Saturday's visit by the East Coast Boogiemen is one of the last before the house-music duo officially call it quits. There's no animosity between Juan Zapata and Ken Christensen, just a realization that it's time to move on from the legacy they've built over the course of the last decade.

There's no shortage of house DJs. There's not even a shortage of good house DJs. (There is, however, an excess of bad ones.) What's always set the East Coast Boogiemen apart has been their keen dance-floor awareness and an ability to turn house haters into house heads—their skill with six turntables being a big help in that regard. Their performances are akin to a funky house sneak attack, nonbelievers finding themselves converted after an evening that progresses from head nods to sweaty gyrations. I know because I'm one of them.

Back when I got into electronic music, I was all (Detroit) techno all the time. Drum 'n' bass was too fast, house was too slow, leaving techno as my just-right musical porridge. The Washington, D.C., duo were celebrating the release of their Live at M3 mix CD in Charlottesville, Virginia, for reasons I've never understood, and I went because there was only so much opportunity to hear any electronic music at all, not because I knew or cared about the headliners.

It's cliché to say that they changed my life, but that was when house music finally clicked with me. It was everything I'd been looking for, due to the crowd as much as the music. This was the sound of elation set to four-four; the crowd was filled with people from all over, all smiling and dancing, and not cracked out like the ravers I was used to. It wasn't about glowsticks or fat pants, it was just about good vibes and great music.

"We loved playing in clubs where it didn't matter what race or background you came from," says Christensen. "It was humans, it was being free, it was leaving your mask at home and baring your souls!" Now, though, after years of conversions, it's time to put the ECB era behind them. Both Christensen and Zapata plan to stick with house music, but they'll be doing it as individuals, with Zapata focused on his label Odds and Ends and Christensen focused on touring and his label Alphabet Music.

Christensen reiterates the pair's love for both one another and for house music. "ECB will forever be a friendship," he says. "It was never meant to be a ploy to project our music to the masses; we have always tried to keep our stuff as intimate as possible, even if it was on a stage in front of thousands. If we can make them feel like it is just them and the music, we accomplished something." It's time for them to accomplish that something one last time in Seattle, a something that just might change your life.

East Coast Boogiemen play with De La Creme SoundSystem on Sat May 19 at Doc Maynard's, 8 pm, $15, 21+.

Get Out!

THURSDAY MAY 17

HARSH!

If you miss weekly No Tomorrow, then you really need to get down to Harsh!, which has picked up the noise/experimental/WTF torch once a month at Re-bar (with recent expansion into all-ages one-offs). This month's installment is headlined by Blue Sabbath Black Cheer, Red Ruler, Mutant Data Orchestra, and Amphetamine Virus, a lineup with names as intimidating as the sounds they produce. Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, 233-9873, 9 pm–2 am, $5, 21+.

SATURDAY MAY 19

KYOTO JAZZ MASSIVE

Last year Kyoto Jazz Massive (brothers Shuya and Yoshi Okino) released 10th Anniversary, which collects many of the gems they've produced or remixed over the last decade. They've worked with a veritable who's who in the world of soulful dance music, developing their own aesthetic and maintaining that across arbitrary genre (house, broken beat, nu jazz, downtempo) divisions. Shuya is also in town supporting his solo debut United Legends, which showcases his own impressive production chops. The Baltic Room, 1207 Pine St, 625-4444, 10 pm–2 am, $8, 21+.

TUESDAY MAY 22

LUOMO

Luomo creates sexy house music probably known more by the techno demographic than the house set. In a perfect world, both Seattle audiences would show up to support, since 2003's The Present Lover took detail-oriented techno production techniques and combined them with seductive vocals to make an album simultaneously detached and soulful. The Baltic Room, 1207 Pine St, 625-4444, 10 pm–2 am, $10, 21+.

WEDNESDAY MAY 23

AMON TOBIN

If you've written off Amon Tobin since he did the soundtrack to Splinter Cell, you'd do well to check out his latest release, Foley Room. Incorporating various found sounds along with Tobin's beat (de)constructions, it's just experimental enough to keep you on your toes, but not enough to be off-putting. KJ Sawka and DJ Collage open. Neumo's, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467, 8 pm, $15, 21+.

FRIDAY MAY 18

ATLANTIC CONNECTION/SUNTZU SOUND

What does it say about the ineffectiveness of a term like "future soul" when both Atlantic Connection and SunTzu Sound lay claim to it and sound wildly different? Influenced by soul, hiphop, and R&B, Atlantic Connection play drum and bass, while SunTzu are a bit more of a catch-all, dropping the occasional d'n'b track in their genre-spanning mix. VIP Room (under Neumo's), 925 E Pike St, 709-9467, 9 pm–2 am, 21+. See dubalicious.com for more info.