Even though the Ponderosa Stomp is dominating the media attention this weekend, there’s still a lot going on around town. Tonight at Tipitina’s, two bands that have been creating quite a buzz nationally are hitting the uptown stage.
Okkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas that just released a new album, I Am Very Far. I saw them perform on one of the late night talk shows and was impressed with their energy and musicianship. They have been around since the late 1990s and their singer/songwriter Will Sheff is one of the most literate pop song composers I have ever heard. How literate? The band’s name comes from a short story by a fairly obscure Russian author.
The opening act Wye Oak (pictured below), a folk-ish duo from Baltimore, has also been impressing audiences because of the hypnotic stage presence of front woman Jenn Wasner. Her partner, Andy Stack, plays drums and keys, sometimes at the same time.
Free Show of the Week– the Louisiana Music Factory has a great lineup on Saturday afternoon beginning with the return of iconic Sixties personality John Sinclair at 2 PM. Christian Serpas and Ghost Town follow him. The afternoon concludes at 4 PM with a set by Michael Hurtt and His Haunted Hearts. Hurtt is one of the principals in the Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau, the group that puts on the Ponderosa Stomp.
Saturday night, jazz bassist Roland Guerin is doing two sets at the Patrick Taylor Library, which is part of the Ogden Museum complex. The shows are early—at 6 and 8 PM, so there’s plenty of time to head out afterwards.
