Tonight, post-punk at Siberia, Harry Shearer at Loyola, and weekly gigs from Frenchmen to Oak Street. On this day in 1682, the Louisiana Territory received its name from Sieur de la Salle. Now, more to do this Monday.

Usually pushing forward with the day's news, levee criticism or jokes, Cokie Roberts and Harry Shearer aren't much for looking back. But Loyola will find the news diva and comedian in nostalgic moods in separate events over the next week. Roberts is scheduled to speak at the Uptown university Thursday, while Shearer takes the stage Monday, April 8. 

Tonight, enjoy sing-a-longs at the CAC and the Allways, plus catch a broadway performance of Mary Poppins. On this day in 1836, the City Council prohibited masked balls and parades. Now, more to do this holiday hump day.

by Emma Boyce

Jazz up your holiday season with some much needed folly at the Contemporary Arts Center on December 18 and 19 for Judith Owen and Harry Shearer’s Holiday Sing-A-Long. If you’re already grunting ‘bah, humbug’ at the very idea of a sing-a-long, think again. Shearer—the guy who brought you the sinister scrooge himself, Mr. Burns of The Simpsons, and helped bring you the mockumentary This is Spinal Tap— and his singing, songwriting wife revitalize hackneyed Christmas classics with plenty of biting wit and irony.    

There won't be a red carpet and the guest list is out in the open for everyone to see, but we did manage to get Harry Shearer for our benefit! This evening, Night Out for NoDef rolls into Blue Nile on Frenchmen Street, with proceeds helping NOLA Defender recover losses from a recent burglary that wiped out the upstart publication's technological capabilites.

On the heels of last week's burglary at NOLA Defender headquarters, one commenter said it best: "I'd be happy to contribute what I can, but this is NOLA, where's the benefit concert?" Well, he's right. And so, Night Out for NoDef was born. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 20. That night, comic actor, documentarian and man of many other descriptors Harry Shearer will MC an evening of music art at the Blue Nile (532 Frenchmen St.).  Music will be provided by  NoDef playlist alums Honey Island Swamp Band and Helen Gillet along with a silent auction featuring works by Susan Gisleson, Zack Jacobs, Lance Vargas and more. The cover charge for the evening is $10.

by Ryan Sparks

Part-time New Orleanain Harry Shearer has a knack for being both socially conscious and sociable. While we are all proud of the work he’s done with his Katrina doc The Big Uneasy, sometimes we crave his attention to levity over the levees. To that end, the annual installment of the Spinal Tap vet's Holiday Sing-Along at the Contemporary Arts Center on Sunday promises to wreck the silent night with belted-out classics and satirical sendups of your favorite (or most-tolerated) Christmas carols.  

Both behind the scenes and the on the screen, Helen Krieger and Joseph Meissner's first feature film reflects the flimsy, joyful weirdness of downtown New Orleans after the flood.

When he spoke with us in May, Harry Shearer talked about a problem with the pumps in the new system that is supposed to keep us from flooding after a hurricane. Shearer told us Maria Garzino, of the Army Corps of Engineers, pointed out problems with the pumps, but was ignored by the organization's brass. Today, in a piece for Politico, Shearer says Garzino will tie the feds' non-response to the problems to Barack Obama's White House. In a letter that will be published by a D.C.-based watchdog group later this week, Garzino says a former Obama staffer asked the whistleblower's lawyer what it would take to make her "be quiet and go away." Read Shearer's piece here.

With named storms likely around the corner, and his film seeing nationwide release last week, Harry Shearer talks to NoDef about the state of our levees now, the Army Corps of Engineers and why making mockumentaries helps with making documentaries.