Lady Rollers Second Line

Got folks in town for the holidays? I know it’s cold out there today, but you should take ’em out to a second line. There happens to be one today, from 12-4pm the Lady Rollers are, well, rolling. Here’s a clip from last year, and click here for the route, which I always get from the Blog of New Orleans.

Prince of Wales Second Line

I have friends in town today, one of whom is in New Orleans for the first time. And I am so glad that they are going to get a chance to go to the Prince of Wales Second Line Parade. I’m lifting all this info straight from the Blog of New Orleans, which is always a good source for what’s happening on the Second Line front.

PRINCE OF WALES 82ND ANNUAL SECOND LINE & LADY WALES 15TH ANNIVERSARY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2010 — 1 P.M. “Ten Ten Tension! Watch Us Shine!

Start: Rock Bottom Lounge, 3801 Tchoupitoulas. Back Peniston to Annunciation. Left on Annunciation. Annunciation to General Taylor. Out General Taylor to Magazine Street. Right on Magazine. Down Magazine to Aline.

Stop: Reesie’s Snowball Stand. Down Magazine to Louisiana. Left on Louisiana. Out Louisiana.

Stop: Sandpiper Lounge, 2119 Louisiana. Out Louisiana to LaSalle. Right on LaSalle. Down LaSalle to Third Street. Right on Third. Out Third to corner of Dryades.

Stop: Charlie Wright’s Watering Hole. Continue out Third to St. Charles Avenue. Right on St. Charles. Up St. Charles to Washington Avenue. Left on Washington. Out Washington.

Stop: Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave. Out Washington to Annunciation.

Stop: CTC Steppers. Up Annunciation to Louisiana. Left on Louisiana. Out Louisiana to Tchoupitoulas. Up Tchoupitoulas.

Disband: Rock Bottom Lounge, 3801 Tchoupitoulas.

2010 Queen — Shavonda Jacobs

In memory of Dinneral Shavers, Brandon Franklin and all our departed Prince of Wales/Lady Wales.

Here’s some footage from last year:

Labor Day

In honor of Labor Day, here’s a a video of the annual Black Men of Labor parade. Power to the people!

Decadence

Southern Decadence continues today. I didn’t know much about how Decadence came to be until I read this informative article in the Gambit. The big parade is gearing up right now in the French Quarter. The starting point is somewhere near the Golden Lantern and it ends somewhere in the vicinity of the Bourbon Pub–pretty much head to the lower end of Bourbon Street and you’re bound to run into a couple hundred thousand revelers. The Grand Marshals this year are Julien Artressia and Toby LeFort.

Gay Pride Parade

This month is Gay Pride time, nationally. There are parades in many major cities in this country today, but I can bet none will rival the one in New Orleans. Sure, others may be bigger, but when it comes to parading, no other city can touch us.

The Pride Second Line Parade starts at 1pm. Then from 2-6 the street fair and block party ensues. Ground zero is Bourbon between Orleans and Dumaine.

A Little Easter Decadence

I arrived in New Orleans (to live) almost exactly 10 years ago. It was just before Easter, and one of the first parades I saw was the Gay Easter Parade in the French Quarter. Earlier that day, atop a float I saw Chris Owens, the septuagenarian burlesque performer, and knew I had come to the right town. I got hungry and followed my nose. I ended up wandering into a (now defunct) Marigny bar/restaurant called The Harbor. The place was full, there was a big Easter Sunday buffet. I kind of froze for a minute, not sure if it was a private party or not, when an older gentleman, dressed to the nines, came up and put his arm around me, led me to the buffet, and told me to fix myself a plate. And, well, I’ve been home ever since.

The Gay Easter Parade rolls at 4:30. Here’s the route.

Here’s an awesome moment from last year’s parade:

Then, a little later on, THE place to be is the Spellcaster Lodge, where King Kahn and the Shrines, among others will be doing their thing. Word is: it’s gonna be hard to get in, so no lollygagging!

