GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

For a super urban neighborhood just south of Claiborne Avenue, Goldfinches was relatively quiet at night.

I heard a little bit music from the Candlelight Lounge that’s a block away. The last night I did not sleep well at all.

There was a lot of noise from an adjacent room. Not people partying, just lots of banging around the thuds.  

So be advised, Goldfinches is a house carved up into a bunch of rooms with walls thinner than a hotel’s.

Pack ear plugs and appreciate the low price point of the lodging.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

Probably the biggest negative is there’s really only a tiny window in the Goldfinches’ room so there’s very little natural light because half of that window is taken up by the air conditioning unit.

I’m the kind of person it out and about 16 hours a day, so I just needed to sleep, so the darkness was fine.

But those that need a little natural light might be slightly disappointed. One small negative is it’s three steps up into the bathroom.

One night I tripped and fell on those steps.

Some have commented that the room is too small, but I stayed nearly a week and never felt claustrophobic.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

It’s a tad confusing getting through a gate and storing bags in an outdoor locker, but the staff was amazing.

They addressed every need and every question -- and I’m the kind of person to ask lots of questions.

They had a list of about two dozen things like food, places, offbeat, museums little bars, not so well-known coffee, shops.

All of their recommendations were outstanding.

They mentioned a couple of careworn corner food stores that a tourist would normally never go to.

But I got fabulous Po-boys and gumbo based on their recommendations.

Bottom line, I paid under $100 per night for a room that gave me access to everything I wanted to do in New Orleans.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans has a crime issue and Treme is not a gilded neighborhood, but I always felt 100% safe and walked everywhere.

I never took a taxi home to Goldfinches.

I got home after midnight from seeing the great New Orleans music and I walked the back streets of Treme to see different architecture and unique things while getting back to the room I never felt endangered in the least.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

The Goldfinches room is small but very efficient. I love that there were pots and pans, a microwave and a regular oven.

You can heat up leftovers of the great New Orleans food after storing them in a dorm-sized fridge to that worked perfectly.

The shower has nice long lasting hot water.

The bed was comfortable and there was a little table to eat breakfast at.

The room has good air conditioning and it also has a portable space heater for the cooler winter nights.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

There are a lot of pluses about Goldfinches’ great location.

You can easily walk into the French Quarter.

It’s also in the heart of Treme and its attractions such as the Backstreets Cultural Museum, Petite Jazz Museum, a couple cool independent coffee shops and the incomparable Kermit’s Mother-In-Law Lounge on Claiborne Avenue.

On the other side of Claiborne is the Laffite Greenway, which you can walk through Mid-City all the way to Bayou Saint John.

There is a bus line along Claiborne just to the north and Rampart Street just to the south, for good transit connections.

DR. JOHN -- IN THE RIGHT PLACE

Mini video clip from front row, center, Tipitina's: 12-27-2016

DR. JOHN LIVE -- TIPITINA'S -- UPTOWN, NEW ORLEANS

How Come My Dog Don't Bark (When You Come Around)?

DR. JOHN IKO IKO LIVE CLIP

TIPITINA'S, NEW ORLEANS, 12-27-2016

AKA MALCOLM JOHN "MAC" REBENNACK

Sent pictures from front row to my dear friend Frank....then enjoyed the incomparable baked goods made at the direction of his superstar daughter then next day at Willa Jean in New Orleans

DR. JOHN AND THE NITE TRIPPERS LIVE DEC 27 AT TIPITINA'S

Tipitina's is a music venue located at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Local music enthusiasts opened the venue on January 14, 1977. The name was inspired by a well-known song, "Tipitina", by Professor Longhair who also performed there until his death in 1980. Before adopting use of "Tipitina's" as its name, the facility was known as "The 501 Club," in reference to its street address (501 Napoleon Avenue). Tipitina's stands as one of the best-known clubs in New Orleans. The building itself was constructed in 1912, and prior to becoming Tipitina's, it served as a gambling house, gymnasium, and brothel.

In the early years, it had a juice bar, restaurant, and a bar. The only remnant of the juice bar is the banana in Tipitina's logo. In the early 1980s, the studios of radio station WWOZ were located in one of the apartments upstairs from the club. During that time, occasionally, WWOZ would carry a Tipitina's show live by literally lowering a microphone into the club through a hole in the floor.  Tipitina's closed for a time during the 1984 World's Fair, when much of the local music scene was drawn to venues in and around the Fair. The building was then remodeled to remove the upstairs apartments in favor of a higher ceiling in the downstairs music venue and reopened.

