Mr. Entertainment and the Pookiesmackers

Mr. Entertainment and the Pookiesmackers

Those who can't make the Toussaint gig should consider a jaunt north to catch the tenth appearance of Mr. Entertainment and the Pookiesmackers at the Tropicale. Only this year, the band would like fans to pay for what has always been a free show. No, no. The distinctive, and sometimes dazzling, rockers aren't trying to bolster their bank accounts. They'd just like attendees to toss a few bucks to the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund. That's something Toussaint can rally with. Whether you help out or not, you get the sometimes silly, often audacious doings of the Smackers, plus sets by other groups such as Gruntled, The Bikes, and The Tongues of the Heartworm. Danii Curry, who Mr. E. says is his best guitar student, will celebrate her eighteenth birthday here; Dooms Da Pop may also pop in.

Parade followers unfamiliar with local rock might know the Pookies from their appearances at Fiesta — that was them with the washtub bass and other unusual instruments jamming in front of Try My Thai, until a few years ago, when they moved over to Club M so they, too, could enjoy watching the steppers, E. says. He has also streamlined the outfit — going with traditional guitar, bass, and drums for this past August's seventeen-track Loiter album (available online from CD Baby). But the band has retained its jazzy, circusy, perfect-for-Mardi-Gras sound in songs such as "Diarrhea," "The Human Blockhead," and "Ode to the One-Eyed Sun Ra Kings." The frontman calls it "happy fun music for the disenfranchised of any age." — Greg Baker