Krewe of Muses

I think Muses has officially gotten to big for its own good. It took forever this year it seemed. And I still caught more from Nyx! Don’t get me wrong, Muses is still great but they set a high bar for themselves from the get go and it’s proving hard to live up to those high standards.

Best Krewe of 2014 & 2015. Love the unique floats. So different than the other Krewes! Catching a shoe is hard to do but I recommend you make sign or signs. This tends to help unless you know someone that is riding!

Another blast at Muses… Though I do have to agree with Ashley H., The Parade has gotten alittle more difficult to enjoy with everyone Screaming for SHOES!!! And shoes alone.
Great floats again and some good throws this year… The Themed floats this year were surprisingly on point. Loved the Bobby Brady not knowing LSU admission Float was rather funny.
One of the better parades in general, Great bands and cool signature throws if you’re one of the lucky ones to get ‘em.

I have such a love/​hate thing for Muses. Some of my most awesome throws have come from Muses… but it has gotten downright nasty trying to get those throws because people are just ridiculous.
Things I love about Muses… Those trippy shoes and butterflies that come out at the beginning of the parade. The fact that they have all the good bands and walking krewes. Their satire is actually funny.
Things I hate about Muses… the float to band/​walking krewe ratio is way off. The crowds are brutal. And often rude. A lot of the riders show a very clear bias for throwing to men versus women, which is just plain wrong and seems to get a little worse every year.
But it is a definite must-​see. I go every year, so it seems that, for now at least, the love outweighs the hate.

Muses sucks now. All the fun people left for Nyx or Femme Fatal. Hopefully, after this season’s shitty performance, they will figure out they now suck and get back to having fun.

This parade never ever disappoints me. I go every year and I never leave empty handed. These are some amazing women that throw their touch of woman soul out to the screaming crowds. This year I saw a heterosexual male trying to get a shoe for his woman so bad that he aggressively yanked the shoe out the the woman who was riding on the float hand. Guess what she did though that shocked literally thee piss out me? She held on to the guy hood and she kept holding til he let go of the shoe. I was flabbergasted! He was made but the show must go on. And that it did. So don’t you dare mess with a woman rider and their shoe! I kept yelling girl power!!! Lol. Overall this was the highlight of my mardi gras season

Forget what you think you know about Mardi gras. Especially of you are not a native of NOLA. Here with friends — and we got to see what the real deal is. Amazing — Mardi gras is not like you think… Or have been led to believe. Doesn’t even go near Bourbon street.
Being a phila boy the best analogy is this:
Its like the biggest best south phila block party and mummers parade all rolled into one. Imagine you and a thousand friends are hanging out drinking, eating, lawn chairs and kids everywhere.
The floats and the beads/​trinkets are so varied — all types of stuff that is just cool .
The muses theme is all about the woman’s shoe. Our hosts manage to snag one of the most coveted items– a full size decorated woman’s heel. Works of art.
Headed to Endymion on sat for the macdaddy parade.
Mardi gras — what a blast!

My official favorite MG parade. The all lady krewe knows what to do and they are generous with their throws. Two years ago I got a headband towel thingie that you can wear in the shower when you don’t want to get your hair wet. It works way better than a any store bought shower cap and I got it for free from a freakin’ parade. It’s like shopping for things you didn’t even know you needed and instead of money all you just have to keep your hands in the air. The glittery shoes are the ultimate prize to take home and the competition to get one each year grows a little more serious. If you have the opportunity to see Muses, take it!

One of the best parades to catch in the city! The best during the week for sure! This all female parade made up of 25 floats, numerous bands and marching clubs, takes place the Thursday before Mardi Gras. Signature float is the huge light up high heel. It takes a longer route, starting on Jefferson and Magazine.
The prized catch is the Muses shoe. They have some of the best throws. Lots of light up beads and shoe bracelets.

