Your favorite krautrock/bossa-nova/French ya-ya/exotica/retro-futurist pop groop return to Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar just as summer's expiring. Tickets went on sale May 12 at the usual places and sites. Hesitation is not advised if you want to see this show.

Stereolab's first new album since 2004's Margerine Eclipse, Chemical Chords, comes out Aug. 19 on Duophonic/4AD. The songs I've heard from it sound like... Stereolab; no radical departures at all, but then they never radically depart from their signature approach. And that's cool. The track listing [see below] also maintains their typically oblique poetry.

'Neon Beanbag'
'Three Women'
'One Finger Symphony'
'Chemical Chords'
'The Ecstatic Static'
'Valley Hi!'
'Silver Sands'
'Pop Molecule' (Molecular Pop 1)
'Self Portrait With "Electric Brain"'
'Nous Vous Demandons Pardon'
'Cellulose Sunshine'
'Fractal Dream Of A Thing'
'Daisy Click Clack'
'Vortical Phonotheque'

Pitchfork recently interviewed primary 'lab songwriter Tim Gane. Here's a snippet:

I make music that I like the sound of, but then I tend to like kind of melodic music with slightly strange elements. The thing I really wanted to do on this record-- and that we did do, I think-- was make short songs that were more upbeat. Deliberately pick rhythms that were quite fast.

Now check out this great "Brakhage" song/video.

I was at the Good Foot monthly Friday night at Que Sera when I spotted the flier for Savage Republic's May 30 gig. I nearly spit out my vodka tonic. To see these post-punk legends in a club as intimate as Long Beach's Que Sera should be amazing.

In the '80s and early '90s, Savage Republic were one of my favorite bands, but I never had the pleasure of seeing them perform live, unfortunately. Although the prospect of seeing these guys (now based in Claremont) 20 years after the period that I consider to be their peak shouldn't be all that thrilling, I suspect that Savage Republic have not lost much of their ability to generate riveting, tribal-inflected rock and psychedelic dub. (Waleed Rashidi's live review on Heard Mentality from Jan. 13 confirms this suspicion.)

Savage Republic's music can move from the deepest, earth-moving trudge to the most sun-bursting flights of psychedelic expansiveness. Their range is incredible and their songs possess this irrepressible, triumphant spirit that somehow doesn't come across as corny; on the contrary, it makes you feel as if you could actually fight city hall... and win. Now if they can convince Brad Laner to rejoin them, I can die happily.

Below is footage of Savage Republic performing “Jamahiriya” live in Italy in 2007.

Huntington Beach punk popularizers the Offspring will release Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace on Columbia Records June 17. Produced by Bob Rock, it's their first studio full-length since 2003's Splinter.

Check out Rise and Fall's first single, “Hammerhead.”

Long Beach folkadelic-funk duo Blank Blue will do a CD-release show at Fingerprints record shop (where Blank Blue members Elvin Estela and Niki Randa work when they're not creating excellent music) May 6 at 8 p.m.

The event is free but you must RSVP to attend. To RSVP, call Fingerprints at (562) 433-4996. Limited-edition posters will be available with purchase of Western Water Music Volume II (which Ubiquity is releasing and which I'll be reviewing in the next Sprawl of Sound column, out May 8).

HARD—a nü-rave extravaganza held in downtown Los Angeles—will take place July 19 at the Shrine Expo Hall. Tix go on sale May 5 at all Ticketbastard locations and here. The event's sponsored by Nitrus, Dim Mak Records, and Dance Right, with help from MySpace.com and URB magazine.

HARD debuted on New Year's Eve 2007; if you remember it, you probably weren't there. N*E*R*D and MSTRKRFT will be headlining the summer edition of HARD (only artists using all caps qualify for such lofty slots). It should be a night (and morning) of deeply spiritual booger-sugar intake.

Here are a couple of videos to whet your appetite.

N*E*R*D's “Everyone Nose”

MSTRKRFT'S “She's Good for Business”

Full press release after the jump.

Café Tacvba at Lollapalooza.

Mexican alt-rock stars Café Tacvba have just released a new single, “Esta Vez,” from their latest album, Sino, which our own Señor Arellano found lacking. You can check the video for "Esta Vez" here (embedding is disabled).

Honestly, I'm not feeling this song; it's pretty maudlin and sluggish. YouTube's commenters and raters, however, beg to differ.

Café Tacvba will play the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Sat. April 26.

