I had seen a 24-hour restaurant called La Peniche when I was driving over to the Hi-Ho Lounge, so the next morning I ate breakfast there, and afterwards spent some time walking around the cool neighborhood known as Faubourg Marigny. The center of it is a street of bars, clubs and restaurants called Frenchmen Street.
Pastor Troy was one of the founders of the crunk style of rap for which Atlanta is famous, and he continues the tradition with his most recent album King of All Kings. Featuring an all-star cast of producers including Memphis legend DJ Squeeky, the album exhibits Troy’s characteristic style in 18 tracks, ranging from the melodic “Backroads” that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Colt Ford album, to crunk anthems like “King of All Kings”, “Gangsta Revival” or “Niggaz Is Hungry”. There are songs for (or about) the ladies too, like “She Say She Never Knew” and “Georgia Peach”, and the seemingly-autobiographical “Lyin’ Bout Her Crib”, which follows a similar course to Notorious B.I.G.’s “I’ve Got A Story To Tell.” With King of All Kings, Pastor Troy has released an album of consistent quality that should please his fans, as well as fans of Southern rap everywhere.
I noticed that the Stooges have a conga player this year which I didn’t recall from last year. The percussionist reinforces the strong Cuban influence that is apparent in New Orleans brass band music.
After the TBC Brass Band ended their performance at 10 PM, there was still time to make it to the Hi-Ho Lounge for the Stooges Brass Band’s weekly Thursday night set. The Hi-Ho is a tiny venue, and every inch of it was packed with fans, some dancing as best they could despite the limited space. Out in front, vendors were selling barbecue and drinks. There was no band battle during the break this year, but a man handed me a flyer about a Young Men Olympian second-line Uptown on Sunday, and I made up my mind to go if I could.
If you’ve ever read A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O’Toole (which is considered by many to be the quintessential New Orleans novel), you’ll remember that the main character, Ignatius O’Reilly, took a job pushing a Lucky Dog cart in the French Quarter. I never see one without thinking of that book.
To Be Continued Brass Band, playing for the crowd at their long-standing gig on the street at Bourbon and Canal. For many tourists, the TBC Brass Band playing on that corner is their first exposure to authentic New Orleans brass band music. With no cover charge or drink minimum, it is also one of the best live music deals in the city, and all donations go straight to the young people providing the music.
Although it was only about 7 PM, the Frostop in LaPlace was already closed when I got there, so I ended up at another Frostop in Destrehan. They were explaining to me that they had moved from a traditional location in Harahan to the strip mall where they were now, and that the landlord wouldn’t let them display the root beer mug they had brought from the old location, but they did show it to me in storage.
PJ’s Coffee is a New Orleans tradition, but it can be found throughout the Gulf Coast area, including this one near Southeast Louisiana University in Hammond.
Jackson, Mississippi has a cool building called Banner Hall which houses Lemuria Books, one of the country’s best book stores. With large sections devoted to music, New Orleans, Mississippi, the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, Lemuria has something for nearly everyone. Downstairs in the same building is the Broad Street Baking Company, an affiliate of the the Mangia Bene company which runs Bravo and Sal and Mookie’s Pizzaria. Broad Street is a wonderful place to grab breakfasts, pizzas, salads or sandwiches after that hour or so of book browsing.
The news that New Orleans is considering yet another “noise” ordinance that everyone knows will be used against music and musicians is hardly welcome news …
