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

Trevarri
Tuesday, September 26. Marigny Opera House. 7:30PM. Pay what you can; no one turned away ($10 encouraged).
“Step into the immersive realm of ‘The Modernist’ and embark on a captivating journey into the uncharted realms of the future! Join us for an extraordinary evening as we unveil the latest album from Trevarri. This innovative project seamlessly melds the allure of cyberpunk aesthetics with cutting-edge synthesizer melodies and effects, culminating in an audiovisual experience like no other. At the heart of this sonic odyssey lies the core mantra of the album, ‘The Present is The Future.’ This ideology serves as both the compass and the destination, reminding us that our actions today intricately shape the landscape of tomorrow. Trevarri is a versatile saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and arranger hailing from Shreveport” & now based in NOLA. The music has elements of jazz, video game samples, & other electronic bytes, to make a more postmodern, NOLA-y version of what was called acid jazz in the ‘90s. Is his name a portmanteau of Trevor + Ferrari? Ask him at the show, then tell us. Video flyer states “Money donations include a free signed poster and sticker”: instagram.com/p/Cwk3QNHKjdd

Derek Riggs
Wednesday, September 27. 22 Sound Records (5200 Hwy. 22, Mandeville). 2PM-7PM. FREE.
The British artist who created arguably the most famous mascot in metal history, Iron Maiden’s tenacious & a bit daft warrior Eddie. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_(Iron_Maiden). Is Derek related to Cajun rocker Dax Riggs of Acid Bath? Just walk up & ask him. This little store opened 2 years ago; it announced its closure on 6/28, but a month later decided to stay open. 22soundrecords.com. Flyer: facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=616229047356113. Below it is a secondary flyer listing prices for signed items. (Iron Maiden surprisingly & coldly kicked him to the curb in the early ’90s, so help a brother out.)

Guttermouth | 1983 | The Pallbearers
Wednesday, September 27. Southport Hall. 7PM. $20.
“Guttermouth is celebrating 25-ish years of ‘Musical Monkey’, playing the album in its entirety... plus other ‘hits.’” Wikipedia posits them as Dead Kennedys-esque enfants terribles: “They are infamous for their outrageous lyrics and behavior which are deliberately explicit, offensive and intended to shock, though usually in a humorous and sarcastic manner.”

Wailin Storms | Guts Club | Slowhole
Wednesday, September 27. The Goat (1301 St. Bernard Avenue).

Los Lobos
Thursday, September 28. Acadiana Center For The Arts (Lafayette). 7:30PM. $35-55.
“Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards, and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles like son jarocho, norteño, Tejano, folk, country, doo-wop, soul, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and punk all come together to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.” Though not a punk band, they first gained notice by opening for P/i/L, the Clash, & the Blasters in the early ’80s, & still have all 4 founding members after 50 years together. No opening act mentioned as of early March.

Quintron & Miss Pussycat | Hollyrock | C’est Funk
Thursday, September 28. Historic Hardwood Mill (1194 W. Santa Fe Road, Oakdale). 2PM. $25*.
(*Can only be bought as an add-on to the fixed $175 for the next 2 days.) Fête du Void (“Pre-Party,” day 1 of 3). By far the smallest day of this festival put on by The Iceman Special; Fri. & Sat. have dozens of performers on each day. feteduvoid.com. Flyer: static.wixstatic.com/media/3048c5_0ff616a8cf5b4263ab42a53cee22f5e4~mv2.jpg

Hex Windham | The Luxurious Faux Furs | Malevitus
Thursday, September 28. Okay Bar. 8PM. FREE ($10 suggested donation for the bands).
Malevitus are a local art punk band featuring Tiana (a.k.a. MC Sweet Tea) on vocals and NOLA noise scene stalwart Rob Cambre on guitar. The Luxurious Faux Furs are a stripped-down glam/blues/garage combo with local record store & rock'n'roll DJ characters Josh, Jessica, & Lefty. Hex Windham will open with a set of acoustic originals and will be celebrating his birthday with a couple of duets.

Metropolis
Thursday, September 28. The Broadside (600 N. Broad Avenue). 7PM-10PM. $20.
Film with improvised live score by Brian Haas, Mike Dillon, James Singleton & James Evans. Apparently an encore presentation of the same event that was done here in March. Flyer & more: simpletix.com/e/140963

Little Death | Mango | Big Leather
Friday, September 29. BJ’s Lounge (4301 Burgundy Street). 9PM.
All NOLA acts. LD = Americana pop (puzzlingly tagged “post-punk” & “shoegaze” on Bandcamp) on Strange Daisy Records, in the Bywater dive bar scene. M = Tropical-tinged jangle / lounge pop. mangooo.bandcamp.com. BL = Lo-fi indie something; “The world's greatest musical act since Moby.” Fun Fact: Researchers announced this month that Moby is not related to Moby Dick author Herman Melville, as he had long claimed. genealogydetective.libsyn.com/moby-and-herman-part-3-the-chase

Capra | Stay Lost | UT/EX
Friday, September 29. Gasa Gasa. 9PM.
If you live the trü NOLADIY ascetic, hands-on lifestyle, you’ve surely seen Lafayette’s Metal Blade signees Capra live, or at least heard them. So why should you drag your bones to this particular show when you’ve seen them play the same ten or so songs live for the past half decade? Because they have a hotly-anticipated sophomore LP in the can (coming out just a week after this show) & are of course playing songs from it. They finished their sets on their August cross-Europe tour with old banger “Torture Ship,” feat. the anthemic lyric “You are not that which surrounds you / You are not who you’ve been trained to be.” Likely inspired by the line “You are not what you own” in Fugazi’s hugely influential “Merchandise.” The entire song is the purest existential punk beat(down) poetry. Their new song & music vid “Human Commodity” features an irate Candace from Walls Of Jericho. Catch singer Crow Lotus gaming on her Twitch streams. SL = Birmingham / Bessemer, AL post-hardcore / metalcore quintet. Why did Capra choose a little-known opening act with exactly one song on Bandcamp? Well, the lead vocal in that single (& music vid), “Blinded,” is surely THEE most unfathomably intense and arresting thing ever recorded in the genre. They also have a “clean” vocalist for the quieter passages, unless it’s the same guy. Show up to find out. They do have several other songs, & a new music vid for “Rust.” (A Capra member sported a Stay Lost tee at their 7/6/23 B.R. show. One wagers the bands met when performing at Birmingham’s Furnace Fest the last few years.) IG: staylostal. UT/EX = Coral (Mercy), Sam, Beto, & Rob, emitting some of the vilest & most riveting NOLA sounds one can remember. Mere shock rockers they are not. The brilliant “Omission” (not a Quicksand cover) has a screamed lyric about a table for two and “The only thing that’s true is we’ve lost all faith in you,” followed by icy Gregorian chant-style singing, then back to screaming, then spoken word about broken glass & isolation, then rinse & repeat, atop breakneck thrash metal drumming. Harrowing & medulla-boggling. IG: utexband. Definitely eat your proverbial Wheaties before this rock event. Is it true that Henry Rollins used to swig a gallon or so of potassium- & vitamin C-rich orange juice right before each Black Flag performance?

The Absence of Milk in the Mouths of the Lost
Friday, September 29. The Zeitgeist. 9PM.
Film plus Q&A with director Case Esparros. Some kind of baffling, Harmony Korine-esque indie flick, based on the trailer (youtu.be/watch?v=xiUyqMlT4vQ). “Case Esparros is a filmmaker living in Los Angeles but originally from new Orleans! His new feature film is going on tour and he will be there in person to do Q&A. The film stars outsider artist legend GARY WILSON and is scored by noise legend Aaron Dilloway." Dilloway is one half of noise freaks Wolf Eyes, but more importantly, listen to ultragenius Wilson’s synth-lust jams like “You Keep On Looking” & “Chromium Bitch” to hear him foreshadow much of Prince’s & Beck’s careers in the ‘70s. (His debut LP w/ those songs sells for an average of $362 on Discogs.)

