Reel Identities 2004: The New Orleans Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 26-29 Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581 -5812 The debut of last year's Reel Identities film festival was a breath of fresh air to the local movie-going landscape, a smashing success that proved that there is an audience for alternative film fare. This year's offerings span the spectrum, following a blueprint similar to the fall's New Orleans Film Festival with winners in four key competition categories: Best Narrative Short, Best Experiment Short, Best Documentary Feature and Best Narrative Feature. But our personal favorite has a local flavor: Britney Baby, One More Time was inspired by the adventures of Britney Spears look-alike/drag queen Angel Benton (aka Robert Stephens). The film is the centerpiece of the opening-night reception, which will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Ariodante Contemporary Crafts Gallery (535 Julia St.) with a Britney look-alike contest and a screening of the film. For ticket and showtime information, visit www.reelidentities.com. The festival benefits the Lesbian and Gay Community Center of New Orleans. -- Simmons

"Mainly Mozart" 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26; 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 Orpheum Theater, 127 University Place, 523-6530 The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra offers two chances for a soothing night out after the craziness of Carnival with a program highlighted by the works of classical music's most accessible genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Led by conductor Klauspeter Seibel, the LPO will begin the evening with a rendition of Mozart's famed Overture to The Magic Flute. The piece is considered the composer's most successful and popular effort, although he was unable to enjoy the financial fruit of it because of his untimely death shortly after its creation. Rounding out the energetic selections are Mozart's "Divertimento No. 1" and "Symphony No. 41." Giovanni Gabrieli's "Canzonas for Brass" is also on the program. Tickets range from $13-$62; to order tickets or for more info, visit www.lpomusic.com. -- Frank Etheridge

Zu Zu Mudd 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 The Howlin Wolf, 828 S. Peters 522-WOLF "Gilly Bibbons, Husky Dill, and Bank Fear'd" make up this tribute to that li'l old band from Texas, ZZ Top. The act might sound like a joke and something more appropriate for a truck-stop casino, but the band is a fun way for guitarist Brint Anderson to bankroll his brand of Elmore James-influenced blues. His way around a guitar earned him gigs with George Porter Jr., Dr. John and Earl King, and the rest of the band -- drummer Mike Barras and bassist Dennis Dedeno -- have similarly solid musical pedigrees. The result is a band having a blast playing everything from "Jesus Just Left Chicago" to "Legs" and doing justice to the material. It started simply, but now the band wears the famous beards and has added props like 8-foot-tall cacti. "We're also looking for a stuffed bobcat," Anderson says. "This gig has gotten an excellent reception. It's good for all ages. We've played everywhere from Harrah's to motorcycle rallies." Tickets $7. -- David Kunian

Queer as Folk DVD signing 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 Best Buy, 6205 Veterans Memorial Blvd., 780-0172 Not quite as graceful as Will & Grace, not quite as sexy as Sex in the City, not quite as underground as Six Feet Under, Showtime's Queer as Folk continues to skirt along the edges of TV superstardom in its depiction of the lives of gay men and women living in contemporary Pittsburgh. The one-hour drama gets more points for bravado and audacity than it does for its writing, which is unfortunate considering its willingness to cover just about every gay topic under the sun (and sheets). And if the release of the third season on DVD this Tuesday shows yet another disappointment -- 14 episodes instead of the usual 21 -- it's no matter. The show, featuring Randy Harrison, Scott Lowell and Peter Paige, still goes where few shows (even cable) dare to go, which is reason enough to catch this trio while they're in town signing copies of the newly released DVD box set. -- Simmons

Donald Harrison Jr. 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Even though Mardi Gras will be over by this point, it is still Donald Harrison's season. Harrison will be pumped from having paraded as the Big Chief of the Congo Nation Mardi Gras Indian tribe on Fat Tuesday. He'll need that energy; besides his Indian duties, he has been working on a new album that is more hip-hop and R&B than the post-bop jazz for which he is known. His last two albums have featured Mardi Gras Indians music, including 2001's Indian Blues with Dr. John, so expect that and some of the instrumentals from the forthcoming release. Harrison has not, however, turned his back on albums like Free to Be and Nouveau Swing. He will be sharing the stage with Ocie Davis on drums, David Pulphus on bass and Victor Atkins on piano, and these fine musicians know what swing is all about. Tickets $15. -- Kunian

<The Naked Orchestra 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 Dragon's Den, 435 Esplanade Ave., 949-1750 Large-scale bands like Tim DeLaughter's Polyphonic Spree only recently broke into the mainstream rock festival circuit, but local iconoclast Jonathan Freilich has been heading up The Naked Orchestra since 1999. Freilich created a big band that has included Joe Cabral, Michael Ray and Tim Green, among others, out of a desire for more voices in the compositions he was writing for jazz quintet Naked on the Floor. Shunning stylistic trends and cultural confines, his pieces aim for complete freedom. The concept eventually drew more than 20 players from all corners of the improvisational music community, all of whom revere Freilich's peripatetic compositions. Exploiting influences from Mingus to Morricone, the material blends the freedom of jazz with the epic potential of ensemble composition. So far, the Orchestra has yielded one recording, 2001's Brief Repairs on the Gradually Unraveling Spool in the Sense Continuum. The album features much of the material that the Orchestra plays live, including the wayward title track and the bluesy Gen X anthem "Well ... Whatever!" Call club for cover. -- Cristina Diettinger

