience is. From the amazing friends whose numbers keep expanding to the all night raging to the music and food that just melts your brain and clogs your heart...Things are pretty much magical in that town.
Today we will talk about the calorie inducing portion of the trip, the tasty eats that NOLA is famous for. Each year seems to up the ante on the restaurants we hit and the great variety and quality of the grub and cocktails.
The Sazerwrap has been the @RockBodyElec way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest in New Orleans. We will breaking the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the Music. Only 11 Months until next years festival!
It has been a few years, but RtBE is bringing back the Sazerwrap for the 50th Anniversary of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This is our 11th straight year of catching the fest and needless to say each year is magic. The trips keep evolving as does the festival and city which hosts it. Today we will chat about the tunes we heard and shows we saw.
The Sazerwrap has been the @RockBodyElec way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest
in New Orleans. As in past years we will breaking
the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the food. Only 11 Months until next years
festival!
Food and joyous celebration of eats, cocktails and ribaldry are just as important to the music on our annual Jazzfest pilgrimage. Click the read more and jump in...
In years past we have delivered a Sazerwrap to catalog our personal Jazzfest experience, so we will continue this year, even though this trip had the most official reviews we have ever done.
2022 Jazzfest was a dream come true after the last two years were canceled. It was the first festival that RtBE was in town for both weekends in 10 years when we were down for an extended time in 2012. This was also the first festival trip where we also got to stay in our own New Orleans home that was purchased pre-pandemic. Magical on all levels.
We have reviewed many of the shows we caught down there for both Glide Magazine and this site, with even more reviews coming, but there was still a lot of music we didn't review and just enjoyed.
The first ever Factory Fest was a hoot and we got to find some shade and relax to the sounds of New Orleans Nightcrawlers.
The fantastic Little Freddy King also played the free show presented by the Louisiana Music Factory and was held at the New Orleans Jazz Museum in the lower French Quarter.
The city always delivers as we made it over to catch Big Chief Donald Harrison play a set of classics in Congo Square which was a definite highlight of the whole trip.
Other days saw us catching Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns at The Spotted Cat, our friends in Obliquestra with special guest scary clowns and so much more that we didn't take pics of.
While we didn't review the Fest itself on the Friday we went, our favorite set was probably from The Stooges Brass Band as they delivered protest party music under the blazing sun. Preservation Hall Jazz Band was excellent as always on the Gentilly Stage and Big Freedia brought tons of ass shaking to Congo Square Stage as well; Friday was a scorcher in more ways than one.
As far as the food front, so many good meals it is hard to pick a best. Gianna was amazing Italian offerings, Le Petite Grocery was divine, Herbsaint was tasty as all hell and the new Miss River was a food overload.
No food pics like past years this time, but trust me that each restaurant delivered A+ offerings. Impossible to pick a favorite and can't wait to go back to all of them.
The town now is officially part of RtBE's life now and we can not wait to return, or for next years fest. Until then, some video from this years fest:
In years past we have delivered a Sazerwrap to catalog our personal Jazzfest experience, so we will continue this year.
We have reviewed some of the shows we caught already and it should be stated: Jazzfest in New Orleans is RtBE's absolute favorite time of the year.
Like in 2022 (and probably for the foreseeable future) RtBE managed to hit parts of both weekends at the Fairgrounds with Sunday April 30th and Thursday May 4th being our two racetrack days. With so much music it is hard to put it all into words, RtBE won't really try this year, the pics can do the work:
Caught music from everyone from Dumpstaphunk to Kenny Loggins, Flagboy Giz to Jon Cleary, Buddy Guy to Meschiya Lake at the Fairgrounds. Also had some amazing eats.
Hard to call a favorite between the BBQ Fried Oysters and the Duck/Shrimp pasta...and impossible to pick a favorite artist from the load of amazing ones we saw from Los Lobos to The Rumble, The Iceman Special to Mdou Moctar, Hot 8 Brass Band to Santana. The hits just kept coming...
The trip isn't only the Fairgrounds though, outside of the fest proper we caught shows at Tipitina's, the Jazz Museum, The Rabbit Hole, BJ's, Saturn Bar, The Spotted Cat, The Joy Theater and so many more locales.
That city is electric and getting to know more and more friends, catch amazing shows, and just reveling in that towns mix of magic and mayhem makes the last weekend in April and first week in May RtBE's favorite time of the year.
The live show is a slippery thing. There are lots of variables at play most having little to do with the performance itself. Does the venue have enough bathrooms? Is it going to rain? What day of the week is it on? Did I have a shitty day at work before hand? Did tickets cost waaay too much? All of this effects one's opinion of a live show before the band even tunes up and with reason, but when the stars align, there is no place RtBE would rather be then in the moment of magic occurring spontaneously from the stage.
LiveMusicHasNoEqual.
RtBE and Friends actually at a Live Show
While we can't see every show that is out there we try our hardest to see as many as we can (and more then most) here at RtBE. Sure there are a few left, we have Phish at the Garden, but for now here is a listing of of the best concerts we were fortunate enough to have seen in 2012, and one show at the bottom that took the top prize as this RtBE's 2012 Show of the Year. To continue our Best of 2012 just click that Read More button and get started
The live show is a slippery thing. There are lots of variables at play, most having little to do with the performance itself. Does the venue have enough bathrooms? Is it going to rain? What day of the week is it on? Did I have a shitty day at work before hand? Did tickets cost waaay too much? All of this effects one's opinion of a live show before the band even tunes up and with reason, but when the stars align, there is no place RtBE would rather be than in the moment of magic occurring spontaneously from the stage.
