We got your weekend: Carbs, Katrina and a Decadence competition

Local R&B and soul band Tank and the Bangas will perform at Chickie Wah Wah Friday night.

Wednesday / Something to buzz about : CBD coffee and wine bar Merchant (800 Common St.) hosts a free coffee talk, led by certified master barista Giorgio Milos, from 6-8 PM. The interactive lecture will cover coffee-oriented subjects including tastings, origin, preparation methods, chemistry, trends and art. Coffee, wine and food will be available for purchase for attendees whose appetites the conversation whets.

Wednesday – Friday / Nine Lives: Singer/songwriter Paul Sanchez’s musical adaptation of journalist and author Dan Baum’s novel, Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans — a fictional, multi-voiced biography focused on nine different characters’ lives during Hurricanes Betsey and Katrina — premieres for a three-day run at Le Petit Theatre (616 Saint Peter), coinciding the ninth anniversary of Katrina. The theatrical version, retitled Nine Lives: A Musical Story of New Orleans, stars Broadway and television actor Michael Cerveris and Bryan Batt (of Mad Men), with music from nearly a dozen local musicians. All performances start at 8 PM. Tickets $20 – $50.

Friday / Shane‘s shout out : Tank and the Bangas at Chickie Wah Wah (2828 Canal), 10:00 PM. Cover at the door.

Tank and the Bangas have been on a roll since the spring, wooing new fans at every show with their mesmerizing blend of soul, funk and spoken word poetry. If you haven’t fallen under their spell yet, their gig this Friday at their home court, Chickie Wah Wah, is the perfect introduction.

Friday / Pulling a disappearing act : From 8 PM to midnight, Bustin’ Out Productions will host a fundraising party, the proceeds of which will go towards the Kickstarter campaign (which ends at 11:59 the night of the event) funding How to Disappear Completely, a locally 30-minute fantasy film about an antisocial painter whose trash-made menagerie materializes into an alternate reality, to be shot in New Orleans.

The submarine/pans submarine themed event, to be held at 1236 Marigny Street, will include live music (Bedroom Drum, George Elizondo, as well as surprise acts), dancing, art installations, an auction, snacks and, apparently, some chickens wandering around. $5 cover at the door.

Saturday / Decadence after-hours: Southern Decadence is back for its 43rd year (themed “The Big Top, Welcome to The Gayest Show on Earth”), with no shortage of festivities — including two kick-off parties and a block party, a walking parade and a float parade, a free concert and a drag show, a bead toss and finally a “survivors” bar crawl — running from Thursday to Monday.

Beyond the official event line-up, St Roch watering hole Siberia (2227 St Claude) will host a duo of Decadence events. On Friday, the bar will hold “Drag Out Talent Night,” a D.Y.O.T. (do your own thing), self-expression talent competition. Registration ($25 fee) is at 1 PM; the top three acts will receive $200, $75, $25 prizes, respectively. For more information about the competition call 504-338-7045. The contest itself begins at 10 PM (doors open at 9 PM); admission is $10 online or at the door.

On Saturday, the bar will hold a Punk Benefit Show, which will feature live punk rock music from Beautiful Sons, Panty Wasted, TV-MA and others, as well as a drag show. Proceeds from the event will benefit Black and Pink, an organization for LGBT prisoners. The show starts at 9 PM. Admission is $10 online or at the door.

Sunday / Carbo-loading ahead: As part of the French Market’s Sunday culinary demo series, French Market Fare, Chef Mowgli Pierlas of pasta-centric pop-up-turned-restaurant Arabella Casa Di Pasta will teach carb-craving crowds the craft of at-home pasta-making

The demo, which begins at 2 PM, will be held at the French Market Demonstration Stage (between Ursulines and Governor Nicholls Streets). The event is free and open to the public.

Saturday / Reel Louisiana : As part of The Historic New Orleans Collection’s seven-part film series, which pairs a free monthly screening with a current exhibition at the collection, the organization will show The Cincinnati Kid. The 1965 drama (which, in fact, originally premiered at the Saenger Theatre), running in conjunction with current exhibition From Cameo to Close-up: Louisiana in Film (concentrated on Louisiana’s role and depictions in film), stars Steve McQueen as an up-and-coming poker player who seeks to establish his reputation as the best in 1930 New Orleans.

The screening will begin at 10:30 AM in THNOC’s Williams Research Center (410 Chartres Street) after a brief introduction by THNOC Senior Curator and Historian John T. Magill. Admission is free and open to the public.