The New Orleans Opera continues its 60th season with a biblical story spiced up and twisted from its original source, infused with lust, madness and beauty. Richard Strauss' third opera, SALOME, draws its text from Oscar Wilde's 1891 play of the same name, originally written in French and translated into German by Hedwig Lachmann. The play, though quite controversial for its time, inspired many great works of art. Among them was Strauss' dark, tumultuous one-act opera, which demands intense participation by every performer and thrills audiences with both its literary value and its musical power. It also marks Strauss' initial departure from the Wagnerian style for a more modern idiom, expanding upon the incredibly thick, lush orchestration that was characteristic of the Romantic era. Jokanaan (John the Baptist) has been imprisoned in a cistern for defaming the marriage of Herod, the Tetrarch of Judea, to Salome's mother, Herodias. Salome, provoked by Jokanaan's righteousness, tries to seduce him to no avail. Herod is also deeply disturbed by the holy man and tries to forget his troubles by asking Salome to dance for him. She initially refuses, but when Herod offers her anything she wants as reward, she does the dance of the Seven Veils and demands the head of Jokanaan in return. Herod resists the request but Salome will not give in. That sets the stage for a gripping finale filled with revenge and violence. The part of Jokanaan, John the Baptist, calls for a baritone with basso-profundo abilities, and Ned Barth is a superb choice. Herod is portrayed by tenor Quade Winter, while Salome's mother Herodias is sung by mezzo Kathryn Day. Salome is played by Marquita Lister, whose lyrical voice had its New Orleans Opera debut last season in Porgy and Bess, and Michael Austin sings the part of Narraboth with confidence and projection. Robert Lyall conducts. Salome arrives at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts (801 N. Rampart St.) at 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, with an optional pre-performance dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets $30-$80, dinner not included. For more information, call 529-3000. -- Manny Lander

Lou Barlow 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12 Shim Sham Club, 615 Toulouse St., 299-0666 Few individuals have done more to advance the cause of lo-fi indie rock than Lou Barlow. Founding member of Dinosaur Jr. with fellow cult figure J. Mascis, Barlow gave up on the group just before its finest hour in the early '90s. Barlow fans will attest that the move was wise because it set him free of Mascis' much-publicized musical ego and gave him time to focus on his revered side project, Sebadoh, an indie-rock force in itself. Over the years, Barlow has amassed volumes of brilliantly crafted songs for various projects, including the amalgamated Sentridoh and the roots-influenced Folk Implosion. He continues to put out quality material at a highly prolific rate. For this show, Barlow plays acoustic and solo, revealing the sheer, stripped-down beauty of his songwriting minus the post-punk reverb he started out with. Alaska and Earli Mart open. Admission $10. -- Cristina Diettinger

Drums and Tuba 10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS From the sound of it, you would never guess that New York City-based instrumental trio Drums and Tuba is made up of just three players. Virtuosic skill and scores of electronic effects push their sound above and beyond the usual realm of their instruments: drums, tuba and guitar. Heavily influenced by the New Orleans brass band tradition, the group grounds itself in the groove but still manages to push the envelope via jazz improvisation, incorporating a whole range of rock and avant-garde elements. Guitarist Neil McNeeby adds a deviant punk-rock element, often playing two guitars at once, one with a butter knife jammed in its strings. The band's well-received debut, Vinyl Killer, and its recent follow-up, Mostly Ape, both came out on Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe label. That One Guy opens. This bizarre one-man-show features a homemade instrument consisting of utility piping strung with a couple of bass and cello strings. Admission $7. -- Diettinger

