BeatBox

Experienced DJs Sake-One, J-Boogie, and Jesse Saunders (who released the first house record in the '80s) will be on hand at Club Six to preside over a different sort of election at the DJ competition "Get Selected! Finals: Selection Day." Two age-old adversaries -- hip hop and electronic music -- will square off as mixmasters compete for a chance to win a yearlong residency at Club Six and more. So far, hip hop is represented by DJ Solace, G-Fresh, C-Kryt, and DJ Marz, while DJ Steve Madera, Bernard Thomas, DJ Kevin B, and Joe Encarnacion will bring the breakbeats, techno, and assorted digital grooves. But the competition is open to the public and those who want a chance to compete should turn up at the auditions (Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. sharp) and flex those deck skills. Finals take place on Friday, Nov. 5, at Club Six; call 863-1221 or go to www.clubsix1.com.
-- Tamara Palmer

Valentine's Day comes early this year, when Carpark Records brings the touring trio of Greg Davis, Signer, and Ariel Pinkto town. While the three artists map fairly varied territory, all of their work resonates with the sweet nothings of ambient pop and lo-fi preciousness. Chicago's Davis, a sentimental refugee of electronica's icy hinterlands, plucks filigreed lullabies on guitar against tracks of gentle, backscratching beats. New Zealand's Signer, given to synthesizers and acoustic guitar, is a bigger softie still; his murky production and moody vocals testify to a teenagehood spent locked inside with My Bloody Valentine on the stereo and a book of Rilke open on his lap. His latest album, The New Face of Smiling, is a shoegazing soundtrack to sweater weather. Finally, the lineup's oddball, Ariel Pink -- a Los Angeles-based home recorder discovered by the folkies in Animal Collective -- injects a little psychedelia into the evening with his candy-coated tales of heartbreak, beamed in over AM radio from an alternate pop universe. Catch the three of them on Thursday, Nov. 4, at the Hemlock Tavern; call 923-0923 or go to www.hemlocktavern.com.
-- Philip Sherburne

What's one to do at a bar when your friends have ditched you, leaving you alone to self-medicate? Well, if you're at Moby Dick's you can look skyward at one of the bar's TVs to see Stanley Frankseamlessly mix together music and images. In addition to playing an eye-catching array of videos, from Goldfrapp to Beyoncé, and spinning some stunning '80s throwbacks, French house, and hip hop, Frank cleverly re-scores some of his favorite films. For instance, spaced-out music can be set to 2001, and he often uses Fritz Lang's Metropolis as a blank canvas for a variety of musical genres. (Bar movies, by the way, are a genus unto themselves. Lawrence of Arabia and Fast Times at Ridgemont High hypnotize from a barstool, whereas To Kill a Mocking Bird? Not so much.) But don't think he uses only the auteurs du cinema; Frank's also been known to play Richard Simmons' surprisingly mesmerizing Sweatin' to the Oldies. The D/VJ goes on this (and every) Thursday and Friday, Oct. 11 and 12; call 861-1199 for more info.
-- Brock Keeling