Catbamboo | The Silhouette of Nude | Mangata
Saturday, September 30. Artmosphere. 9PM. $10.
A quirky & hard-to-quantify show out of leftfield. Band performance order uncertain, but Catbamboo has by far the biggest following & this is part of their headlining tour. C = Baton Rouge (apparently now Austin) “electric progressive / math rock instrumental project” of “band dudes who sing about stuff except with our instruments and the sad stuff is really happy.” In a facebook.com/catbambooo post on 1/24/23, they confirmed “We can beat up any band on the planet.” TSON = Tokyo mostly-instrumental avant “darkrock” / noise / post-rock / space rock trio. ratainosilhouette.bandcamp.com. M = Lafayette(?) “prog-pop experimentalists looking to spread the Lollipop Gospel across the nation.” Crazy flyer (facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=771928124933150), presumably made in Japan, tries to describe the bands in broken English: “MANGATA — lafayette gay. !!! SILHOUETTE — japan dark math !!! CATBAMBOO — baton rouge math.” If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention. Just pay the $10 upfront and no instruments get hurt.

People Museum | Ghazi Gamali
Saturday, September 30. Gasa Gasa. 9PM. $15.
A musician named “Ghazi Gamali” playing at “Gasa Gasa”? They really expect us to believe this… It’s like how one could “win free” stuff on the Oprah “Winfrey” Show. Or when “ISIS” rose to power in early 2014 & Egypt happened to elect a guy named el-Sisi (ISIS backwards) that same spring, who quickly gained fame for effectively pushing ISIS backwards. Or when “Gabby Petito” (Gab as in talk; Petit as in small, hence “Small Talk”) was allegedly abducted by “Brian Laundrie” (like “Brain Laundry,” thus “Brain Washing”). Or when Jay-Z released an album ominously titled The Blueprint on Roc-A-Fella Records (named after the world’s onetime richest person) on 9/11/01, the day the wealthiest borough of the world’s wealthiest city was “attacked” & needed a new blueprint to rebuild at the site of the Twin Towers. Or how the BUSHES are obvious See Eye A PLANTS. Or when Liz Truss, which sounds like “Lose Trust,” was elected as the leader of the U.K., then quickly stepped down after people began to lose trust in her. Or how Edmund Hillary, with “Hill” built into his name, was famous for climbing tall things. Or how Hillary Clinton once claimed to be named after him, but was born six years before he became famous for scaling Everest. Or how the last name of Derek Jeter, known for his throwing accuracy, means “To throw.” Or how Reagan sounds like “ray gun” & he proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (dubbed “Star Wars”) using space lasers. Or how Stevie Ray Vaughan, known for his album Texas Flood, died in a helicopter on Aug. 27th, the same day of the year that Hurricane Harvey later flooded Texas. (And helicopters & hurricanes both create swirling winds.) Or how Amy Winehouse, whose biggest song, “Rehab,” was about foregoing substance abuse treatment, died of ALCOHOL in her HOUSE. Or how Lou Reed was known for penning LURID tales of drugs & street hustler life (& died on a Sunday, like his song “Sunday Morning”). Or how the royally-named Prince died on the birthday of the world’s most famous living royal, Queen Elizabeth II; he was found dead in an elevator, like how his megahit “Let’s Go Crazy” had a lyric about not letting the elevator “bring us down.” These elite name / word games exist to mock us & reveal part of the machinery… So how does this tie in with two local synthy R&B acts? Well, it doesn’t, but maybe we PEOPLE are just living in a cleverly-designed realityscape, like a MUSEUM. And two members of People Museum were in the touring band of Jay-Z’s sister-in-law (& onetime NOLA resident) Solange. Maybe everything really is connected. Buy the ticket, enjoy the ride. (This was not written by, and is probably not endorsed by, anyone at NOLADIY HQ. It was presented to get the noggin joggin’ & perhaps influence the reader to question things, and to eventually divest from the entertain-o-sphere in favor of living a D.I.Y. life in which you pull all the strings and create your own sequence of small victories.)

The Iceman Special (2 sets) | Lost Bayou Ramblers | ÌFÉ | Sexbruise? | Gnvrly | DJ Slob & Blob | Spida Mane | DJ Stemmily | Jonathan Brown | Hive Mind | Pretty Na$ty | Otto | K.C. Jones | Tristan Dufrene | Green Gasoline | Diamond J | Cazayoux | Kylie & The Truth | Velvet Elvis takeover
Saturday, September 30. Historic Hardwood Mill (1194 W. Santa Fe Road, Oakdale). 11:30AM. $175 (for days 2 & 3).
Fête du Void (day 3 of 3). This day of the “musical campout” put on by The Iceman Special appears to have much more electronic music / DJing / filler, and less rock / metal fare overall, compared to the previous day. ÌFÉ calls himself “The single most important electronic act in Afro-Caribbean music today.” GG = NOLA boogie metal. Satirical Charleston synth-funkers Sexbruise? are hawking a $1000 bottle of Jalapeño Gatorade on their Bandcamp. You might need it to put yourself out of your misery as this day wears on. 11:30 AM - 4 AM (16.5 hours). feteduvoid.com. Flyer: static.wixstatic.com/media/3048c5_0ff616a8cf5b4263ab42a53cee22f5e4~mv2.jpg

Sleep Signals | Intent of Reason | Midnight Fracture
Saturday, September 30. The Juke Joint (1911 Government Street, Ocean Springs, MS). 10PM. $5 (advance).
SS = Redmond, OR telegenic emo-delving hard rock quartet “influenced by artists from Bullet for My Valentine and A Wilhelm Scream to The Weeknd and Michael Jackson.” IOR = Northshore “original Hard-Rock/Metal band with a southern hint,” performing apparently their 2nd show ever, after allegedly selling out Mandeville’s Hideaway at their 1st. MF = Mobile, AL metalcore / nu-metal quintet. Presented by Fuel The Funeral Entertainment. Flyer: msjukejoint.com/events/sleep-signals

Melvins | Boris | Mr. Phylzzz
Saturday, September 30. Tipitina's. 8PM. $32.50 - $40.25.
Like salmon navigating to their specific ancestral stream, these primal concrete sludge combos return to the LPs that garnished them all the gold, girls, grams, & guns in the first place. One of these bands is named after a song by the other. Awkward, especially since that song will be played here. Can you say stifled chuckles & rosy cheeks? Imagine being named Skyhook and having to play hoops against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, especially at this venue, which has a basketball goal inside it. MP = Chicago garage sludge duo who often lurch into swampy Southern metal. Presented by Winter Circle Productions. Flyer: ticketweb.com/i/00/12/06/44/08_Original.jpg

Tchoup Making Sense:
Saturday, September 30. Zony Mash Beer Project (3940 Thalia Street). 9PM. $15 (advance).
"A New Orleans Talking Heads Experience." Flyer: eventbrite.com/e/714911990007

All Time Low | Gym Class Heroes | Grayscale | Lauran Hibberd
Sunday, October 1. The Fillmore (6 Canal Street). 6:30PM.
Don’t do drugs, kids. When you’re dating Katy Perry during her early fame (while she was oddly a part of Warped Tour), the goal is to continue dating Katy Perry without interruption. Katy Perry dumped Gym Class Heroes’ singer via email due to his recurring opioid addiction. That’s almost as cold as when Frank Black disbanded the Pixies via fax in ‘93 at the height (or nadir) of alt/grunge mania, when non-commercial artists like Boredoms, Melvins, Ethyl Meatplow, Butthole Surfers, 7 Year Bitch, Radial Spangle, TAD, Steel Pole Bathtub, Daniel Johnston, Stick, Sausage, MC 900 Foot Jesus, Long Fin Killie, Flipper, Flop, Earth Eighteen, Campfire Girls, & Molly Half Head suddenly found themselves on major labels thanks to one song by Nirvana resetting the playing field. (The point is that the Pixies had actual melodic talent & thus could’ve been dominant at this time.) But we digress. Back to the great big dreary current year. Emo-pop prom rockers All Time Low are… well, aptly named. Grayscale are radio-ready emo / pop punk from Philly. LH is a coyly sassy & humorous – in that deadpan British way – grunge/rap/pop singer from England, like a postmodern Avril raised on Prince & Tenacious D.

Public Speaking | Turtle Grenade | Itchy Kisses | Tornado Bedtime
Monday, October 2. Gasa Gasa. 8PM. $10.

Death Grips
Monday, October 2. The Fillmore. 8PM. $39.50-75.00.
Did anyone catch DG drummer Zach Hill’s previous band Hella when they played at Melvin’s w/ Man Man (or maybe it was Need New Body) in ‘03? Yes, Melvin’s briefly had kinda cool indie showz. Sadly, the Melvins never played there. Half of it recently caught fire when the adjacent tire shop burned down. (Never live next to a tire shop.) Anyway, go see spastic rock-rap at a corporate casino.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | The Hills Have Eyes | DJ Jaysen Craves
Wednesday, October 4. Bar Redux. 8PM. FREE.
Double feature. Outside on the back porch a.k.a. The Scrapyard; weather permitting. DJ JC spins the dark stuff before & after. Food & beverages available.

Deeper | Godcaster | Coworkers
Wednesday, October 4. Santos Bar. 9PM. $17.
D = Catchy post-punk time machine with the controls set for the late ‘70s - early ‘80s. “The group were all graduates of Chicago’s rich DIY scene who came together around their love of Wire, Devo, Gang of Four, and Television. Guitars enter the picture precisely, locked bass grooves propel things forward.” And the singer sounds like a young, neurotic Robert Smith. Their new Sub Pop LP has “moments of nauseatingly powerful darkwave and coldbeat. There are massive rock’n’roll songs that you can imagine 10,000 people singing along to.” G = Brooklyn clangy lowbrow psych rock sextet w/ exasperating song titles like “Pluto Shoots His Gaze Into The Sun” & “Serpentine Carcass Crux Birth.”

Speak Easy | _thesmoothcat with No Face | Hotel Burgundy
Thursday, October 5. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Dr., Baton Rouge). 8PM. $15.
Female-fronted clunky but sincere B.R. hoedown indie rock quintet releasing their Reflections EP (SE), NOLA(?) lo-fi R&B / skate rap (_tsc), & B.R. emo meets classic rock w/ annoying vocal mic distortion à la the Strokes (HB). HB headlines the following night at Gasa Gasa in NOLA. Flyer w/ artist linx: instagram.com/p/Cw8KN0Or-5P

Corey Feldman & Band
Thursday, October 5. Southport Hall. 7PM. $15.
Well… Er, he just performed, to use a broad definition of that word, at Riot Fest in Chicago (youtu.be/7s8UEzzidbo). Top comment from that YouTube vid: “I mean, he did something. And that’s more than most people will ever accomplish. So good for you, Cory. Keep getting out a bed every day and do this.” Intriguing… Another: “This is fun to skip through. When Corey dances shirtless I think of old footage of a young Charles Manson.” Still planning on staying home tonight? More: “Is he good? Hell no. But you know what? He loves making music and it’s what drives him and makes him happy. And I’m happy for him for that. Keep keeping on, Comeback King.” Sold!

Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
Thursday, October 5. The Broadside (600 N. Broad Street). 7PM-9PM. $12.
“WHY STOP MAKING SENSE? WHY A MOVIE? WHY A BIG SUIT? WHERE DO THE ODD MOVEMENTS COME FROM? WHAT WILL THE BAND DO NEXT? A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album Speaking In Tongues. The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.” simpletix.com/e/145159. See how this ballyhooed new, practically 3-D-quality version is so superior to the VHS or DVD version you likely already own via the creative trailer: youtu.be/-rjMwSTeVeo. Then peruse their def 21-song setlist in NOLA on that tour: setlist.fm/setlist/talking-heads/1983/municipal-auditorium-new-orleans-la-63f3b607.html

DIIV
Friday, October 6. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge). 9PM. $25.
How long have you known? How long has it shown? Forever, if ever? Well, if you wanna know why this show is a gargantuan deal, aside from the fact that DIIV’s sophomore (double) LP is surely the greatest & most epic of the last decade, scroll down on handy NOLADIY to read about their slot the following night opening for Depeche Mode (not a typo) at the Blender in NOLA. They’ve added several headlining club dates on Depeche’s off-days. If you’re twiddling your fingers on this one while waiting for the opening act(s) to be announced, keep in mind this midsize club’s capacity is 578 and onetime cult faves DIIV now boast a quarter million Facebook followers and one of the most intense worldwide fanbases in the history of shoegazey music, just below the upper Big Three (MBV / Cocteaus / Slowdive) echelon, and there have already been documentaries made about all of their albums, so shoeheadz will be flocking to this by road, river and rail (Cocteaus reference) from other states & it will sell out. True, their most recent album, Deceiver, is more of a bummer slowcore breakup / breakdown disc à la Duster & Failure (two of the best bands ever), but it has its diehard fans, & the nuanced album gets better with each listen. And since we haven’t mentioned debut album Oshin, it’s one of the greatest jangle pop efforts since the Smiths, Pale Saints, & early Lush. DIIV’s packed, triumphant, ecstatic show at teeny Gasa Gasa on Memorial Day in 2016 was one for the ages, so this one, their second ever in the Pelican State That Care Forgot, should be no different. Be there or sell your pedalboard.

Special Meat | War Bunnies
Friday, October 6. Holy Diver (1200 St. Bernard Avenue). 9PM.

Power Strip | Sounding | DJ Kacey Chaos
Friday, October 6. Intracoastal Club (8448 Main Street, Houma). 10PM. $10.
Punk Metal Burlesque. S = NOLA feral grindcore / noisegrind / “gumbo grind” / noisecore. The only music on earth that cannot be danced to. Good luck, ladies. Luckily one of the biggest hospitals in the state is a few blocks down da bayou if things get too unruly. Flyer: facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1080637423158301