Col. Bruce Hampton & the Codetalkers 10:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak St., 866-LEAF A minor member of the 1960s rock circle that included Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, Col. Bruce Hampton broke ground with the Atlanta-based Hampton Grease Band. He was known for his outrageous, in-the-moment speeches and stage antics, but a generation later, he led the beloved '90s Aquarium Rescue Unit that established his reputation as a jam band godfather, a reputation enhanced by frequent guest spots with bands such as Widespread Panic and Phish. After leaving the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Hampton remained a proponent for improvisation in a handful of groups such as the Fiji Mariners and Planet Zambee. Hampton's current incarnation, the Codetalkers, features the songwriting of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Lee Rodgers, who co-fronts the band. First put to wax on last year's eponymous debut, the Codetalkers' material is more structured than that of Hampton's past projects, but it still leaves plenty of room for freewheeling. Call club for cover. -- Diettinger

The Harlem Globetrotters 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29 New Orleans Arena, 522-5555 With our Hornets, local basketball fans are now two winning seasons deep in the showcase that is the NBA. While the big leagues consistently deliver the stars and stellar play, it's an apples-and-oranges comparison to the athletic hijinks of the Harlem Globetrotters, who remain a top draw in town with semi-annual games played here despite the presence of an NBA franchise. The famed club's roots trace back to its first game in 1927, and days of segregation produced stars such as Goose Tatum and Curly Neal. The team's lasting popularity is evidenced in the fact that the Globetrotters attracted more than 70,000 fans in a six-game stretch Feb. 6-8. The current roster features one familiar face making a homecoming: recent Arizona graduate and former St. Augustine star Eugene Edgerson, in his rookie season as a Globetrotter. Tickets start at $12 and are available through the Arena box office, Ticketmaster and Major Video outlets. For more info visit www.harlemglobetrotters.com. -- Etheridge

Second Annual "Oscar Night America: Red Cross, Red Carpet" 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29 Loews New Orleans Hotel, 300 Poydras St., 620-3105 Will Lord of the RIings drop Master and Commander into the fires of Mount Doom? Will Sean Penn's Method Man act trump Bill Murray's Middle Age Angst? Will Patricia Clarkson become an even bigger hometown heroine? Are you really going to wear that? These questions and more will be answered when local cinephiles dress up and head on down to one of these popular Academy Awards viewing parties -- both of which serve worthy causes. The Red Cross' affair, which benefits the local chapter, features a 6 p.m. VIP party (broadcast begins at 7 p.m.), a martini bar, coffee, food from Emeril's, pampering from the H2O Beauty Bar, and a predict-the-winners contest. Tickets $50 per person ($80 VIP). The Prytania party, benefiting the New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), features beer and wine, food from Lulu's and The Savvy Gourmet, and prizes from the NOFF, the Prytania, local spas, restaurants, predict-the-winners and trivia contests, and more. Local attorney/actor/film producer Michael Arata emcees. Tickets $15 general admission, $12 NOFF members (ballots free). -- Simmons

Jim Markway Quartet 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29 Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Bassist Jim Markway will be playing material from his just-released second album, Forward Motion, at this show with the group that recorded it -- tenor saxophonist Tim Green, keyboardist Mike Lemmler and drummer Doug Belote. Each member of the quartet, which has been together for two years, is a veteran of the local music scene with an eclectic resume that covers jazz, rock blues, funk and pop. Markway himself was part of Jasmine, with James Black, Cassandra Wilson, Patrice Fisher and Kent Jordan, and has played with John Mooney, Leslie Smith, Andy J. Forest, Bruce Daigrepont, Joe Krown and Brint Anderson. On his own he's a dexterous, fusion-style electric bassist with a strong book of original compositions. "Skagen," "Red Bass Shuffle" and "Becca's Dream" all develop out of memorable melodic themes and provide great platforms for the soloists -- especially Green, who can weave angular lines or thick, big-toned blues statements with equal facility. -- John Swenson

Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb 8 p.m. Monday, March 1 The Parish at the House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Far edgier than Steve and Edie, yet mild-mannered compared to Sid and Nancy, Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb just might be the perfect New Millennium couple. Dweezil was heir apparent to his father's throne, appearing with Frank live ("You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore") and recording several good albums (including 2000's Automatic). But his contempt for the contemporary music scene exceeds even his dad's. Loeb, on the other hand, started out as a DIY artist -- her first release was the cassette-only Purple Acoustic Tape -- and became a star after writing "Stay" at director Ben Stiller's request for the 1994 movie Reality Bites. Though she has been less musically active recently, Loeb had Zappa help produce her latest album, Cake and Pie. The two host Food Network show Dweezil & Lisa; in one episode, he makes pancakes based on dad's tune "St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast," while she's a vegetarian who eats the breading off fried chicken. -- Swenson

Christy Kane: Photographs and Dolls Through March Poet's Gallery, 3113 Magazine St., 899-4100 Some girls have all the luck. Christy Kane is best known as the singer-guitarist of the Hazard County Girls, the "monster truck loud" group that's appeared with cello rock band Rasputina, among other, less mentionable entities. If her slightly twisted musicianship is a gift of the gods (we won't say which gods), her no-less-twisted eye is rather less known. It's a visual flair that has taken her down such dark and winding labyrinths as Magazine Street, where her only slightly morbid dolls and photos appear at Poet's Gallery. And if dolls and photos seem an odd combination, consider that the photos might even be of those fated dolls themselves, engaged in only mildly morbid scenarios, for the viewer's visual delectation. Dolls are so cute, and these are like bearers of mysterious messages. Sealed with a twist. -- D. Eric Bookhardt