Carnival Time To paraphrase Margo Channing in All About Eve, fasten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy Mardi Gras! That's because the Carnival season is going to come and go in a comparative blur with Fat Tuesday falling on Feb. 8 this year. Yikes! Brrrrr!!! So often the Carnival season sneaks up on us, with TWELFTH NIGHT ACTIVITIES kicking off the action followed by a lull and then the parades, the parties, the tourists, etc. But this week the Twelfth Night events provide a more appropriate wake-up call, and this year there appears to be more events for the general public. Call it perfect timing. A fundraiser for Make A Wish Foundation, the New Orleans Musician's Clinic and WWOZ-FM starts off the weekend on Thursday with a party for all at the Howlin' Wolf (828 S. Peters St., 529-WOLF). Comedian, magician and former Night Court and Dave's World star Harry Anderson will emcee the celebration, which features a scheduled lineup of Bonerama, the New Orleans Jazz Vipers, a reunion performance by Egg Yolk Jubilee and, perhaps most fitting of all, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson. Costumes encouraged but not required. This is all the work of Twelfth Night Party Inc., a nonprofit upstart whose future plans include educational programs and events. Tickets are $10; showtime 10 p.m. The hip chicks at Party Girl Productions and Rosemary Kimble are also into the act on Friday with the fourth annual Twelfth Night Celebration, 2005, featuring the alliterative charm of "Carnival Couture, Costumes & Cocktails." This black-tie-optional party focuses on a costume exhibition of the EnRapturing ReRevision designer Kimble's works, with models sporting designer masks, wings, cocktail hats, headdresses, collars, adorning ball gowns and evening attire from The Red Carpet. The party will be held at the W Hotel and its Zoë Restaurant and Bar (333 Poydras St., 309-8320). Admission to the invitation-only VIP Soiree is $25, while the party itself is free to the public. Soiree begins at 6 p.m., party at 8 p.m., with fashion shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Visit www.Rosemaryi.com for more info. Friends of Rivertown also presents its annual fundraiser with Twilight at Twelfth Night on Saturday at the Pontchartrain Center (4545 Williams Blvd., Kenner, 468-7293). WWL anchor Eric Paulsen presides over the black-tie party that features music by the Bucktown All-Stars, the Joe Simon Jazz Trio and dance music by a DJ from Off the Record. Music from more than 25 area restaurants will be served, while guests can also enjoy a Mini-Mardi Gras Parade, the Twelfth Night Court Tableau, and a presentation of the Golden Flambeau Award to Julie Kraft. Tickets $50 general admission, $100 reserved seating (group rates available). The party runs from 8 p.m. to midnight. Finally, the Mystic Krewe of Satyricon chimes in with its third annual Twelfth Night Ball on Saturday at the Venusian Gardens (2601 Chartres St., 525-4498). New Orleans' newest gay Mardi Gras krewe will announce its Carnival-season theme and present the King and Queen Satyricon III. The party will include complimentary buffet and cash bar, and a raffle drawing. Tickets $20. Party starts at 8 p.m. -- David Lee Simmons

CoCo York 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6 The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp St., 539-9600; www.ogdenmuseum.org Arkansas jazz singer CoCo York has spent much of her career in Europe. She taught at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands for 13 years, and performed across Europe and Southeast Asia. She has played residencies in Hong Kong nightclubs as well as concerts for royalty. York sang at numerous state functions and embassy gigs, twice performing at events honoring President Bill Clinton. York¹s professional career began in New Orleans, and her takes on soul standards like 'Dr. Feelgood' and 'You Send Me show a New Orleans sensibility. Like Charmaine Neville, she has a saucy way with a vocal, and isn¹t afraid to scat or explore the melodic possibilities presented by a song. Admission free for Ogden members, $10 for non-members. -- Alex Rawls

