Houston’s Buxton are no stranger to the city of New Orleans, as Friday night’s show at The Howlin’ Wolf Den will be their fourth trip to town in the last 18 months.  But these frequent visits – making them a fixture of the local scene in a way even some local bands are not – have all been justified as the last year and a half has been an explosive time for the imaginative folk rock collective.  In January they released Nothing Here Seems Strange, their third full length offering and first on Austin’s New West Records, and have been touring almost non-stop since.

Each time they’ve passed through, they seem to show one extra dimension after another beneath their already shifty sound.  Guitarists Jason Willis and Austin Sepulvado also happen to lay mandolin and squeeze box to waste with ease, the rhythm section of bassist Chris Wise and drummer Justin Terrell dynamically bounce into and out of lock-step, and the vocal harmonies of relative newcomer Haley Barnes add depth to lead singer Sergio Trevino’s distinctive warble.  The result is a hard-to-define blend of progressive indie pop and southern roots rock that is never too precious and, in a live setting, often rambles into multi-faceted demonstrations of dazzling virtuosity.  This time around they are joined by San Diego’s The Donkeys.

MP3: Buxton: “Broke From Bread”

05.19: The Lumineers + Michael James – Circle Bar

05.20: SS Boombox + I’m Fine + Brave Companions – The Big Top

05.23: Father John Misty + Har Mar Superstar – One Eyed Jacks

Check out our New Orleans Music Calendar for a full slate of constantly updated live picks

Organizers have also dispensed with a schedule of official after-shows in favor of a kick-off party on Thursday.  Almost eight hours of music on each of two stages turns the Festival into a four-day affair for those arriving early and adds standouts like Big Gigantic (winners of this year’s Buku Music and Art Project), Boombox, and our own Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and The Revivalists to the weekend’s bill.  A comfortably spaced schedule and limited number of stages almost eliminates anxiety-inducing mortal conflicts, but we’ve still put together a short list of acts that come highly recommended.

5/18: Alabama Shakes – Chevrolet Stage, 2:15PM

Rarely does New Orleans (or anywhere in the Gulf South, for that matter) get included on the early-buzz circuit that sweeps the “The Next Big Thing” to sold-out showcases in the Brooklyns, Austins, Los Angeleses, and Londons of the world.  While the deft promoters and talent buyers in our city have a knack for catching bands before they blow up as well as bringing a continuously impressive string of de rigeour national acts to town, The Alabama Shakes‘ January visit to One Eyed Jacks hot on the heels of their successful CMJ run and subsequent signing to ATO and Rough Trade felt like an extra special treat – the timing of which was likely equal parts savvy booking and just plain dumb luck.

Playing an early show to a crowd as large as any we’ve ever seen packed into the French Quarter’s premiere rock club, the Alabama Shakes torched the stage with the raw fury of a band about as wide-eyed and excitable as the diverse audience assembled to get a sneak peek at the much-talked about southern roots rockers.  Lead singer Brittany Howard and bassist Zac Cockrell went well beyond validating the Shakes’ status as band of the moment with a performance that overflowed with virtuosity and charm, and it’s exciting to think what they may pull off on their home turf with a few months of high pressure gigs under their belts.

5/19: Dr. Dog – “Letting Go” Stage, 4:15PM

If you’re the type who perpetually thinks about music in terms of “the zeitgeist”, then unfortunately there’s a good chance that you’ve either never closely listened to Dr. Dog or simply disregarded them. Nevertheless, this Philadelphia group’s charm has always been their ability to craft songs as attentive to pop accessibility as they are to creative high-mindedness. While not the cataclysmic, industry-changing creations that get routinely credited to the Animal Collectives and Arcade Fires and White Stripeses of the world, the music waxed by Dr. Dog – songs that end up being traded, e-mailed, linked and placed on countless playlists and mixes – is more akin to a catalog of indie rock radio hits, sans the radio or any real criterion point for what constitutes a “hit”.

