Forgive all the puns, but it appears that the Shim Sham Revue has done an amazing job of rounding and shaping its much-ballyhooed show -- to the point of a four-week run at its treasured home, the Shim Sham Club, starting Sunday. What a way to celebrate (the end of) Lent. Slimmed down and rounded off, this version of the burlesque show that once relied on strength in numbers now features a six-member dance troupe (deliciously titled the Southern Jezebelles) and a little more tease than strip. This leaner, meaner version not only includes the reliable Ronni Magri's Shim Sham Revue Band and relative newcomer and chanteuse Ingrid Lucia, but also special guests in Becky Allen and others to be announced. Few performers appreciate the legacy of burlesque in the French Quarter more than Allen, who will pop in for the first couple weeks. Allen's appearance is just one part of the Revue's homage in the first Sunday performance to New Orleans women of notoriety, including sketches honoring Madam Begue, one of the first female chefs in the city; actress and former Miss New Orleans Dorothy Lamour; and Sophie Newcomb of Newcomb College fame, known for making the college one of the first to allow female students to practice physical education -- in their bloomers! "I wanted to make it funnier," says All Kinds of Theatre director Carl Walker, who collaborated with choreographer Nina Bozak. "This is a much heavier dance show, and the variety of things that you'll see in the show is wider. I think it will feel a lot more like a burlesque and vaudeville bill of fare." Along with some secret surprises will be an "Apache Dance," a burlesque staple that reenacts a violent encounter between a prostitute and her pimp, but here recreated by Stella and Stanley, characters from A Streetcar Named Desire. This is getting weird. The costumes, always a Revue highlight, are provided by House of Lounge as well as longtime collaborator Oliver. Tickets are $15 advance through www.shimshamclub.com, or $18 day of show; reserved table seats are available for four people at $100. -- David Lee Simmons

Under the Sand 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 16 Prytania Theatre, 5339 Prytania St., 891-2787 Before thrillers The Mothman Prophecies and Dragonfly featured wives speaking from the dead to Richard Gere and Kevin Costner (respectively), France's Under the Sand had a similar idea but was more natural than supernatural. Writer-director Francois Ozon' s heroine Marie (the great Charlotte Rampling) isn't having trouble getting over her husband's death; she's just trying to figure out how to properly keep him in her life after he mysteriously disappears and is believed to have drowned. Critics have praised the 2001 film, which has been nominated for three Cesars, the French equivalent of the Oscar: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. This film is being shown at the Prytania as part of the New Orleans Film Festival's (NOFF) ongoing partnership with the Consulate General of France. Tickets are $7 general admission, $6 NOFF members. -- Simmons

Fugazi 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS While dozens of "alternative" bands fell prey to the clutches of commerce in the '90s, Fugazi never even toyed with the idea of rock stardom. An overarching giant of Washington, D.C.'s post-punk, underground emo scene, the four-piece band won international legendary status solely by merit of its music, consistently shunning press coverage, radio play, merchandise sales and other capitalist voodoo. Fugazi has always appealed to hormone-ridden teenagers, with shows and CDs priced just above cost, and musical urgency that can't be found on commercial radio. Searing guitars and blood-curdling screams descend into whispers and mellow strumming, a sharp dynamic that leaves the most jaded listeners floored. Early albums like 13 Songs and Repeater are permanent classics, but the band's latest, The Argument, is just as mind-blowing. Live, Fugazi provides a wild, cathartic experience. But the band won't stand for disrespectful behavior, so no moshing please. Amerigo opens. Admission $6. -- Cristina Diettinger

New Orleans Brass vs. Mobile Mysticks 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 New Orleans Arena, 1660 Girod St., 522-5555 There's an air of uncertainty accompanying the final regular-season home game for the New Orleans Brass hockey team. At press time, even as the team was closing in on a franchise record for most wins in a season, the Brass is still battling for a playoff spot. That development comes courtesy of the recent streamlining of the National Hockey League's minor-league system, resulting in fewer teams and higher quality hockey. The Brass will make its late-season push without the help of former Olympian and Brass cornerstone Jeff Lazaro, who recently retired after knee surgery; look for veteran defenseman Steve Cheredaryk and young gun George Awata to lead the Brass playoff charge. The first 2,000 fans at tonight's game will receive a 2001 Brass team poster as part of Fan Appreciation Night. And there's no better time for fans to show their appreciation, with the possible arrival of the Charlotte Hornets making the Brass' future in New Orleans a large question mark. Tickets range from $8 to $21 and are available through Ticketmaster at 522-5555. -- Scott Jordan

Cubanismo! 9 p.m. Friday, March 29 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Emerging into the world's consciousness around the time of the Buena Vista Social Club revival, Cubanismo! co-led the movement that made Cuban music all the rage by the year 2000. With trumpeter Jesus Alemany at the helm, the band throws back to the basic format of the Buena Vista son style, updating it with sizzling horns and big, percussive piano work, for an aggressive salsa sound. The band converted crowds everywhere to Cuban music through extensive touring and a few well-received albums. Cubanismo! sealed musical ties with New Orleans with its 2000 album Mardi Gras Mambo, a collaborative effort that featured local jazz vocalists John Boutte and Topsy Chapman singing Latinized New Orleans tracks like "It Do Me Good," "Marie Laveau," and the title track, as well as originals that embrace both styles. Now Cubanismo! is on the road again, this time to support its recent 2001 CD, The Very Best of Cubanismo!: !Mucho Gusto! Tickets $20. -- Diettinger