Nuovo Testamento | Delores Galore
Friday, October 6. Santos Bar. 10PM.
We live in strange times in which recreating the era of unadulterated, high-budget, slickly overproduced major-label ’80s synth pop / Italo-disco has come so full circle as to be viewed as fresh, counter-cultural, and cool. MGMT’s “Kids” (whose creepy music vid features the exterior of the Whole Foods on Magazine St.), Grimes’ “Oblivion,” & M83’s “Midnight City” blew the doors open for this to be mainstreamed in indieland, for better or for worse. NT creates music that makes ‘80s chart dominators of their same ilk like Exposé, Pet Shop Boys, early Madonna, Nu Shooz, Erasure, & Samantha Fox sound almost lo-fi & experimental in comparison, and rather shamelessly describes its music as “post-punk.” (Source: Their Bandcamp tags.) It’s like when Sonic Youth gingerly or sarcastically explained their 1990 signing to a major label by saying they had already conquered the underground, so now the most punk thing for them to do was to aim for the pop charts. But now indie acts can come right out of the gate with an ultra-pop sound and no one bats an eye, making the need for aesthetic evolution obsolete. NT’s music presumably burns up (Madonna / Sonic Youth pun) any dancefloor populated by the skinny-jean crowd with ease, though the unwaveringly fast tempi & somewhat whiny Madonna-style vocals make the songs borderline (Madonna pun) indistinguishable. It’s hard to understand what the end game is for this band, since they can’t push the ultra-synth-pop envelope any further. Have they passed the point of no return that Exposé sang of in their biggest hit, while hurtling towards the dead-end world that Pet Shop Boys warned of in theirs? NT’s two albums each have only 8 songs, averaging ~4 minutes, for barely over a half-hour running time, but are available on the requisite array of splattered color vinyl options. Their dazzling 2019 debut EP is far more varied & darkwave-oriented than the later pair of LPs (& not much shorter), w/ icy goth vox, showing that the evolution in their sound has been clearly towards pure club pop. All that said, NT are masters at what they have set out to do, and are cultivating a devoted fanbase, so this show should sell out, though stuff like this that’s big on the West Coast tends to go over like a lead balloon in jaded NOLA. Then again, almost any genre of indie band has trouble selling tickets here, but that’s a topic for a future EXCLUSIVE zeitgeist essay that someone else can pen. GD = NOLA solo (in studio at least) electro R&B / art pop / dream funque, highly-produced by herself & members of local funkers Sexy Dex & The Fresh who were also in shoegazers Glish.

The Iceman Special
Friday, October 6. The Varsity. 8PM. $15.

Atom Cat | The Love Muscles | Uncommon Knowledge
Friday, October 6. Wolf Den (at the Howlin Wolf). 9PM. $15.

The Unnaturals
Saturday, October 7. Holy Diver (1200 St. Bernard Ave). 8PM.
NOLA horror surf rock. Part of the 3rd annual NOLAxNOLA concert series.

Fall Fest w/ Tidus | Lisbon Girls | Corker | Radians | MORONS | Grace Sarre
Saturday, October 7. Intracoastal Club (8448 Main Street, Houma). 8:30PM. $15.
8:30 PM - 2 AM. As your reward or punishment for being too trü DIY for the Depeche Mode + DIIV concert 60 miles away, you get mid-fi smatterings of punk (T, M, C), synth pop (LG), electro-art pop (GS), & synthwave (R). B.R.’s Tidus kills live if you’re into angular post-hardcore like At The Drive-In, Quicksand, etc., but want more heaviness. tidus1.bandcamp.com. Flyer w/ exact set times & links to all these artists: facebook.com/events/627710336221463

Depeche Mode | DIIV
Saturday, October 7. Smoothie King Center (1501 Dave Dixon Drive). 7:30PM.
Brooklyn jangly shoegazers / psychedelic post-post-punks DIIV unleashed the guitar album of the decade in 2016 with their artsy 63-minute opus Is The Is Are, featuring their inventive triple-axe attack and vital melodies. It rivals Sonic Youth’s 2xLP zenith Daydream Nation for best album of its kind ever. Then they played surely the greatest set in Gasa Gasa history that May. Singer / guitarist Zachary Cole Smith (ex-Beach Fossils) wore a Nirvana baseball cap, presumably as a wink at those who would call his band grungegazers or gripe about his 2013 drug arrest with gf Sky Ferreira. Things were looking up. But for the last 7 years DIIV have shed a guitarist & only released the rather dispirited mopecore LP Deceiver, which sounds like b-sides from some other band. (Though it has its passionate devotées.) So now fans can see if they’ve still got it after being tapped out of left field for this arena trek. Just imagining hearing “Take Your Time,” “How Long Have You Known?,” “Doused,” or “Waste Of Breath” (with its celestial guitar harmonics followed by crushing sludge riffs) played live thru an arena’s sound system is almost too much to handle. It’s like when Neil Young took edgy indie heroes Sonic Youth & Social Distortion out as the openers on his ‘91 arena tour. There’s something even cooler about the famously guitarless Depeche choosing such a guitar-y opening act for this tour. DM are apparently still releasing albums, but are down to their core duo, so they’re also under pressure to prove they’re not too far over the hill. Maybe they should smash up a car onstage to prove they still have some pep in their step, like they did in the video for their best song, “Stripped.” (O.G. grungegazers Failure did an homage to this in their “Undone” vid, which was overshadowed by Weezer’s huge hit of the same name the same year.) When they play their ten or so other perfect vintage hits, all will be well. One could make a case for them as the most influential of all ‘80s bands. It’s getting harder and harder not to.

AJJ | Sad Park | Foot Ox
Sunday, October 8. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge). 8PM. $25.
A mordant jangle-punk (AJJ, f.k.a. Andrew Jackson Jihad), slightly rockabilly-ish pop punk (SP), & singer-songwhisperer (FO) hoedown. [Dear NOLADIY: I must’ve submitted this with the wrong date last week. My bad. Please DELETE the Aug. 8th listing for this show at your earliest leisure & replace it w/ this one. I don’t want people driving out to a locked venue tonight. -CPR, 1:35 AM, 8/8/23]

Beast in Black | Dance with the Dead
Monday, October 9. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Dr, Baton Rouge). 7PM. $25 (advance).
BIB = Campy, hilariously overproduced (think ‘80s Def Leppard on steroids & Four Loko), dystopian / cyberpunk-y synth metal from Helsinki w/ a Greek singer. Yes, it’s a lot to take in. They cover Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us,” replete with the uncensored original lyrics. DWTD = Dark but catchy industrial synth instrumentals from Orange County, CA. John Carpenter does ominous spoken word on “March Of The Dead.” Knowing this club, another opening act will probably be added. Flyer: static.wixstatic.com/media/851f11_914e055aee4c4eb1892fdaab0a6440cf~mv2.jpeg

Snarky Puppy
Tuesday, October 10. Mahalia Jackson Theater (1419 Basin Street). 8PM. $39.50 - $59.50.
“After over a decade of relentless touring and recording in all but complete obscurity, the Texas-bred quasi-collective suddenly found itself held up by the press and public as one of the major figures in the jazz world. Snarky Puppy isn’t exactly a jazz band. It’s not a fusion band, and it’s definitely not a jam band. Snarky Puppy is a collective of sorts with as many as 20 members in regular rotation.” They won Grammys for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2016, ‘17, ‘21, & ‘23.

Pile
Wednesday, October 11. Gasa Gasa. $16/$20.

Peelander-Z | Dog Party | Flip Fitch
Thursday, October 12. Gasa Gasa. 9PM.
“PEELANDER-Z, the Japanese Action Comic Punk Band based in NYC, was originally formed in 1998 by Peelander-Yellow, Peelander-Red, and Peelander-Blue, after meeting in New York City (although they’ll tell you they’re all from the Z area on the planet Peelander). At its live shows, Peelander-Z guarantees intense audience participation and a chance to exercise. You’ll see the band in colorful costumes reminiscent of Japanese anime, though they describe their outfits as their skin. You’ll also see The Red Squid, human bowling and all around insanity. A Peelander-Z performance is a rare occasion for the entire family to rock out and have a great time.” Watch their successful appearance on ABC’s The Gong Show: youtu.be/watch?v=72-cAQyvADY. One thing is for sure: This band loves NOLA on planet Loui-Z-ana; they played at the late One Eyed Jacks alone at least 19 times (setlist.fm/search?query=Peelander+New+Orleans). One can recall their singer scaling the balcony of OEJ during a 2/13/05 show with the equally loopy band Dynamite Club opening. Does he still do such death-defying feats? They’ll surely dig the name of this club – Japanese for the gentle rustling of leaves – as they make their Gasa Gasa debut. DP = Cali buzzsaw garage rock n’ punk sister duo on Epitaph Records. Like Best Coast meets the Ramones & Runaways. They opened for Green Day on an arena tour in 2016. FF = Quite strange local singer.

Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton | Eric Johanson
Thursday, October 12. Manship Theatre (100 Lafayette Street, Baton Rouge). 7:30PM. $55-65.
Now that she has rather amazingly amassed 420k Facebook followers despite almost no radio play, the days of catching alleged Mid City resident (or at least confirmed City Park dogwalker) Sam at goofy little free fairs n’ fests are apparently over. Whoops… I’m getting word in my Punk 7700 headset that she IS headlining at the free Crescent City Blues & BBQ Fest two days later. So you have permission to skip this pricey B.R. engagement. Her show last year at the then-new Chelsea’s Live, a few blocks below the Manship, was oddly only about half full, maybe because we music-spoiled locals keep waiting to see her for free. See the interview w/ SF & JD in July’s Antigravity. Note: The infamous Jon Spencer of Pussy Galore and Blues Explosion (the latter’s “Ditch” remains one of the illest blooze-punk songs ever, & likely gave Jack White his whole career) produced SF & JD’s collab album Deathwish, and is joining them as an opening act on dates in Nov.-Dec., but will evidently not be at this one. Dang. (<–– That’s another JSBX song, whose video made it onto Beavis & Butt-head in the mid-‘90s, earning an “I didn’t know something could kick this much ass!” from the jaded Butt-head.)

Bullshit Machine | Gar Guts | Code Black | Fith
Friday, October 13. Parisite DIY Skatepark (1606 Pleasure Street). 7PM.
"Wear something spooky."

Like Murder… | Misled | Atomic Motor Queen
Friday, October 13. The Marsh Room (4740 Rye Street, Metairie). 8PM. $25.
“Like Murder pays tribute to one of our local greats the legendary ACID BATH.” LM… = Cleveland swampy doom metal sextet performing Dax & co.’s tunes that are “laden with poetry and sludge.” Hey, Cleveland is on the world’s 11th-largest läke, so maybe they have some swamps? Tour trailer: youtu.be/aixeK0Ut9bo. Presented by the Metal Hand Of God podcast.

Planet of the Little Green Men
Saturday, October 14. Brieux Carre Brewing Company (2115 Decatur St). 3:30PM.
NOLA psychedelic / acid rock. Check out their song “Arrival,” which achieves the ‘60s feel they’re aiming for by enhancing the deranged aesthetic w/ some sort of toy space gun sound.

Anna McClellan | Sharks Teeth
Saturday, October 14. White Roach Records. 7PM.

Lovely Little Girls | Pili Coit | Primpce
Thursday, October 19. Allways Lounge and Theatre. 10PM. $12.
Lovely Little Girls: Led by visual artist/vocalist Gregory Jacobsen and bassist Alex Perkolup (Cheer-Accident. Flying Luttenbachers), Lovely Little Girls is a nine-piece art-prog band that features the cream of the crop of Chicago's avant-rock scene. “Lovely Little Girls is a total package: challenging, dissonant, ever-changing experimental rock, conceptually linked songs, and ambitious themed stage productions. Jacobsen animates their lyrics with his abject, frenzied singing and grotesque stage presence.” - Chicago Reader. Pili Coït is a part of a progressive/experimental musician's collective which includes bands such as Le Grand Sbam, and PoiL. Pili Coit strips the collective's extended lineups down to duo Guilhem Meier (guitar) and Jessica Martin Maresco (percussion, keyboards.) Found percussion clangs with unpredictable rhythms, stitched together by soaring and intricate vocal melodies. Primpce: Art-rock with a wide range of influences- childhood mythologies, toy commercials, Pentacostal exorcisms and auditory hallucinations, along with North African and Middle Eastern pentatonic scales and polyrhythms.

Deer Tick | Country Westerns
Thursday, October 19. Chickie Wah Wah. 8PM. $45 (advance), $55 (day of show).

Fastplants | The Dead Spies | Morons
Thursday, October 19. The Goat (1301 St. Bernard Avenue).
Chicago skate / garage punk (F), Louisiana melodic hardcore (TDS), Houma slacker punk (M).

Summoner's Circle | Discoveries | Dawn of Ascension | Them Guys | Konstricted | Brethren Hogg
Friday, October 20. The Hideaway (800 N. Causeway Blvd, Mandeville). 7PM. $12 (presale).
Raidfest (day 1 of 2): “RAIDFEST 2023 is coming to Mandeville, LA for 2 nights of metal! $12 presale tickets available at rebrand.ly/raidfest2023 with no extra fees! Halloween costumes encouraged but not required. October 20th-21st, 2023. Oct. 20th Lineup: Summoner's Circle (TN Doom Metal), Discoveries (NC Metalcore / Deathcore), Dawn Of Ascension (AR Metalcore / Deathcore), Them Guys (Metal), Konstricted (Death Metal), Brethren Hogg (Doom / Stoner Metal).” This all-metal fest is not to be confused w/ Lafayette’s punk / metal / indie rock RAD Fest (Rock Around Downtown Fest) a month earlier. Flyer for both days: facebook.com/events/1206867166724743

Generationals | Mmeadows
Friday, October 20. Tipitina's. 9PM.
NOLA cryptic, smug, post-Beach Boys (qu)easy-listening indie pop (G); NYC R&B-inflected dreamy synth pop w/ a member of Dirty Projectors & a Beyoncé / Lorde collaborator (m). The headliners were WTUL’s most-played artist in July ‘23.

Silver Synthetic | Conor Donohue
Saturday, October 21. BJ's Lounge. 9PM. $10.

Autumn Lies Buried | Gorepig | This is Me Breathing | Golgothan | Raise the Death Toll | Wasted | Project Ascension
Saturday, October 21. The Hideaway (800 N. Causeway Blvd, Mandeville). 7PM. $12 per day (presale).
Raidfest (day 2 of 2). This 2nd day has even more extreme fare than day 1. ALB = TN Deathcore. Gor. = AR Deathcore/Nu-Metal. TIMB = MO Deathcore. Gol. = Death Metal. RTDT = Deathcore. W = Deathcore. PA = Nu-Metal. Halloween costumes encouraged. Flyer for both days: facebook.com/events/1206867166724743

Ghost Roast
Sunday, October 22. Artmosphere. 8:30PM. $10 (advance), $15.
“Once a month at Artmosphere, comics dress up as dead famous people and roast each other in character.” This one features Walt Disney vs. David Koresh and Joan Of Arc vs. Christopher Lee, among other bouts. Presented by Oof.

Jockstrap | Fuckers
Tuesday, October 24. Toulouse Theatre (615 Toulouse Street). 8PM (Ages 16+ show). $25.
16+. J = London art pop randomizer duo. The optimistically steep price may be in part because they opened for Blur at Wembley Stadium in July (snippets: youtu.be/KEVwGBVxbpo), though they’re unknown outside the U.K., because: “Generally speaking their modus operandi has been to produce a violently spatially and temporally disrupted form of pop music which sometimes sees them gleefully break apart existing styles only to expertly reassemble them and other times sees them mint entirely fresh genres. Both of them grew up playing and loving classical music and picked up a bug for jazz in college.” They’ve recorded for Very Cool labels Warp & Rough Trade. Singer / violinist Georgia Ellery is also in avant-post-punx Black Country, New Road. RIYL: Water From Your Eyes, Björk, Art Of Noise, Wet Leg. F = NYC early ‘90s style techno / house trio. “Devils Cut” is a cover of Beck’s banger “Devils Haircut” which falls flat with the funk & guitar sucked out.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Amulets
Wednesday, October 25. Civic Theatre. 8PM. $30-$55.
UMO are an unpredictable Portland-via-Aukland indie pop act. You may fondly remember their frail, jangly college radio staples “Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)” & “Can’t Keep Checking My Phone.” Bassist Jacob Portrait was also in Blouse, whose 2011 debut album is an essential slice of dreamy post-post-punk. Amulets is a Portland guy who “employs handmade cassette tape loops and live processed guitar loops to create live, lush soundscapes and immersive drones.” Flyers: facebook.com/photo.php/?fbid=810803707281611 & https://eadn-wc03-3959977.nxedge.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/505337121-20231025_umo_1920x1080-1200x630.png

Speedy Ortiz | Baths | Sharks Teeth
Wednesday, October 25. Gasa Gasa. 9PM. $17.

