NOLADIY.ORG - New Orleans Punk, Hardcore, Indie, and DIY Events

Cathedral Bells | Will Roesner | Butte
Wednesday, November 29. The Goat (1301 St. Bernard Avenue). 9PM. $10.
CB = Orlando jangly shoegaze / hypnagogic pop w/ androgynous vox. Their song “Dayflower” has 11 million Spotify streams, “Eighth Wonder Of The World” has 4 million, & “Cemetery Surf” recently joined the million club. They probably bought one new guitar string with the money they made from the latter triumph. Bandcamp review: “This album is brimming with gleaming melodies, an array of shadowy harmonies, and finally wrapped in obscure dream pop beauty.” Singer / guitarist Matt Messore was/is also in You Blew It! and Dear Tracks. You may have been among the exactly 14 lucky people who saw CB open for Belgian shoegazers Slow Crush down the block at Sidney’s (now Holy Diver) on 4/20/22 in this shoegaze-shunning city. RIYL: Wild Nothing, Cleaners From Venus, Lush, Jade TV. WR = NOLA dreamy existential pop, sometimes w/ electric band, sometimes an acoustic duo or maybe solo project. B = Sadpop musings of songwriter / guitarist Theresa Romero of NOLA band Kay Weathers; on local label Strange Daisy. Flyer: facebook.com/events/249829344433285

The Man in the Red Beret | Ted Hefko | blitz chess tournament
Wednesday, November 29. The Zeitgeist. 6PM.
A documentary by local filmmaker Derek Bridges, “followed by a concert and chess tournament in the St. Claude Arts Park. Chess Master Jude Acers has set up his ‘World Chess Table’ on Decatur Street in the New Orleans French Quarter since 1981, where he continues to play all comers for $5 a game, and where he’s something of a landmark. Most French Quarter visitors have seen him even if they know nothing about him. A short Q & A with director Derek Bridges will follow, and from 8-9 p.m. the Downriver Chess Club will stage a Blitz Chess Tournament with $400 in cash prizes in the St. Claude Arts Park right outside Zeitgeist. Singer/Songwriter Ted Hefko, featured on the film's soundtrack will also perform in the Arts Park.” Trailer feat. Naked Bike Ride participants in background: vimeo.com/816042781. TH is in the band Ted Hefko and The Thousandaires. “Ted’s songs explore hope and hustlers, saints and strays, drifters and the down-and-out. The band brings these stories to life with the spontaneity of jazz, and the rough-hewn, bare-bones tone of backwoods rhythm and blues.”

Old 97’s | Good Looks
Thursday, November 30. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Dr, Baton Rouge). 8PM. $25 (advance).
Texas alt.country / dad-rock nite for those who find Wilco a little too aggressive. Actually, in their defense, Old 97’s write catchier songs than somnambulant genre titans Wilco, are noticeably more charismatic, are actually from the South, & have a famously ~cute~ singer, but never got as big.

Liz Phair | Blondshell
Thursday, November 30. The Orpheum. 7PM. $49.50 - $184.50.
Onetime indie bad-girl queen provocateuse Phair plays influential lo-fi ‘93 debut LP + fan faves. The faves will surely include bodacious, Stooges-esque ‘94 single “Supernova,” whose music vid (w/ one verb censored) of groovy galactic go-go glam grunge was a memorable MTV hit in that dreary post-Kurt year dominated by carpetbaggers like Candlebox, Stone Temple Pilots, & Collective Soul. L.A. singer Blondshell opens w/ demotivational alt-acoustic tales from her own debut LP wallowing in modern ennui. Flyer: orpheumnola.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Static_Outdoor-ConcertVision_1920x1080_LizPhair_2023_Regional_OrpheumTheater_1130.jpg