The Mae Shi will headline the latest event from Sam Farzin's Acrobatics Everyday organization. The action goes down Sun. April 13, starting with a noon pre-gig picnic at Aldrich Park. Then at 1 p.m. at UC Irvine's nearby Phoenix Grille, five bands will come at ya with some weird, youthful energy.

Before the headliners come OC pop sparkplugs the Henry Clay People, LA's Blackblack, Glasser (a.k.a. eerie, lo-fi, tribal songstress Cameron Mesirow) and Oakland's Destroy Tokyo. Los Angeles' the Mae Shi, who play spiky, sugar-rush pop (Red Bull flows in their veins). Their new album, Hlllyh, is a jolting blast of zig-zag wonder. (That's good, by the way.)

Cover is $5, all ages welcome. Go here for more info.

The Mae Shi's "Run to Your Grave"

Set aside your negative bias toward Yes—and while you're at it, lose your knee-jerk hatred of prog rock. Yes fuckin' rock—albeit in a long-winded, redonkulously complex manner. And Chris Squire's bass playing? Completely slaughters Les Claypool's. Ask Squarepusher. He'll vouch for me.

As those SoCal badboys the Mars Volta know, prog rock can be damned exhilarating, when done with just the right amount of excess, killer chops, trippy album artwork and a keenly rococo melodic sense—all of which Yes possess in spades. These artful Brits had a (mostly) strong run of albums from 1969-1983, somehow going platinum and playing arenas with LPs bearing 20+-minute suites with titles like “Gates of Delirium.” And don't lie: you turn up the radio when “Owner of a Lonely Heart” comes on. Even hip-hop heads have to give it up for that tune.

So, Yes. You should take out a loan and check 'em out at Anaheim's Honda Center Aug. 20 as they celebrate 40 years of bandhood (tix go on sale April 13). Founding members Jon Anderson (vocals) and Squire will be joined by guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White, while keyboardist Rick Wakeman's son Oliver will replace his pop in the lineup. Full press release after the jump.

"Close to the Edge Pt. 1" live

Closest the British mope-rock kings come to OC is a two-date run at Hollywood Bowl, Aug. 24 and 25. Pre-sale tix are available April 9 and general on-sale April 12.

Grizzly Bear support Aug. 3-15, Liars Aug. 19-28. Radiohead have good taste.

August 1 - Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL
August 3 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Indianapolis, IN
August 4 - Blossom Music Center - Cleveland, OH
August 6 - Parc Jean Drapeau - Montreal, QC
August 8 - All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park - Jersey City, NJ
August 9 - All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park - Jersey City, NJ
August 12 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
August 13 - Tweeter Center For the Performing Arts - Mansfield, MA
August 15 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
August 19 - Thunderbird Stadium - Vancouver, BC
August 20 - White River Amphitheatre - Auburn, WA
August 22 - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival @ Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA
August 24 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
August 25 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
August 27 - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre - Chula Vista, CA
August 28 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA

Radiohead performing “Nude” on UK TV

March 6 at UCI's Student Center promises to be an idiosyncratic indie-rock extravaganza of wild proportions. Mount Eerie, Jeffrey Lewis & the Jitters (also playing a free in-store at Fingerprints in Long Beach at 7 p.m.), BARR and Jeremy Jay will be performing, for free (all ages), starting at 8 p.m. Bonus: vegan cupcakes for 50 cents a piece. Concert info here.

KUCI music director Sam Farzin is organizing the concert under the new Acrobatics Everyday aegis. He promises many excellent shows for the near future. Plus... vegan cupcakes.

Mount Eerie, "I Will Find You"

Really rich rapper Jay-Z and R&B diva Mary J. Blige are slated to play the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine April 18 as part of their Heart of the City Tour. If you purchase tickets via the exclusive fan pre-sale that begins Feb. 25, you can make song suggestions to the duo and thereby have a say in what you'll see onstage. It's sort of like democracy, but with more self-aggrandizing lyrics.

The pre-sale is open to the public; but the catch is you have to join the free Jay-Z Fan Community—which will likely result in your inbox being flooded with Hova propaganda for the rest of your godforsaken life. Hit www.rocafella.com for more information.

Here's a video of “Can't Knock the Hustle” featuring the co-headliners. Guess what? I'm gonna knock the hustle, and ain't a damn thing they can do about it.

Del, in his more bizarre days.

