The Saturn Bar… On the Fringe — GoNOLA.com
For my most recent GoNola.com post, I tried my best to capture all the magical weirdness of Saturn Bar in the Bywater. Words can’t do the place justice, but I gave it the old college try:
Everything that survived the post-storm cull has surely been left in its place for good reason, and I’d like to believe that whatever ended up in the piles of debris carted out during renovations was not so much discarded, as it was honorably discharged after years of faithful service. Saturn Bar is still packed with plenty of “stuff,” and the diversity of trinkets and knick-knacks nailed to the walls and lined up on shelves (and hung from the ceiling, and stacked in the corners) is nothing short of astounding. But the removal of a barely serviceable pool table, stacks of salvaged lumber, and a few dozen window A/C units in various states of disrepair has turned the once neglected back room into the home of my favorite entry on New Orleans’ respectable list of recurring organized dance parties.
Yeah, this place is awesome, and simply dismissing it as a “dive” would be like saying Sun Hotel plays “college rock”: it is not only technically inaccurate, but borderline insulting.
Circle Bar… The Biggest Little Rock Club in New Orleans — GoNOLA.com
Here is my first piece for GoNola.com, a site that calls itself “The Official ‘What’s Going On In New Orleans’ blog.” I’ll be periodically writing about some of my favorite places to see live music, and I had to start with the all-time great Circle Bar, ground zero for the independent rock side of New Orleans Music (and contender for smallest bar in the universe). A snippet:
You will still get horns, but they are more likely to be blown by members of the (mostly) female ska group The Local Skank than by living legend Terrance Blanchard. And when the guitars ring out, there is a better chance that you are being treated to the noisy swamp-punk of Sun Hotel or the prog experimentation of Smiley With A Knife than the spicy, blues riffs of Walter “Wolfman” Washington or the ragged thunder of Anders Osborne.
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The Matt & Jack Podvast, Episode #005
We decided it was time to get back in the habit of seeing bands we’ve never heard of before perform at venues slightly off the beaten path. And since we’ve got this here microphone and happen to enjoy the sound of our own voices, we decided to record our thoughts and post them on the internets.
In the first edition of our “Independent Live Music Minivast” series, we discuss our recent excursions to Circle Bar and Bank Street Bar for some good old-fashioned free indie rock shows. Sun Hotel and Chicken & Whiskey are the subject of Part 1, with Autotomii, Wildfire, We The Granada, and Smiley With A Knife getting some press on Part 2.
Sun Hotel - Circle Bar - 02.25.10
In New Orleans, low or no cost rock shows are about as omnipresent as beautiful spring weather. Unfortunately, this sheer ubiquity can lead to a disappointing sense of apathy towards both institutions just as easily as it can encourage the full scale engagement that they deserve. I caught an admirable quantity of music during Mardi Gras - the quality of which was no doubt top notch - but it was all the usual suspects at the usual venues.
With the symptoms and side-effects of Mardi Gras fading, I decided it was time to get back in the habit of heading to dive bars to see independent rock bands I know nothing about save the few granules of knowledge I’ve picked up while browsing a Myspace Music page a few minutes before heading out the door. After cross-referencing WWOZ’s Livewire with NOLA DIY, I decided to start my renaissance at Circle bar with local alt-folksters Sun Hotel.
The five-piece band immediately caught my ear with the bright guitars and cool harmonies of their opening salvo, a soft track called “Allways,” and had me captivated by the time they reached the syncopated chorus of their next choice, “Plantation Land.” Waves of reverb moved in and out of the set, but never overshadowed the sharp two man percussion attack or clever, accessible lyrics.
The performance was extremely impressive; full of straightforward, yet energetic, takes on some extremely nimble and well-written tunes. As song after song moved from soaring hook to thoughtful interlude - and then back again - I was reminded of Being There-era Wilco (minus a layer of sonic depth - think “Hotel Arizona” without the organ flourishes) and MyNameIsJohnMichael (minus a layer of pretension - think “The One” without an over-the-top assault of a trash can, or the decision to use one for percussive effect in the first place).
The set was short and the Circle Bar’s acoustics left a lot to be desired. The room was smoky but the beer was cheap. Seating was sparse and all but the front six or seven people standing in the makeshift stage area had to consistently battle obstructed views and patrons trying to gingerly maneuver towards the narrow corridor that leads to the bathrooms, but the music was good, and the night was a success.