Alexalone | Cashier | Wesley Wolffe
Thursday, November 30. Siberia. 8PM. $15.
This was moved over from Gasa Gasa, whose abrupt final show (unannounced as such) was the well-attended Mary Lattimore harp dirge one on 11/14. R.I.P. Lest folks forget, NOLADIY’s own Sisters In Christ record shoppe was located / gestated inside Gasa for a while in its early post-Iron Rail era. A = Austin “plains rock” & crunchy abrasive indie rock & meandering post-pop trio (or up to a quintet depending on photo), on Polyvinyl Records. They cover “Rainbow” by Boris. RIYL: Sebadoh, Shudder To Think, Swirlies, Joan Of Arc type mid-‘90s casually artsy / ambitious slacker indie rock dialectic. www.alexalone.world. C = Lafayette ethereal noize rock / heavy shoegaze quartet. More bone-crunching & less meandering genre-wise than your headliners, and with lady vox. Watch new “Miracle (Without U)” music vid, though it does not capture their live heaviness. Evidently the last of their handful of NOLA shows this year. They open for many a touring band in the Laffy to B.R. (& now to Big Easy) I-10 corridor. IG: cashier.band. WW = Memphis lo-fi slacker indie rock / garage pop. Not Wesley Willis (R.I.P. too).

Morgan Orion
Friday, December 1. Borasso Spirits. 8PM. FREE. Booking
Join us for a memorable evening of cocktails and music with the talented singer-songwriter Morgan Orion at the Circle B Bar at Borasso Spirits. Morgan Orion was born in an overgrown patch of mulberry trees to neo-beatniks and raised on 20th Century pop culture and Grimm's fairy tales. At the age of 16 he dropped out of school to become a songwriter and began touring two years later. Morgan has traveled the world playing, but calls New Orleans his home. In concert he plays a large catalogue of originals with his band, The Afterburners. Borasso Spirits 1500 Montegut Street | 18+ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/morgan-orion-tickets-765459910197

Hotel Burgundy | Mikey Demilio | Paperville
Friday, December 1. Carrollton Station. 9PM. $10.

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol | The Links | First Street Hooligans
Friday, December 1. Freetown Boom Boom Room (300 McKinley Street, Lafayette). 8PM. $10.
RBBP = Austin groove metal / “doom wop.” TL = Lafayette “Psych punk brit pop.” Flyer avec band links: instagram.com/p/Cz97c3aLM-0

Into The Night: Tree Stars
Friday, December 1. Hi-Ho Lounge. 10PM. $20.
Into The Night: Tree Stars perform the music of Twin Peaks & Julee Cruise. Instrumental NOLA chamber / post-rock octet Tree Stars expands to a 12-piece with three lead singers for this show. “A large cast of New Orleans musicians led by composer Tristan Gianola perform the music of [David Lynch]’s Twin Peaks, with a special focus on Julee Cruise's 1989 dream-pop masterpiece Floating Into The Night, performing the album in its entirety. This show, on Julee Cruise's birthday, celebrates the music of Julee Cruise and composer Angelo Badalamenti, who both passed in 2022, as well as all things Twin Peaks! Costumes encouraged, bring your Twin Peaks energy for a magical night of mystical music arrangements, spooky sounds of the night and amazing special guests at the beloved Hi-Ho Lounge! Lauren Oglesby, Grace Kennedy, Persis Randolph, Freddy Kristian, Beardsley - Vocals. Rex Gregory, Lexi Parker - Horns. Ainsley Matic - Synthesizers. Hannah Graham - Vibraphone. Nahum Zdybel, David Sigler - Guitars. Sean Weber - Bass. Jake Gartenstein - Drums. Tristan Gianola - Conductor / Arranger. And more!” TG calls Into The Night a “sublime clash of dream pop, doo wop, jazz and the avant-garde.” If you doubt the “avant-garde” part, you must not own the unsettling Industrial Symphony No. 1 VHS, which has at least four songs that’ll be performed tonight: https://youtu.be/p02WKbar-qg Flyer / tix: eventbrite.com/e/752173971597

