Maison and Dirty Dozen Brass Band
After spending the morning and afternoon at the 2025 New Orleans Jazz festival I headed back to my hotel to rest for a bit before seeing the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, for a 10 p.m. show at Maison. Located in the heart of Frenchmen (508 Frenchmen St.), I stopped by early to learn doors would open at 9:30 p.m., giving me enough time to cross the street for crawfish étouffée at Frenchmen All Day (630 Frenchmen Street).
I had wisely paid for access to the balcony ($40 + $10 handling) and because I was first in line at 9:30 I was able to secure a small high-top table not far from the upstairs bar but with a view of the front of the stage. (I think general admission $25, was for standing room only.)
The band was amazing! Rich, colorful sound, nicely blended by a group that clearly knew each other’s styles. It reminded me of some of the scenes from HBO’s series “Tremé” – the venue itself appears a couple of times in the series (which aired for four seasons starting in 2011 and currently is available through Amazon Prime Video). The Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s performance captured the swing and feeling of the French Market music scene.
Not sure why the balcony lacked a video screen – much of the upstairs seating had great acoustics but no sight line of the stage itself. Drink prices were reasonable given the high quality of the venue, and the bartended was personable and helpful – and there was never more than a five-minute wait to get served.
My only concern (and it’s not even a complaint) was the repeated appearance of iPad Man, who presumably had been responsible for the band’s sound engineering. He apparently needed to make many trips during the show to adjust sound values, and while the band didn’t need to stop while these changes were made, his presence at center stage was distracting. Maybe there’s a reason why traditional sound boards served their purpose so well for so many years. Whatever software was being used to run the sound quality, its user needs to up his game and get the job done before the show starts.
I came to Maison hoping to experience the vibe that “Tremé” spoke to and was richly rewarded with an outstanding night in New Orleans.
