FRIDAY AUGUST 22



MJ COLE

Garage--drum 'n' bass tamed for the cocktail lounge--boomed for a minute in Britain, but never really blew up in America. The genre's great white hope, MJ Cole, dropped Sincere, his Mercury Music Prize-nominated debut, in 2001. A fusion of crisp, fidgety rhythms with R&B vocals, the sound's too slick for my taste, but beautiful Londoners and New Yorkers--and some critics, too--embraced it. Cole's follow-up, Cut to the Chase, is rougher round the edges, but still heavy on vocal tracks tailor-made for upscale clothes-shopping. For this DJ gig, Cole will break out plenty of his own garage cuts while also venturing into gritty dancehall, breakbeat, and glammed-up electro. With VSOP, Rama, Tom Swift, and Insight. Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000, 9 pm-2 am, 21+, $10 adv, $12 door.

PLANET BEAT: GLOBALISTA

Planet Beat hosts as DJ Darek Mazzone, DJ Advent, and drummer James Whetzel hook up with the hot Six Degrees label for the Globalista monthly promotion night. Score free CDs from Earth's finest purveyors of worldbeat and shake dat enlightened azz in a smoke-free environment. ToST, 513 N 36th St, 547-0240, 9 pm-2 am, $5. SATURDAY AUGUST 23



DJ SPOOKY

Perhaps learning from past lackluster live gigs, New York City turntablist/theorist DJ Spooky's going to stay behind Technics on this tour (let's hope he leaves behind that lame MC Napoleon). With keen, eclectic tastes and dexterous deck skills, Spooky spins dub, jazz, drum 'n' bass, hiphop, 20th-century classical, and ambience, and makes it flow with uncanny (il)logic. With Sientific American and Mr. Piccolo (2x4 DJ set), and DJ Vital. Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000, 9 pm-2 am, 21+, $12 adv.

TUESDAY AUGUST 26



MĂšM, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

The polar opposite of Satanic, Icelandic quartet MĂşm makes soothingly tuneful IDM that's baby-bottom soft. Expect to hear selections from the beloved Finally We Are No One (2002), as well as songs from the group's upcoming album. I'm stoked to witness Animal Collective's wild, untutored rock energy fucking with the meek MĂşm audience's sense of decorum. Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151, 8 pm, all ages, $12.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27



PAWS ACROSS AMERICA TOUR

See preview above.