Lacuna Coil | Lions at The Gate
Thursday, October 26. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge). 8PM. $28.50 (advance).
Erstwhile gothic / kinda-symphonic Milano (Italia) metal band LC plays evidently only their 2nd Baton Rouge concert. One recalls seeing their 1st Pel State show, opening for the pretentious but decent Opeth on 5/11/03 at HOB. LC’s synchronized headbanging caused one to chuckle a bit, but they undeniably knew how to do their campily spooky rocking. (Fun Synchronicity Fact: Eerily similar band Evanescence, who had been complete unknowns until “Bring Me To Life” conquered the charts a few weeks earlier, headlined the same venue the next night.) They’ve distanced themselves from the message of their breakout song “Heaven’s A Lie,” which they did play at that Opeth gig, & still play. They’ve been covering Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence” live for ~17 years. (The other opening band on that night in ‘03, blistering Chicago jazz-noize-metallers Yakuza, were quite a revelation, & headlined one of the final shows at the beloved Mermaid Lounge at the end of the next year.) It’s true that LC’s singer Cristina flashed her Cheshire grin on the cover of a LOT of metal magazines back then, with her bandmates often absent, & cleaned up most of the “Hottest Women In Metal” awards until Taylor Momsen arrived. The title of the Tori Amos b-side “All The Girls Hate Her” comes to mind… LATG = 3 guys who bolted the poorly-named Ill Niño to do their own alt-metalcore (w/ tinges of industrial & emo) thang in L.A. w/ a pair of other blokes. LC has a million Fb followers, & there’s a new documentary about their big album Comalies, so this’ll sell out.

Silvertung | Awaken the Giant | SevVven
Saturday, October 28. Hideaway Den (800 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville). 8PM. $10.
S = Baltimore misery rock / clunky post-nu-metal quartet that, “since blazing onto the rock scene (…) has amazed fans and critics alike by hitting the Billboard Mainstream Rock Radio Chart four times with their singles – ‘Never Too Late,’ ‘Face The Music,’ ‘You & Me,’ and ‘Done My Best.’” (Last.fm bio. I want whoever wrote this to write my obituary.) ATG = Houston emo-y hard rock duo; maybe more members live, if only to help carry things. An eminently skippable concert at this venue w/ questionable booking taste, but IDK, maybe some of these bands’ songs have helped ppl through hard times? (Think about how many lives Linkin Park & Evanescence have saved.) If so, can we recommend about 700 other better bands to you instead? Presented by Fuel The Funeral Entertainment. Flyer: eventbrite.com/e/710388650577

Fishface | Phallic Laceration | Defect
Saturday, October 28. Onyx Theatre (524 N. Foster, Baton Rouge). 9PM. $10 (cash only).
Boston blackened hardcore (F), Baton Rouge sludgy downtuned death metal (PL), Ruston / Shreveport “DEEP SOUTH MISERY” (D). Costumes encouraged.

Fred Mascherino a.k.a. The Color Fred | Heavy Mantle | Baby in the 90s
Sunday, October 29. Midcity Ballroom. 7PM. $20.
BYOB, diary, & Kleenex. FM = Nuanced sadboi post-emo musings à la City And Colour, Elliott Smith, Phoebe Bridgers. “Come out for a fun[?] night of story telling and music from Fred's entire career. Hear and request songs from [his bands & ex-bands] The Color Fred, Taking Back Sunday, Breaking Pangaea, Terrible Things, Say Anything, The Lemonheads and more!” He began using the alias The Color Fred while in MySpace’s most ubiquitous band, TBS (seemingly every teen female user had TBS’s lyric about apologizing for bleeding on your shirt in her profile), from 2003-7. Wow, the Lemonheads… One recalls seeing a few minutes of them playing while peering back thru the chainlink fence as one trudged away, sunburnt, from Zephyrfest ‘94 at City Park’s Marconi Meadow (now those Smurfy blue tennis courts), headlined by the Violent Femmes, Smithereens, & Offspring. One believes the song was their college radio / MTV soft-emo smash “Into Your Arms.” This was when their crooner Evan Dando a.k.a. Evil Dildo was abstinently dating America’s most lusted-after indie rock goddess, Juliana Hatfield. Imagine if there had been Instagram back then. HM = B.R. jagged, post-punk-y “real emo” borne of what must only have been unspeakable desperation; a post-Secret Smoker project. RIYL: Hush Harbor, ‘90s Dischord Records catalogs. BIT9 = NOLA eclectic jangle emo / “beauty rock” à la Smiths / Promise Ring, w/ some trumpet & trombone. “A four piece indie rock band that capitalizes on the endless possibilities for changes in dynamics and timing. With angelic vocals and a driving rhythm section, Baby in the 90s is for listeners of everything from As Cities Burn & Manchester Orchestra to Modest Mouse & Angel Olsen.”

Bully
Sunday, October 29. Toulouse Theatre (615 Toulouse Street). 7PM.

Two Girls One Ghost podcast
Monday, October 30. The Howlin Wolf. 7PM. $20 (advance).
“For six years Corinne and Sabrina of Two Girls One Ghost Podcast have researched and discussed hundreds of haunted places they were too afraid to visit… until today. Something has been calling them... A place so haunted that it inspired one of the most horrific horror movies of our generation. You’ve never experienced paranormal investigating like this before. Join Sabrina and Corinne for an exclusive, never before seen live show. Grounded in horror, their friendship will provide comedic relief and heartwarming connection… But uncovering the truth comes with a price. This is Two Girls One Ghost at The Conjuring House. It’s going to be a wild, spooky ride… and they’ve saved you a seat.”

Mssv | Painted Hands | Anareta
Monday, October 30. Siberia. 9PM.
“mssv: main steam stop valve. Post-genre power trio mssv was formed early in 2019 when guitarist Mike Baggetta joined up with bassist Mike Watt (MINUTEMEN, fIREHOSE, The Stooges) and drummer Stephen Hodges (Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, David Lynch) to tour on his Wall of Flowers album. After a hugely successful US tour performing music that ran the gamut from original electro-free-jazz improvisations, driving new-rock anthems and covers from The Stooges and Watt’s first punk rock opera ‘Contemplating the Engine Room,’ mssv has proved a fearless band. Featuring live electronic processing by both Baggetta and Hodges, as well as Watt’s relentlessly driving bass and vocals, mssv not only shows what it means to be a band in the modern post-genre landscape, but is well on their way to defining it.” PH = NOLA garage punk. A = NOLA charred chamber metal.

