Cupid must have struck local lovers of the classical arts, as both the LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA and NEW ORLEANS BALLET THEATRE are offering VALENTINE'S DAY-THEMED PERFORMANCES this week. After a sold-out premiere weekend last June, the local professional ballet company New Orleans Ballet Theater (NOBT) has managed to generate plenty of buzz in the dance world. This week, the group (pictured) returns with its first performance in a three-production season for 2004 in Evening of Romance Through Dance. The program includes Jimmy Gamonet's sensual pas de deux "Nous Sommes," Mikael Fokine's "Dying Swan" and Nicholai Kavaniev's "Bach de Trois." Artistic director Gregory Schramel has recruited both national and international talent to perform, a troupe with an ability to bridge both traditional and contemporary ballet. Evening of Romance Through Dance features performances 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Friday night is a special gala performance, with a Meet-the-Dancers Party following the ballet, catered food and drinks courtesy Martin's Wine Cellar, Mat & Naddie's and the Pelican Club. Tickets to the gala are $100 per person; tickets for the Thursday and Saturday show are $30. All performances will be held at NOCCA/Riverfront's Lupin Hall (2800 Chartres St.). For more information or tickets, visit www.nobt.org or call 314-1509. The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) invites you to get an early jump on the romance with the program Valentine's Day, to be performed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Pontchartrain Center (4545 Williams Blvd., Kenner). Conducted by Peter Jaffe and part of the LPO's Casual Classics series, Valentine's Day features music that embraces both romance and passion. Included are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's overture to The Marriage of Figaro, Richard Wagner's prelude and "Leibestod" from Tristan und Isolde, Georges Bizet's Carmen, Manuel de Falla's "Ritual Fire Dance" from El Amor Brujo and selections from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. Messina's Catering provides a pre-show buffet and party beginning at 6:30 p.m.; admission is $12 at the door and is cash only with reservations required (call 463-3080). Tickets to Valentine's Day range from $7-$25; to purchase or for more info, call 523-6530 or visit www.lpomusic.com. -- Frank Etheridge

The Oldest Profession 8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, Feb. 10-15 Loyola University, Lower Depths Theater, 865-3824 As a playwright, Paula Vogel attacks controversial topics with both humor and humanity. These traits are found in all her plays, which deal with AIDS, pornography and even pedophilia, which surfaces in her 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive. In The Oldest Profession, the story of five prostitutes at the end of their long careers, Vogel goes beyond the surface story of selling sex into themes of women's economic roles in a male society, security in old age, and fears of death and change. Set in New York City in 1981, the five women, the youngest of which is 72, wait for pending appointments and remember their younger days in New Orleans' Storyville District. While reminiscing about their younger selves, the women also argue about the limited options they now have and the fear that results. Lane Savadove directs. Tickets $12 general admission, $7 students/seniors, with group discounts available. -- Etheridge

Dark Star Orchestra 9 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE In the realm of cover bands, Dark Star Orchestra has a unique advantage. Thanks to the longevity of the Grateful Dead's touring career and its fans' obsession with every note that the band ever played, Dark Star Orchestra has been able to make a Deadhead's guessing game out of every show. The band -- which does sound exactly like the Grateful Dead -- recreates past Dead shows in their entirety, learning each set list, segue and solo note for note from bootlegs. As the show unfolds, the audience can try to guess which Dead show they're reliving, until the band reveals the correct answer at the end. Dark Star Orchestra is easily the most successful Dead cover band in existence. Some argue that it's a better substitute than the Grateful Dead's current incarnation, the Dead, which has struggled to regain its fervor since Jerry Garcia's death in 1995. Tickets $16-18. -- Cristina Diettinger

Art Lande & Paul McCandless 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11 Snug Harbor 626 Frenchmen St, 949-0696 Multi-reedman Paul McCandless is renowned for his work with the group Oregon. Moreover, he's stylishly integrated the oboe into various New Age and jazz-tinged musical formats. And what a welcome surprise it is, that McCandless and Colorado-based pianist/educator Art Lande are touring as a duo. McCandless' sometimes contemplative approach to the jazz vernacular serves as a counterbalancing slant to his ability to soar skyward on occasion. Lande is known for his shrewd ability to regenerate simple melodies into loosely enacted and thematically inclined improvisations. The pianist has performed and recorded with trumpeter Mark Isham, Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek and many others over the years. Yet for this show, one would surmise that the musicians would explore multihued song structures, constructed upon lilting melodies, swing grooves and extended harmonies. And given the duo setting, Lande and McCandless are apt to reengineer an assortment of rhythmical movements into compositions culled from their respective songbooks. Tickets $12. -- Glenn Astarita

