Journal Malto's Journal: The Maple Leaf 1

Well this is the first time I actually write any kind of review for anything, so here goes.

Last night I went to the Maple Leaf to scout it out since some friends are comming in from school and we wanted to do something friday night. Anyway, we got to the Maple Leaf over an hour early, so we ended up just leaving to do the whole french quarter thing and walk down bourbon street. After that, we ended up getting back to the Maple Leaf around 11, while the show started at 10:30.

As an overall atmosphere, I'd have to say it's very New Orleans like. You walk into the area where the bar is (tiny little place) and then go over into the hall where the bands play. The hall is completely empty, probably about 18-20 feet wide, and 50-70 feet long in the main part. It's a very intimate and very antique looking place.

The band that played while we were there was Bonerama (trombones... what were you thinking!?). As far as the band goes, they're very talented, but the songs they played should have lasted on average 3-5 minutes instead of 15-20 minutes. The band consisted of 4 trombones, a tuba, electric guitar, and a drummer.

As far as I can tell, the sound system and operator were from the house. The overall clarity and transparency of the sound was really good, and given the design of the hall, I'd say the sound system was a great choice for their setup. The sound technician also did a great job of putting it all together.

Now to the back. There is a patio in the rear with a few tables and trees. I'd say the patio is definitely a good place to chill out if you're tired of the higher volumes in the front. You can still hear the music fairly clear, but it's at the level of background music here.

Overall, I'd say it's a pretty nice place. It's fairly smoke filled, with a wide variety in the crowd. There are a lot of college age people, but nearly just as many people that are beyond college age. The atmosphere here isn't very rowdy, but still lively enough to have a good time and maybe even do a bit of dancing.

The Maple Leaf is located a few blocks west of Carrolton on Oak street in New Orleans.