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HOT SEVEN
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| Best Bets of the Week |
12 21 04 |
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While CHRISTMAS for many means intimate family gatherings at home, there are plenty of area holiday events worthy of loading up the family car and hitting the town.
Celebration in the Oaks, an annual local favorites, transforms the majestic oaks and bayous of City Park into a winter wonderland, filled with neon-lit holiday displays, a Cajun village exhibit, family entertainment, amusement rides, food, arts and crafts vendors, and much more. The attraction is open nightly through Jan. 2, with no guided tours offered Friday or Saturday. Driving tour $12 per car, garden tour is $5 per adult, with children ages 3 and under admitted free. For info call 483-9415 or visit www.neworleanscitypark.com.
Spend Christmas Eve cruising the Mississippi River aboard the historic Steamboat Natchez. Boarding at 6:30 p.m. at the Toulouse Street Wharf, the boat ride includes live jazz, buffet dinner and open bar. All-inclusive tickets $85 per person; reservations required by calling 586-8777 or email reservations@NewOrleansSteamboat.com.
For those truly in the giving spirit, Bridge House, a shelter for men in substance-abuse recovery, seeks volunteers as it hosts its annual Christmas Celebration for the Homeless. The event feeds local homeless a traditional holiday meal, and gives gifts of basic necessities such as toiletries and clothing. Volunteers are asked to report at 8 a.m., with feast and gift-giving lasting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donations also needed. Call 522-2124, ext. 13 or 17 for info.
On Christmas Day at 5:30 p.m., a revue of New Orleans and holiday music will be performed by Tony Green & Gypsy Jazz, joined by vocalist Banu Gibson. Tickets to the concert, held at the Orpheum Theatre (127 University Place), are $20 adults, $5 children under 12. Call 522-5730 or visit www.fqfi.com for tickets or info.
Of course, there are also unscheduled local traditions, such as drinking a Sazerac at the Fairmont Hotel (123 Baronne, St., 529-7111; www.fairmontneworleans.com) while taking in the famed Angel Hair lobby or cruising various towns along the river in rural parishes on Christmas Eve for the Cajun tradition of bonfires lighting the way for Papa Noel. For more on the holiday offerings, see the music and special events listings in this issue. Happy holidays! -- Frank Etheridge
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- James Singleton Trio
- 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22
- Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, 525-2767; www.zeitgeistinc.org
Whether performing with Astral Project or 3Now4, James Singleton is as well known for his talent as he is for the joy he obviously gets playing his stand-up bass. Treating it like a dance partner in one moment and a jungle gym the next, Singleton always shows how well versed he is in the jazz vocabulary, having played everything from traditional to progressive jazz. With Soturu Ohashi on trumpet and Anthony Cuccia on percussion, Singleton continues to explore the role of texture in jazz. Cuccia samples and manipulates musical phrases, adding a tech-savvy dimension to the trio, which may be Singleton's most immediately accessible musical incarnation. Admission $6, $5 for students, seniors and the unemployed, and $4 for Zeitgeist members and children under 13. -- Alex Rawls
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- The Chilluns
- 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22
- Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS; www.tipitinas.com
During a time of year that emphasizes the family, the Chilluns almost have more family values than Tipitina's can contain. This annual show brings out the multiple generations of the Malone (D'Arcy, Johnny, and Dave), Bohren (Andre and Spencer) and Clements (Cranston and Annie) families for some good-natured musical cheer. Besides playing a generous sample of tunes written by the dads, the band will play the usual smattering of Motown, Beatles, and other classics. Drummer Andre Bohren said he was 'really excited,' especially about the prospects of singing the Beach Boys' 'Good Vibrations.' When you are plumb sick and tired of your family, come out and dance to the good vibrations of someone else's. Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes open. Tickets $10. -- David Kunian
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Legendary guitarist Classie Ballou has worked with a laundry list of zydeco, swamp pop and R&B luminaries, from Boozoo Chavis to Cookie Thierry (of Cookie & the Cupcakes) to Big Joe Turner. These days, the former Excello and Goldband recording artist is keeping it close to home. Ballou's family band includes his son Cedric, daughter CeChaun and grandson Cedryl, all accomplished Louisiana musicians in their own right, assembled to roll out two nights of family-style Christmas cheer. His sound is a haunting amalgam of influences, from swamp blues and Cajun to the mystically catchy African and Creole beats present on guitar-driven instrumentals like 'Hey Pardner' and heavy Latin rhythms like 'Classie's Whip.' Tickets $5. -- Alison Fensterstock