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 d.b.a., 618 Frenchmen St., 942-3731 Big Chief Monk Boudreaux has been busy. He provides a guest vocal on the new Troy Andrews Mardi Gras single, "Talkin' Bout the Zulu King." He also has his own Mardi Gras record, "Keh Mama," coming out from recent sessions with the Rev. Goat Carson and John Lisi & Delta Funk. Of course, given that people have started counting down the hours until Fat Tuesday, the Big Chief has been hard at work sewing his new suit. Tonight, he's backed up by the guitar pyrotechnics of June Victory & the Bayou Renegades. At this time of year, Mardi Gras Indian songs can really put revelers in the right spirit. No cover. -- David Kunian

Blair Gimma 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 The Howlin' Wolf, 828 S. Peters St., 522-WOLF Singer-songwriter Blair Gimma strums away at The Howlin' Wolf on Thursday. She's just 20 years old, but local singer-songwriter Blair Gimma is already developing a musicality all her own. In lines about lost love and self-doubt, she dots the end of each lilting phrase with a country-style vibrato that spikes her innocent voice with a touch of wisdom. Just 16 when she began playing solo in area coffeehouses and clubs, Gimma has already amassed a sizeable songbook, with a debut album to prove it. Recorded in 2003 at Nashville Avenue studio, the album, titled Blair, is a collection of songs that Gimma wrote in her teens, some when she was as young as 15. For her current live show, she's retired at least half of those old songs and replaced them with new material. Gimma can carry a room with just her voice and a guitar, but she usually plays with a full band, a rotating cast of musicians from in and out of town. She'll be coming full force for this performance, her first live show of 2004. Frankie Bones opens. Admission $5. -- Diettinger

Robert Walter's 20th Congress 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 Tiptina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS Robert Walter's 20th Congress jams away at Tipitina's on Thursday. West Coast keyboardist Robert Walter can take partial credit for engineering the groove-jazz revival of the late 1990s. As a member of the legendary Greyboy All-Stars along with rare-groove DJ Greyboy and saxophonist Karl Denson, Walter helped create a blend of heady jazz and funky grooves that caught on with thousands of party-minded jam band fans. An offshoot of the Greyboys, Walter's organ-jazz-focused 20th Congress began in 1998. The band plays Greyboy material, covers from groove-jazz masters like Grant Green, and Walter's increasingly breakbeat-driven originals. Walter's latest CD, Giving Up the Ghost, finds him crossing way over into dance territory. Its trip-hop beats and effects back up Walter's original jazz melodies for an utterly danceable blend of jazz, funk, and studio trickery. The Johnny Vidacovich Trio and DJ Soul Sister open. Tickets $10. -- Diettinger

Krewe of Cork Parade Approximately 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13 Beginning at Court of Two Sisters, 613 Royal St. A 10-piece brass band and 300 "happy drunks" costumed in corks will parade (or is that stumble?) from toasting station to toasting station in celebration of "wine, food and fun," according to Patrick van Hoorebeek, the krewe's founder and king, and general manager of The Bistro at Maison de Ville. This year the krewe will throw beads as well as the traditional corks: "With corks, [parade goers] tend to throw them back at you. Beads they tend to keep," explains the king. Friends of the krewe and potential members may attend the King And Queen's Party following the parade; it begins at 5 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel. At 7 p.m. celebrity Grand Marshal Robert Mondavi Jr. will brandish his cape and declare, "You may all call home." To join the Krewe of Cork, visit www.kreweofcork.com. The King And Queen's Party costs $60. Fax reservation and payment information to 528-9933. -- Sara Roahen

Krewe of Endymeow 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 The Cat Practice, 1800 Hastings Place (Magazine and Felicity streets), 525-6369 For the 2004 Carnival season, the all-feline Krewe of Endymeow pays homage to those big and bad cats upriver in Baton Rouge, the national champion Tigers of LSU, with the theme "Tiger Love." This year also marks the return of the celebration to its headquarters, The Cat Practice, which was devastated in an August 2002 fire. On Saturday, cats, along with their owners and lovers, are invited to a block party that includes throws and refreshments for all felines and humans. Costuming pet and person is encouraged, with tiger costumes especially wanted to go along with the theme. The parade of cats features King Endymeow V, Bobcat Adkerson, owner of Nancy Adkerson, and Queen Endymeow V, Rosina Samuel, owner of Martha Ann Samuel. For photos of the court, visit www.catpractice.com/endymeow. -- Etheridge

New Orleans VooDoo home opener 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 New Orleans Arena, 731-1700 Forget the old definitions of football, of how and when the game is played. While the Saints still reserve a special place in our hearts and the traditional fall Sundays in the Superdome, there is now a new game in town. The New Orleans VooDoo, a recent expansion within the Arena Football League (AFL), plays the home opener of its inaugural season Saturday against the Indiana Firebirds at the New Orleans Arena. The style of play in the AFL is based on speed and style, with teams relying on the pass and kick returns to run up final scores that are more basketball than football. Played indoors, this game uses nets that surround the field and become part of the action by keeping the ball in play in wild, unpredictable bounces. Fewer players, more scores, different rules, but still hot cheerleaders (the VooDoo Dolls) -- what more could you ask for? The VooDoo season runs until May 30. Tickets $6-$99. Visit www.govoodoo.com for tickets or more info. -- Etheridge

