Monster Mash!

JB's Zydeco Zoo Tonight

Here's a little clip of JB's Zydeco Zoo. They throw down tonight at the Bradfordville Blues Club at 9:30.

Musical Howling This Weekend In Tally

Tallahassee band Harvest Gypsies  -- so very pop-jazzy, danceable and soulful, with really wonderful orginals -- plays a benefit at The Warehouse tonight for The Alzheimer's Project, Inc., Halloween costumes encouraged -- Doors open 7:30 -8:00. Johnny and the Angels will play from 8:30 to 9:00 and then Harvest Gypsies play from 9:00 - 12:30. $5 cover. There will be games and a BBQ food truck.

Also tonight, Jazz trumpeter Scotty Barnhart plays with a smokin' quintet at 9:30 p.m. at Hi Jazz Cafe. It's a $10 cover, and a $10 minimum per table.

Saturday, JB's Zydeco Zoo hosts a dance party at Bradfordville Blues Club at 9:30 (sorry, not sure of the cover) and funkateers Crooked Shooz play The American Legion Hall --  $8 per person, $15 per couple.

Have fun out there!

Do You Voodoo?

It wouldn't be Halloween in New Orleans without Voodoo Music Experience at City Park in the Big Easy this weekend. This is the 13th year for this festival. There's no camping, so you've got to find a hotel or a NOLA friend.

Better put some effort into your costume, this is New Orleans. Don't slack. You can see some of the art installations here and if you can't make it over to NOLA, there's a radio webcast by Free Yr radio.

Tickets are $150 for 3 days.

Check out this crazy fantastic lineup:

* Soundgarden


* Blink 182

* Steve Angello

* Snoop Dogg

* My Chemical Romance

* Girl Talk

* The Raconteurs

* Band of Horses

* Fatboy Slim

* TV on the Radio

* Cheap Trick

* Dr. John

* Ray Davies

* Odd Future

* Portugal. The Man

* Fishbone

* Major Lazer

* X

* Social Distortion

* Mastodon

* Ozomatli

* Ani DiFranco with Ivan Neville and Herlin Riley

* Mates of State

* Dirty South

* Fitz and The Tantrums

* Blind Pilot

* The Wombats

* Civil Twilight

* Peelander Z

* Cassy

* King Britt

* Ever Expanding Elastic waistband w/Members of Morphine with Jeremy Lyons

* Mike Relm

* The Bangerz

* Claude VonStroke

* A-Trak

* The Static Jacks

* Quickie Mart and Tony Skratchere

* Red Baraat

* The Vettes

* Mary Jane Coles

* Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes

* Honey Island Swamp Band

* Force Feed Radio

* Fleur De Bris with Tork and Porter (David Torkanowsky & George Porter)

* Mississippi Rail Company and friends

* Ernie Vincent

* Three

* BeauSoleil w/ Dr. Michael White

* Kora Konnection feat. Morikeba Kouyate & Thierno Dioubate

* The High Ground Drifters Bluegrass Band

* Natalie Mae & Her Unturned Tricks

* Quintron & Miss Pussycat

* Cheeky Blakk

* Dangermuffin

* Achachay

* Noisician Coalition

* City And Colour

* Z-Trip

* Daedelus

* Boots Electric

* MyNameIsJohnMichael

* Kreayshawn

* Gordan Gano (Violent Femmes) and the Lost Bayou Ramblers

* Lee Burridge

* Star Eyes

* Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk w special guests

* Bobby Rush

* Soul Rebels Brass Band w Cyril Neville

* Danny Howells

* Iris May Tango

* Illluminasti Trio plus 1 featuring Mike Dillon

* James Singleton

* Skerik and Brian Coogan

* Fort Knox Five

* Craig Richards

* Tommy Malone and the Hard Heads

* Chris Thomas King

* Treme Brass Band

* Tao Seeger Brass Band

* Palmetto Bug Stompers

* Morning 40 Federation

* Deniz Kurtal

* Rotary Downs

* The Happy Talk Band

* The Revivalists

* Carmine P. Filthy

* Kyle Turley

* Hurray for the Riff Raff

* R. Scully's Rough 7

* Katey Red

* Vockah Redu

* The Limousines

* Wolf+Lamb

* Givers

* "Ma Maison" with the Trey McIntyre Project and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

* Jackmaster

* Glen David Andrews

* Mannie Fresh

* DJ Swamp

* Soul Clap

* Bonerama featuring Dave Malone of the Radiators

* The Travelin' McCoury's w Keller Williams

* The Sheepdogs

* Stone Foxes

* The One AM Radio

* Tanner Ross w Voices of Black

* American Legacies with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band

* New Orleans Klezmer Allstars

* Leo Jackson and The Melody Clouds

* Christoph Andersson

* The New Orleans Bingo! Show

* SWISS CHRISS

* Fleur De Tease

* King James and The Special Men

* Miracle at St. Anna

Amazing Carved Slopryland Pumpkins!

Every year at Magnolia Fest, we are treated to the wondrous hospitality of the after-hours stage at Slopryland, courtesy of the Wisconsin string band, Sloppy Joe. They build a tiki hut ot of palm fronds, fill the trees with hanging pumpkin lanterns, and keep an enormous bonfire going all weekend long for all manner of pickers to enjoy.

One of the best things is always the amazingly carved pumpkins, mostly courtesy of Stef Lee, Sloppy Joe singer, composer, banjo player, upright bass player, fiddler, and overall awesome chick! I got to watch her put the finishing touches on this gourd upright bass:

This one had exposed brains:

This one had a skeleton coming out of the side of its head:

Here are some more:

THANKS, SLOPRYLAND!!!

Seven Walkers Tonight At Magnolia Fest

Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann's band, Seven Walkers, headlines the first night of Magnolia Fest tonight at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. Papa Mali, Matt Hubbard,  and funkateer George Porter, Jr. (The Funky Meters) round out the band .

It's going to be a beautiful weekend for bonfires and dancing, and festgrrl's outta here.


Here's a little Seven Walkers for you:

Ska La La

Ska  stalwarts The Toasters play The Engine Room in Tallahassee Wednesday night.  The Toasters are from New York City, and they have been around for 29 years (though not with all their original members.)  Cover is $10 and doors open at 8pm. (Ladies, please be forewarned that there is a no high heels policy at The Engine Room. No, I don't know why. Just don't wear them.)

I enjoyed some frenetic dancetastic Toaster shows in the '80s. Here's a link to a truly fantastic live show video of  The Toasters playing the Cat Club  then (1986) and in Philadelphia this year: