In just four years, SOUTHERN DECADENCE has more than doubled its attendance to 100,000 visitors and more than tripled its economic impact on the city to an estimated $80 million. So when folks call it the "gay Mardi Gras," they're not kidding around. Trying to keep up with all festivities surrounding the party, which runs Wednesday through Monday (Labor Day, of course), is exhausting in itself and includes pool parties, strip pool tournaments, bowling excursions and drag shows galore. Some of the city's top gay establishments provide the host sites for much of the fun: Oz, the Country Club, the Corner Pocket, Phoenix, Le Roundup, the Golden Lantern, the Ninth Circle, Cafe Lafitte's in Exile ... the list is endless. The weekend for the 31st annual event kicks off on Wednesday with a 9 a.m. pool party at the Country Club (634 Louisa St., 945-0742), followed later that evening by the Official Southern Decadence Kickoff at Oz's Show Night with Lisa Beaumann, Teryl-Lynn Foxx & Rich, and special guest Andrea Leroy-Drag. Emcee and local legend Becky Allen will also announce the winner of Oz's summerlong "Drag Survivor," with DJ Tim Pflueger spinning the music. Several of the days will go similarly, starting with pool parties in the morning and clubs like Oz, the Phoenix and others finishing off the evening with specialty parties such as a strip pool tournament and a leather ball. When it comes to Southern Decadence, subtlety is not an option. Two other events are particularly crucial to note on Sunday: the 30th Annual Official Southern Decadence Parade led by the grand marshals, starting at 2 p.m. at Lucille's Golden Lantern (1239 Royal St.), and the Submission 2 MegaDance, featuring Circuit Greats at Oz (800 Bourbon St.) at 9 p.m., followed by a late-night After Hours Party at Oz and the Municipal Auditorium at Armstrong Park (starting at 4 a.m.). Many of the women's Decadence events will be held at Kim's 940 (940 Elysian Fields Ave., 944-4888). This year's theme is "Fairy Tails" (we all love a good pun), the grand marshal is Ninth Circle bar legend "Irish" Mike Sheehan, and the official song is a remix of "Over the Rainbow" and "Never Ending Story." For more info, check out the official Web site at www.southerndecadence.com. Good luck keeping up. -- David Lee Simmons

Son del Pantano 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27 The Spotted Cat, 623 Frenchmen St., 943-3887 Pronunciation, articulation and accentuation, plus brilliant vocal harmonies and excellent accompaniment, are the ingredients that make Son del Pantano a great ensemble. The group is led by Alen Kapulski on the tres (a traditional Cuban guitar) and David Greengold on guitar and lead vocals. This quintet, also including violin, bass and percussion, will introduce you to some of Cuba's best folk music. The name Son del Pantano literally means "they are from the swamp," but it also refers to son, the musical style that started it all at the turn of the 20th century in Cuba. Kapulski, who studies with Cubanismo's tres player Efrain Rios, has a virtuoso's style reminiscent of Arsenio Rodriguez and El Niño Rivera. Kapulski also provides historical background for every song. Take advantage of these educational tidbits and the early showtime: Bring the kids and introduce them to some truly contagious rhythms. No cover. -- Manny Lander

Samantha Barrow 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29 Dixie Taverne, 3340 Canal St., 822-8268 Samantha Barrow knows what she did this summer: hopped on her motorcycle and barnstormed the country with poetry she creates from her home in Philadelphia. "I've been wondering about this new division of religion between gods," she writes in "NYC Light Poem." "Seems like we all need a savior, but can't being faithful, so we set our hopes on beauty." Called one of the city's hottest up and coming female artists by Philadelphia's City Paper, Barrow is a guest lecturer at Temple University's poetry department and has led writing workshops for area high school girls. Here she'll read during an all-ages multi-band fest that includes Horse the Band, Black Sun, History of Blank Pages, and Justin Bailey. Cover $4. -- Simmons

Missing: Last Seen at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 Friday, Aug. 30, through Sept. 14 Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 528-3805 So often, art is cathartic, and almost as often art becomes cathartic. But, in one case, something entirely unintended has become cathartic and art at the same time. Missing: Last Seen at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 features 200 of the some 90,000 flyers and photos of flyers that New Yorkers frantically posted on walls, poles and windows searching for missing loved ones after the terrorist attacks. When this touring exhibit is concluded, the flyers will be combined with accompanying condolence books and sent to the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of the City of New York. In anticipation of a wave of Sept. 11 commemorative events, this simple tribute as exhibition stands out with its simple poignancy. This exhibition is free to the public. During the opening of the exhibition Friday, gumbo will be served to guests courtesy of the Gumbo Krewe, which donated gumbo to firefighters and rescue workers at Ground Zero. Call the CAC for hours of operation. -- David Lee Simmons

