When Rio Hackford arrived in New Orleans from Los Angeles to open El Matador (504 Esplanade Ave., 569-8361) for Jazz Fest 1999, he thought it was only for a few months. The son of Hollywood film director Taylor Hackford, who owned the building at the corner of Decatur Street and Esplanade Avenue, Hackford changed the establishment from a gay cabaret to a Spanish-themed rock 'n' roll bar to save the liquor license assigned to its former manager, an alleged victim of video poker. Before long, the bar was a bastion of downtown club life. Five years later, Hackford is losing the lease to actor Harry Anderson, who purchased the building from Taylor with the intention to open a magic club in El Matador's place. Often thought of as a kitschy dive for downtown rocker types, El Matador has been many things to many people: a springboard for Ninth Ward boho-punk bands, a stopping-off place for touring novelty acts, a haunt for visiting rock and/or movie stars, a haven for Jackson Square jazz buskers, and the kind of place you could stop in from afternoon to early morning. "Locals really embraced the place," says Hackford, visibly unhappy about the purchase, "and they embraced me at the same time." El Matador regulars, Hackford among them, have spent hundreds of nights at the corner nook, jamming quarters in its rock-laden jukebox, sipping cocktails in its gold-spangled booths, or scrutinizing its constant stream of obscure touring bands. Paving the way for newer neighborhood music venues, such as d.b.a., The Spotted Cat and Café Negril, El Matador marked the threshold where French Quarter tourism gave way to Faubourg Marigny hipness. Hackford is planning to make EL MATADOR'S LAST DAYS count, this Tuesday through Sunday, with a lineup of the venue's most popular regular acts, including the final installments of weekly gigs such as Wednesday's Soul Rebels Brass Band throw-down, Friday's roots-rock rave up by the Stump Knockers, and Saturday's Allianza Flamenca performance. Late night, the club will feature local favorites like swamp-rock band Happy Talk, Ninth Ward organ wizard Quintron, and "carnival country" band Bingo!, closing out with a performance by rock monster Supagroup (pictured) on Sunday. "On the upside," says Hackford, "it's been a great run, and it's nice to go out on top with such a cool joint." Check music listings for full schedule, dates and times. Call club for cover charges. (Hackford, who still owns Pal's Lounge in Mid-City, has plans for a future bar in the Lower Garden District. Stay tuned.) --Cristina Diettinger

Truck Stop Movie Tour 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7 Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 525-2767 After studying filmmaking at Harvard's Visual and Environmental Studies Department, Bill Brown embraced the "essay film" sub-genre of documentary filmmaking. The results have been a series of short films that perform as a travelogue of sorts. The 30-minute Confederation Park, made in 1999, is a travel diary from Canada in which Brown interviews both English-speaking and French-speaking natives on what it's like to be a Canadian. Buffalo Common (2001), is a 20-minute look at how the elimination of an intercontinental ballistic missile silo -- and its aging Scandinavian farmer population -- has affected a North Dakota community. This year's 20-minute Mountain State provides a glimpse at the history of westward expansion in the form of 25 roadside historical markers in West Virginia. Tickets $6 general admission, $5 students/seniors, $4 Zeitgeist members. -- David Lee Simmons

"NOCCA 30th Anniversary Homecoming Still Making History After All These Years" 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11 NOCCA/Riverfront, 2800 Chartres St., 940-2854 Say the words "NOCCA" and "alumni" in the same sentence, and the possibilities are limitless. And sure enough, to celebrate 30 years of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, the NOCCA Alumni Association has put together a fairly impressive lineup. Legendary jazz educators Ellis Marsalis and Alvin Batiste will lend their formidable performing talents in this setting, but all artistic disciplines will be represented, from a visual arts alumni exhibition to creative writing and theatrical readings. Other attractions include a vocal performance from Swing Set, A View Into the Past: NOCCA Then & Now Archival Exhibit, and dance and classical instrumental performances around the center's impressive Riverfront campus at the border of the Bywater and Faubourg Marigny neighborhoods. Free admission. -- Simmons