Live Music Has No Equal!
Taken By The Fantastic Megan Donohue
While obviously we can't see every show that is out there, we try to get out often to catch live music. Sure there are a few left in the calendar year, but for now, here is a listing of the best concerts we were fortunate enough to have caught in 2019.
There are links to show reviews in the titles, also because who doesn't love arbitrary rankings, one show at the bottom took the top prize as RtBE's 2019 Favorite Live Show. This year was excellent for live music as some killer concerts were left off this list.
Late night shows around Jazzfest proper add extra spice to the festival weekend while keeping the party going well into the wee hours and at Siberia on Saturday night (and Sunday morning) things were anything but chill.
Opening the festivities were The Unnatural's, using their local flavor the trio of Kevin Bowles, Jenn Attaway and Dano Cardona played a blend of rockabilly and surf in a dirty style (think The Ventures scuzzed up) that is as intoxicating as a Whiskey Smash. Strictly instrumental the group let their fine chops do the talking.
Next was the Ratty Scurvics Trio, Ratty was on double duty tonight as he would later play piano with the Rough Seven, but with his trio he strummed acoustic guitar and sang with a powerful voice. Scurvics works with a theatrical flair, singing deep, recalling a stripped down version of David Bowie.
When The Rough Seven took the stage they wasted zero time blazing into their tune "Meltdown" with the dueling guitars of front man Ryan Scully and lead guitar slinger Rob Cambre lighting up the dark bar. The slow burning/building emotional tune was a clear set highlight, the band played as only a 5 piece tonight as the backup singers Meschiya Lake and Erica Lewis got a break from the chaos. "Golden Parachute" rang out strong and true as the band smashed out their low-down-mortgage blues with abandon. “Had A Home” speaks to the post-Katrina problems that still plague the city and probably always will. Ratty manned the piano for the Rough riders as C J Floyd popped the bass-line while Mike Andrepont kept the beat.
The pumping cover of the MC5's raucous "Kick Out The Jams" was a blast of pure balls out excitement; this group possesses the energy and passion that make live rock and roll vital for the soul.
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We talked about this show in the Sazerwrap, but we needed a full on review of it. Support The Unnatural's here, Ratty here and The Rough Seven Here. a few vid's of the bands below: The Unnaturals
Down south in New Orleans, The prettiest girls I've ever seen. Sparkling eyes, lips so sweet, we make love to the Rumba beat. Ship's at anchor, my suitcase packed, Got a one way ticket, ain't comin' back. Life's a pleasure, and love's a dream, Down south in New Orleans.
We will have a famous Sazerwrap-up of the proceedings sometime in May, but until then keep the place clean will you...Follow along all the shows right here if you are not lucky enough to be down there.
The Sazerwrap has been RtBE way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest
in New Orleans. This year we spent a week in town so we will breaking
the review up into a few parts. Only 11 Months until next years
festival!
The New Orleans based trio The Unnaturals slip and slide around surf rock with scuzzy ease on their first release The Unnaturals vs. The 50ft Bettie. Incorporating elements of punk/garage/rockabilly the group keeps their instrumental tunes rolling early into the next dawn.
Kevin Bowles on guitar, Jenn Attaway on bass and Dano Cardona on drums inject the proceedings with spit and spirit also titling the tracks pretty perfectly as openers "Sex Wax" and "If Only Keith Richards Could Surf" sound exactly how you think they would; The Ventures by way of the Gulf Coast.
"Redneck Riot" contains some catchy bass and guitar dueling while "Dead Man's Hand" is a nice ode to Dick Dale. On some opposite ends of the spectrum are "Tequila Mockingbird" which contains a metal edge before "Ballad for a Rebel" shows off a bit of the trio's softer side.
The title tracks shines with a glorious 50's vibe while "Rumblebee" is a showcase for Bowles guitar technical prowess. "Unnatural Progression" sums up the band nicely in one track as it begins with a country sway before building up the pace to metal speed then inserting punkish breaks.
The group has their style and sound locked in on their first release showing a supreme level of musicianship. Hopefully in the future a tad more variety will mix in with things, but for fans of instrumental surfing rock and roll you need grab this album today.
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We mentioned catching The Unnaturals open up a show at Siberia during our Sazerwrap-up of Jazzfest, so it is with great joy that we found their newest album on bandcamp. You can buy the album or stream it here. Peep some live samples below, this band cooks with more raw energy when they play live and we love that.
"Dead Man's Hand" Live
I have been putting off this wrap up of Jazzfest off because mentally I still feel like a part of me is still there and... that is a fantastic feeling. I will do my best here but it would do more justice to that fantastic town and all the great people to chat about the experience over Abita's in a garden somewhere just west of the river. (As always click on the pics for bigger versions)
The Sazerwrap has been RtBE way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest in New Orleans. This year we spent a week in town so we will breaking the review up into a few parts. Only 11 Months until next years festival!
Our Favorite Sazerac in town at The Carousel Bar in The Montelone
New Orleans means a lot to a ton of people, the culture, the art, the various music scene's and yet the one thing that seems to tie it all together is the amazing food on display at every turn in town.