But then again, I doubt Dr. Dog have ever given much thought to their place in such a zeitgeist, and in that capacity these guys probably aren’t making music for us wannabe patricianists. À la The Band circa Cahoots, existing both within and decidedly outside of the artiste-driven national musical climate surrounding them, Dr. Dog rides a whimsical creative model for the type of band whose true colors one can really only experience in a stage setting with a revelrous atmosphere capable of matching their unique penchant for the free energy of unpretentious rock and roll. Unsurprisingly, the Gulf Coast has often been, aside from the Philly area itself, a perfect entry point for Dr. Dog’s unfettered live mix of pop, psychedelia and multi-instrumental virtuosity, and the opportunity to see them on the Hangout Fest pedestal on late Saturday afternoon should not be missed.

5/20: Mavis Staples – Chevrolet Stage, 1:45PM

The most emotionally charged moment of this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival came at the very start of what was supposed to be the first of two scheduled appearances by soul and R&B legend Mavis Staples.  She kicked off her Friday afternoon set in the Gospel tent with a rousing rendition of The Band’s “The Weight”, evoking her standout performance in the seminal concert flick The Last Waltz. At the song’s conclusion, Staples raised her arms to the sky and repeatedly shouted “Levon Helm!” as the standing-room only crowd rose to their feet and cheered wildly in a celebratory eulogy that lasted a full three minutes.  It was just weeks since the venerable drummer and vocalist, with whom Staples was slated to share the stage the very next day, had passed away; and of all the Jazz Fest tributes Helm inspired, her’s was the most moving and impassioned.

Along with the rest of her wide ranging set, that moment demonstrated the enduring power of Mavis Staples’ voice as well as her effortlessly wonderful sensibilities, both musical and otherwise.  After over 45 years at the front of the one of the most influential spirituality-based groups of all time in The Staples Singers and after appearing on the recorded work of everyone from Bob Dylan to Los Lobos, Mavis is once again in the midst of yet another creative renaissance after winning her first Grammy for last year’s Jeff Tweedy-produced Americana album You Are Not Alone. Plus, with Wilco in town for a their own Friday slot at Hangout, the potential for a surprise cameo (in one way or another) is at an all time high.

It’s been nearly a year since the public last had opportunity to bob its collective head to new music from New Orleans-based garage punk godfather King Louie Bankston, but he and his Missing Monuments are ready to come out swinging in the second half of 2012. Today the power pop quartet unleashes new single “(I’m Gonna) Love You Back To Life” as they brace themselves for a non-stop two-week tour of the Western United States.

Directed by Art Boonparn - who has previously helmed the camera for the likes of Cold Cave, Xray Eyeballs and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart – and featuring technical work from Antigravity Magazine head Dan Fox and veteran cameraman Gary LoVerde, the video sets nineties-inspired, candid found-footage against hilarious product placements of several local food items, extolling the ways they can be used to soak a Gibson Flying-V and destroy a hot tub pump system. The deceptively sweet-spirited “(I’m Gonna) Love You Back To Life” is one part of an upcoming 7″ to be released through Chicago’s Hozac Records in July.

On Tour:

Thur, 05.17 – Lafayette, LA – The Wild Salmon with One Man Machine

Fri, 05.18 – Houston, TX – SuperHappyFunLand with Broken Dream Boat + The Goonies

Sat, 05.19 – Austin, TX – Spider House with Pharaohs + Gory Details + Crooked Bangs + Gremlins UK + Burnt Skull

Mon, 05.21 – Tucson, AZ – The District with Lenguas Largas

Tues, 05.22 – Phoenix, AZ – Yucca Tap Room with The Hookers

Wed, 05.23 – San Diego, CA – Tower Bar with Chemicals + Rail Them To Death

Wed, 05.23 – Tijuana, MX – Bar La Terraza with Chemicals + The Lumps

Thur, 05.24 – Long Beach, CA – The Prospector with Chemicals + White Murder

Fri, 05.25 – Los Angeles, CA -  Redwood Bar with Chemicals + Cochinas

Sat, 05.26 – Oakland, CA – Vitus with Personal & The Pizzas + Royal Headache + Mean Jeans + The Chemicals

Sun, 05. 27 – San Francisco, CA – Parkside with Chemicals + Top Ten + Suicide Notes