[We didn’t have space in the paper to run this feature by Ben Westhoff, but we think it’s worth posting on Heard Mentality in advance of West Coast underground-rap luminary Del’s appearance Wed. Feb. 20 at the Vault 350.]

Richmond, California emcee Del The Funky Homosapien was a weird rapper long before Lil Wayne, Andre 3000 and Kool Keith made it, well, kool. He’s not quite so bizarre these days, and that’s a shame. The release of his fifth solo album, 11th Hour—out March 11 on Definitive Jux—comes eight years after his critically lauded, futuristic collaboration with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala, called Deltron 3030. He also had a solo record that year, Both Sides of the Brain, but has released practically nothing since.

So, what the hell has he been doing all this time? Teaching himself music theory, for one, and having his life practically ruined by an ex-girlfriend, for another.

“It was pretty bad,” he imparts in a phone interview. “Probably the worst thing she did was hang herself twice in my garage—thank God not successfully. I went into my garage and she was dangling from the ceiling. The second time she damn near achieved it before I cut her down.”

Another time, she smashed out all the windows in his house, the day before he was scheduled to leave for tour. As a result of this chaos, he was forced to move, as much for her sake as for his. “She’d be in trouble if I saw her now. I probably wouldn’t be friendly at all. I’d probably try to knock her out.”
It’s enough to make a man want to quit drugs, and Del has—the psychedelics, at least. “There’s no need to be high, really—stuff like that is enough excitement.”

In any case, this personal drama has undoubtedly had a negative effect on Del’s career. A cousin of Ice Cube who was also a member of Da Lench Mob, he abandoned his mentors’ gangster tropes but maintained the Parliament-influenced West Coast musical flavor on his 1991 debut I Wish My Brother George Was Here, and reached a creative peak with 2000’s Deltron 3030. After joining forces with Gorillaz on the 2001 hit “Clint Eastwood,” he has barely been heard from since, other than a greatest-hits collection, a Handsome Boy Modeling School joint, and collaborations with his Hieroglyphics crew.

Fans expecting a return to form on 11th Hour might be disappointed. The formerly weird-for-weird’s sake, sci-fi storytelling emcee is a lot more grounded these days. “It was my goal, basically, to be a little more direct, to let people know what was going on in my mind, to let them know exactly what I was talking about,” he says.

True to his word, the stories on 11th Hour are fairly linear, and, sadly, the braggadocio a bit too predictable. “I bet I reach even the hardest G’s, ’cause my artistry ain’t too hard to see,” he raps on “Bubble Pop. On “Situations,” he imparts: “[Y]ou can’t let emotions control you. Foes are going to try to throw you, because they know it’s a way to control you.” On “Hold Your Hand” he threatens: “I’ma analyze wisely situations, see if what you’re saying is warranted.”

A cool, calm, and collected Del? It’s true, and like his lyricism, his beats on the album (he produced 11 of the 14 tracks) are mature as well, undoubtedly the result of all that music theory. The midtempo, scratch-heavy grooves are light on funk and grounded by simple bass and key rhythms that serve as easy repositories for his lyricism. The only track that feels really urgent is “Last Hurrah,” a minor-key slow burner produced by—and featuring—Bronx rapper KU.

Del claims he didn’t really know what he was doing on Both Sides of the Brain—of which he also produced the bulk—but, as is often the case, thorough knowledge is no substitute for great instincts. Nonetheless, it’s nice to see Del back in a good place in his life, free of relationship terror and, most importantly, making music. His relationship with friend El-P and Definitive Jux will undoubtedly ultimately prove fruitful. But one can’t help wishiing for a bit more of that psychedelic scatterbrain we all know and love. “Reality is undisputed,” he says near the disc’s end. The old Del might have taken issue with that statement.

Ladies and gents, believers and gentiles: Once again, it's time for the Jewlicious Fest in Long Beach, so mark Feb. 29 through March 2 on your calendars. If you haven't heard of Jewlicious, it's basically the Woodstock of Judaism, with three days of music, food and Kiddush Wine. A festival for the artist and the curious college student.

One highlight of the fest will be Brooklyn rapper Matisyahu, famous for his hit song "King without a crown," who will be speaking about spirituality. The event will spotlight other newer Jewish acts, including Moshav, an Israeli folk-rocker born in the hills between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and Y-Love, who converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2000. Also in attendance will be Love, a New York rapper breaking new ground in hip-hop by not just rapping in Yiddish and English but Aramaic, as well. Yes, Aramaic can be used in more than just Mel Gibson movies.

Festival news and updates here.

Recently crowned Grammy Award-winning rapper/producer Kanye West will be performing at LA's Nokia Theatre April 21. Joining him on the Glow in the Dark Tour are Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna and N.E.R.D. Tickets go on sale Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. And are available at Ticketmaster locations and www.ticketmaster.com; 213.480.3232; 714.740.2000.

Employees at Nokia reportedly have begun stocking up on Vaseline in order to ease entry of Kanye's ego into the venue.

YouTubeage for youse:

Afrika Bambaataa—pioneering hip-hop DJ and founder of the Zulu Nation—will perform (in DJing mode) at Detroit Bar on Friday Feb. 22. The only man to collaborate with James Brown ("Unity") and John Lydon ("World Destruction" as Time Zone), Bambaataa is revered for his eclectic DJ sets and for exerting a positive force in the Bronx's rougher enclaves in the '70s and '80s after giving up his status as leader of the Black Spades gang. Oh, and he also helped to popularize electro by co-writing "Planet Rock" and "Looking for the Perfect Beat" with Soulsonic Force. You may have heard these at some point in your eventful life.

Santa Ana hip-hop mavericks Free the Robots will open. Tickets are available now at www.detroitbar.com. Snap 'em up, because they're gonna go fast.

"Planet Rock"

Phil Nisco and Chris Alfaro of Free the Robots/The Crosby. Please. Open.

Via this video of a Free the Robots practice session for their NYC show. Plus, you get some Big Apple footage.

Progress definitely has been made at The Crosby, the venue that, we predicted back in September, would revolutionize Santa Ana nightlife. So, when will it will open? Um, your guess is as good as ours. All prognostications so far have proved wrong, but it can't happen soon enough. The suspense is wounding us.

The monthly Training Bra night of electronic-music tomfoolery celebrates its fourth anniversary tonight at Que Sera in Long Beach. Thanks to the Electroboobies crew, it's one of the few consistent events in our area showcasing quality electronic music.

Tired of hauling ass to LA to experience excellent techno, electro, Italo-disco, acid house, etc., Trae-Ann, Bep and DC decided to start their own night, with crucial support from El Lay's highly respected Droid Behavior clique. That TB's existed this long championing deeply underground music is a testament to their perseverance, deck skills and talent-booking acumen.

The DJ lineup at tonight's show features Acid Circus (Droid Behavior), DeanpauL (Droid Behavior) and S&Him (Electroboobies, Training Bra), with visuals handled by VJ Pickle.

Action begins at 9 p.m., cover's $5 or free with a bra donation, if you're strapped for cash. 21+

I'm still not sure which one's Peter.

Then go to Proof Bar in Santa Ana Feb. 1. Hundreds of young folks will be there, no doubt.

“But what will Peter of Peter Bjorn and John spin?” you breathlessly inquire. My money's on an eclectic playlist of Irish dubstep, South American minimal techno and dancehall remixes of flamenco standards. Oh, and Justice vs. Simian's “We Are Your Friends.” Of fucking course.

Good news for people seeking left-of-the-dial music in a live setting: KUCI, University of California Irvine's radio station, is starting to sponsor concerts (along with ASUCI) at the college's Pacific Ballroom. The first show happens Wed. Jan. 16, 7 p.m., featuring Dan Deacon, Ultimate Reality, Lucky Dragons and Abe Vigoda (not the actor famous for his role as Fish on Barney Miller). Learn about the artists on the bill here. Looks like a hell of a lot of unhinged lo-fi rock and prankstertronic fun for a Wednesday night.

KUCI general manager Mike Kaspar is hoping to draw 300-500 people for these concerts. Considering that UCI has 30,000 students, this shouldn't be too hard to achieve. The attendance of the Deacon show will help to determine whether future bookings will happen. This series is part of KUCI's effort to increase its profile on campus and in Orange County—as well as to bring in musical talent that ordinarily wouldn't get booked around here. It's a development worth supporting.

Check out the Ultimate Reality video below, starring the Governator. Pretty damned awesome.

So I come back to the Weekly, and all my favorite bands seem to be playing again after long layoffs. Tomorrow night, there's the Foxy reunion show, but tonight at Fitzgerald's Irish Pub in Huntington Beach (19171 Magnolia St.), it's the return of the pop-tastic Sparkle*jets UK (I was never fond of that asterisk they have in their name, but I'll be a sport just this once).

Not only will there be fantastic music from one of OC's iconic power-pop bands (go on—click 'em up at www.myspace.com/sparklejetsuk), but the county's other pop icon, Walter Clevenger, is also on the bill, rocking eardrums with his band the Dairy Kings. Also on tap: Kenny Howes, the Barry Holdship Four, and the Popdudes featuring Robbie "Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch" Rist, who's actually grown up and become something of a musical genius.

Aaaaannnd....it's also a party, as sonic know-it-all John Borack, one of the minds behind the annual International Pop Overthrow fest, celebrates the release of his book, Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power-Pop Guide. I sense at least one Raspberries reference....

Large and lascivious Los Angeles-based ensemble Orgone play the Continental Room in Fullerton Friday Jan. 11. The funk/soul/afrobeat rejuvenators will be using this gig to warm up for a four-date tour on which they'll be opening and serving as backing band for excellent rapper Pharoahe Monch.

Here's a review I wrote about Orgone's debut album for Ubiquity Records, Killion Floor, and below is a six-minute video taken from their Oct. 26, 2007 show at Temple Bar in LA.

Quaristice is the name; fucking up minds is the game.

All I wanted to do was to see where in North America Autechre would be touring in support of their forthcoming album, Quaristice (out March 3 on Warp Records). So I went to the British duo's MySpace page. That seemed like a logical move.

As you can see, once you load their page, you're assaulted with a contemptuous visual “remix” of the wack MySpace template. Ocular chaos ensues. It's a-freakin-maze-in'. And the sounds perfectly complement the retina-raping graphics, too.

After some fruitless web surfing over the next 24 hours, I clicked upon those old reliables at Pitchfork, who published the complete Autechre tour sched today (April 4 at Echoplex is the closest they come to OC).

Do not ever miss a chance to see Autechre live, especially if you're curious about genius electronic music surrealism. Autechre are not only ahead of the curve, they're the scientists who are calibrating it. Here's a feature I wrote for The Stranger during Autechre's last jaunt through our continent. I stand by every syllable.

Yet another post about Boredoms? I'm afraid so.

I consider these Osaka geniuses to be among the greatest live bands on the planet. Boredoms bring their transcendental, chaostrophic [sic] psychedelia to Canes in San Diego March 15 and to Henry Fonda Theater in LA March 16 (no OC date, naturally), reports Pitchfork.

This is cause for much rejoicing. Boredoms' live performances are like Mardi Gras multiplied by the greatest drum circle ever, on three hits of pure MDMA.

Here are Boredoms (aka Vooredoms—imagine an infinity symbol where the 'oo' is) playing live in Italy and, below that, the promo vid for Vision Creation Newsun. The latter was funded by a major label in Japan. Damn...

People often gush about DJ Orgasm's wax.

Reboot Sundays debuted at Proof Bar Dec. 30, and, by all reports, it went off extremely well. (We missed it, sadly. You can read my Sprawl of Sound feature on it here.)

The new Santa Ana club night's next bill on Jan. 6 features DJ Orgasm (he favors hard house, techno and trance, but can branch out into punk, hip-hop, reggae, jazz—and he spins vinyl), Santa Ana's the Dig (scrappy, atonal rock with roots in early-'80s New York and northern England's post-punk scenes) and LA's the Health Club (catchy, downtrodden pop great for bouts of self-pitying).

Proof Bar, 215 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, (714) 953-2660.

DJ Rodi is an experienced pro in helping homo sapiens get on the good foot.

Just received word that soul/funk selector supreme DJ Rodi and guests will be spinning New Year's Eve at Alex's Bar in Long Beach. All night. For free. Whoa. While most of you probably have your NYE plans set, for the undecided folks out there, this is great news.

I had heard people speak of Rodi—one of the founders of the nine years and running Good Foot night—in hushed tones, but, being a newcomer to the area, I'd never seen him spin. I finally caught the man (who now resides in Osaka, Japan) in action at Alex's on Christmas night, and he properly laid down the sort of amazing obscurities I just don't hear played often enough in clubs. Dude had me trainspotting like crazy during his entire set. I'm tenacious and annoying like that...

