A woman, new to the city, stumbled out of a bar onto Bourbon Street, clutching two brightly colored alcoholic drinks known as "hand grenades." Nearby, a reveler clad only in a thong and a black cowboy hat perched atop a column outside a club. A few blocks away, Joseph Holmes, 25, tap-danced on the sidewalk for tips, a routine he'd been performing since the age of five.

Despite the usual sights and sounds of New Orleans, Mr. Holmes acknowledged that Friday night felt different. The music pulsed, drinks flowed, and tourists reveled, but a heavy atmosphere lingered. The palpable sorrow cast by the New Year's Day tragedy, where a truck carrying guns and explosives plowed into a crowd, killing 14 and injuring dozens, still hung over the French Quarter.

Mr. Holmes, however, found himself back on Bourbon Street, dancing late into the night. As he stated, what other choice did he have? The show must go on, even in the face of tragedy.