Dave man...
when I was last in New Orleans, in 2004 (pre-Katrina) I went to a cracking blues jam, on a Sunday night, at a bar called Checkpoint Charlie's. At 501 Esplanade Ave, it says here (on the interweb). It was at the far (eastern) end of the French Quarter where it borders with a very elegant area called Faubourg Marigny. The bar was noted for its inhouse launderette (or laundromat, as they insist on calling it).
And adjoining/joining Esplanade is Frenchmen Street, which has a much more appealing and authentic row of groovy music bars, patronised by locals, than does Bourbon Street, which is very themed up and usually full of drunk out-of-town conventioneers out in gangs.
Best place to find out about what's on in N.O. is via the free listings mag, Offbeat, which can be found here
http://www.offbeat.com/
Also, don't miss:
1. oysters at Felix's (even though it's on Bourbon St)
2. cajun dancing at Mulatte's
3. coffee and beignets (doughnuts) at Cafe du Monde on Jackson Sq.
4. Jackson Sq.
5. Crawfish etouffe - or just about anything - at K Pauls Louisiana Kitchen
6. Breakfast at Mothers on Poydras St. It's where the Nevilles go apparently although they must've given it a miss the day i went....
7. a gig at the Maple Leaf. never managed to get there meself but that George Porter Jr out of the Meters seems to play there a lot.
can't help re Memphis, although i've read that Beale St has suffered a similar fate to Bourbon St.
--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Dave Shannon <daveshannon@...> wrote:
A vocalist friend of mine is visiting the US from the UK and looking to visit a jam or two in Memphis and New Orleans. Can anyone recommend some friendly sessions in those fine cities?
Many thanks!
Dave Shannon
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
http://www.myspace.com/beaandthehoneytones
http://www.myspace.com/daveshannonsdeadcatbounce
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