Hey, it could be worse; it could be Black Polyester Night. Instead, the annual White Linen Night flies in the face of the burgeoning August heat, daring us all to deck out in our lightest fine linen and stroll the Warehouse District main drag of Julia Street to check out the galleries' openings. That White Linen Night has become so popular in what is essentially the dead of summer is testament not only to the novelty of the fabric choice and the quality of the art but also the "scene" that is created throughout the District. Art patrons and scenesters alike take advantage of the opportunity to stroll in and out of the galleries while partaking in food, drinks, music and -- perhaps most important -- fans that are provided along the way. Host venue the Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp St., 528-3805) not only houses the Post Party featuring swamp-pop supergroup Lil? Band o? Gold, but also features it?s two current exhibitions: When Time Stands Still, with photos by David Halliday, and Southern Contemporary, a group show of works from the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. (The CAC?s next exhibition, Missing: Last Seen at the World Trade Center September 11, 2001, was incorrectly listed as opening for White Linen Night in our newsstand edition, but will actually open Aug. 30.) Along with the exhibitions will be plenty of live music on the streets courtesy Basin Street Sheiks, Stones Throw, One-A-Chord and the Mahogany Brass Band second-lining down Julia Street. Admission to the exhibitions is free, while admission to the Post Party is $5. Exhibitions will be on view from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., while the party starts at 9 p.m. -- David Lee Simmons

Tool 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31 Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena, 6801 Franklin St., 280-7222 Mysterious as it is brilliant, Tool is the ultimate alt-metal anomaly. Straddling the sharp edge between metal and prog-rock, the band employs melody, noise and a raw visceral energy for a dark signature sound collage that catapulted its success far beyond the early-90s alternative rock heyday. Waiting several years between albums, Tool achieved astounding success by 2000's Salival with little media noise. Last year's Lateralus, their first album since 1996, debuted at No. 1 on the heels of a few strategic performances. Tool's live shows are renowned cathartic experiences. Lead singer Maynard James Keenan performs in anything from drag to blue body paint, and his vocal prowess buries legions of metal frontmen who merely grunt and growl. Yet another of musical visionary Mike Patton's (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) projects, opening act Tomahawk's self-titled album sold thousands of copies before it was even recorded, on the promise of its lineup: The Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison, Helmet drummer John Stanier and Melvins bassist Kevin Rutmanis. Tickets $37.50. -- Cristina Diettinger

Les Miserables -- School Edition 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 1-3; 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4 Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 400 Phlox St., Metairie, 885-2000 The Jefferson Performing Arts Society scores a nice summer coup with this Louisiana premiere of this Broadway smash that has been tailored for younger performers -- and audiences. Let's face it; good as it is, Les Mis is a chore to watch, but this kid-friendly version (featuring a cast of high schoolers) clocks in at just over two hours. Which means that Inspector Javert (Collin Murray) will literally have to cut to the chase of reform's poster child, Jean Valjean (Jonathan Mares), who goes from serving time for stealing a loaf of bread to mayor of a French town during the Revolution. Kris Shaw directs this local cast, with Dennis Assaf conducting, Nancy Ross directing the music and Stephen Thurber designing the set. Tickets are $12 adults, $10 seniors and $8 students, and are available at the box office. -- Simmons

Blake Amos and Saudade 10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1 Blue Nile, 534 Frenchmen St., 948-BLUE The next two weeks present a fitting bon voyage party for Blake Amos. Over the past year, Amos and Saudade have delighted a core contingent with a regular gig early Friday evenings at The Spotted Cat. The rhythm and sway of their Brazilian music here has inspired dancing and overall positive vibrations that link back to an ungentrified Frenchmen Street that bounces with unchecked bohemia. But now, Amos, a native New Orleanian whose wanderlust has in the past taken him to Brazil (twice), Thailand and New York, plans an early-August return to the Big Apple. The Friday Spotted Cat gigs "are a real highlight for us," Amos says. "The small space, the intimacy, puts out great energy and it's done in true Brazilian style -- a house party with people jumping and providing an interaction that makes it really special." Saudade (Portuguese for desire and longing) is Amos (vocals, rhythm guitar), Daniel Konecky (guitar), Ted Hefko (saxophone and flute), Chuck Barber (sourdo bass drum), Alan Frost (percussion) and Miguel (percussion). No cover Friday at Spotted Cat, Blue Nile TBA. -- Frank Etheridge

