Elizabeth Elmore finally has a name to go with her new band, which have been touring more or less without one since Elmore set out solo in the wake of the demise of her acclaimed indie-punk band Sarge back in '99. The new band are called the Reputation, and, thanks to Elmore, they've already got a pretty good one. The band have a self-titled debut due on Initial in April; in the meantime, the Reputation make their first appearances in these parts under that name on Monday at the Middle East (617-864-EAST) and on Tuesday at Flywheel (413-527-9800) in Easthampton.

Joan Baez hasn't been as visible as her old pal Bob, but she's back on the road at Merrill Auditorium (207-842-0800) in Portland on Sunday, and at Berklee Performance Center (617-931-2000) on Tuesday. Irish superstar Mary Black arrives direct from the Emerald Isle to kick off a US tour on Sunday at Berklee; she's also at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (802-652-4500) in Burlington, Vermont, on Tuesday.

The Patriots aren't the only ones who've brought a little Mardi Gras spirit back to New England from the Big Easy. This weekend, the 10th annual Mardi Gras Ball brings the premier sights and sounds of cajun music and zydeco to the Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet Ballroom (401-783-3926) in Cranston, Rhode Island: Buckwheat Zydeco, Geno Delafose, and C.J. Chenier on Friday; and Steve Riley, Chris Ardoin, and Charivari on Saturday. If you're not in a traveling mood, you can also catch Geno tonight (Thursday, February 14) and Ardoin on Friday at Johnny D's (617-776-2004) in Somerville.

Toronto's live-breakbeat trio the New Deal, whose recent self-titled disc came out on Jive Electro, get points in these parts by taking Vermont instrumental conceptualists the Cancer Conspiracy out on a tour of the wintry Northeast; you can see both bands on Sunday at Mount Snow (802-464-3333) in West Dover, Vermont; on Monday at Higher Ground (802-654-8888) in Winooski, Vermont; on Wednesday at Harpers Ferry (617-254-9743) in Allston; and on February 23 at the Iron Horse Music Hall (413-584-0610) in Northampton. If you were to break down the Conspiracy, you might come up with equal parts King's X-style progmetal and King Crimson artnoise. By coincidence, King's X are at the Asylum (207-772-8274) in Portland on Friday; at Chantilly's (603-625-0012) in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Sunday; and at the Palladium (800-477-6849) in Worcester on Monday. Meanwhile, Crimson ghost Adrian Belew brings his quirky-pop side project the Bears to the Middle East on Tuesday and to Higher Ground on Wednesday.

You'd expect to see the Sno-Core Rock Tour -- with Alien Ant Farm, Fenix TX, Adema, Glassjaw, Local H, and Earshot -- making the rounds of the Vermont ski resorts, but the package tour comes down from the mountain and kicks off in clubland on Friday at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence and on Saturday at the Palladium.