“Treme,” Season 2, Ep 9

• Courtesy of HBO
• IT’S ABOUT TIME I RETURNED TO MY DAY JOB AS STEVE EARLE: Steve Earle, Lucia Micarelli

On HBO’s Sunday nights, “Game of Thrones” has been the lead-in and de facto opening act to “Treme,” which makes for an odd pairing. Watching the latest “Treme” back-to-back with “Game of Thrones’” season finale helps reveal that New Orleans’ musicians and other citizens face as many power struggles and Machiavellian machinations as do the folk of Westeros.

The opening scene finds DJ Davis and his protégé Lil Calliope (Ace doing a radio spot on Davis’ old station (to the massive irritation of Davis’ station manager). Davis wants to push his abrasive political agenda, while Calliope wants to presses the new “club-banger” song on the DJ. The dance tune, inevitably, becomes the breakout radio hit, and at the next gig, Davis loses his choice of song, and the mic, to Lil Calliope. Regime change!

A more playful musical rivalry takes place when Antoine and the Soul Apostles do a gig at a club, only to learn that they’re playing around the corner from Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, who suck up all the street traffic. Antoine goes to the other club, maneuvers an invitation onstage, croons an Al Green song, then leads Kermit’s audience to Apostles’ club. I would imagine that would be a blatant violation of the jazz musicians’ code of ethics. The Apostles play a blistering “Mr. Big Stuff” to the new crowd, but that song must refer to Kermit, not Antoine, as Kermit pulls the same stunt and takes his audience back.