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Daniel Price, a New Orleans native, gifted artist and husband, was killed one year ago in a senseless, tragic and random murder. Price's family now looks to bring a positive out from the pain, and Thursday night presents a festive fundraiser to benefit the Daniel Price Memorial Fund for Aspiring Artists. The fund will award an annual scholarship to a fine arts graduate of NOCCA, Price's alma mater. A silent auction will be held of works by 20 artists including Price, plus items donated by various retailers and restaurants. A patron party from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. will feature music by Pete Fountain and Jonathan Batiste, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. At 9 p.m. an all-star roster of local musicians takes the stage, featuring Kermit Ruffins, the ReBirth Brass Band, and Rich Vogel and Stanton Moore of Galactic, plus guests Theresa Andersson, Irvin Mayfield and Trombone Shorty. Patron Party tickets $100, general admission tickets $30. -- Etheridge
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- Christmas Spectacular, with Jo Cool Davis
- 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26
- Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Ave., 670-2520
The treasure that is New Orleans music feels particularly bountiful during the holiday season, and one of the most familiar names associated with New Orleans music during the holidays is the ever-popular and loquacious gospel singer Jo Cool Davis. For years Davis has celebrated the season regardless of venue, but this special edition of the Trinity Artist Series -- just a day after Christmas -- seems particularly fitting. Davis will be joined with a fellow soulful voice, country-folk singer-guitarist Spencer Bohren, and pianist Cordell Chambliss. This is yet another reason why the Trinity Artist Series received the Mayor's Arts Award in 2001. Free admission. -- David Lee Simmons
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- George Porter Jr.'s Birthday Bash with PBS
- 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 26
- The Howlin' Wolf, 828 S. Peters St., 522-WOLF; www.howlin-wolf.com
In England and Canada, Dec. 26 is Boxing Day, a holiday synonymous with after-Christmas sales. In New Orleans, it is George Porter Jr.'s birthday, a day to celebrate all things funky, and as usual, Porter is spending it at the Howlin' Wolf. He is performing that night with PBS, three-quarters of the Funky Meters. He, drummer Russell Batiste and guitarist Brian Stoltz started playing under this name while Art Neville was recovering from back surgery, and the three have kept playing while the Neville Brothers tour. Sets feature Meters' material prominently, but as the evening drifts into the wee hours of morning, expect the musical selections to take a number of playful twists, with songs from the members' solo projects, cool covers and snippets of other songs just to tease the crowd. Tickets $10. -- Rawls
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Peter Holsapple has spent enough time with the Continental Drifters and Hootie & the Blowfish (as a side musician) that it's easy to forget he made his reputation first and foremost as a songwriter. He recorded his first and only solo album, Out of My Way, in 1997, but he recorded his first single -- 'Big Black Truck' b/w 'Death Garage' in 1978 -- and as a member of the dB's, he wrote great power pop songs such as 'Black and White' and 'Bonneville' in the '80s. The People's Liberation Army of St. Bernard includes Skeet Hanks, Alexandra Scott, Eddie Ecker and Sandi Demeo, and with them Holsapple will revisit old songs and debut some new ones, possibly for recording this spring with former dB Chris Stamey. Call club for cover. -- Rawls
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- Tell the Truth But Ride a Fast Horse: Paintings by Nicole Charbonnet
- Through Dec. 31
- Arthur Roger Gallery, 432 Julia St., 522-1999
The myth of the cowboy is powerful; it gave us movies like High Noon, TV shows like Gunsmoke and even advertisements. People remember the Marlboro man but forget that the actor who played him died of lung cancer. In Nicole Charbonnet's intricately layered mixed-media paintings, the myth of the cowboy is explored through images, words and watery washes of paint. Veils of translucent fabric on paper create a visual threshold to be looked at as well as looked through. Here Charbonnet examines our past and present perceptions of American identity, using painting as a metaphor for recollecting a history that was often romanticized in films and novels. Says Charbonnet: 'The surfaces retain or reveal of earlier stages or structures, resulting in palimpsests,' simulating the human process and experience of remembering. -- D. Eric Bookhardt
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