Slugger | Naughty Professor | Joy Clark | The Guitarmy
Friday, December 1. New Orleans Jazz Museum (400 Esplanade Avenue). 6PM. FREE.
Sound Collage 2023: A Celebration of Music and Art. This is a pro bono prelude to the next day’s $150+ Improvisations Gala here at the former Mint. This day will not feature George Clinton performing like the next day shall. “Sound Collage will mark the introduction of the Jazz Museum’s special ‘Mothership Gallery’ featuring artwork of the music legend George Clinton, courtesy of Spillman|Blackwell Fine Arts, along with works from an immersive, multi-disciplinary collection of sound, light and visuals. This once-in-a-lifetime experience creates a mind-boggling encounter with creativity led by the Parliament-Funkadelic genius, along with artists including Valerie Tevere and Angel Nevarez; Gregory Lasserre & Anais met den Ancxt, Stephen Montalvo, Derek Brueckner, Marcus Brown, & Jesse Thomas, as well as outdoor light installations by the Krewe of Vaporwave.” 6-10 PM. Followed by the Dohm Collective silent disco experience “all night.” Hopefully any vaporwave tunes will be silent as well. The event will apparently be streamed live at facebook.com/nolajazzmuseum. Flyer & info: nolajazzmuseum.org/events/2023/12/01/sound-collage-2023

Asking for a Friend: A "Friendship Networking" Hang
Friday, December 1. Rising Sun (Margaret Place Hotel). 6PM-9PM. Suggested $5-10 donation. Booking
We've been doing Asking for a Friend events since July 2022 and they've grown beyond anything we could have predicted. This will be our second year in a row doing a cozy holiday edition of AFAF at Rising Sun Cafe at Margaret Place Hotel (1133 Margaret Place)! We challenge you to invite a new friend or acquaintance - someone you don't know very well - to come hang out and meet some awesome new folks. You can even point to this event so you don't feel so awkward! And don't worry - it's all totally casual and low stakes. No weird introduction circles, no "fun facts"...we'd never do that to y'all. You'll get a name tag with a funky little conversation-starting prompt, and then it's just mingling and bar hangin' from there. See you there, future friends!

Jason Neville & George Clinton | The Dixie Cups & James Andrews with the Crescent City All-Stars | Original Pinettes Brass Band | People Museum | Mahmoud Chouki | George Brown Band | Hibriduz (Honduras) | Primero Caribe | Sunpie and The Louisiana Sunspots
Saturday, December 2. New Orleans Jazz Museum (400 Esplanade Avenue). 8PM-11PM. $150 (general), $300 (VIP).
Improvisations Gala. “BLASTOFF! A FUTURISTIC FLASHBACK FEATURING A STAR-STUDDED CAST OF TALENT.” NOLA & Latin jazz, funk (THEE relentless George Clinton), synthy art pop w/ trombone / sax (People Museum), Middle Eastern jazz / folk / rock (Chouki), doo wop, brass band(s), art, etc. “Amidst space-themed art installations, the 6th annual fundraiser promises to be a cosmic experience headlined by the incomparable Jason Neville Funky Soul Band & Special Guest Mr. P Funk George Clinton, sponsored by James Douglas Hislop. The ‘interstellar’ line-up for the evening will also feature the Dixie Cups & James Andrews with the Crescent City All-Stars, The Original Pinettes Brass Band, Mahmoud Chouki & the New Orleans All-Stars, Gallatin Street Records artist George Brown Band, Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, People Museum, international performers Hibriduz from Honduras and the Dominican Republic’s ensemble, Primero Caribe. The New Orleans Jazz Ambassadors, an on-going educational initiative of the New Orleans Jazz Museum will greet guests.” Hmm… No space rock, sadly. (Paging local late-‘90s to early ‘00s cosmic feedback drone anti-rockers Sea Life… Anyone else have their CD-R album Sea Life You Later?) Presented by The Herb Alpert Foundation. Notorious B.I.G.’s mega-hit “Hypnotize” was based entirely on Alpert’s “Rise,” if you were the last person to not know. nolajazzmuseum.org/gala

New Orleans Bookfair
Saturday, December 2. New Orleans Public Library Main Branch. 11AM-4PM. FREE.
The New Orleans Bookfair (20th annual!) 11am-4pm 12/2/2023 at the New Orleans Public Library Main Branch 219 Loyola Ave. Free to the public, all ages, vendors will be selling zines, prints, books, and more. Workshops and performances for kids and adults all day including DJ Soul Sister, self-publishing book formatting, and local authors!