Downtown Irish Clubbing

So, there are St. Patrick’s Day parties going on all over the city. One could go back to Parasol’s, or over to Finn McCool’s. But, being a decidedly downtown gal, I’m going to go with the Downtown Irish Club Parade. It starts at 6:30, at Bud Rip’s. But, personally, I think first I’d spent the last sunny hour of this lovely day at Markey Park, heading in and out of Markey’s Bar.  At 5pm, St. Louis Slim and his Large Band will start playing out on the street in front of the bar; and listening to his great old-timey blues, while having a pint is the perfect place to wait for the parade.

The route is up Royal, all the way to the French Quarter, then over to Decatur and up to Canal, and then back again. The parade stops at all kinds of bars and pubs along the way, but with such a long parade route to be walked, you’ll surely walk off all those pints.

I love this photo, from Life Magazine, of the parade a couple of years ago.

Chaos and Noise

What a gloriously, beautiful day to get trashed in the Irish Channel. The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade should be starting any time now, and the block party will continue until 8 pm. Ground zero is Parasol’s, the Irish Channel’s enduring, neighborhood bar. After you have finished imbibing for the afternoon, make sure to grab one of their fabulous, roast beef poboys. And here’s a link to everything you ever wanted to know about said poboy, and more!

Hopefully you have taken a disco nap, and now are ready for phase two of your Saturday. Of course, the Foburg Festival is still going on. The beauty of this whole set-up is that you have bought a pass and can get into any of the venues, and they are all in close proximity, so you can just cruise the street and drop in anytime you like what you hear. Speaking of liking what you hear, also going on tonight is the Noisician Coalition‘s Cacophany Ball over at One-Eyed Jack’s. It is always one of my favorite moments when The Coalition and I cross paths at a festival, however I’m not sure I could sit in a room with them for more than maybe, half an hour. Still, that half hour would be worth it. They look like a cyberpunk deck of cards playing the hell out of the remnants of an explosion. Show at 10. Dress in white, red and black, $8.

A Second-Line and a Song

So, I didn’t recommend going to the “Bury the Aint’s” parade yesterday because, frankly, I’m over the football people. But, I ended up there against my will, and it was really something else. My favorite moment was watching it through the eyes of some out-of-towners who happened to be sitting in the bar where I work, and the whole thing just erupted around them and they had no idea what was going on. They looked like kids on Christmas morning. So, I’m going to stop being a spoil sport and recommend some parading for today. From 12-4 is the Treme Sidewalk Steppers Second-Line and I couldn’t pitch it any better than the post about it in the Blog of New Orleans.

Your all revved up, and full of community spirit. Now keep your cynic in the closet, and go over to the Ashe Cultural Arts Center and sing your little heart out. I’ll repost the blurb from their blog:
On Sunday, February 21, 2010, from 4-6 p.m., the community is invited to gather for a sing-along, led by local vocalists. Given the success of, and community involvement in the Lift Every Voice and Sing Concert in January, Ashé Cultural Arts Center will host A Community Sings. Producer Michaela Harrison calls it an opportunity for reconnecting with friends and family in a positive and fun way. It gives individuals a chance to forget about their problems, leave their stressors behind, meet new people, and just sing. Participants are encouraged to share one or two of their favorite songs, and hear them come alive when the entire group gets involved in the crooning. If you plan to share a song, please e-mail the lyrics to Michaela Harrison by February 18 at irawoomi@hotmail.com so that they can be projected during the sing-along. Bring a notebook to write down the words so that you can keep singing and sharing them when you go home.

Mardi Gras, yo. You can make it one more day.

Maybe you’re up bright and early, or more likely, you’ve been up all night and you don’t want the party end. Well, if you are in the latter category you don’t need my help figuring out what to do today. You are a real partier, and you’re definitely not web-surfing (do the kids still call it that?) at 8 am, someone has already dragged you to Mimi’s, where you’re waiting for the Society of Saint Anne marching club to assemble. Which will look something like this:

Just give yourself over to the tide. Theoretically, the goal of St. Anne is to be a marching club that takes its members to see Rex, the king of Carnival. But, along the way, St. Anne takes her children through the French Quarter, where most of them get lost. A little too close to home, huh? See, you’re not even listening to me anymore.

Have fun!!!