How to help

Louisiana: Aidmatrix Network, www.aidmatrixnetwork.org, 1-866-881-8882.

Mississippi: Mississippi Hurricane Recovery, www.mississippi relief.com.

Texas: Texas Responds, www.texasresponds.org, 1-512-473-2140.

Alabama: Governor's Emergency Relief Fund, www.servealabama.gov, 1-877-273-5018.

Florida: Florida Disaster Recovery Fund, www .floridadisasterfund.org.

They brought in steaming bins of Crawfish Monica from the Jazz Fest stands, warm muffalettas from Central Grocery and lots of hot-blowing musicians from the Crescent City.

What meant more to the attendees of Monday's Friends of New Orleans benefit concert at First Avenue nightclub in downtown Minneapolis, though, were the things being sent back to the Gulf Coast. Planned months in advance as a way of lobbying for continued recovery efforts, the concert was altered to help Gustav victims.

Influential GOP personalities, including Gov. Tommy Thompson and pundit Mary Matlin, took the stage to thank attendees, as did executives from Shell Oil and Phrma, companies that gave donations.

"We wanted to show America that Republicans are passionate," Thompson said.

Big Sam Williams, one of the couple dozen musicians who performed, said, "Everyone's doing a wonderful thing here. We're just all on edge waiting to see what tomorrow brings."

The punch of Gustav appeared to fall softly on the nation's energy complex along the Gulf Coast and was overshadowed by anxiety over the state of the global economy. Even as the storm raked refineries that line the coast, the price of oil plummeted by more than $4 a barrel to just above $111 because Gustav was weaker than expected. The storm's impact on production platforms and other equipment will not likely be known for another day or so.

Hurricane Hanna lingered Monday over the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos islands on a path that could hit the southeastern U.S. coast by midweek, while Tropical Storm Ike raised the possibility of more to come.