Dana Ives | Midriff | Quarx | Quadroholics | Beach Angel | Lisbon Girls | Virtue Signal | Zach Smallman | Kidd Love
Saturday, December 2. The Rabbit Hole (1228 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.). 3PM. $10.
Dana Ives’ Christmas Spectacular. A new music fest & food drive, the latter aspect in partnership with Culture Aid NOLA. See wholesome rock & pop music; steer calories into bellies. Will you be on the naughty list? Tattoos by Tough Love. Food / clothing / jewelry pop-ups. Flyer (& more info presumably soon to be added) at tixr.com/groups/rabbitholenola/events/dana-ives-christmas-spectacular-85117

Delores Galore | Fake Coffee Club | High Heal Doula | Lost and Found (kid band!!!!!!!) | DJ Pescadilla
Sunday, December 3. Broadside Nola. 2PM-4PM. $5-10 (no one turned away).
Girls Rock New Orleans FUNDRAISER SHOW WITH AMAZING LINEUP. DON'T MISS THIS!!!!!

DJ Chrischarge
Monday, December 4. Holy Diver (1200 St. Bernard Avenue). 9PM. FREE.
International & Irrational, “A night of PUNK, METAL, & DEATH ROCK from all around the world! An ALL VINYL DJ ASSAULT!” 9 - midnight.

Dwarves | Riverboat Gamblers | The Pallbearers
Tuesday, December 5. The Goat (1301 St Bernard Ave). 9PM. $17 (advance), $20 (day of show).
Yes, THE Dwarves, arguably the 4th most infamous punk-type act (GG Allin, Sex Pistols, Plasmatics) ever. Let the debates begin in the lively NOLADIY forums (R.I.P.?). The title & oft-banned cover photo of their 13-minute 1990 Sub Pop debut “album” Blood, Guts & Pussy should answer any of your questions. Spin – which used to be very cool… they were covering Black Flag, Cocteau Twins, Swans, Bad Brains, Replacements, etc. in the mid-‘80s – crowned it the “most offensive album ever made.” Sub Pop, flush with grunge bux, dropped them in ‘93 after they elaborately faked the alleged stabbing death of guitarist HeWhoCannotBeNamed. Expect them to play their song “New Orleans.” Dwarves performed in NOLA in spring ‘97 (likely at punk / strip club dive bar Monaco Bob’s, now the genteel Bakery Bar… I have the red poster w/ the topless skateboarding anarchist gal somewhere). The sleaze rockers evidently now feature bad boy bassist Nick “Rex Everything” Oliveri of Kyuss, QOTSA, Mondo Generator, etc. He’s been a member on & off since ‘93. RG = Austin-via-Denton garage punk since ‘97. TP = NOLA scum punk stalwarts since ‘97 as well. What a year… Presented by Attrition. eventbrite.com/e/739284739557

Bad Operation | Joystick
Thursday, December 7. Chickie Wah Wah. 8PM. $15. Community Records
NEW TONE DANCE PARTY featuring BAD OPERATION and Joystick. Local release show for Joystick's new EP "Dwell."

Julia DeLois and Emily Slazer
Friday, December 8. Big Couch. 9PM. $15-20. Booking
What Now? is a comedy show celebrating the darkness, the dysfunction, the mania in all of us. It’s about sitting in the shit and still finding laughter and levity. Each show is an ALL NEW, ALL UNHINGED hour of scenes, sketches and interactive segments. This installment, WHAT NOW? Julia and Emily Save Christmas! is a downward spiral into holiday hysteria and the mania that only December can deliver. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-now-julia-and-emily-save-christmas-tickets-764831701207

Rare Seed | Nova Junction | Balla Stella
Friday, December 8. Carrollton Station. 9PM. $10.
RS = NOLA lite psych / garage / jam-band-adjacent rock. NJ = NOLA indie pop w/ “analog synth stabs and massive drum hits.” BS = Similar to headliners but apparently from Alabama. 9 - midnight.