Alan Gerson: The Children's Hour Through Jan. 24 LeMieux Galleries, 332 Julia St., 522-5988 Ah, childhood. Many Americans idealize their childhood as a time spent among wonderful friends under the guidance of their picture-perfect parents. Alan Gerson, a painter known for irony, never fell for that one. A lawyer by training, Gerson has a more Hobbesian view, a "law of the jungle" outlook that pervades his childhood-inspired canvases. Even a seemingly innocent scene of a little girl on a swing, her cute pink dress billowing in the breeze, is cast in a darker light when we notice, emerging from the bushes in front of her, a pointing finger, an arm clad in a business suit. The figure is implicit, just outside the frame, but, as with so many of Gerson's paintings, it sends a little shiver down the spine, a touch Alfred Hitchcock would surely have appreciated. -- D. Eric Bookhardt

Hungry for Music benefit 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS Chris Thomas King (pictured) joins Peter Holsapple, Andi Hoffman & B-Goes, and Laura Freeman for the Hungry for Music benefit Wednesday at Tipitina's. Hungry for Music's mission is to donate musical instruments for disadvantaged children throughout the United States and Mexico. One of its most important fundraising avenues is compilation CDs, including its latest, We Are Each Other's Angels, Vol. I & II. This two-disc, 39-song effort hues to the "angel" theme, which wouldn't be much more than conceptual if the songs weren't so well-chosen (Iris DeMent's "Infamous Angel," for example). The set is also laden with local contributions, some of which will be performed at this benefit that hopefully will bask in the glow of the post-holiday spirit. Chris Thomas King ("Raining Angels"), Peter Holsapple ("Angels," performed on the disc with Chris Stamey), Andi Hoffman & B-Goes ("Angel on Dante Street") and Laura Freeman ("Angels With Harmonicas") are all scheduled for perform. The CD also features locals Spencer Bohren, the subdudes, and Lenny McDaniel, as well as such big-timers as Delbert McClinton, Nanci Griffith and the late June Carter Cash. Proceeds from the $7 will go to area children. -- Simmons

A Midsummer Night's Dream 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Jan. 9-10; through Jan. 16 Tulane University, Dixon Hall, 865-5105, ext. 2 Following an offseason filled with controversy, The Shakespeare Festival at Tulane provides a mid-winter treat with A Midsummer Night's Dream in a remounting of an acclaimed production from this past summer. One of Shakespeare's earliest comedies, the play tracks familiar Bard themes of love, dreams and their collective formation in creative imagination. The story follows two couples whose already-complicated love lives are twisted further when they enter some magical woods presided over by the King and Queen of the Fairies. With biting satire underlying the entire work, this particular Shakespeare play has come into great favor among contemporary directors and theater companies after scholarly evaluation of the writing reveals a genius not as recognized in previous times. Aimee K. Michel directs Gavin Mahlie in his return as Puck, along with Casie Bordelon as Moth. Tickets $20 adults, $15 Tulane staff, $7 students and theater professionals. -- Frank Etheridge

Grease 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Jan. 9-10; 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11; through Feb. 1 Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St., 522-2081 Thirty years after it first stormed Broadway, Grease, the charming story that put a soundtrack to 1950s nostalgia, has secured a solid spot of significance in our cultural history. So has Frankie Ford, the Gretna native and resident best known for his 1959 mega-hit, "Sea Cruise." For an all-new production of Grease, director Brandt Blocker is pairing the two icons together as Ford joins a cast portraying the Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies in their coming-of-age days at Rydell High. The plot follows the love story between two young lovebirds from different worlds, of bad-boy Danny Zuko (played by Matthew Ragas) and sweet-girl Sandy Dumbrowski (Amanda Zirkenbach). Hit songs from the original score include "Summer Lovin'," "Greased Lightnin'" and "We Go Together." Tickets $26 adults, $21 students and children. -- Etheridge

