Gambit New Orleans News and Entertainment, Gambit

Jackass star Bam Margera says he was hauled in by NOPD officers during Carnival

Kevin Allman — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:38:18 -0600

At a press conference this afternoon, Mayor Mitch Landrieu ticked off an impressive list of bold-face names who were in town for Mardi Gras (Will Farrell, Mark Ruffalo, Harry Connick, Jr., Mariska Hargitay, Hilary Swank, Andy Garcia, Jesse Eisenberg, Daryl Hannah, Camryn Manheim, Isla Fisher, Brooke Shields, Melanie Laurent, David Morse, Wendell Pierce, Jon Seda, and Dave Franco), but he omitted one person: Jackass star Bam Margera, who was, it seems, taken into custody by the NOPD on Lundi Gras, though he says he was released the next morning and never charged with a crime.

According to Margera, the trouble began when NOPD officers ordered him to get out of a hotel swimming pool due to the fact he was swimming with clothes and shoes on — whereupon he ignored them and continued to do the backstroke.…

David Vitter named one of 10 "Most Conservative Senators" by National Journal

Kevin Allman — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:39:23 -0600

Sen. David Vitter isn't just conservative; he's super-duper conservative, and he wants you to know it. This afternoon Vitter took to Twitter to announce:

And here's the article, in which National Journal names Vitter alongside such conservative stalwarts as Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. and Sen. Jim DeMint, R.-S.…

Oscar viewing parties abound in New Orleans

Ken Korman — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:15:56 -0600

Now that Carnival is over it's time to get ready for the next party. This Sunday, Feb. 26, is Oscar night, and there's no shortage of local options.…

Mardi Gras 2012 over: Respite from murder-focused national news coverage ends today

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:10:36 -0600

Overall crime during the 2012 Mardi Gras season was down from 2011, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Ronal Serpas and Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a post-Mardi Gras press conference today. According to Landrieu, police reported a nine percent reduction in crimes against persons and a six percent reduction in crimes against property during the festivities.…

Attention cheapskates: TLC wants you for reality TV

Missy Wilkinson — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:58:00 -0600

Do you sift through ashtrays to salvage partially smoked cigarettes? Do you have track marks from selling your plasma?…

And the James Beard Award nominees are. . .

Ian McNulty — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:52:05 -0600

The James Beard Foundation has released the list of nominees for its 2012 awards, and New Orleans is well represented across the roster. This year, 12 local chefs, restaurants and bars are in the running for James Beard Awards, an honor that TIME Magazine has dubbed “the Oscars of the food world.”

Brett Anderson, restaurant writer for the Times-Picayune, sits on the foundation’s 17-member Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee.…

It's Ash Wednesday, are you ready for that salad yet?

Ian McNulty — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:27:56 -0600

Approach the First Bank & Trust Tower on Poydras Street, and its sleek façade, brass detailing and classic bronze sculptures speak of money. That’s appropriate enough for a bank headquarters, but the ground floor of this CBD skyscraper is also now where to find green of another sort.…

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Rock-n-Reading: The Words of Musicians

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Storytelling is a staple of all New Orleans music — from "St. James Infirmary" to "Life Under the Scope" — so a spotlight on the words of its musicians seems long overdue. The lineup of this writers' group represents the broad spectrum of the city's other stable of wordsmiths: Mike Williams, rock journalist and guttural voice of metal giants EyeHateGod and Outlaw Order, who dispenses Southern discomfort from his 2005 volume Cancer as a Social Activity: Affirmations of World's End; New Orleanian Malkmus James Marler and 9th Ward bard Luke Allen, frontmen of Rotary Downs and the Happy Talk Band, respectively; and label head, wing chef and bounce chronicler 10th Ward Buck, who shares anecdotes from The Definition of Bounce: Between Ups and Downs in New Orleans.…
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Face Booked

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
MORENO, MORRELL PRE-FILE BILLS State Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, has pre-filed a bill that would create the crime of "online impersonation."…
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Jazz Vespers

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Sun. Feb. 26 | Albinas Prizgintas and Trinity Episcopal Church kick off a Lenten jazz vespers series with trumpeter Wendell Brunious and pianist Amasa Miller.…
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Hey Blake, What do you know about the New Orleans exile of Mexican hero Benito Juarez?

