Oh hey, how 'bout this week we all just shut up and dance?
<!--break-->>>RainDance
Oh hey, gung hay fat choy. It's time for Chinese New Year, underground-style, as the impeccably funky RainDance crew -- with special guests Ooah from Glitch Mob, Philly dub master Starkey, and my secret bass boyfriend Justin Martin -- get wet and wild for the Year of the Snake. With white crane lion dancers, a midnight parade, snake dancers, more.
Fri/8, 9pm-6am, $20. 1015 Folsom, www.1015.com
>>Death on the Balcony
Been following these kooky tech house cats from Leeds (um, they re-mixed "Cruel Summer") since they dropped my jaw with a neat Soul Clap podcast from 2010-- been waiting for them to come our way again since they've been blowing up -- and growing a bit more somber. Should be solid tunes.
Fri/8, 9:30pm-3am, $5-$15. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com
>>Blick's Mix
Peter Blick from Public Works is a stand up guy when it comes to promoting his nifty club -- but he's also an ace DJ with an easygoing ear and burner-tinged sensibility. ENTER HIS WORLD, I say, of house and techno wonder, as he plays alongside the yummy As You Like It crew's Brian Bejarano.
Fr/8, 9:30-3am, free before 11pm, $5 after with RSVP on facebook page. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com
>>LA Vampires
The amazingness of Amanda Brown, head of the Fun not Fun and 100% Silk labels which basically took over the world of hipness the past two years, finds its own expression in her LA Vampires project, bringing that sweet-darkling retro feeling to ultra-contemporary, diffusely-colored sensibilities. (Tidbit: She was in Pocahaunted with Bethany Cosentino before Cosentino found eternal hipster fame as Best Coast, major cat lady.) Brown will perform at teh ever-awesome Push the Feeling party, which actually does push the feeling.
Fri/8, 9pm, $5. UndergroundSF, 424 Haight, SF. Facebook invite here
>>Psychemagik
Wowee zoweeee -- I've been yearning for this mindblowing, psychewonderful UK duo to come here for a while, with their magik boxes of rare '70s gems and brain-twisting, nostalgia-evoking re-edits. Let's just say they re-introduced me to this and change my life. With Anthony Mansfield (happy bday!), Mike Bee, and M3.
Sat/9, 9pm-3am, $10-$15. Monarch, 101 Sixth St., SF. www.monarchsf.com