Tales from the Synth
Monday, October 30. The Broadside (600 North Broad Street). 6PM. $15.
NOLA Synth Cult Presents: “The sound design you hear in horror films is just as important as the images you see on the screen. Join some of New Orleans’ spookiest sound sculptors as they create a live soundtrack to a projection mapped horror movie supercut. Featuring vintage synths, modular monsters, and much more!” 6-8 PM. Flyer: simpletix.com/e/143893

Quintron & Miss Pussycat | Evil Sword | Donzii
Tuesday, October 31. Music Box Village (4557 N. Rampart Street). 8PM. $20-30.
You know the headlining spouses, who rarely perform (he on keyboards & vox, she w/ puppetry) live anymore. ES = Baffling performance art-y anti-rock / pre-rock from Philly. “Their chaotic live shows combine elements of noise, performance art, and gallows humor and feature macabre props, stage sets and costumes.” Endure evilsword.com. They should have a side project called Evil S-Word that could use the same web address. “Miami’s Donzii is a time-bending, post-punk vision: a unity of go-hard industrial bangers, darkly ambient balladry, and new takes on the funk traditions of No Wave.” Based on the opening acts alone, likely to be the weirdest show ever at the MuBox. (Shove yr Animal Collective where the strawberry don’t jam.)

Jonathan Richman
Wednesday, November 1. Toulouse Theatre (615 Toulouse Street). 8PM. $25 (advance).
While it’s hard to forgive his band the Modern Lovers for being arguably the biggest influence on the Strokes, hey… “I’m Straight,” “Pablo Picasso,” “Roadrunner”… This is all classic stuff. As is JR’s ska-ish solo summer jam “I Love Hot Nights.” J.R. says: “We still don’t use a program or a set list so we don’t know what we’ll do until we do it. Please do not expect old songs. Many singers my age do a retrospective; this show is not like that. It’s mostly stuff made up in the last 3 and 4 years. Some of the songs presented might be in different languages; this is not to be esoteric or clever, it’s because the different languages help me express different feelings sometimes. One last thing, my idea of a good show has nothing to do with applause. It’s about if all the songs I sang that night were ones that I felt.” Speaking of feelings, he has been covering the ML song “That Summer Feeling” at every show on this tour, as well as “Pablo.” (setlist.fm/search?query=Jonathan+Richman) Did you know J.R. played himself in alleged comedy classic There’s Something About Mary?

Alejandro Escovedo
Friday, November 3. Chickie Wah Wah. 8PM. $50.
He was the co-founding guitarist of the Nuns, “one of the founding acts of the early San Francisco punk scene.” He went to Austin & co-founded cowpunks Rank And File & then roots rockers True Believers. He has released ~15 solo LPs since then, & worked w/ Whiskeytown. He’s Sheila E’s uncle & Nicole Richie’s granduncle. In 1998 No Depression magazine named him Artist of the Decade. Does the ticket price make sense now? Yes, it will sell out, probably over a month in advance.

Goblin
Saturday, November 4. The Broadside (600 N. Broad Street). 7PM. $30 (advance).
Claudio Simonetti's Goblin performs live score to film Demons (1985) plus a classic Goblin set. Last fall, this group played the legendary soundtrack to Suspiria at Poor Boys. “This year, Simonetti’s Goblin celebrates Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava's 1985 classic, Demons, with a live performance of the score set to a screening of the movie. Following the finale of the film, the collective will return after a brief intermission to deliver an additional performance of quintessential Goblin material and ‘best of’ songs and scores set to their cinematic counterparts.” Presented by Tone Deaf Touring. Flyer / info / tix: simpletix.com/e/140174

Sinéad O’Connor tribute
Tuesday, November 7. Allways Lounge and Theatre. 8:30PM-10:30PM.
In the Twilight Room. You know the huge hit (written by a guy whose four grandparents were all born in Louisiana) & a few minor ones, but “Feel So Different” is the greatest chamber pop song ever, & the bleak “You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart” has a fitting music vid in which she’s imprisoned & interrogated, likely as a metaphor for Ireland’s historic mistreatment, considering the film whose soundtrack it’s on. theallwayslounge.net/calendar/sinead-oconnor-tribute

Powerplant | Zorn | Paprika | Dracula | New Buck Biloxi
Tuesday, November 7. Siberia. 8PM. $15 (NOTAFLOF).

Tennis | Sam Evian
Tuesday, November 7. Tipitina's. 8PM. $25.
Take your slacker / boho chic lifestyle to new plateaus of breezy emptiness with nonchalant saccharine indie pop from Denver (Tennis) & even less-chalant rootsy dad pop from NYC (SE). VIP tickets are probably available at your nearest Sephora, IKEA, or Urban Outfitters.

Versipel New Music
Wednesday, November 8. Dixon Concert Hall (Tulane University). 8PM.
This is a music group that takes classical music and "puts a New Orleans spin on it" which is very WTUL in my opinion. this is the only one that might cost money, but I'm not sure.

U.D.O. (w/ Udo Dirkschneider of Accept)
Wednesday, November 8. Southport Hall. 8PM. $25 (advance).
German metal act U.D.O. is basically a rotating collective used by legendary-in-some-circles 71.5 year-old Udo, ex-crooner of Accept, since ‘88. U.D.O. has an impressive 19 ex-members. They’ll probably kidnap some random cyclist off the nearby levee to round out their lineup for this show. Not that today’s metal fans, who seem to just want to see senescent dinosaur metal icons live to complete a required set of notches on their concertgoing belts, would notice or care. The cast of Full House or Baywatch could tour as Slayer, and Slayer’s fans would shrug & dutifully show up. Watch Beavis & Butt-head lose it while enduring Accept’s dismal “Balls To The Wall” vid (“What’s this buttmunch doing on the stage?”… “Check it out, it’s Krokus coming to kick their ass!”) if you really need an Accept refresher or primer. Was Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” vid inspired by its brütal final scene?

Mac Sabbath | The Cybertronic Spree | Playboy Manbaby
Thursday, November 9. Zony Mash Beer Project (3940 Thalia Street). 9PM. $27.
MS is that band that does artery-jeopardizing fast-food themed covers of Black Sabbath songs. You wouldn’t understand. “MAC SABBATH puts on a multimedia stage show complete with a smoking grill, laser-eyed clowns, bouncing burgers and many more magical surprises!” This is their “More Than Meats The Eye” tour. Does that title mean they’ll be turning over a new, more nuanced patty? Or will it be more of the same old flame-broiled? (Those free puns are EXCLUSIVE to this NOLADIY listing.) “The Cybertronic Spree are here on Earth with one critical mission: To party like it's 1986! These rockstars in disguise play music from The Transformers: The Movie, plus themes from hit films, cartoons, video games, and more.” PM = “PHOENIX MULTI-MEDIA ART PUNK FOR KINDNESS.” Tour poster w/ links: instagram.com/p/Cvc1LWMxANL

The Unnaturals
Friday, November 10. The Green Room (Covington).
NOLA surf rock with occasional horror & rockabilly themes. Presented by Bruiser Music.

