PARTIES
by Dave Segal
THURSDAY MAY 20
DJ NU-MARK, CHALI 2NA, VITAMIN D
Jurassic 5 turntablist Nu-Mark celebrates the release of his new album, Hands On (Sequence). It's a burnin' slab of PhD-level funkology, with cuts by undie-hiphop illuminati like Jeru the Damaja, Organized Konfusion, Viktor Vaughn, Seattle's Vitamin D, and Nu-Mark himself. Nu-Mark's part of the Beat Junkies collective, he appeared on DJ Shadow's The Private Press, and worked on Dave fuckin' Navarro's Trust No One, but it's his gig with feel-good backpackers J5 that keeps him flush in Ortofon cartridges. Free from that group's obligations, Nu-Mark may wreck shop with more abandon at this gig (though bass-voiced J5 MC Chali 2na cameos on the mic). Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 324-8000, 9 pm-2 am, 21+, $10.
WEDNESDAY MAY 26
VIRUS!
"Seattle's newest strickly [sic] broken beatz [sic] monthly," reads the flier for the debut of Virus! With spelling like that, this has gotta be off da hizzook, right? Virus! began in Portland three years ago, and is now finally contaminating the Emerald City. Basically, this is a late-'90s relaunch of Big Beat, only with more darkstep-jungle menace; if you slap a nu-buzz phrase on a genre, you can imbue it with an air of freshness, and only old geezers will notice it's old wine in nu bottles. Kicking off the monthly are Brits Atomic Hooligan (Matt Welch and Terry Ryan), who record for nu-breaks juggernaut Botchit and Scarper. These blokes are poised to join breakbeat studs like T. Power, Meat Katie, and Si Begg at the genre's summit (AH also have just remixed Underworld's "Born Slippy"), so if you have any interest in this style, don't miss tonight's gig. Club 722, 722 E Pike St, 860-4177, 10 pm-2 am, 21+, $2.
TORTURED SOUL, ALTER ECHO
New York's Tortured Soul creates house music with newfangled gadgets like guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums. Have you ever? The trio's debut album, Introducing Tortured Soul (Purpose), features Caucasoid Stevie Wonder vocals, mellow, mellifluous melodies, and undulating funk rhythms often found on releases by the OM and Naked labels. The musicianship's impeccable, but there's not an iota of darkness in their dance music. Portland's Alter Echo's "Sebsi Dub" appears on DJ Spooky's Under the Influence mix CD and he remixed two of Spooky's tracks on Dubtometry. AE's dub is as deep as any American's working today. ToST Lounge, 513 N 36th St, 547-0240, 10 pm-2 am, 21+, $7.