All That CD-release party 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 Mermaid Lounge, 1100 Constance St., 524-4747 With keyboardist and WWOZ DJ Davis Rogan at the helm, All That has persevered through seven years of rotating personnel, delivering a manic brand of "sousaphonk." Rogan's stream-of-consciousness raps give the band a hilarious anything-goes circus atmosphere, but underneath the hijinks is some serious musicianship. Witness the line-up on the band's new CD, Family Album, a live recording featuring All That alumni: drummer Kevin O'Day, sousaphonist Kirk Joseph, guitarist Alex McMurray, saxophonist Rebecca Barry, vocalist Debbie Davis and sousaphonist Matt Perrine, among others. On the Davis rant masterpiece "D.J. Davis in the House," Davis offers his New Orleans blueprint for change, including the "pot for potholes campaign." Alongside other tracks like a smoking version of the brass band standard "Blackbird Special," it's a reminder of Rogan's dedication and musical vision. Admission TBA. -- Scott Jordan

Little Feat 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Despite its premature breakup in 1979, Little Feat is a cult favorite of Southern-flavored roots-rock diehards. But fans can't seem to shake the memory of Lowell George, the band's leader, singer and songwriter until shortly before his death that same year. Reforming in 1988, today's lineup still includes original members Paul Barrere, Bill Payne and Richie Hayward, and remains an inspiration to latter-day jam bands like Widespread Panic. Classic Little Feat fans will drool over their latest two releases: Raw Tomatos (Volume One) and Ripe Tomatos (Volume One). Borrowing from the Grateful Dead's Dick's Picks model, both double-disc compilations contain live and studio material from the original George-fronted ensemble in 1971 right up to selections from the band's current incarnation. With its own Hot Tomato record label intact, the band will continue to release Little Feat-related group and solo material, both new and from the archives. Tickets $25. -- Cristina Diettinger

Supagroup 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, and Sunday, Sept. 1 El Matador, 504 Esplanade Ave., 569-8361 It's the time of year when many nightclubs put on "back to school" shows for local college students, and while this gig isn't billed as such, it's a perfect primer for dorm life. The New Orleans rockers in Supagroup, like their primary inspiration AC/DC, are on a mission to crank up their amps as loud as possible and write hook-filled songs that usually celebrate the wonders of the female anatomy, like "She's Hot (I'm on a Roll)." Alcohol also flows freely at Supagroup shows, and Supagroup's endless stream of crunch anthems is a far better soundtrack than the Eminem and Phish CDs spinning at frat parties. Throw in the sibling bond between brothers Chris and Benji Lee, and you've got one of the tightest unapologetic rock trios since ZZ Top. When the gig's over, all students are advised to spend their first cash of the semester on the band's latest CD, Rock and Roll Tried to Ruin My Life. Admission $7; free for students on Saturday, free for service industry workers on Sunday. -- Jordan

An Enduring Vision: 17th-20th Century Japanese Painting from the Manyo'an Collection Saturday, Aug. 31, through Oct. 26 New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, 488-2631 In some ways, the East sometimes feels as mysterious as ever, particularly in its art. One mystery provides a clue or two with An Enduring Vision: 17th-20th Century Japanese Painting from the Manyo¹an Collection at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). When Japan was isolated from everyone else during the 17th to mid-19th centuries, art during this period was virtually unknown to anyone in the Western Hemisphere. This exhibit includes about 150 paintings are provided by New Orleans' Gitter-Yelen Collection, and feature scenes from some of the country's top artists as well as their devotees. Many of the works are Zen paintings from such revered Japanese artists as Hakuin Ekaku, while other styles on display include the ukiyo-e and rinpa -- both of which provided strong influences in later Western works. NOMA plans several events around the exhibition, including children's art classes, evening adult seminars, lectures, family workshops and a screening of Utumaro and His Women at Friday Film Night. For a complete schedule, call 488-2631. Museum admission is $6 adults, $5 senior citizens, and $3 kids ages 3-17. -- Simmons

Paperwork: Works on Paper Through August Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, 841 Carondelet St., 522-5471 Paperwork -- there seems to be no end to it, even if these days it's mostly tapped into computers instead of typewriters. But in the art world paper is still valued for what it is: something sheer and thin that is nonetheless capable of containing powerful images. Paperwork, the art show, celebrates diversity with virtuosity ranging from David Bradshaw's ballistic action portraits of William Burroughs and large bore firing-range stereotypes of Mr. Enron, to Matthew Cox's 8-foot-wide graphic interpretation of a 1960 Chrysler Imperial rendered in hundreds of rubber-stamp imprints in red ink. If that's too heavy, try Sandy Chism's Crossings and Intersections, which resembles a delicate cascade of leaves, or maybe butterflies, but is actually comprised of the exposed patches of a map -- all that remains after many brushstrokes cover the rest. So it goes with Paperwork: you never know where paper trails are going to take you. -- D. Eric Bookhardt