Satchmo Club Strut 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2 Frenchmen and Decatur streets One of the highlights of the Satchmo Summerfest is Satchmo Club Strut, a pay-one-price festival-within-a-festival -- allowing entry to multiple clubs featuring the cream of the crop of New Orleans jazz. A wide stylistic spectrum is represented, from trad and contemporary jazz to brass bands. Fans can strut the Frenchmen Street/Decatur Street corridor, listening to the likes of Henry Butler at Cafe Brasil, Harold Battiste and Ellis Marsalis at Snug Harbor, and Lucien Barbarin's Jazz All Stars at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe. Even non-music businesses are getting into the spirit, as PJ's Coffee on Frenchmen is presenting Detroit Brooks' Syncopated Percolators featuring Dr. Michael White and Greg Stafford, and Marisol's is presenting the Royal Garden Jazz Band. For a complete list of participating clubs and bands, call the New Orleans Jazz Centennial Celebration at 835-5277. At a mere $20 -- the price of a ticket to see just one national touring act -- Satchmo Club Strut is one of the live-music bargains of the year. -- Scott Jordan

MVVP 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2 Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak St., 866-9359 In the land of constant sit-ins and Superjams, all-star bands barely cause a ripple of excitement, but in mid-summer's slow swelter, MVVP packs enough power to make even the most jaded fans look twice. The band's lineup (drummer Stanton Moore, organist Rich Vogel, drummer John Vidacovich and bassist George Porter Jr.) gives the listener a multigenerational cross section of players from three of New Orleans' best-known rhythm-based outfits (Galactic, Astral Project, the Meters). Driven by the student-and-teacher drum team of Stanton Moore and Johnny Vidacovich, the quartet bowls through groovy territory with standards and exploratory solos that leave little to be desired in the local jazz-funk continuum. Vidacovich, who effortlessly combines street-level grease and cerebral embellishment into the same passage, trades licks with Moore for thrilling onstage interaction. Funked-up organ solos by Vogel and Porter's thump and slap complete the package. -- Diettinger

Sonic Youth 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS Sonic Youth has aged quite well for a band of art-rockers. A defining cultural fixture of New York's ever-progressive downtown art scene, the band was right in the middle of a three-album project documenting the cultural history of Lower Manhattan when the neighborhood suffered its most significant historical event -- Sept. 11. The resulting album, Murray Street (named for the location of the band's studio), is a collaboration with avant-garde composer Jim O'Rourke and includes sax work by Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich of free-jazz/punk power trio Borbetomagus. With good old noise and distortion to consolidate the sound, Murray Street has that same Kim Gordon/Thurston Moore magic that changed the face of rock 'n' roll a decade and a half ago. It seems Sonic Youth has achieved chronic youth. Tim Prudhomme and Mary Timony open. Tickets $20. -- Diettinger

Images of Water -- Group Show Through August Sylvia Schmidt Gallery, 400 Julia St., 422-2000 Water ... Water! It's fundamental. In old movies, emaciated figures crawled across parched deserts to beg water from whomever they encountered, yet recent headlines tell us that high waters from hurricanes threaten us with imminent doom; it's only a matter of time. Even so, it's not the heat, it's the humidity, or so goes the local mantra as the weatherman tries to explain why it feels like 127 degrees. Any way you cut it, water is a big part of life in the Big Easy, a fact that is celebrated in the new Images of Water exhibit at Sylvia Schmidt. Featuring work by more than 30 artists in a variety of media, it's a show that explores the many facets of our aqueous environment, as well as what the gallery calls water's "physical, metaphorical and associative characteristics as a catalyst to the imagination." An opening will be held on White Linen Night, Saturday, Aug. 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- D. Eric Bookhardt