Pope | Bedridden | Worlds Worst | Cashier
Friday, November 10. Santos Bar. 9PM. $15.
santosbar.com/new-events/2023/11/10/pope-bedridden-worldworst-and-cashier impressively has descriptions of all the bands & a ticket link, 3+ mos. in advance. P = “Nola indie rock. If you like indie rock we make music for you.” B = “After stepping away from the New Orleans hardcore punk scene, songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Jack Riley began to write under the name Bedridden. Riley picked up and moved to Brooklyn when the initial lineup disbanded. When New Orleans based drummer Nick Pedroza joined Jack in Brooklyn, the songs now had a band. Nodding to the blissed out fuzz of kinetic 90s bands such as Hum and Smashing Pumpkins, Bedridden batters heavy and intricate chord changes into compact pop structures. First single, ‘Soft Soap,’ displays the band at its most punk & most shoegaze.” WW = “Dubbed ‘grunge-gaze’ by Brooklyn Vegan, Worlds Worst is an SLC-based band who introduced their loud, energetic-while-melancholic sound with the release of their two EP's in 2020 and 2021.” C = “Cashier is a band from Lafayette, LA that plays a washed out fuzzy blend of shoegaze and indie rock. The success of their debut self-titled two song EP has put them on the map for modern shoegaze, using references from 90s grunge.” TL;dr: A show for those into the grimier side of nu-gaze. For the opposite end of the spectrum, w/ all heaviness removed, catch the brilliant Men I Trust’s sensuous dream pop / ambient R&B at the Orpheum tonite for a mere 2x the price. That one starts at 8, w/ only 2 bands, so a savvy dream-rocker could try to make both shows. Yours truly once caught Alicia Keys + Miguel at the Showerdome (dubbed this due to its lovely seafoam green tiling; soon re-nicknamed the Blender when Smoothie King took the reins & criminally redid the exterior), then raced down a few blocks to the Circle Bar for a nightcap by ambient dream pop bard Benoît Pioulard. Many such cases!

Modigliani Quartet
Monday, November 13. Dixon Hall (Tulane University, Newcomb Place at Zimpel Street). 7:30PM.
Despite their hilariously misleading name, this is a PARISIAN string quartet (Modigliani was an Italian artist) that formed à l’université in ‘03. At least they are a quartet, unlike Ben Folds Five (trio), the Walker Brothers (not Brothers, not named Walker), Abe Vigoda (not Abe Vigoda, the actor whose real name was not Abe Vigoda), Norma Jean (not Marilyn Monroe), boygenius, Toiling Midgets, etc. They’ve won fancy awards, so they apparently know what they’re doing. Do you? Some rumpled-shirt music writer constructively zinged them w/ this shot across the bow: “One of today’s best quartets in the world... Balance, transparency, symphonic comprehension, confident style… Their performance reached a very high and inspiring level.” How punk can a string quartet be? Hopefully not very. This is music by which to expand your cultural horizons. Folks, do NOT shout out requests for Godspeed You Black Emperor covers or you will be hauled off to Tulane undergrad detention, which is just not being able to dine at Commander’s or Brennan’s for one week. Presented by NOLADIY’s arch-rival, New Orleans Friends of Music. wikipedia.org/wiki/Modigliani_Quartet

Alt-J | Meagre Martin
Thursday, November 16. The Joy Theater. 8PM.
The “10th Anniversary” tour for their debut LP which came out 11.5 years ago. Hmm. Adults today really think the youth don’t own calculators. What do people have against the number 11? Is their song “Left Hand Free” really about… ahem… you know? (The same touchy topic which Cyndi Lauper probed in “She Bop.”) Why can this band’s name also be written as a triangle? How did this goofy album sell 2 million copies? Admittedly, you did have to dodge half of its songs on your Tumblr feed daily back then. (Oh… And “Breezeblocks” has 265 million YouTube views, & “Tessellate” has 50 mil.) MM = Berlin alt-pop trio with sort of a bluesy, chill, slacker style, evidently touring to honor the 29.5 year anniversary of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, a.k.a. the album on which Pavement became the Eagles. Flyer: facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=596855049309068. Attn. local lovers of meek major-label indie pop: The Joy posted a low ticket alert on 7/27, & it soon sold out. Go to your nearest heavy metal or punk rock concert immediately after reading this tragic news. (But wait… Very ethical company Ticketmaster has hilariously added $137 gen. admission floor tickets after the alleged sellout. Go to ten metal & punk concerts instead. You know which website you’ve trusted to compile a running list ‘em for you for the last quarter of a century, baby. Will said site last for another 75 years to reach its centennial? I don’t see why not. Contribute your show listing today, or better yet tomorrow.)

Cattle Decapitation | Immolation | Sanguisugabogg | Castrator
Saturday, November 18. Chelsea’s Live (1010 Nicholson Dr., Baton Rouge). 7PM. $25 (advance).
Your favorite dystopian, 40% vegetarian deathgrind band finally hits B.R. All four vegan 1996 founding members have left for greener pastures, but the singer has been with them since ‘97, meaning on every LP & EP except their ‘96 demo. All instrument-playing members joined in 2001 or later. Undaunted, their 347k Facebook followers bob their heads to fare like “Everyone Deserves to Die,” “Humanure,” “Do Not Resuscitate,” & “Bring Back The Plague.” Consult their merch store for items from their summer collection such as swimsuits & drink coozies. The three opening squads adhere more to the popular death metal tradition. Two of the four members of Immolation are ‘86 founders. The band w/ the weird name & illegible logo headlined at this club with their “down tuned drug death” metal over the summer. Castrator are an all-female “Emasculating Death Metal” quartet. Which reminds one of aptly-named ‘90s Sub Pop female metallic grungers Dickless, of minor “Saddle Tramp” fame.

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra plays Jurassic Park (film + live score)
Saturday, November 18. Mahalia Jackson Theater (1419 Basin Street). 7:30PM. $28 - $120 (adults), $10 (students).
Three words: Green jello scene (youtu.be/0N7KQnekTUI). Fun Fact: The actress who played the girl Lex in that Hitchcockian (or was it more Kafkaesque?) quandary is now a famous painter. And who among us can forget the Clover Grill on Bourbon St. & their “Clever Girl” (a much-quoted JP catchphrase) parody uniform shirts about a decade ago? Approx. 2.5 hrs w/ intermission. Night 1 of 2.

Fit for an Autopsy | Exodus | Darkest Hour | Undeath
Sunday, November 19. Civic Theatre. 7PM. $29.50 - $125.
A bunch of surly metal bros touring in vans, grumbling over who used up the last of the conditioner, whose token black Motörhead shirt belongs to whom, & who controls the cassette deck / aux cord = a recipe for lots of ex-members. So it’s time for the debut edition of NOLADIY’s Metal Member Migration Microscope. These bands have a combined 26 ex-members, for an average of 6.5 per band. The aptly-named Exodus has sustained the most casualties, at 14. (For a while they had ZERÖ original members, until their drummer rolled out of bed one day in ‘07 & rejoined out of embarrassment for them.) However, Darkest Hour maintains a slight lead in the amount of members shed per year (0.321, vs. Exodus’ 0.318 & FFAA’s 0.2). Only Undeath lacks ex-members, but give them time for their petty grudges to fester; they only formed in 2018, when Miley Cyrus was already a grizzled veteran working on LP #12 (or #7 if Hannah Montana output is omitted). Most famous ex-member of all these bands: Kirk Hammett, Exodus co-founder in ‘79.

Labyrinth | Suffrage | Nemesis | Soul Giant | Subliminal Landmines
Saturday, November 25. The Feed & Seed. 7 PM-12AM. $15 (single day), $25 (both days).
MarsFest (day 2 of 2). MarsFest may have mutated & become a twice-annual thing, as a more indie rock-y / punk-y edition was held at nearby Artmosphere w/ a few of the same bands back in Feb. This fall edition is almost entirely metal. L & N = A retro prickly pair (cactus pun) of scorchin’ Houston thrash metal revivalists. S = Lafayette grungy “femme metal” / punk quartet; IG: thebandsuffrage. SG = Laffy prog metal w/ a nuanced, almost shoegazey aesthetic on a few songs, but closer to death metal on others. SL = Laffy punk, specifically “everything your mom would love to hate in a punk band.” You’re gonna be so grounded. Flyer + Fb links for all 10 of the fest’s bands: facebook.com/events/314465047787480. allevents.in/lafayette/marsfest/200025245580724

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

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

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

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?

New Orleans Area DIY Events and Shows