Finally, a band we can all agree on. The, er, Red Fish makes fairly straightforward, country-informed rock music featuring plainspoken vocals, guitar-based instrumentation and regular time signatures, which, theoretically, should place the band squarely in the crosshairs of Quint Davis and Co. It also happens to be largely under the radar and really, really good, which unfortunately makes it exactly the kind of local rock act that has eluded the Jazz Fest bookers in recent years. “Call Me Baby,” from 2006’s Nashvegas EP, gives us an idea of what Uncle Tupelo might sound like today had Jeff Tweedy not chosen to do battle with Warner Bros. Records instead of Jay Farrar. A giddyup rhythm; a steady acoustic strum; a plaintive, world-weary voice: “Come out around Friday, stay for a day or two/You don’t have to call me baby like you used to.” A sad twang in the lyrics to match the one in the music? Tweedy and Farrar would be proud.

Les Poissons Rouges performs at the Dragon’s Den tonight at 10 p.m. 

by Sam Winston

So Turkey just won its second improbable, no unfathomable, game to enter the semi-finals of the Euro Cup against Germany. And every single German just muttered under their breath, “Oh Sh*!”

The Turkish make up the overwhelming largest minority group in Germany, and well, let’s just say relationships between the two can be strained at times. To put it another way, often when I get complimented on my German, its followed by some sort of comparison to the Turkish who never bother to learn the language. The situation is a lot more nuanced of course, but you get the idea.

Now there’s five long days until the two country’s soccer teams will face off. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday while the state remained focused on the Legislature’s proposed pay raise, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the emergency war supplemental bill. The bill includes $5.8 billion for the 100-year hurricane protection system, but also could impede Louisiana’s coastal restoration efforts for years to come.

As previously discussed, the House version of the supplemental bill requires the state pay its federal cost-share, $1.8 billion, in just three years, instead of over a 30-year span as stipulated in the Senate version of the bill. This means that even though the state set aside $300 million this year for hurricane protection and coastal restoration efforts, up from the pre-Katrina average of $40 million, all of that money and much more will likely only go towards the hurricane protection system.

Originally, state officials hoped the $300 million could be used for the hurricane protection and the 17 coastal restoration projects authorized by the Congress in the 2007 Water Resources and Development Act. As of yesterday, that’s no longer the case. Read the rest of this entry »

Tickets to the tenth annual Voodoo Music Experience went on special pre-sale today. From 8am till 8pm Eastern time, the three-day pass to the fest - October 24-26, 2008 - will be only $100, so go snap ‘em up. Starting Monday, the three-day passes go up to $115 (okay, so it’s not so much of a deal, but you’ll feel thrifty) and the schmancy $450 Loa passes, which get you all kinds of VIP seating and premium food and drink concessions, will be available. View the lineup for Voodoo X here.