Skeptic Moon | ESP feat. Sari Jordan | Secret Cowboy
Saturday, December 9. Carrollton Station. 9PM. $10.
Proggy fusion jazz w/ violin (SM), probably singer-songwriter stuff (ESP + SJ), & puzzling math rock à la Don Caballero (SC). 9 - midnight.

Alabama Thunderpussy | Suplecs
Saturday, December 9. Gasa Gasa. 9PM. $22.
Stoner metal acts from Richmond (not Alabama) & NOLA, both of which did time on the late Frank Kozik’s short-lived but iconic label Man’s Ruin Records. After several lineup hiccups since forming in 1996, AT now have their original guitarist & drummer back. And their current bassist first joined in ‘98; original bassist passed away in ‘01. Current singer is Kyle Thomas, of legendary NOLA groove thrashers Exhorder, contemporaries of, & widely acknowledged as an influence on, Pantera. Yes, he was Exhorder’s charismatic original singer from 1985-94, after which he belted in NOLA’s Floodgate, a.k.a. Penalty. So, in conjunction with Suplecs being on the bill, you know the Big Easy’s metal royalty will pepper the crowd at this show. Are you royal enough?

I, Octopus | Tashi Delay | The Self-Help Tapes
Saturday, December 9. Siberia. 10PM.
I,O = NOLA quirky Dadaist, Beefheart-y / pre-post-rock / post-anything instrumental sojourns. Song title “Jigsaw Trouserdrop” sums it up well. Their first concert since 2014. “Tashi Delay is a British-born, New Orleans-based artist, Emily Seabroke. The project is a blend of electronic punk and visual art. Emily performs solo in front of projections of animations she has made or collaborated on.” TSHT = Community (the NOLA band)’s bassist / singer Kevin Comarda doing art pop & sometimes ambient soundscapes, evidently with some membership connection to the Fruit Machines / Island Days synth pop axis. Attn. Roger Dean fans… Framable sci-fi landscape flyer: event-images.geteventviewer.com/5207129951567872/7098cec6_9-octopus.JPG

Severed Mass | Ventruss | Konstricted | Nothing Sacred | Raise The Death Toll | Silver Dose | She Might Be a Beast | Drab | 1016 | Ending | Sinners Revival
Saturday, December 9. The Hot Spot Bistro & Lounge (1948 E. Pass Rd., Gulfport, MS). NOON. $10.
“4th Annual ‘Go For The Gold’ St. Jude Children's Research Hospital benefit show. 11 Gulf Coast Rock and Metal bands will play music all day to raise money to help fight children's cancer.” Sponsored by Gulf Coast Metal Alliance. Doors at 11 AM, music noon - ~11 PM. Each band plays at the top of the hour for ~45 mins. Flyer & set times: facebook.com/events/749219860365620

Killhammer | No End In Sight | Neznum | Decaying Eucharist
Saturday, December 9. Twist of Lime. 8PM. $10.
“On August 9th Jason and Jessica Milbourn were involved in a life altering accident. They are a huge part of the Greater New Orleans music scene, and have been to a ton of metal shows in support. We invite you to help us help them.” Flyer: facebook.com/events/1519589035459507

D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles)
Sunday, December 10. Midcity Ballroom. 8:30PM. $20.
The crossover thrash punks boast two of their four original (1982) members. The significance of their highly influential melding of punk & metal cannot be overstated, especially since fistfights & hospital bills were the usual result when fans of those genres crossed paths in the ‘70s to early ‘80s. Tickets & bio: bontempstix.com/events/dri-tba-12-10-2023 / midcityballroom.com/ballroom-blog/2023/11/6/dri-amp-tba

end of semester concert for the Music Science and Technology program
Wednesday, December 13. Dixon Concert Hall (Tulane University). 7PM.

