TIPITINA'S

Located at the corner of Napolean Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown, Tipitina's is one of the most well-known music venues in New Orleans.  On Tuesday, November 13th, I was lucky enough to experience a show at Tipitina's for the first time!  The headliner that night was Dr. Dog, a favorite band of mine that is based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The venue had an amazing atmosphere.  The staff was very funny and friendly, the walls were covered in old posters and flyers, and the crowd was very enthusiastic about Dr. Dog and their opener, Cotton Jones.  I was lucky enough to get a spot right in front of the stage, but the venue is pretty small and intimate, so any spot was really a great one.  There was also a second level with a balcony where fans could stand and watch the performance.  Cotton Jones was a great opening act.  I had never heard of them before, but their mellow acoustics and harmonies paired with instruments such as the omnichord, organ, and tuba was a perfect warmup to get ready for the more rock n' roll stylings of Dr. Dog.  I was surprised to find out that Cotton Jones was from my home state of Maryland!  I thought that was pretty cool to see a Maryland band representing all the way down in New Orleans!  
The rest of the concert was fantastic!  Dr. Dog never ceases to amaze me, and I always have a blast dancing and screaming the words out in the crowd.  Their stage presence and energy is always through the roof!  If I remember correctly, the bass player even jumped in the trash can and performed a great chunk of a song from inside of it!  It was great to be able to experience a Dr. Dog live show at a venue as great, intimate, and fun as Tipitina's.  Tipitina's is one of the many small music venues that New Orleans boasts.  That is what I have come to love about New Orleans.  For the most part they could care less about the commercial, mainstream artists that need to play at huge venues.  New Orleans has a great amount of small clubs and venues that cater to artists and fans that are in it for the pure love of music!  It is an up close and personal experience and connection between the artist and the audience.  It almost felt like I was at a private concert in my home!  I hope New Orleans continues to foster these types of musical experiences for the locals and tourists for years and years to come!  I strongly encourage everyone to check out Tipitina's and the other great smaller music venues around the New Orleans area!