BeatBox

What the hell is happening to you gays lately? Have you turned your waxed backs on the show tune and the Britney Spears in favor of the tasty guitar lick? It seems that every gay is an indie rocker now, I swear. Is straight the new sissy? Because that's just gross, not to mention unfair to our kind straight male brethren who begat the untidy aesthetic. What's next, referring to your guy friends as your "buddies"? Slipping roofies into Marina chicks' Mojitos? Take a look at the popular "Gay Bash" at Trax, where DJ/promoter Scott Brown and DJ Earworm spin nothing but rock, going against the nature of your queer biological imperative to head directly to the nearest piano bar and order a martini. And although the night labels itself as "a rock 'n' roll party for fags," hetero folk are just as welcome. ("Gay Bash" is a verb, too, you know.) The straight beats start at 9 p.m. this (and every third) Wednesday, June 15; call 864-4213 or visit www.fagsrock.com. -- Brock Keeling

Pink (the 16th Street nightclub, not the mannish pop songstress) gets an unjustified bad rap from my loser friends, who, in addition to never being able to wrap their heads around the idea of hanging out at a club whose shelves aren't stocked entirely with drunk gay men, somehow long for the club's former wonky identity, Liquid. Why people yearn for it is beyond me; Franky Boissy's new place is sheer genius, with its lack of urine-soaked bathroom floors and pallid décor. More important, though, the sounds at Pink are also superior. Take, for example, "Bionic," the club's new weekly Sunday night party. DJs Solar, Joshua (Iz), Nikola, and weekly guests hauled in from around the world spin simple electro and house tunes that make me oh-so-happy on the dance floor, while the well-mixed and rather attractive crowd almost always comes across as pleasant and chatty. Check out "Bionic" this Sunday, June 19, when Seattle-based DJ Jon Lemmon guest stars; call 431-8889 or visit www.bionicsf.com. -- Brock Keeling

Gangster rap fans, you're in the wrong 'hood: Digable Planets' first tour in nearly a decade will draw a mellow crowd that appreciates that frozen moment in the early '90s when hip hop was rife with jazz samples and playful notions. Back then, fans of acts like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul comfortably embraced the Philly trio of Butterfly, Doodlebug, and Ladybug. The three burned hot and bright on their 1993 debut, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space), which featured the breakout single "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)." By 1994's Blowout Comb, though, listeners were already onto something more, shall we say, Snoopadelic. Since then, at least 2/3 of the group has remained active. Doodlebug (aka DJ Cee Knowledge) continues as a mixmaster and member of Cosmic Funk Orchestra, while Butterfly raised a pimp cup a few years back, adopting a swaggering, womanizing persona called Cherrywine. It's really anyone's guess what the re-formed Planets are vibing on musically right now as they tour and kick around the idea of making a new album, so find out for yourself on Wednesday, June 22, at the Independent; call 771-1421 or visit www.theindependentsf.com for more info.-- Tamara Palmer