The V Side: Offbeat entertainment options from NolaVie

The V Side

Thursday / Blues Gumbo: Chicago transplant “Smartass” Nick Urso formed Blues Frenzy in 2009 with hopes of merging the Chicago and New Orleans blues styles. Check out his considerable success at Old Point Bar, 545 Patterson St., in Algiers, starting at 8 p.m.

Friday / Footwork: Speaking of Chicago,the king of that city’s electronic dance scene headlines A Night of Juke and Bounce at Hookah, 309 Decatur St. Celebrated DJ Chrissy Murderbot spins the juke, though officially his music tastes run to booty-rave-jungle-house-bass-bashment –ghetto-garage-core. NOLA’s own Nicky Da B joins in with the bounce tracks, with help from Dr. Pr_ck. Hookah’s multi-screen video system, state-of-the-art sound system, ample dance floor and LED lighting should provide a stimulating backdrop. The fun starts at 9 p.m., with a $10 cover.

Saturday / More Footwork: Butoh is a contemporary Japanese dance which, loosely translated, means “dance of utter darkness.” Movements stem from within, and you can find out how at a Butoh Movement Workshop in The Movement Room at The New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude Ave. Veteran butoh dancer Jennifer Hicks of CHIMERAlab Theatre and Boston-based dance collective Mobius teaches. Classes take place Friday from 1-4 p.m. and Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., $40 per session.

Saturday / Tag Team: An Evening of Difficult Music # 32 at McKeown’s Books, 4737 Tchoupitoulas St., features new and original music by improv trio TAG, that is, William Thompson IV (keys), Chris Alford (guitar), and Bruce Golden(drums) (their last names spell TAG, get it?). If the music vibes don’t move you, check out the bookstore’s protean collection of used books. Doors open at 8 p.m. and it’s free. (For a peek inside the doors of other cool local bookstores, click here.)

Saturday, Sunday, Monday / Films @ the O:  The Ogden Museum and New Orleans Film Society host a mini festival of movies about Southern Culture. First up at 7 p.m. Saturday is a sneak peek of Live at Preservation Hall: Louisiana Fairytale, a film by Danny Clinch, which will officially debut at the New Orleans Film Festival in October. Next, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Harry Shearer (who has a house in Marigny and has been to every Jazzfest since 1988) gets serious in The Big Uneasy, chronicling what really caused New Orleans levees to break during Hurricane Katrina and how it could have been prevented. Finally, at 6 p.m. Monday, is God’s Architects, a documentary about five artist-architects and their enigmatic creations. Doors open half an hour before each film, and cost is $5 for Ogden members, $10 for others, or $10/$25 for all three.

ANY DAY:/ NOLA STREET ART TOUR:  Yeah, you’ve seen all the obvious city sights. Dig a little deeper with a driving tour that stops at each of the outdoor masterpieces created in 2007 by international street artist Banksy. Between the Gray Ghost and another hurricane season, it’s not an outing to delay. Besides, the works are sensational. Check out all the details here.