Snooks Eaglin and Eddie Bo 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9 Mid-City Rock 'n' Bowl, 4133 S. Carrolton Ave., 482-3133 Right in time for the beginning of the season (not the holiday season, silly; the other season!), Mid City Lanes is presenting an evening of legendary rhythm and blues to get you pumped and primed for booze, beads, Zulu and Indians. R&B/blues guitarist Snooks Eaglin is a whole parade himself, and he might be able to play every Mardi Gras song ever recorded. He is a New Orleans treasure and not to be missed. Master pianist Eddie Bo will be playing with Eaglin and reeling off his litany of hits ("Hard Times," "Hook and Sling," "I'm Wise, Slippin and Slidin'," "Check Your Bucket" and a ton of others) Watch out for patrons doing the best line dance of the last century to Bo's "Check Mr. Popeye." Tickets $10 ­ David Kunian

Fake Fest 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9; through Friday, Jan. 23 The Dock, 1926 West End Pkwy., 738-2206 There is always a collective need to rock out to your favorite bands, no matter that the musicians of the bands are now perhaps dead, aging poorly or reclusive. This month The Dock presents Fake Fest, a series of Friday nights with tribute bands recreating the magic of some of the best rock the 1970s and '80s had to offer. This Friday, Toronto Airport delivers the music of Rush. On Jan. 16, the Curtis Lowe Band rehashes the Southern boogie of Lynyrd Skynyrd. On Jan. 23, Rat Poison and Elvis Osbourne pay homage to one of rock's greatest genres: the 1980s hair bands. Fake Fest ends with Aerosmith impersonators Draw the Line, a group whose homage to the Toxic Twins and crew is so exact it earned an endorsement from the real McCoy, frontman Steven Tyler. All shows 10 p.m.; call club for admission info. -- Etheridge

Roger McGuinn benefit concert 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 Rosy's Jazz Hall, 500 Valence St., 842-7113 Byrds founder Roger McGuinn performs Ochsner Clinic's benefit for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's research Saturday at Rosy's Jazz Hall. With a benefit concert featuring Roger McGuinn, founder of the Byrds, hosted by the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, Saturday night is the time to turn, turn, turn your support to research efforts to combat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. While nearly 4.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with the diseases, no cure for either ailment is available. Lending his talents in support of research for a cure, McGuinn will perform as the night's featured artists, and the singer-songwriter and guitarist is sure to take pages from a storied songbook that includes '60s hits such as "My Back Pages" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" along with later material from the Grammy-nominated Treasures From the Folk Den album (2000). After his show, McGuinn will stick around for conversation in a patron party that features complimentary appetizers and cocktails. Tickets for the concert $30, concert plus patron party $125; call early, as only 300 tickets are available for the concert, and only 50 for the patron party. -- Etheridge

Sweet Charity >7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10; 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11; through Jan. 18 Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 400 Phlox Street, 885-2000 Sweet Charity kicks off the Jefferson Performing Arts Society's (JPAS) '04 portion of the 2003-04 season in grand fashion. One of the most popular Broadway musicals ever, Charity also features some of the biggest names anywhere: Neil Simon wrote the book for the show, which in itself was inspired by Frederico Fellini's 1957 film, Nights of Cabiria. Launched in 1966, Charity earned eight Tony Award nominations with the great Bob Fosse earning the only award, for Best Choreography. So it would only seem fitting that Cynthia Owen would tackle the title role; it was Owen who had the guts to take on Sally Bowen in last season's ambitious production of Cabaret. Both characters are iconic floozies, though Charity is a tad more optimistic and perhaps less jaded than Sally. Dennis Assaf conducts the JPAS orchestra while William McCrary directs. Tickets 12-$26. -- Simmons

Kirk Joseph and Backyard Groove 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 Funky Butt, 714 N. Rampart St., 558-0782 There was a time when the sousaphone was an instrument for squares. It was associated with oom-pah ensembles, polka players, and moldy fig Dixieland bands. We all know how hip those folks are. Then came the Dirty Dozen Brass Band with their sousaphonist extraordinaire Kirk Joseph, and it all changed. Kirk played funk, rhythm and blues, and be-bop lines on his horn and by doing that completely revolutionized the instrument. These days Joseph keeps busy with All That, Anders Osborne, the Treme Brass Band, and others. For his solo gig at the Funky Butt, Joseph says, "If the first Dirty Dozen Brass Band was still around, this is what it would expect. This is versatile and original and high energy. It's things you might not expect to hear." Tickets $7. -- Kunian