Matt Lemmler & Don Vappie 9 p.m. Friday, March 29 Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar, 5535 Tchoupitoulas St., 891-8500 It seems like an odd musical combination -- banjoist Don Vappie is best known for playing traditional jazz and Creole classics, while pianist Matt Lemmler has made a splash of late with his contemporary jazz arrangements of Stevie Wonder material. But they've been wood-shedding together over the past three months and are so pleased with the results that they're planning on recording a duo album. In the meantime, selected gigs offer listeners a chance to hear the pair travel some serious musical ground. "We do some trad stuff, Don sings some Nat King Cole stuff, and a lot of old New Orleans songs," says Lemmler. "Then we'll do some bossa nova, a lot of Duke Ellington, and some Django Reinhardt songs. We even do a couple country songs -- on our last gig, we played 'Tennessee Waltz.'" Vappie's primarily playing guitar in their live shows, but should have his banjo in tow for this gig. No cover. -- Jordan

Ed Petersen & Harold Batiste at Snug Harbor 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday, March 29 Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Harold Batiste joins Ed Peterson for a night of double sax Friday at Snug Harbor. As the driving force behind AFO Records in the early '60s, composer/visionary Harold Batiste made an indelible mark on New Orleans' contemporary jazz scene, recording and playing with such local stalwarts as drummer James Black. Batiste is also one of New Orleans' finest record producers, having worked with a diverse roster of artists from Dr. John to Sonny & Cher. Those accomplishments occasionally overshadow his superb saxophone playing, on display tonight with fellow New Orleans sax titan Ed Petersen. Petersen, whose talents have been tapped by the likes of saxman Von Freeman and vocalist Kurt Elling, relishes the opportunity to play with Batiste. "Harold's a great saxophone player and doesn't waste any notes," says Petersen. "Playing with him is always a beautiful thing, because he's got such great spirit." The two saxophonists will be augmented by pianist Darryl Levigne, bassist Chris Severin, and drummer Herman LeBeaux. Expect a few standards along with Batiste's AFO compositions. Tickets $15. -- Jordan

Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris and Yer Basic Motherf--kers 10:30 p.m. Friday, March 29 Maple Leaf, 8316 Oak St., 866-9359 Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris leads her latest ensemble, Yer Basic Motherf--kers, Friday at the Maple Leaf. Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris has a set of pipes that rival the organ in the Mormon Tabernacle. She's known for rock, blues, jazz, Tom Lehrer ditties, and show tunes, and now she's stepping out in front of a take-no-prisoners funk unit. "I've been experiencing a very primal urge to do some loud and rowdy playing with a bunch of real, highly informed musicians, and none of us can stop grinning maniacally," says Harris. The band includes saxophonist Rebecca Barry, bassist Matt Perrine, guitarist Jimmy Robinson, pianist Larry Siebirth, trombonist Rick Trolsen, and drummer Johnny Vidacovich. Expect covers from the Curtis Mayfield, Chris Kenner, and Pat McLaughlin songbooks, as well as original material. Harris promises that it will be "soulful, witty, libidinous and slamming. The biggest challenge will be getting all these virtuoso musicians to get ignorant enough to play simple songs like 'Land of 1,000 Dances.' We are ready to get ferociously in people's faces with this." Admission TBA. -- David Kunian

Flogging Molly 8 p.m. Saturday, March 30 Shim Sham Club, 615 Toulouse St., 299-0666 You'd be flogging Molly, too, if you had a rag-tag band of Irish folk-punkers led by a bona fide Irishman in frontman Dave King who thrash about in a Pogues-inspired frenzy. King's solo act at Molly Malone's in Los Angeles excited everyone who saw it, and next thing he knew, denizens with fiddles and accordions were bandmates and Flogging Molly was born. The result is a furious mash of Emerald Isle folk songs shot-gunned through a punk haze that would make Shane MacGowan proud (if he were sober enough to notice). FM's latest release, Drunken Lullabies, is virtually self-explanatory, as King revisits a darkened Dublin childhood that unleashes the tear ducts when not forcing the feet to dance. In what feels like a mini-Warped Tour, American ska kingpin the Slackers are joined by L.A. underground fave Throw Rag to open this 18-plus show. Tickets $10 advance and available at www.shimshamclub.com, $12 at the door. -- Simmons

Mackenzie Thorpe: Recent Paintings Through April 8 Hanson Gallery, 229 Royal St., 524-8211 "Celebrate life." So says Mackenzie Thorpe, whose recent pastel paintings now adorn the walls of the Hanson Gallery. A high school dropout and onetime shipyard worker, he was accepted into art school on the basis of his drawings, and from there attended college in London, where he was profoundly influenced by the work of Mark Rothko and Vincent Van Gogh. True to his working-class roots, however, Thorpe's art focuses on prosaic themes such as the boundlessness of a child's vision, life's adversities, the toil of the working class and the timeless concerns of parents for their children. And, of course, there are his Flowers, which stand for love. Altogether, Thorpe says his work communicates his message: "Live with passion and thoughtfulness for others and yourself. Be aware of what you're doing, and your world can be a good place." -- D. Eric Bookhardt