Tracks of the StoneBear Copyright MCMLXIII Uncle Hargus ALL Rights reserved
ROF= Ring of fire Odyssey MEF-H = Marine Expeditionary Force- Hargus
NOL= New Orleans Journey
New Orleans, Louisiana
February '09
ROCK 'N BOWL
When you go to New Orleans... and it's Thursday night... You're in for some real fun; as unique a spectacle as you can find. It was a real treat to finally get to Rock 'N Bowl.
This place is Legendary. World Famous.
New Orleans is famous for music. dixieland music comes first to mind.
And being the origin of the Cajun culture... the unique mix through centuries of Acadian French, Carribean African, Indian Native American tribes of Chawasha - Washa- Biloxi- Natchez- Chitamacha- Apalachee- Mobile, then throw in the Spanish, French, Confederate and Union armies, ... throw in northern carpetbaggers, scalawags, British cotton buyers, a few pirates.... and you've got one of the most unique cultures ever. ...And they know how to throw a party.... and the music they party to is Cajun Zydeco. Some of the best music in the world and reallllly fun to dance to.
**** A sidetrack here-- My first contact and learning from the Creole / Cajun subculture was during a summer in the late '60s, as a teenager working as a boilermaker / ironworker in the shipyards at Mobile, Ala putting keel plates on ships in drydock at ADDSCO; Alabama Dry Docks and Shipbuilding Company on Pinto Island in Mobile Bay. I lived in Prichard Alabama in a boarding house on Telegraph Road. At dawn, you head to the shipyard. The humidity on Mobile bay in July was ungodly; the Cajuns were hard workers. I worked with Cajuns, talked with Cajuns, joked with the Cajuns, ate with Cajuns, went out onto the causeway after work and drank beer with the Cajuns, was invited to their homes to meet their families. Thank you Willis and Somerville! There is a reason New Orleans has the nickname "The Big Easy". Cajun culture is a big part of the easy going nature of the Louisiana life and attitude. They knew how live in the moment; that is what I learned from them.
**** Cajun, Cajun Zydeco music will knock you down it's so good and really fun to dance to. It's not country music; it's not western music. It's its own unique style centered on accordion-- not the big Italian wedding singer type-- accompanied by bass, fiddle, guitar, and rubboard. ?Did I say it was unique and fun to dance to? Cajun Zydeco music and dance... a cajun jig step, ...or cajun zydeco, a mirrored 4 step eight count dance is fabulous to dance to the rhythm. Add in a two step... like a foxtrot -- country two step--... or a Cajun Waltz to the lazy singing of French Creole dialect.... it is paralyzing to dance to ... ?YOu want to have fun... you go to a Cajun Zydeco dance!
Anyway... Rock 'N Bowl is an 18 lane bowling alley in New Orleans since 1941... and they've evolved to hold a Cajun / Zydeco live band dance -- in the bowling alley,... while bowling patrons are rollin' their games... on Thursday nights and often weekends. There were approx 175 dancers there that night.
And yes,... that is a movie screen above the bowling lanes playing a movie during the bowling AND the dance... showing what else??? The Dude himself ,,, "The Big Lebowski" Dude and Walter bowling their way through life the easy way.
And when the night was really cookin', Zydeco band rockin' the house with great dance music... like a 3 ring circus,... Yes... that is one of the waitresses up on the bar of the snack bar... with her Hula Hoop. You want to have a fun night out??? When you get to New Orleans, aka the big easy,... forget about Mardi Gras, You get to ROCK 'N BOWL
at midnight, take a cab back to downtown -- about 10 to 15 blocks-- the locals said use united -- about $12 and worth it... and tip the drivers well; they're out workin' the big easy.
You never drink twice from the same stream.
