Walking into the Cha Cha last night to the strains of the Electric Prunes’ “Sold to the Highest Bidder,” I sensed a good night of deep cuts ahead. The hunch was confirmed. The host of Fuzzed Out, DJ Fentar (Seattle-based Nick Fenton), was stationed in the left corner by Cha Cha’s bar, digging through his boxes of LPs and 45s, air drumming, and chatting with friends and his wife, Anne. The crowd consisted mainly of people in their 20s and it was sizable for a Wednesday night. “This is a great gig,” Fenton gushed. “I can play whatever I want, to virgin ears.” He adds that the young folk who frequent the Cha Cha on his nights "love funk," so there's hope for the future yet.

Fenton’s one of those DJs who radiate contagious enthusiasm for the music they play, overjoyed to share information about individual tracks and artists. His demeanor rises to the heady levels of the music he spins. Ask him about a track and he instantly becomes your friend—but not in a creepy way; it’s 100-percent sincerity and music nerdery.

His sets at Fuzzed Out range from psychedelia (lots from South America), garage rock, funk, surf rock, boogaloo, and mambo, and various African styles. His selections are excellent. Some of the songs I caught: Bo Diddley’s “Hit or Miss,” Captain Beefheart’s “Zig Zag Wanderer,” Link Wray’s “Run Chicken Run,” Dennis Coffey’s “Taurus,” the Youngsters’ “I Wanna Be Your Man,” the Kinks’ “Ev’rybody’s Gonna Be Happy,” tracks by Kool & Together, Los Saicos, and Os Brazoes, and a killer cover of the Meters’ “Cissy Strut.”

Last night wasn’t all fun and games, though. Somehow, beer spilled on a stack of Fenton’s 45s. And some dimbulb asked Fenton if he could play Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.” Because the world hasn’t heard that song 18 trillion times already, because it sure would sound great next to this Peruvian psych jam he’s got going. At other gigs, people have had the gall to ask if they could plug their iPhones into the mixer and play their own shit off of them. Jesus fucking Christ… Fenton’s a super-nice guy, but he can’t go for that.

Fuzzed Out has been going down on first Wednesdays for about seven months. Fenton, who’s a manager for Rudy’s Barbershop, also gets Fuzzed Out at Percy’s (second and third Wednesdays from 6pm-9pm) and Hattie’s Hat (third Wednesdays from 10pm-2am). He holds down the Peel Slowly night at St. John’s every first Thursday with Squid Vicious, Bargain Bin, and DJ Kool Mike B. The Peel Slowly crew also netcast lengthy sets on mixlr.com. You can check out some 50 programs here.