Classie Ballou 10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14 Circle Bar, 1032 St. Charles Ave. 588-2616 Guitarist Classie Ballou is one of the unsung heroes of the Gulf Coast circuit that sprang to life in the '50s, as Louisiana and Texas artists started mixing up blues, swamp pop, R&B, zydeco, country, and all the myriad musical influences shared by the bordering states. Ballou cut a number of regional singles for labels such as Goldband and Excello, using Bo Diddley beats with Creole seasoning on instrumentals like "Confusion" and "Crazy Mambo." Ballou also backed up singers like Carol Fran and Roscoe Gordon, and played guitar on Boozoo Chavis' legendary single, "Paper in My Shoe." Ballou's still going strong in the new millennium, a giant of a man who makes sizzling guitar playing look and sound like child's play. He's also a hell of an entertainer who isn't content just to dust off his old hits, so don't be surprised when he throws in rockin' versions of unexpected covers like ZZ Top's "Tush" or Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama." His family is carrying on his musical traditions; at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at Mid City Lanes, Ballou's grandson Cedryl Ballou brings his accordion and his band the Trendsetters to a superb zydeco triple bill with headliners Keith Frank and Rosie Ledet. No cover at Circle Bar; Mid City Lanes cover TBA. -- Scott Jordan

Fifth Annual Progressive Dinner and Dance 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, Nov. 15 Various French Quarter locations, 523-3630 Showcasing the neighborhood's exquisite, historic houses, French Quarter Citizens for Preservation (FQCP) will again hold its annual benefit in a series of private homes. The night begins with cocktails and an awards ceremony at 927 Toulouse St., with honorees including City Council member Jacquelyn Brecthel-Clarkson and Vieux Carré Property Owners President Tony Marino, with the Pfister Sisters as entertainment. The "Rib Room Salad" (906 Toulouse St.) features jazz pianist John Royen. Gamay Bistro Executive Chef Matt Caldwell provides the entree at 908 St. Louis St., with music by Tony Green and the Gypsy Jazz Trio. Palace Cafe Executive Chef Gus Martin offers the "Dessert Extravaganza" at 931 St. Louis St. Debbie Davis joins Tim Laughlin and his band to close the evening at Pat O's on the River (Jackson Brewery, 600 Decatur St.) from 9 p.m. to midnight. Individual "all event" tickets $75 FQPC members, $125 nonmembers; dance only $45. -- Frank Etheridge

Women and Water 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 15-16; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17; through Nov. 23 Loyola University, Marquette Theater, 6363 St. Charles Ave., 865-3824 For its second production this season, Loyola presents John Guare's Civil War epic, Women and Water. Covering the turbulent Civil War years of 1861 to 1864, the play delves deeper into a context of how the conflict shaped our national history and identity. But the plot unfolds with an intimate touch, with the story told through the adventures of four young idealists brought together by circumstances of war. The group is led by the charismatic yet elusive character of Lydie Breeze as he sets out on a personal quest across a country ruined by war. Guare, whose work first premiered at Chicago's Big Game Theater, served as artist-in-residence during the play's rehearsal process. Lane Savadore directs. Tickets $10 general admission, $7 students and seniors. -- Etheridge

Luther Wright & the Wrongs 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15 Hi-Ho Lounge, 2239 St. Claude Ave., 947-9344 Luther Wright & the Wrongs pick and grin their way through Pink Floyd's The Wall on Friday at the Hi-Ho Lounge. It sounds like one of those late-night bong-hits-and-beer-fueled ideas best forgotten in the morning: a hillbilly version of the Pink Floyd album The Wall. But damn if Luther Wright & the Wrongs haven't pulled it off on Rebuild The Wall (Back Porch Records), and it doesn't sound like some half-baked novelty album, either. It actually makes sense; the emotional wasteland and isolationist themes of Roger Waters' epic translate effortlessly to the saw of a fiddle, the whine of a steel guitar, and the razor's edge of bottleneck-slide guitar. "Young Lust" becomes a roadhouse rocker, "Comfortably Numb" becomes a wistful banjo and vocals showcase, and "Run Like Hell" even boasts a flamenco intro before stomping into a full-blown hoedown. Even the original album's between-song snippets of dialogue and war sounds are expertly tweaked, transformed with Southern accents and barnyard audio. Admission $7. -- Jordan