StoneBearTracks Copyright Uncle Hargus MCMLXIII ALL blog posts/photographs/video ALL Rights reserved
ALL Blog posts/photographs/video Copyright MCMLXIII ALL Rights Reserved
Tracks of the StoneBear Copyright MCMLXIII Uncle Hargus ALL Rights reserved
ROF= Ring of fire Odyssey MEF-H = Marine Expeditionary Force- Hargus
NOL= New Orleans Journey
New Orleans, Louisiana
February '09
ROCK 'N BOWL
When you go to New Orleans... and it's Thursday night... You're in for some real fun; as unique a spectacle as you can find. It was a real treat to finally get to Rock 'N Bowl.
This place is Legendary. World Famous.
New Orleans is famous for music. dixieland music comes first to mind. And being the origin of the Cajun culture... the unique mix through centuries of Acadian French, Carribean African, Indian Native American tribes of Chawasha - Washa- Biloxi- Natchez- Chitamacha- Apalachee- Mobile, then throw in the Spanish, French, Confederate and Union armies, ... throw in northern carpetbaggers, scalawags, British cotton buyers, a few pirates.... and you've got one of the most unique cultures ever. ...And they know how to throw a party.... and the music they party to is Cajun Zydeco.
Some of the best music in the world and reallllly fun to dance to.
*** A sidetrack here-- My first contact and learning from the Creole / Cajun subculture was during a summer in the late '60s, as a teenager working as a boilermaker / ironworker in the shipyards at Mobile, Ala putting keel plates on ships in drydock at ADDSCO; Alabama Dry Docks and Shipbuilding Company on Pinto Island in Mobile Bay. I lived in Prichard Alabama in a boarding house on Telegraph Road. At dawn, you head to the shipyard. The humidity on Mobile bay in July was ungodly; the Cajuns were hard workers. I worked with Cajuns, talked with Cajuns, joked with the Cajuns, ate with Cajuns, went out onto the causeway after work and drank beer with the Cajuns, was invited to their homes to meet their families. Thank you Willis and Somerville! There is a reason New Orleans has the nickname "The Big Easy". Cajun culture is a big part of the easy going nature of the Louisiana life and attitude. They knew how live in the moment; that is what I learned from them.
Cajun, Cajun Zydeco music will knock you down it's so good and really fun to dance to. It's not country music; it's not western music. It's its own unique style centered on accordion-- not the big Italian wedding singer type-- accompanied by bass, fiddle, guitar, and rub-board. ?Did I say it was unique and fun to dance to? Cajun Zydeco music and dance... a cajun jig step,... or zydeco, a mirrored 4 step eight count dance is fabulous to dance to the rhythm. Add in a two step... like a foxtrot -- country two step--... or a Cajun Waltz to the lazy singing of French Creole dialect.... it is paralyzing to dance to ...
?YOu want to have fun... you go to a Cajun Zydeco dance!
Anyway... Rock 'N Bowl is an 18 lane bowling alley in New Orleans since 1941... and they've evolved to hold a Cajun / Zydeco live band dance -- in the bowling alley,... while bowling patrons are rollin' their games... on Thursday nights and often weekends. There were approx 175 dancers there that night. And yes,... that is a movie screen above the bowling lanes playing a movie during the bowling AND the dance... showing what else??? The Dude himself ,,, "The Big Lebowski" Dude and Walter bowling their way through life the easy way.
And when the night was really cookin', Zydeco band rockin' the house with great dance music... like a 3 ring circus,... Yes... that is one of the waitresses up on the bar of the snack bar... with her Hula Hoop. You want to have a fun night out??? When you get to New Orleans, aka the big easy,... forget about Mardi Gras, You get to ROCK 'N BOWL
at midnight, take a cab back to downtown -- about 10 to 15 blocks-- the locals said use united -- about $12 and worth it... and tip the drivers well; they're out workin' the big easy.
You never drink twice from the same stream.
StoneBearTracks Copyright Uncle Hargus MCMLXIII ALL blog posts/photographs/video ALL Rights reserved
ALL Blog posts/photographs/video Copyright MCMLXIII ALL Rights Reserved
