Funk Daddy

(MUSIC) Last Saturday, I went to KUBE's hiphop Saturday thing at Rock Bottom and was unimpressed. The staff was snotty and the bouncers were barely a breed above the bulldog. On Thursday night, I went to hiphop night at Nine 16 and found what I was looking for. Firstly, Funkdaddy is an impeccable hiphop DJ; his set is a mix of hiphop that's neither from the very top of the pop charts nor always the latest on the pop charts. He smoothly moves back and forth in hiphop time. KUBE's DJ, on the other hand, simply functions to link the dance floor with the latest Rap City videos. Finally, Nine 16 is packed with black folks, for real. (Nine 16, 916 E Pike St, 9:30 pm doors, $5 (ladies free before 10:30 pm), for info call 425-869-2023.) CHARLES MUDEDE

Visual Music Festival

(FILM) The innovative Visual Music Festival 2002 presents Kinetica 3, a program that highlights experimental animation. It features Jordan Belson's Bardo, which depicts the Buddhist idea of the period between death and rebirth with lush, impressionistic images, and Contemporary Visual Music, a series of short films and videos by Ying Tan, Mar Elepano, Sky David, Al Jarnow, Larry Cuba, Paul Glabicki, and others. They vary in technique and structure from hand-drawn to computer animation graphics. Filmmaker Richard Reeves will be in attendance screening his Linear Dreams, which uses images scratched directly on film. It passes in a flash of squiggly, dancing constellations and incandescent color. (Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave, 675-2055, 7 & 9 pm, $7.) NATE LIPPENS

Northwest New Works

(PERFORMANCE) Every choreographer in town took some first steps at Northwest New Works; most everyone who's trying to push the envelope for theater or music has appeared as well. This year established talents (like choreographers Amii LeGendre, Laura Curry, Rob Kitsos) rub up against fresh faces (like chirping lunatic ana SasKia and shrieking maniac Pat Phlymm); artists as diverse as Pablo Cornejo, Macha Monkey, and rebreather guarantee a wide mix of ideas, techniques, and sensations. Twelve different pieces will be crammed into two weeks. These people will shape Seattle's performance future. (Fri-Sat March 29-30, On the Boards, 100 W Roy St, 217-9888, 7:30 & 10:30 pm, $5-12 single tickets, multi-show passes available. Through April 8.) BRET FETZER

New Breakin' Night

(MUSIC, BREAKDANCING) Circle of Fire still breakdances for Broken Beats at Nation every Monday for a $5 cover charge, but now some members dance for free at Noc Noc the night before. It could turn into the scene frenzy it became at Nation, but so far it's a much different vibe. The dance floor in back feels like it's in a cave, as opposed to Nation's lofted and swanky room, and there's only one crew of DJs, the Vixens of Vinyl--Miss Funk, Mini Funk, and Emily Song--who will shape the music of the night with breaks and speed garage. The music is loud, but the mood is very low-key, with only handfuls of people sitting on the couches around the dance floor and a few at the bar to marvel at the excellent dancers. (Noc Noc, 1516 Second Ave, 622-4344, 10 pm, free.) BRIAN GOEDDE

Notions

(ART) Jennifer McNeely is one of my favorites among the smart-set art girls. Her department-store-style installation at Vital 5's Shopping extravaganza last year was filled with useless desirable objects, beautifully designed, obstinately meaningless. Her soft sculpture resonates in a Neo-Platonic vein, of being caught in suffering flesh while the spirit yearns for other things... for anything. With meticulous attention paid to everyday objects and materials--nylons, zippers, the needle and thread, McNeely grounds us in this paradox: the extremely well-made useless thing. If I were rich, I'd fill my house with them. (Henriette E. Woessner Alumni Gallery at Cornish College, 723 Harvard Ave E, 323-1400.) EMILY HALL

Trembling Before G-d

(FILM) If "gay Orthodox Jews" sounds like the punchline for a joke to you, or if you are a gay Orthodox Jew and it's no laughing matter, or if you're just inquisitive, this exquisitely nuanced documentary offers a complex portrait of a cross-section of Orthodox Jews who are gay and lesbian. Director Sandi Simcha DuBowski looks at the lives and struggles of a handful of people who try to reconcile their faith with their sexuality. The tone adjusts itself to its subjects--some deeply conflicted, some defiant--offering insights that it happens upon rather than condescends to. (See Movie Times.) NATE LIPPENS

Chop Suey

(NEW CLUB) A studied mix of sophistication and street, Chop Suey hopes to replenish Capitol Hill with a popular live music venue. The club, housed in the old Breakroom space and owned by the folks behind Linda's, the Cha Cha, and Rudy's, has been gutted and remodeled in vintage Chinese décor. The band room seems bigger, the stage is outfitted to resemble a pagoda, and the booths have been chucked in favor of long banquettes and elegant cocktail tables. Tonight marks Chop Suey's grand opening; Fila Brazilia provides the entertainment as owners and patrons celebrate the latest addition to Seattle's vibrant music scene. (Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison, 324-8000, $13/$15.) KATHLEEN WILSON