Sonny Fortune with the David Torkanowsky Trio 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 16-17 Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Sonny Fortune (pictured) is joined by the David Torkanowsky Trio Saturday and Sunday at Snug Harbor. Saxophonist/flutist Sonny Fortune performed with Miles Davis during the mid-70s, while also releasing a number of solo LPs during that time. Fortune rapidly established a signature style, awash with yearning lines and effective use of vibrato techniques. He became a session man of choice, due to stints with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, among others. In addition, Fortune released several fine recordings for Blue Note records from 1993-1996. (His 2000 CD, In the Spirit of John Coltrane, paid homage to Trane with covers and originals.) For this two-night stand, he's paired with New Orleans pianist David Torkanowsky, whose beefy chord progressions and fluent right-hand lead lines should provide a complementary edge. Expect to hear lyrically resplendent forays coupled with a few well-placed New Orleans grooves and a series of controlled fireworks. Tickets $18. -- Glenn Astarita

The Sex Workers' Art Show 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17 Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 525-2767 Leave it to Zeitgeist founder René Broussard to book this caravan of sex on the Sabbath. OK, so maybe on the seventh day, we won't rest; instead, The Sex Workers' Art Show offers what is promised to be an "eye-popping evening" featuring performers, authors, artists and others well-versed in the tricks of the trade. The notion they present is that sex-industry workers are not just workers but also innovators and, yes, artists. The lineup is indeed formidable, including Andy Warhol pet and New York performance artist Penny Arcade, blues singer/retired porn star Candy Kane, Real Live Nude Girl author and performer Dr. Carol Queen, Chicago dominatrix/activist Carmen Li and many, many more. For more on the show, visit www.sexworkersartshow.com. Tickets $10. -- David Lee Simmons

Rob Wagner Trio 10:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18 d.b.a., 618 Frenchmen St., 942-3731 During the jazz era, 52nd Street was home to New York's most famous jazz clubs. You could go from one joint to the other and have the experience of a lifetime. Frenchmen Street has become New Orleans' very own 52nd Street, with seven clubs lined up one after the other, all offering quality music. Among the many offerings on Frenchmen, the Rob Wagner Trio's regular Monday gigs at d.b.a. stand out. The group performs all originals by multi-reed player Wagner, whose playing is aggressive, melodic and beautifully stated. Wagner is accompanied by James Singleton on bass; when he plays, Singleton truly becomes one with his instrument, accentuating every note with the most expressive body movements. Drummer James Alsanders creates a cascade of percussion, providing the perfect seal for this tightly interlocked ensemble. The unique sound that emerges from all of this consists of cacophonous, thoughtful, dynamic and well-balanced post-bebop style jazz. Wagner's currently working on the follow-up to his superb 2000 debut CD. No cover. -- Lander

Anthony Bourdain book signing 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12 Garden District Book Store, 2727 Prytania St., 895-2266 Readers cringed but couldn't stop reading when Anthony Bourdain unapologetically divulged down-and-dirty kitchen secrets (never order fish on Mondays, and never ask where the chef's hands have been) in Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Ecco Press, $24.95 hardcover; $14 paperback). After 28 years in professional kitchens, Bourdain maintains his executive chef status at Brasserie Les Halles in New York City while touring with a Food Network film crew in search of the world's most unusual, dangerous and delicious foods. In his latest book, A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines (Ecco Press, $25.95; $14.95 paperback), Bourdain offers a witty account of these travels in an inimitable style that reveals his reverence for cooks as well as his inner bon vivant. While filming in New Orleans recently, he ate at Verti Mart, Jacques-Imo's, Harbor, and Vaughan's, among other places. -- Sara Roahen

Busch: Recent Paintings Through Dec. 5 d.o.c.s. gallery, 709 Camp St., 524-3936 "Mark Twain once said, 'You can depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus ... .'" It's a line self-taught neo-expressionist artist Busch quotes to explain his approach to painting. An attorney by trade, Busch shuttles between his verbally logical left brain and his emotionally visual right brain the way some commuters shuttle between Metairie and the CBD. Unlike his legal work, which involves lengthy research and carefully plotted deliberations, his paintings convey a bold, bright and spontaneous sensibility, as if created very quickly. Busch says they're all about emotion, comparing them to silent-film actors who had to convey joy or pathos entirely with body language and facial gestures. He says they come from a place "where words are of no import ... where emotion is distinguished from reason." He claims they "also serve to emphasize and, hopefully, inspire the highest possibilities for unconditional love." -- D. Eric Bookhardt