Muses is hands down my all-​time favorite parade! They have an all women crew (heck yeah), the best throws (my niece got a shoe!), the best bands (geaux St. Aug! the best walking groups (610 Stompers I’ve those guys and have friends dancing!), Pussyfooters, Bearded Oysters, Rolling Elvi, 9^th Ward Group etc. just an all aeound good time!
Keep in mind that I catch it at the beginning because i have family friends that live a block away from Jefferson and magazine. I usually go with the fam (my best friend/​brother, nieces etc.). It’s great because it’s at the beginning so we can get home earlier plus it’s not as crowded so we don’t have to worry about a rowdy crowd with my young nieces.
The only negative thing that happened this year was some riders wouldn’t throw to us saying they would get fined if they threw their beads before they hit Magazine Street. Really ya’l, you’re explaining this to a bunch of kids who have lined up to just see you? Fortunately as the parade started going they started throwing things so the girls weren’t too heartbroken. But it really was starting to annoy me. Anyway, am letting it go!
It’s a great parade and I was very happy to see that Ms. Ruby Bridges was riding in the Muses LED shoe. It was wonderful having an iconic figure of integration representing an all-​women group. Well done Muses!
Happy Shoe Catching!

Uh, I absolutely loved this parade! Giant LED shoe + sexy/​strong women + awesome throws (just some examples: shoe laces, lanyards, led rings, led hair, led pins and medallions on beads, decorated shoes, bracelets with tiny shoes) + good friends = an amazing experience!
I was tired and grumpy after a long day at work. Thank goodness for the Muses to bring me out of the funk. Even though we got there late, the parade was long enough to catch several floats and see quite a few great marching bands.
Despite being shy, I still got a lot of really nice throws. Perhaps next year, I will try for a coveted shoe. Or… I’ll just ask the bf to walk around with his shirt off and ask nicely (I have heard that works as well haha). I still haven’t worked up the nerve to walk up to the floats just quite yet.
I hope to make it back next year, this parade is definitely worth the effort of going to!

Not sure I can say anything about Muses that hasn’t been said before, but I’ll try. Muses has been the highlight of my Mardi Gras every year since I moved to New Orleans. I’ve never been let down, even if I only walk away with 1 bead. What I love about Muses is how utterly positive and FUN the parade is. Even suffering a cut to the head this year from a bag of beads launched from one of their floats, I’m still a giant fan.
The mad rush to get a shoe can be pretty intimidating. I don’t really have a good strategy except to get the attention of my old neighbor who is a rider. The one year I managed to get her attention, I got a red jello shot dumped on my head from a person standing next to me while grabbing the shoe, but clearly it was worth it.
Big props this year to having Ruby Bridges as the Grand Marshall. This made me so happy, and I think really speaks to the kind of great organization Muses is. Besides having great floats and great throws, Muses hosts a TON of the small walking clubs (Bearded Oysters, Muff-​a-​lottas, Rolling Elvi, etc). This makes the parade super-​interesting!
One thing I’m not such a huge fan of is the groups of fratty dudes who bellow out «HEY LADIEEEEEEEEESSSSS!» and think that entitles them to a shoe while they act like a dick to all the girls standing around them trying to catch stuff too. Ugh, just go away. You don’t get the spirit of Muses, brah.
Overall, if there’s only one parade to catch during Mardi Gras, I’d have to say Muses would be it.

As always, Muses does not disappoint. Great fun, great floats, great humor. The Pussy-​footers, the Bearded Oysters, the Camel Toe Steppers, the Flying Elvi, 610 Stompers and a new group dedicated to Rick James and much more. All were very entertaining. And as always the one lady, waving her hand in front of her face as people smoke…‘ewwww the smoke is getting in my face. ewww the smoke’. And when the Sirens float rolled by, the other lady telling her kids to turn around because the float was ‘nasty and she can’t believe they did that… Hey ladies, IT’S NEW ORLEANS. There is plenty of places on the route to get away from the smoke and mom, you kids have probably already seen their share of ‘boobies and more… Great job to Muses

One of my favorite parades of the WHOLE Mardi Gras season!
Ladies and shoes and glitter, oh MY!
Pussyfooters and Bearded Oysters and Rolling Elvi!
This all lady parade has great wit in it’s theme and float designs. They consistently have the most creative selection of throws and TONS of them. Only the best marching krewes, and marching bands are in Muses; it is indeed a SUPER Krewe.
I felt a little sorry for the parades that roll before Muses because all of the best bands and marching krewes are in Muses and it leaves them with few options for entertainment in the other parades… oh well, not every parade can be the BEST parade.