At the Club Toot Sweet on Bourbon Street 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 6-8; 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9; through Jan. 23 Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St., 522-2081; www.lepetittheatre.com Amanda Zirchenbach performs as Dixie Lee Barrymore in Le Petit's revival of At the Club Toot Sweet on Bourbon Street this weekend. 'David's father was a ventriloquist who worked in the clubs on Bourbon Street, smack dab in the middle of the 1950s,' Ricky Graham says of co-writer David Cuthbert, who spent many afternoons of his youth in the exotic world where his dad performed. 'Probably a third of the jokes in our show come from the ventriloquist act.' At the Club Toot Sweet on Bourbon Street, which opens for a revival at Le Petit, was inspired in part by Cuthbert's memory of those childhood haunts. Toot Sweet first beguiled theater-goers six years ago at Southern Rep; this time out the show features several veterans of the original cast -- Sean Patterson, Troi Bechet and Roy Haylock -- as well some scintillating newcomers such as Yvette Hargis, Bob Edes, Jessie Terrebonne and Mandy Zirkenbach. Once again, composer Harry Mayronne's original tunes are guaranteed to keep the joint jumpin' and the hips swayin' (for the boys in the balcony, doncha know). Louche local history is back in the spotlight. Tickets $26 adults, $21 students. -- Dalt Wonk

Nita and Zita 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday & Monday, Jan. 6-8 & 10; 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9; through Jan. 16 Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 528-3800; www.cacno.org Flora and Piroska Gellert were born in the early 1920s in a Jewish shtetl in Hungary. When they grew up, they became 'artistic dancers' with the stage names Nita and Zita. In the late 1940s, when their act was featured on Bourbon Street, they settled into a Creole cottage in Faubourg Marigny -- where, after many eccentric adventures, they passed away in poverty and obscurity several decades later. The real Nita and Zita, that is; the surreal Nita and Zita rose to a glorious afterlife, thanks to a collaborative effort by Kathy Randels, Katie Pearl, Anne-Liese Juge Fox and Lisa D'Amour. Their show debuted in 2000 at Zeitgeist, played at Southern Rep in 2002, and then, went briefly to New York City (where it received a special citation from the Village Voice for collaborative achievement in off-Off Broadway. Randels and Pearl are bringing the irrepressible sisters back once again, this time to the CAC, with Tom McDermott returning on piano. Don't miss this tasty and tasteful little bio-drama. Tickets $15 general admission, $12 CAC members, students and seniors (with a pay-what-you-can performance Monday, Jan. 10). Tickets to the Nita and Zita tour fundraiser at 7 p.m. Thursday are $50, with a performance workshop at 7 p.m. next Tuesday (Jan. 11) for $25. -- Wonk

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7-9, through Jan. 23 Westwego Performing Arts Theatre, 177-A Sala Ave., Westwego, 885-2000; www.jpas.org The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a long-running, sure-fire hit with audiences on the stage as well as the big screen. The story is based on the true story of the legendary Chicken Ranch brothel that operated from the 1840s until 1973, when it was finally shut down thanks to the crusading efforts of a conservation Houston radio commentator. The musical takes place in the final days of the Chicken Ranch (so named for Depression-era customers that were allowed to pay with poultry), when another crusader, this time a television reporter known thus far in his career for exposing a peanut bar manufacturer, works to cease what he dubs the 'loves copulation' at the brothel. Michelle Pietri directs this Jefferson Performing Arts Society production, which stars Butch Claire and Wayne Daigrepoint. Tickets are $25 adults, $12 students under age 18 with ID. -- Frank Etheridge

Adam's Attic, Addavoy and Soulmod 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE; www.hob.com Somewhere in the Old Testament, one of the 'begats' -- Noah's great-great-great grandson or someone like that -- had to have formed a band that played chiming chords with soaring lead guitar lines while the singer sang about how deeply he needeth thou. In those songs, the singer plays fast and loose with the pronoun 'thou' -- is it a woman, is it God, or is it both? Adam's Attic continues in that age-old tradition of sincere, slightly sensitive pop 'n' roll, returning with Š In the Blink of an Eye (independent), a five-song CD full of singer-songwriter Joe Henry's yearning, passionate songs with a hint of ambiguity. Opening are two other New Orleans pop 'n' roll bands, Addavoy, who are similarly sincere, and Soulmod, a band less guarded about its faith. Tickets $9-$11. -- Rawls

Snooks Eaglin, Eddie Bo, George Porter Jr., Oliver "Who Shot the La La" Morgan, and Al "Carnival Time" Johnson 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8 Mid City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl, 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133; www.rockandbowl.com What better way to transition out of the holiday season and into Carnival season than with some of the legends of New Orleans R&B? In the tradition of the Ponderosa Stomp, the night features Oliver 'Who Shot the La La' Morgan and Al 'Carnival Time' Johnson, who have been paired as a revue in recent years, and one of New Orleans' great songwriters and piano players, Eddie Bo. Headlining is guitarist-vocalist Snooks Eaglin, whose blend of R&B, soul and blues is so personal and unpredictable that only his most simpatico collaborator, bassist George Porter Jr., can keep up with him. Eaglin can follow the funkiest, most soulful moment with 'Winchester Cathedral' and make it work. Admission $10. -- John Swenson

Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Papa Grows Funk 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS; www.tipitinas.com The Dirty Dozen Brass Band showed this year that it remains one of the most influential and innovative New Orleans bands by staying fairly true to its roots. Funeral for a Friend (Rope-A-Dope) recreates a jazz funeral and is one of the group's most critically acclaimed albums to date. Amazon.com's editors named it the runner-up to Jazz Record of the Year. This year, the Dozen also collaborated on two Grammy-nominated awards, Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News and Dr. John's Dis, Dat or D'Udda. Part of the band's appeal comes from its ability to change with the times but remain true to its past. With guitarist Jamie McLean and kit drummer Terence Higgins, it defies brass-band tradition and remains the city's gold standard nonetheless. Papa Grows Funk opens. Tickets $12. -- Reuben Brody

Jonathan McPhee presents "Out of This World" 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9 NOCCA/Riverfront, 2800 Chartres St., 940-2900; www.nocca.com Jonathan McPhee joins the LPO for the concert/discussion, "Out of this World," Sunday, Jan. 9, at NOCCA/Riverfront. Two LPO performances follow next week. Jonathan McPhee makes the most of his time in town by leading three concerts over the next two weeks. McPhee's global reputation comes built on his work as a conductor, arranger and composer for both orchestra and dance companies, with a knack for creating music accessible to both aficionados and casual classical fans. The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) will join McPhee for a concert/discussion 'Out of This World,' in which the combine forces to explore the extraterrestrial joys of Gustav Holst's The Planets, an acclaimed suite debuted in 1918 and rooted in Greek mythology and astrology. On Jan. 13 and 15, McPhee will conduct the LPO for two concerts at the Orpheum Theater that include The Planets in the program. Tickets for Sunday's concert are $20, with $7 student 'rush' tickets available 20 minutes before curtain. -- Etheridge

Galatoire's 100th Birthday Party 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10 Galatoire's Restaurant, 209 Bourbon St., 525-2841 Galatoire's is famous for many things, from delicious shrimp remoulade to scandalous waiters, but among its many charms is a devoted clientele that will wait in line for hours to dine in its Old World ambience. The line length peaks on two particular Fridays, the one before Christmas and before Mardi Gras, but this Monday the restaurant hopes to celebrate its 100th birthday by setting the world record for World's Longest Line. A street party, featuring live music by Sullivan Dabney, will help accommodate the expected crowd. The restaurant will open its doors from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on its birthday, and will give presents at random to its guests -- including a dinner for four and an assortment of 100th anniversary commemorative pieces. The first 100 people in line qualify for the grand prize: a reserved table for six the Friday before Mardi Gras. The standard proper attire is required. -- Etheridge

Jimmy Eat World 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE; www.hob.com Jimmy Eat World brought emo music to the masses. At a time when Limp Bizkit and Korn chided their parents for not loving them enough or warned suckas to beware, Jimmy Eat World had the guts to wear its heart on its sleeve. Love, sadness, uncertainty, thoughtfulness and unfettered emotion became acceptable once again and envisioned a new landscape free of rock 'n' roll meatheads. It's no wonder that on the new Futures (Interscope), the slow, heartfelt songs are where the band still shines most. The last track, '23,' slowly builds a repeating, somber guitar line that tugs on the listener like the feeling expressed in the lyrics, that time passes and won't return so you have to enjoy it now. Tickets $19. -- Rob Bryant

Alan Gerson: Under See Through February LeMieux Galleries, 332 Julia St., 522-5988 Ah, the sea. Beyond those sleek, silver-finned exhibitionists zipping around in the climate-controlled waters of the Aquarium of the Americas, and even beyond the emerald waves lapping on the balmy shores of Cancun, the sea remains a primordial mystery that biologists regard as the source of life on earth. It is also the subject of Alan Gerson's new oil paintings, and here Gerson is true to form, for his watery world is a place of terrible beauty and beatific terror. Crammed to the gills with an awesome variety of life, Gerson's sea is a Hobbesian chamber of aquatic horrors, a dogfish-eat-dogfish world where survival, even of the fittest, is no sure thing. Are the biologists really right about this -- are these finned demons really our ancestors? Leave it to Gerson to explore the sea's deeper ramifications. -- D. Eric Bookhardt