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Hey Blake, What do you know about the New Orleans exile of Mexican hero Benito Juarez?…
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Louisiana Music Factory Celebrates 20 years

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Louisiana Music Factory (210 Decatur St., 586-1094; www.louisianamusicfactory.com) celebrates 20 years in business at its free 20th Anniversary Celebration at the shop from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25.…
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SoBou: A "Creole Saloon"

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
You can't find this neighborhood identified on your Urbanspoon app, but the folks at Commander's Palace (1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221; www.commanderspalace.com) want to put SoBou (310 Chartres St., phone n.a.) on the map. That's the name of the restaurant a group of Commander's partners plan to open this spring inside the W French Quarter hotel (316 Chartres St., 581-1200; www.wfrenchquarter.com).…
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Joe Adragna

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Thu. Feb. 23 | This solo set from the frontman of unsung New Orleans heroes the Junior League features samples of that band's pop-notch LP Smile Shoot Smile, Fall Back, Adragna's 2011 project with Peter Buck, Susan Cowsill and Scott McCaughey, and, if you're lucky, his Monkees cover band the Missing Links.…
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Bouquets and Brickbats

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
They get what they deserve Rebirth Brass Band became the first New Orleans brass band ever to win a Grammy Award when Rebirth of New Orleans, their latest album, won the Best Regional Roots Music Album category at the Feb. 12 music awards in Los Angeles.…
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The Amen Corner

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
John Grimsley's set for James Baldwin's 1965 drama The Amen Corner, recently produced by the Anthony Bean Community Theater, laid out a symbolic geography of the central character's spirit. We saw a modest kitchen flanked by a bedroom and a simple church hall.…
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Oh, Well, Never Mind

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
SERPAS DROPS PLACARD STRATEGY New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas last week made the quickest policy turnaround the department has seen during his tenure — announcing a controversial new crime-fighting strategy Feb. 14, then rescinding it within 24 hours.…
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Reforming the Reforms

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
We hope the governor presents a package of ethics bills that lives up to his promises Gov. Bobby Jindal gets a lot of mileage out of his so-called ethics reform package, which state lawmakers adopted soon after the governor took office in 2008. Every time he travels the country raising campaign money, which is often, the governor touts Louisiana's much-improved rankings on various lists of states' ethical standards — and of course he takes credit for that.…
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Review: C&A Seafood

Ian McNulty — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Ian McNulty on a seafood joint with multicultural potential by Ian McNulty There's a category of restaurants around town that I've started calling "Viet Orleanian." Typically run by first- or second-generation Vietnamese immigrants, they specialize in bargain po-boys, seafood platters, gumbo and, usually, yakamein, the unglamorous soup known for its hangover-fighting abilities, which may be in demand during this first week of Lent.…
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The Esplanade Mall hosts World of Decor Furnishings Fashion Events

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
The Esplanade Mall (1401 W. Esplanade Ave., Kenner, 468-6116; www. shoptheesplanade.com) hosts World of Decor Furnishings Fashion Events, a three-day home furnishings and accessories auction Saturday, Feb. 25 through Monday, Feb. 27.…
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Hizzoner Under the Microscope

Clancy DuBos — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Clancy DuBos on the feds' investigation of Ray Nagin by Clancy DuBos Now that the feds are officially investigating former Mayor Ray Nagin, the most popular water cooler conversation starter in town is guessing when he'll be indicted and on what counts. The Times-Picayune outlined three potential problem areas for Nagin, to which I would add a fourth.…
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The Bikinis

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Fri. Feb 24 | The musical features a 1960s girl group reunited to revive some beach party fun.…
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2009 Qupe Roussanne

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Santa Maria Valley, California $24-$30 Retail…
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Review: Melancholia

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
Ken Korman on Lars von Trier's latest cinematic provocation Two sisters, a wedding reception and the end of the world — these are the building blocks of Danish director Lars von Trier's aptly titled Melancholia. The title refers to the state of mind suffered by Justine (Kirsten Dunst), who has just gotten married in a futile effort to normalize her life and battle her debilitating depression.…
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Cyrus and Jackson Close

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0600
There has been lots of news lately about new restaurants and those in the works but some have been lost as well. Two recent closures are Jackson (1910 Magazine St., phone n.a.), which was pitched as a neighborhood restaurant in the Lower Garden District, and the Persian restaurant Cyrus (612 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, phone n.a.).…
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