This all lady Krewe was one of the best parades I saw all carnival season.
Their prized catch is one of their highly decorated shoes, which seems appropriate considering the all female membership. Normally I don’t put too much into throws, but this year I made it my mission to get a shoe since a friend really wanted one. I consulted with experts, made a sign, and headed to the parade.
The parade itself was great. The floats were beautiful, and the riders were great at making sure everyone got plenty of throws.
The best float was #5. Those ladies were awesome!
My sign worked and I did get that shoe. Next year I will try and get more, since a Muses shoe would sure look good in my office.
I can’t wait for next year.

It’s rare that any event can live up to its expectations. I mean, when was the last time New Year’s Eve was all that you’d hope it could be? (Actually my last one was pretty damn near perfect, but you get what I’m saying here).
Muses opened with a bunch of hand held LED giant shoes and butterflies. Holy crap, this was going to be even better than the Electric Light Parade at Disney World!
This year’s theme was a play on retail. My favorite one was the «ROACH» float, headed by Louisana’s unofficial mascot, the giant cockroach (actually, that should be New York City’s unofficial mascot but people there like to pretend they are called «water bugs»). I’m not a fan of Coach, it should be known. I don’t find myself inspired at all to drop thousands of dollars on their boring merchandise and have long thought that it’s an overrated brand often lusted after by clueless people who haven’t discovered Burberry yet and I’m sorry, but your little dog is MUCH cuter without that coat that costs more than my own. This float was awesome. I wish I could get a sticker made of the sign, which is in the Coach logo and put it all over the Coach ads in Manhattan. Hmmmm.
Throws… oh the throws. The best of any parade I’ve been to yet. What does this mean? People will jump in front of you to grab stuff. I mean, they will stop at nothing. The scavenger act at the curb and on lawns is also quite amusing. There was an old lady nearby who was cute at first until I realized she could not be stopped. I mean, I don’t see 20-​year-​olds with half her energy and determination. After I saw her getting cut throat, I was like, «Game on, bitch.» Just kidding. Sort of.
Anyway, I’m too civilized to be knocking people out of the way or begging for shoes. I will, however, donate a really awesome shoe that I have to the cause next year. It’s just one shoe because my boyfriend’s adorable pit bull decided my blue rubber Vivienne Westwood for Melissa bootie was in fact, a chew toy (which makes perfect sense, so all I could do was laugh after I discovered what was left of it). So, I have one left and hope it can be put to great use next year. I wonder if I can stipulate that it must be handed right to me at the beginning of the parade route?
OK, so that’s not in the spirit of Carnivale to be so calculating. Sigh. I saw this little girl get two of the prized shoes. I totally was expecting that old lady to knock the kid over for them, but that didn’t happen.

In terms of floats and general excellence, Muses is a 5 star parade.
But the crowd was way more nutso than I expected! In fact, I was so unprepared for the general roughhousing and raucous behavior that I was all out of Cope by the third float. When a teenager pushed my wife into the path of a float because he was so intent on catching a string of medallion beads, it was time to go. (A few folks commented that the 2011 crowd was more over-​the-​top than previous years so I’m not imagining things, either.)
We retreated to the relative safety of Trolley Stop and watched the floats roll by from the windows. All the lights and glamour were not lost on us, because Muses executes their themes PERFECTLY. In fact, I think I enjoyed the parade more because I was out of the fray and could focus on the floats.
Next time, I think I’ll be more prepared for a super parade instead of the smaller, quieter crowds that I’d been enjoying in the days leading up to Muses.
Recommended beer: Dogfish Head Festina Peche. Quite good but not what you expected.

How did I miss writing a review of Muses in my post Mardi Gras frenzy?
Muses has great female centric floats and AMAZING throws. I actually used my lightup «diamond» ring as a flashlight for the rest of the weekend. The hand decorated shoes are the catch to get; right up there with the Zulu coconut.
The organization is INSANELY popular with a long waiting list of women who want to ride. But you can still join the fun as a non-​riding member.

Awesome glass beads, bracelets, and luggage tags this year! Another all star performance!

How did I never not go to Muses before? This parade is AWESOME!!! My first time watching Muses and one I’ll never forget. I enjoyed it while helping out with the Treme tv show. So while I was able to pretty much see it all I would have liked to have been there without having to divert my focus. Loved the floats, loved the throws, sadly didn’t catch a shoe, and loved the elvis impersonators! The shoe float was the best float I’ve ever seen. Nothing can top that!