Tue, 05.29 – Seattle, WA – Rendezvous with Chemicals + Sick Secrets + Red Hex

Fri, 06.01 – Salt Lake City, UT – Mixed Emotions

Sat, 06.02 – Denver, CO – Blastomat

Sun, 06.03 – Albequerque, NM – Sister

Mon, 06.04 – Shreveport, LA – Minicine with Riverwolves

Tue, 06.05 – Beaumont, TX – A Warehouse (1078 Lindbergh)

self-released, 2012

In the five plus years since songwriter Alynda Lee Segarra began the project, Hurray For The Riff Raff have always been a standout in the particular genre of waltzy folk-pop common among the groups of buskers and street musicians who’ve established formal musical partnerships in New Orleans.  In a spectrum that is bounded by the delightful Bywater orchestra Why Are We Building Such A Big Ship? at it’s most baroque extreme, HFTRR’s country tinged ballads have existed comfortably at the opposite, more modestly appointed end.

While the band has undergone the requisite personnel shifts common in this city’s close knit community, the stylistic evolution of Hurray For The Riff Raff has really only taken a sharp turn in the last year as Segarra has stepped out as the band’s principal songwriter.  The result, this month’s Look Out Mama, is an enchanting mix of all things Americana, with her acrobatically plaintive voice backed by sonically rich arrangements that still manage to be deceptive in their simplicity.

The album’s opening act, with the title track as a centerpiece, provide cool comfort to those familiar with Hurray For The Riff Raff’s simple, southern-folk origins, but in the rambling second half of Look Out Mama, Segarra and Co. assert themselves as far more than a simple, southern-folk band.  The surfy guitar breaks in the rollicking “Lake Of Fire” add a rockabilly swing to an already danceable number, and whining harmonica in “Born To Win (Part 1)” gives the exaltive shanty a subdued, early-Crazy Horse sheen. But as an example of the diversity Hurray For The Riff Raff offers on their newest set, the sprawling “Ode To John and Yoko” is the album’s true standout. By the time you reach the song’s playful Rubber Soul-era Beatles coda, the nearly six minute tour de force of psychedelic backwards guitar and breathy background vocals has shown off both emotive ends of Alynda Lee’s impressive register as well as a daring slant to her natural songwriting talent.

Even with a few decided departures from their normally tradition-steeped sound, the even-handed and confidently restrained production of Look Out Mama (handled by the same Andrija Tokic behind Alabama Shakes’ much buzzed-about Boys and Girls) injects every tune with a familiar vulnerability and intrigue, consistently complementing Hurray For The Riff Raff’s subtle exploration and never seeming to clash with it.

Look Out Mama at Euclid Records

Heatseeking New Orleans-by-way-of-Oakland rapper G-Eazy has released the official video for “Marilyn”, his fantastic duet with local singer/songwriter Dominique LeJeune.  G is currently supporting Harlem buzz-rapper A$AP Rocky on select dates before he jumps aboard the 2012 Vans Warped Tour, which will take him to 41 cities in two months.

As leader of vaudevillian cabaret outfit The New Orleans Bingo! Show, saxophonist and vocalist for The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and experimental collaborator with avant-cellist Helen Gillet, multi-instrumentalist Clint Maedgan is one of the hardest working musicians in the city.  He’s fixing to get busier with the release of his new solo EP, WILDFIRE, available on Bandcamp under a name-your-price arrangement.  He will be supporting the album with a string of Clint Maedgan’s One Man Show performances around town this summer.

King Louie Bankston is taking his Missing Monuments to the West Coast.  The prolific godfather of underground scenes all over the country will spend the back half of May working his way to the Pacific Northwest and back with stops in Texas, California, Denver, Arizona and even Tijuana.  Portland punk rockers Chemicals will join for many dates.

Up-and-coming noize pop trio Habitat have released their long-awaiting recording debut in a self-titled demo. The five song offering, produced with the help of DIY multi-talent Byron Chance (Choi Wolf, Glish, Munchausens), finds Jack Donovan and Co. gearing up for their first tour, kicking off May 18 at Circle Bar.

So it would appear that this is it, the slow-coming official winding-down of Country Club, one of New Orleans’ most universally beloved rock and roll bands over the course of the last two years. After a short but eventful career that found them dipping their toes in the waters of college roots rock a la the Revivalists before abandoning that scene in favor of the edge-cutting DIY ethos of underground rock locus Chinquapin Records (where they thrived as a favorite among concertgoers and flourished leaps and bounds creatively), this local indie Americana five-piece officially announced an amicable parting of ways this past February.