Anna Moss | Sari Jordan
Wednesday, December 13. Marigny Opera House. 7PM. $20 (suggested donation; no one turned away).
Flyer: marignyoperahouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/sari-poster.jpg

Urban Heat | Rare DM
Thursday, December 14. Santos Bar. 10PM.
UH = Austin early Depeche-y synth pop, billed by themselves & eager musos a bit misleadingly as post-punk & even industrial. Their sound “fuses dark 80's stylings with modern flourishes, with [Jonathan] Horstmann's throaty baritone delivering musings on existence and romanticism against an unrelenting industrial gothic pulse. Their live show is undeniably energetic and engaging.” “Have You Ever?” (feat. Party Nails) won Song of the Year at the 2023 Austin Music Awards. They like to play in Lafayette, Hattiesburg, etc., so attend this one if you’re a stylish NOLA gutter dweller who has been unable to see them. RD = NYC decadent (listen to “Hotel Jacuzzi”), risqué (“Send Nudes”), icy postmodern synth pop / darkwave / downtempo solo project. IG: rare_dm_. Tour poster: facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=874919604153619

Baby in the 90's | Swarm Comp | Butte
Friday, December 15. The Broadside (600 North Broad Street). 7PM. $15.
“Hear three local indie rock bands. Baby in the 90s is a four piece indie rock band that capitalizes on the endless possibilities for changes in dynamics and timing. This math/indie mixture makes them a difficult band to categorize. Baby in the 90s has turned their focus to creating a strong independent release for their first full length album, Rebuilt From Memory.” SC = No-fi heavy jangle pop / occasional noise rock. B = Band led by songwriter / guitarist Theresa Romero (of the band Kay Weathers), whose “ability to balance delicate and endearing songwriting with dark and heavy tones delivers an enthralling experience to audiences.” Come all, feel the thrall, in the waning days of fall. 7-10.

Sex Mex | Come to Ruin
Saturday, December 16. Holy Diver (1200 Saint Bernard Avenue). 9PM.
SM = San Antonio trashy garage- / proto-punk w/ some synths. Bio from sexmexsux.com kinda overstates the amount of electronics in their sound: “One day The Cars, Ramones, DEVO, and Suicide were all driving and ignoring all traffic laws only to simultaneously crash in the middle of a four way intersection. All four vehicles were instantly crushed due to the intensity of the impact. Out of the chaos crawled some sort of mutant hybrid thing. It called itself SEX MEX. It had synth leads that cut like a razor, guitar like a chainsaw, distorted organ bass, and drums that smelt of classic punk and NEU!.” CTR = NOLA sludgegothwave (slothwave). Two members (Scythe & Mange) are also in the more trad deathrock-y Death Church.

Chrome Waves | Black Cross Hotel | Death Church
Sunday, December 17. Siberia. 8PM. Strange Creatures
Chrome Waves (ex-Nachtmystium, Wolvhammer, Abigail Williams), Black Cross Hotel (ex-Atlas Moth, Corrections House, current member of Stabbing Westward) descend for a night of bleak sound textures and subversive word patterns. Local support by Death Church.

The Light Set | Tree Stars
Wednesday, December 20. Marigny Opera House. 7:30PM. $25 (suggested), $15 (suggested, students & seniors): no one turned away..
Dueling NOLA chamber ensembles. TLS = chamber folk w/ vox by Lauren Oglesby. TS = instrumental, somewhat avant-garde, & of larger membership; led by Tristan Gianola. Persis Randolph is in both groups. She’s the oboe glue that keeps everything together. “Two local groups, The Light Set and Tree Stars, are joining forces on December 20th for a musical meditation on the winter solstice: journeying into the darkness of the winter, while eagerly anticipating the return of the light.” Longer descriptions & zenlike, framable winter solstice-themed flyer: marignyoperahouse.org/upcoming-events/solstice-the-light-set-tree-stars

Flow Tribe | Quarx | Valerie Sassyfras
Saturday, December 23. Tipitina's. 9PM. $18.
Flow Tribe's Christmas Crunktacular.