Among the tracks he busted out—many on 7-inch vinyl, for extra cred—were Peaches & Herb's “We've Got to Love One Another” (that's what I told this girl at the bar, but she wasn't buying it), Smokey Robinson's immortal “Get Ready” covered by reggae artist Delroy Wilson, “Papa Don't Take No Mess” by James Brown, something awesome by Joe Thomas, (I forgot to write down the title, damn it), and Woody Herman's “Fat Mama” (holy shit, I didn't know Woody Herman made killer funk tunes).

So if you have a small budget but a huge appetite for rare and precious soul, funk, jazz, reggae, dub, dancehall, bossa nova, hip hop, etc., Rodi & co. at Alex's could make for a smashingly frugal transition into 2008.

Steve Aoki celebrates another smooth transition.

A lot of people talk shit about Steve Aoki (a.k.a. Kid Millionaire), especially in OC. He's just a trustafarian, some say (pops founded the Benihana restaurant chain). His DJ skills are wack and his selections mediocre, others claim. He's a marketing whore and the epitome of hipster-dance-scene douchebaggery, yet more others accuse.

But Aoki is making things happen, playing out several times a week worldwide, running an indie label (Dim Mak) with a decent roster, promoting Dim Mak Tuesdays at LA's Cinespace (ground zero for the area's indie-electro-dance hipsterati), overseeing a clothing line, designing headphones for WeSC, lending his name to designer kicks by Supra, and basically putting his savvy Japanese-American fingers in as many avant-ish urban-culture pies as he can. Dude verily is nightlife to many clubbers and a certain sector of the media. Odds are, he's bringing joy to a lot of people's lives. And for every lame event he DJs for thousands of dollars, he can release a few great records by deserving, obscure bands. So maybe he deserves some respect. As Jigga said, you can't knock the hustle. (Well, you can, but hustlas will still giggle all the way to the bank, no matter how much Haterade you chugalug, son.)

I haven't seen Aoki DJ yet, but I have an idea of what he'll spin after googling him within an inch of his life (I'll buy you drinks all night if he doesn't play at least 5 Ed Banger or Institubes trax, that damnably ubiquitous Outfield remix I secretly like, and something by MSTRKRFT or Spank Rock). I'm not expecting to be blown away by adventurous selections, mind-boggling deck tricks or seamless segues. I'll probably be more impressed by his attire and adoring throngs than I will be by his cuts, but whatever the case, this night is sure to be a hipster clusterfuck of spectacular proportions. You may want to look your hottest, too, in case Aoki bud Mark “The Cobrasnake” Hunter shows up.

Does my envy look fat in this hoodie?

Surprisingly still-popular LA breakbeat producers the Crystal Method—Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland—shlep their MP3s (I'll bet anything they digitized all of their vinyl) to Tentation in Newport Beach (4647 Macarthur Blvd, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $20) for a DJ set tomorrow night.

Below is the track list for the Crystal Method's most recent DJ mix, 2005's Community Service II, to give you an idea of what you might hear at the gig. Looks like a menu heavy with funky/nü breaks and rejigged '60s (Doors), '80s (New Order) and '90s (Smashing Pumpkins) nostalgia. Let's keep hope alive that they've updated things since then. Below that is 10-minute promo video for the duo's Tweekend album.

1. The Crystal Method "Intro"
2. PMT "Gyromancer" (Elite Force Remix)
3. Elite Force "Ghetto Fabulous"
4. Hyper "Come With Me"
5. The Doors "The Crystal Method vs. The Doors" (Roadhouse Blues Remix)
6. Evil Nine "We Have the Energy"
7. Dylan Rhymes feat. Katherine Ellis "Salty" (Meat Katie Remix)
8. The Crystal Method "Keep Hope Alive" (J.D.S Mix)
9. Koma + Bones "Speedfreak"
10. The Crystal Method featuring Kevin Beber "Kalifornia"
11. Uberzone "Octopus"
12. UNKLE "Reign" (False Prophet Mix)
13. The Crystal Method "Starting Over" (Elite Force Mix)
14. The Crystal Method "Bound Too Long" (Hyper Mix)
15. New Order "Bizarre Love Triangle" (The Crystal Method's CSII Mix)
16.Smashing Pumpkins "1979" (New Originals 1799 Remix)

Starting Dec. 11, OC Weekly freelance photogrphaer Keith May is organizing an open-mike [sic] night on Tuesdays at Costa Mesa bar/restaurant La Cave.

May is hoping to spotlight aspiring singer-songwriters with his new venture. If you think you have what it takes to be the next Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen, or if you just have a burning desire to fill the atmosphere with your own spleenfelt singer-songsmithery, get thee and thy acoustic guitar to La Cave on Tuesdays. The action begins at 10 p.m. May can be contacted at keith@mayphotoanddesign.com.