In 1998, Tipitinas opened a second location on North Peters Street in the French Quarter,^[4] which for a time was also a regular live music venue as well as open for private events and parties but is currently closed. Apart from running these venues, Tipitina's has established the Tipitina's Foundation, a non-profit organization to support local music and musicians. The main focus of the Tipitina's Foundation is to provide musical instruments and uniforms to New Orleans public high school Marching Bands. The Foundation has been especially active in supporting the musicians victimized by Hurricane Katrina.^[5]

During the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival period, Tipitina's hosts a concert series titled "Fess Jazztival", which is a play on "Jazz Festival" and Professor Longhair's nickname, "Fess".

http://tipitinas.com/

LEYLA MCCALLA OPENED FOR DR. JOHN

I would never be so rude as to boo an opening act off the stage, but as I age, and want to get to bed relatively close to midnight -- even on big show night out night -- openers sometimes feel like an unnecessary delay that will push the headliner's start back so late, that I'll only get a half night's sleep.

Layla McCalla is the opposite of an opening act that is mere parsley on the plate, as you await the main course.

She is captivating, amazing, super talent.

She had us at the first song. So much heart, soul and big music from a little trio.

Living in Miami, we have lots of Haitian friends and are somewhat familiar with the music of Haiti.

But McCalla, Haitian rooted/New York raised added a whole new dimension to Haitian Creole and French singing strained threw New Orleans' incomparable musical gumbo.

She's great with the audience as well. Opening up her heart and sharing just enough details about her life, heritage, the meaning behind the lyrics, the verve behind the music.

She played maybe 45 minutes. It went by like 10.

We half hoped she would join Dr. John or even cook up some unheard of approach to coming out and playing after the headliner was done, the house lights were up and a few dozen loyal fans stuck around to hear her.

We would see her headlining a show in a heartbeat.

She's new artist of the year, in our book, so long as it isn't an insult to call a classically trained, young veteran artist a "newcomer."

--courtesy of her website:

Leyla McCalla is a New York-born Haitian-American living in New Orleans, who sings in French, Haitian Creole and English, and plays cello, tenor banjo and guitar. Deeply influenced by traditional Creole, Cajun and Haitian music, as well as by American jazz and folk, her music is at once earthy, elegant, soulful and witty — it vibrates with three centuries of history, yet also feels strikingly fresh, distinctive and contemporary.

Leyla’s debut album, Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes, was named 2013’s Album of the Year by the London Sunday Times and Songlines magazine, and received additional raves from a number of other publications, including the New York Times, Boston Globe and Offbeat, for its haunting mixture of music and message.

Now, having toured extensively in the U.S., Europe and Israel in support of Vari-Colored Songs, Leyla is focusing on her next album. Titled A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey, the album will be released in the spring of 2016 by Jazz Village/Harmonia Mundi.

 A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey will continue to explore the themes of social justice and pan-African consciousness that marked Vari-Colored Songs, and will once again feature songs sung in English, French and Haitian Creole. The album will also include guest appearances by legendary guitarist Marc Ribot, Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Louis Michot of the Lost Bayou Ramblers, and New Orleans singer-songwriter/guitarist Sarah Quintana.

http://leylamccalla.com/

DR. JOHN LIVE AND THE NITE TRIPPERS AT TIPITINA'S

THE FABULOUS NITE TRIPPERS BACKING BAND

Amazing horn section -- live at Tipitina's 12-27-2016

DR. JOHN LIVE AT TIPITINA'S

FRONT ROW SEAT, HEART OF NAWLINS, DEC. 27

He played 2 hours straight, without a pause.

DR. JOHN SOLD OUT SHOW AT TIPITINA'S

No banter with the audience, just dozens of great songs from his song book plus some Nawlins classics.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. JOHN!

HAPPY 76TH TO MALCOLM JOHN REBENNACK

A true American original.

Disciple of Professor Longhair.

The Night Tripper.

Grand Diplomat of all things New Orleans.

Purveyor of Jazz, Blues, Rock, Boogie Woogie and Zydeco all mixed into a musical gumbo that has entertained us for more than half a century.