Norcio | Sparrows For Arrows | Corker | MADmoiselle | Charls
Thursday, December 28. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge). 8PM. $15.
The Stew! Local Music Showcase. “Come support your local music scene. You’ll hear everything from the old school punk reminiscent tunes of Corker to the pristine and powerful voice of Madmoiselle and so much more!” N = Apparently bluesy post-emo rock. M = Emo-y pop punk / grunge ‘90s revivalists. SFA = Unknown. Presented by Harmonic Stew. Flyer w/ band links: instagram.com/p/C0MhQotOdpL

DJ Lady Lavender
Sunday, December 31. Bar Marilou (544 Carondelet Street). 9PM.
New Year's Eve Surrealist Ball. “This Is (Not) A New Year’s Eve Party.” Costumes encouraged. Flyer of the year, or tied w/ the Elder one at the late Gasa Gasa: Scroll down at barmarilou.com/events or try instagram.com/ladylavendersound, since it hasn’t been posted on BM’s social media yet.

Brat | Decoy
Thursday, January 11. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge). 9PM. $15.
2 Year Anniversary (day 2). The fourth day of this anniversary will be headlined by Juvenile. Someone make a Juvie x BRAT collab happen that week. Would an acoustic bimboviolence rendition of “Back That Azz Up” be too predictable? Flyer: facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=682761180630708

Elvis Costello & The Imposters | Charlie Sexton
Tuesday, January 16. The Orpheum. 8PM. $59.50 - $167.50.

Voodoo Glow Skulls | Mustard Plug | Bite Me Bambi
Tuesday, January 16. Southport Hall. 7:30PM.
You know VGS & MP if you ever picked up a crumpled ska / punk zine or skater mag, or inspected the strange stickers adorning bathroom stalls in dive clubs or on the backs of dented compact cars, circa 1998 when bands like the Bosstones, Toasters, Less Than Jake, Slackers, Pietasters, Aquabats, & MU330 were ubiquitous ska headliners amidst the withering parallel indie rock / shoegaze / grunge / slowcore scenes & the nascent post-rock & nu-metal ones, not to mention boy bands. It was a weird time; the savvy ones amongst us (cough) were going to the elite shows of all those genres then, and still are. It was such a baffling era that NOLADIY had to come into existence that very year like a lighthouse next to the stormy sea to help us make sense of it all. Ska-punk always seems to enjoy resurgences whenever the prevailing musical tides, like those other genres mentioned earlier (even the boy bands were pretty whiny then), become too self-serious or emotionally draining. Here’s looking at you, Bon Iver, Billie Eilish, Big Thief, et al. VGS played at Southport on 10/27/00 & 2/24/05. (Thanks setlist.fm.) BMB = Orange County ska w/ ex-members of vacuous acts Save Ferris, Starpool, & My Superhero. P.S. How come the mouth-wateringly named Pietasters & Toasters never had a collabo project named the PieToasters?

Tool | Elder
Saturday, January 27. Mississippi Coast Coliseum (2350 Beach Blvd., Biloxi). 7:30PM. $79.50 - $600.
This tour is not coming to Louisiana. If you missed Elder’s blistering sellout or near-sellout show at the late Gasa Gasa mere months ago on the birthday of both their bassist and drummer (9/15/23), you now have another chance to experience transcendence and gain credibility by seeing them. (Gasa setlist: Catastasis / Embers / Thousand Hands / Lore / Merged in Dreams - Ne Plus Ultra / Compendium / Gemini.) Before getting the nod from Tool, they announced last fall that they would not be touring in the U.S. for a long time. This is elegantly brutal, precise post-prog-metal with clean vocals, designed for big sound systems. Kinda like Queensrÿche & Cave In meets Pink Floyd, Oceansize, & Cathedral. Far more intense live than on record. Metal for people who are not necessarily metalheads. “Elder is a genre-pushing rock band that melds heavy psychedelic sounds with progressive elements and evocative soundscapes. Formed in a small coastal town in Massachusetts in the mid aughts, the band has reinvented their sound over the course of six albums to grow from a stalwart of the stoner/doom scene into one of the most unique voices in the heavy rock underground. Their long-scale compositions unfold as journeys, running the gamut of styles from the 70’s to the present within a single song with a penchant for ‘sheer gatefold-era grandeur.’” - Rolling Stone. They’re now based in Berlin. Bring a few extra Benjamins for their vast merch table. They sound like what Tool could’ve become, without as many detours into endlessly mathy, clunky noodling & occasional self-indulgent court jester behavior. (“Chocolate Chip Trip,” anyone?) Tool has always brought out cool & sometimes baffling opening acts, e.g. the Flaming Lips & Failure (‘94), the Cows (‘96), Melvins (‘98), King Crimson (‘01), Tomahawk (‘02), Isis (‘06), Trans Am (‘07), Failure again (‘14), the Crystal Method (‘17), Blonde Redhead (‘22), etc. They joined the mediocre Ozzfest tour in ‘98 on the condition that the Melvins had to also be added, much to the tour organizers’ chagrin. Hmm, one last selling point to get this Mississippi arena show past the eagle-eyed NOLADIY censors: Tool & Elder each feature one of the best drummers in heavy music history, on par with the best jazz sticksmen. (And both are about 6’5”. That’s almost 13 feet.) Seeing them pummel live is an oft-transformative experience.

Go Ahead And Die (feat. Max Cavalera) | Bodybox
Monday, January 29. Southport Hall. 6PM. $25.
GAAD = Phoenix trio with Max Cavalera of Brazilian metal titans Sepultura + Igor Cavalera Jr. (son of Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera). This is sort of a more youthful spinoff of Max & Igor Sr.’s project Cavalera Conspiracy. Click around on the many tabs at metal-archives.com/bands/Go_Ahead_and_Die/3540489866. B = Florida trashy “doublewide death metal.” That’s a reference to trailer park life, which helps establish the rockers’ Authenticity. Bandcamp review: “Pretty nasty stuff. Death that makes me wanna smoke weed and lift weights or operate the hydraulics on a low rider while this is blasting.” Tour poster: blocktickets-development.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/c99e5f443e113a05eab9e1bd51b5d577.png

The Ocean | The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die | Shy, Low
Friday, March 8. Gasa Gasa. 8PM. $27.

Sleater-Kinney | Black Belt Eagle Scout
Friday, March 8. The Joy Theater. 8PM.
“The Last Song” and “The Day I Went Away” on their first album are such bomb tracks. “TLS” has maybe the most stunning, blood-curdling primal screams in recorded history, and surprisingly it’s sung by mild-mannered future comic actress Carrie, not lead shrieker Corin. Anyway, too bad they don’t play the early stuff anymore, as many fans are quick to justifiably gripe. Why are bands so cringe at knowing what their own best songs are? Maybe S-K are just embarrassed by those embryonic days because it was when they named themselves after an intersection. Imagine a local punk band named Clearview-Veterans in honor of the longest traffic light in the state. Meditative, honey-voiced singer-songwriter BBES headlined in town last April.

Kurt Vile and The Violators | Weak Signal
Tuesday, March 26. Tipitina's. 8PM. $30 (advance).
KV = Philly laconic stoner-pop singer / guitarist, ex-The War On Drugs. Described as “the perfect intersection between Tom Petty and Pavement, Neil Young and Beck,” he has improbably wound up on jazz purveyor Verve Records with the 73-minute album Watch My Moves. WS = NYC droney garage pop / neo-slowcore trio à la Acetone, Yo La Tengo, Neil Young. They mildly cover “It's Not Enough” by Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers. (JT died suspiciously in ‘91 in the French Quarter, either from o.d. or murder, at the St. Peter Guest House, now called Inn On St. Peter.)

New Orleans Area DIY Events and Shows