Richman, taking the "dour" out of troubadour.

We highlighted the Saturday Dec. 1 appearance by the original Modern Lover Jonathan Richman at {open} in Long Beach in our Calendar this week, but somehow forgot to include that the charming 56-year-old troubadour (and one of punk's progenitors) will also be playing Detroit Bar Sunday Dec. 2. Richman is still a delightful entertainer, but he doesn't like to bring the noise anymore. My guess is your shouts for “Roadrunner” will go unheeded, though you might have better luck requesting “Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste.”

Don't have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving? Or maybe your family eats at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and you need something to do at night since everyone usually passes out around nine. Either way, I recommend you head over to The Prospector in Long Beach for a special Thanksgiving night show with Crystal Antlers and DJ Frederick Phases.

Crystal Antlers just finished recording a new ep up in San Francisco last weekend with Ikey Owens (Mars Volta, Look Daggers, and sometimes second keyboardist in Crystal Antlers) that they plan on releasing on the 10" vinyl and 0's and 1's formats sometime next year.

Read Dave's review of their show at The Prospector from back in September.

Lootpack member Wildchild spits the contents of his active mind Saturday Nov. 24 at Detroit Bar for another installment of Abstract Workshop (this one's called "Ox City Getdown"). Straight outta Oxnard, California, Wildchild is supporting his new album, Jack of All Trades (FatBeats). From what I've been able to hear from it, the LP reps grown-folks' hip-hop, richly nourished with quality soul-funk elements supplied by Madlib, Oh No, Black Milk, Georgia Anne Muldrow, etc. and blessed by Wildchild's swift, authoritative flow.

Opening will be Faculty, Dee Jay Cocoe, Hyder and Steelman.

Learn something about Wildchild here:

The Friday night weekly party Mute (at Proof Bar in Santa Ana) happening this evening is a special edition that's sprung out of the Weekly's current cover story on DJ formats. Check the flyer below for all the info. Should be a night of stimulating debate and ass-kicking choons, featuring many of the county's finest selectors.

Just a reminder: Free Blood (ex-!!! percussionist John Pugh, singer Madeline Davy and !!! keyboardist/trumpeter/percussionist Dan Gorman) play Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Read what I said about them here. Also on the bill are some of OC's most discerning DJs, including Scotty Coats and DJ Spun of the excellent Rong label, the Dirty Money spinners (Tea-Long, BB Gunz, Jay $) and Ryan Esca. The actions runs 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $5, 21+.

Below check these videos of Free Blood performing “Quick and Painful” live in Brooklyn and another track at Knitting Factory.

Just announced—tickets go on sale Nov. 17 at 10 a.m.

Baby-boomer critics (of whom I'm one, I guess) are hyperventilating over how great Springsteen's new album, Magic, is. I struggled to get through it once. He sounds tired and uninspired. But I was never a fan, even when Bruce was in his prime. Nevertheless, expect this show to sell out fast. You can get tix at www.livenation.com and www.nederlanderconcerts.com.

Free the Robots, about to drop some next ish.

From noon till 2 p.m. Pacific Time, Santa Ana's Free the Robots/DJ Urthworm (Chris Alfaro) “will be DJing, possibly doing some live shit, and leaking some new cuts” on the LA-based Dublab, one of the webwide world's finest sources of beat-centric music.

Alfaro is also one-third owner of The Crosby, which will be opening any day/week now... just don't ask him exactly when. (The anticipation is killing us, though.)

The Warlocks go deep.

Where will you find the area's most discerning drone/psych-rock aficionados tonight? At Alex's Bar in Long Beach, where Los Angeles' Warlocks and LB denizens Magic Lantern will be setting their FX boxes on STUN, PHASE, FLANGE, etc. The Warlocks come off like Brian Jonestown Massacre's heavier, trippier younger siblings and with more Spacemen 3 records in their collections. They combine dreamy melodies with hypno-mantric jamming, generating a potent, all-over aural buzz.

Magic Lantern blew my mind the first time I saw them at the Prospector September 8. I can't really add much more than what I posted in this live review on Heard Mentality. These gods of throb are one of the most mesmerizing bands working in this region; they're true psychonauts who understand that the power of repetition is best manifested when it's done with transcendental transport as its goal. Listen to their holy blissin'.