Big Daddy O CD-release party 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 The Howlin' Wolf, 828 S. Peters St., 529-5844 On Big Daddy O's new album, Deranged Blues, he sounds like he could be sitting on his back porch or the corner of a bar, singing to a few friends who just dropped by. On the album, he has friends such as Theresa Andersson, John Gros and John Autin along to help, but his voice and acoustic guitar are at the heart of this amiable collection of largely acoustic blues. Like a good host, he works to keep his guests happy; the album is a collection of blues standards people know and can sing along to. His gift is his ability to hitch the old songs to warmer melodies, and the James Taylor cover suggests where that gift might come from. There's a little singer-songwriter in his blues, and while that might reduce the soul quotient, it ups the simple listenable factor. -- Alex Rawls

Dillinger Escape Plan 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15 The Parish at House of Blues, 229 Decatur St., 529-BLUE It's hard to decide if the members of Dillinger Escape Plan are dorks or deviants. Or maybe they're just raging geniuses. There are signs of all three in their scrambled blend of metal, mathematics, and sheer intensity. Dancing on the grind core threshold, the band relies equally on extra-loud instrumentation and high-minded composition for its astonishing sonic onslaught. Dillinger's 1999 debut, Calculating Infinity, threw metalheads for a loop and caught the attention of avant-garde guru Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle). Patton joined the band for its 2002 EP, Irony Is a Dead Scene, adding his bizarre falsetto and hard-driving raps to an already mixed-up set of unbridled instrumentation. Still touring on the strength of the EP while unveiling a deluge of new material, Dillinger plays epic shows that can easily descend into utter chaos. Soilent Green and Your Enemies Friends open. Tickets $12. -- Diettinger

Tribute to the Classical Arts 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16 Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St., 486-5900, ext. 136 With its combination of honorees, awards competition, performance and great food, the annual Tribute to the Classical Arts is one of the better lunchtime offerings you'll find. This year's Tribute features the usual honoring of achievement in classical music, voice and dance; nominated performers include NOCCA Dance, Jeanne Jaubert from Happensdance, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Chamber Players' quartet and the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Women's Chorus. The honorees are Lifetime Achievement Award winner Raquel Cortina (see A&E Feature in this issue), Special Recognition Award winner Carol Beck, Arts Education Award recipient NOCCA/Riverfront, and Arts Patron Award recipient Hibernia Bank. WGNO anchor Liz Reyes will emcee the event. Tickets $30 each, with tables of 10 available for $300. -- Simmons

O'Houligan's Ball 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16 O'Flaherty's Irish Pub, 514 Toulouse St., 529-1317 Scratch through the gilded tales of our collective Carnival history long enough, and you'll dig up some dirt. The parading partiers behind O'Flaherty's are linking this Mardi Gras to a time when their Irish ancestors, not too long after they were dying while digging canals, were not welcome at any of the season's parties and celebrations held by upper-crust New Orleans society. Reveling in their role of outcasts, the Irish created an event they could participate in, known as the O'Houligan's Ball. Partygoers dressed in wild, outlandish costumes that mocked those worn at the popular society gatherings. This Monday, for the first time in more than 100 years, the tradition returns. The night features live music and food, with each guest receiving a commemorative souvenir. Tickets $50; reservations are encouraged, and, as per tradition of the original O'Houligan's Ball, only 400 tickets are available. -- Etheridge

Tony Green Does Mardi Gras: Watercolors, oils, etchings Through February John Stinson Fine Arts, 900 S. Peters St., 566-1944 Tony Green Does Mardi Gras -- featuring the pictured work, Flambeau Captains -- is up at John Stinson Fine Arts through February. More than just a job, being an artist is a way of life. Even in the midst of last year's Mardi Gras madness, peripatetic New Orleans maestro Tony Green, in face paint, giant glasses and a shower cap, was busy sketching the action. In fact, he was even doing on-the-spot watercolors "reminiscent of the stupendous Mardi Gras paintings by the early 20th century New Orleans artist John Peter Pemberton," according to art dealer and savant of obscure erudition, John Stinson. If those are the centerpieces of the show, Green's 9-by-4-foot mural, Second Line With Pork Chop, a panorama of a typically orgiastic marching band panegyric, is also a featured attraction -- as is the Arthur Hardy Mardi Gras Memorabilia Collection. Composed of more than 500 rare items from 1858-1958, it's all yours for a mere $225,000. -- D. Eric Bookhardt