To say that the announcement was a disappointment to the community would be a massive understatement. While one could squabble over the superficial and abstract details of nearly every band this small but bustling city has to offer (i.e., this band could benefit from a better singer, that band’s drummer needs work, those guys have great riffs but their lyrics are pedestrian), by the time Country Club had begun to emerge with the material on what was to become their second full-length record, they were the inarguable complete package, with not even the tiniest fissure in the armor of their Guthrie-meets-Stones-meets-Strokes milieu to be found. They were the epitome of the great American band: imaginative, collaborative songwriters whose ideas were complemented, but not out-shined by, their obvious physical talents.

Before anyone really had time to get their bearings, the members of Country Club decided to call it a day (hopefully not forever). As such, New Grass Country Club – the band’s sophomore record, released today – shall be their last (hopefully not forever). But to both see themselves off and launch the album into the indie rock ether, Country Club is reconvening at 12 Bar on Fulton Street tonight for one last raucous and revelatory performance (hopefully not forever) amid a setting that includes a crawfish boil, a free keg and appearances by their closest friends in swamp-core champions Sun Hotel, noise pop pioneers Caddywhompus and consummately cultured DJ duo KG Accidental.

Stream: Country Club: “Future Days” | Download

05.11: Choi Wolf + Mailbomber + Adults – The Maze

05.12: The Local Skank + Letters to Voltron + I Luv Luv Birds – Circle Bar

05.13: Lovey Dovies + Heat Dust + God Townes – AllWays Lounge

05.14: Toy Bombs + Cliff Hines + Jeremy Owens – Howlin’ Wolf Den

05.16: He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister + Coyotes + Gold And The Rush – Siberia

Check out our New Orleans Music Calendar for a full slate of constantly updated live picks

During his tenure with the Foo Fighters, Grohl has established himself as an undisputed champion of whatever right and good is left in today’s hostile and discouraging entertainment climate in such a dominating fashion, it’s almost impossible to believe that this hero of the aughts and beyond was in a former life a member of one of the most critically heralded, mystic and legendary bands of all time.  Morose as the line of thinking may be, one is only left to wonder how things would have worked out if Nirvana did not end in the exact manner in which it did.

Even without Kurt Cobain’s still highly conspiracized suicide in 1994, it’s entirely possible that 1993′s In Utero could have been Nirvana’s final album: A row over songwriting royalties in the immediate wake of Nevermind‘s unfettered success caused a deep-seated rift among the band’s three members and Cobain’s health problems – an interconnected melange of alcoholism, severe heroin addiction and a chronic, yet undiagnosed, stomach condition – began threatening Nirvana’s solvency as early as the spring of 1992.  Add to that the classic tropes of a major label unhappy with a band’s finished product, the band unhappy with the producer’s final mixes and a cancelled world tour, and In Utero begins to more and more take the shape of the precipitate of a buzzband’s demise.

But as the unwitting poster-children of the commitization of the Pacific Northwest’s “grunge” culture, it is indeed far more likely the music industry would have kept Nirvana churning out records until their utility had expired; and Cobain’s tortured public persona and private life – including a toxic and tumultuous relationship with Courtney Love – had already begun to exhaust the good will engendered by his seminal songwriting even before he tragically took his own life. Nirvana existed in a time when every band regardless of talent seemed inevitably doomed by the superficiality of popular music in general, and – by almost any calculation – the fall of Nirvana would have been set against (and probably expedited by) one of the ugliest cultural backdrops of the last 50 years.

A true second act in rock and roll is a luxury afforded to a very seldom few, and while the timing and nature of Nirvana’s dissolution probably caused Dave Grohl more stress than ease, it may have left more daylight for a true follow-up than if Nirvana ended battered and destroyed a decade later. Still, as the grunge audience surrounding the 1995 release of Foo Fighters’ self-titled debut began to take on the appearance of nothing more than a series of splinters, Grohl was forced to both start from scratch and exist in one of the largest and darkest shadows of the era.  That he emerged at all – let alone as the leader of what has become one of the most successful and popular bands of all time – is an astonishing testament to his musical talent and seemingly preternatural knack for handling almost every situation in the most awesome way imaginable.

MP3: Foo Fighters: “Big Me”