Diplo brings along DJ Marlboro for a wild night at the Rickshaw; Bingo is your name-o at the Knockout's "BingoTopia"

With a gazillion DJs' mix CDs out there, it's never easy to know what to buy. But into that daunting sea of potential sludge Diplo (aka Wesley Pentz, one half of Philly DJ team Hollertronix) will be releasing a mix that may turn out to be the Moby-Dick of party-rockers. It's his contribution to the FabricLive collection (the 24th installment in the London nightclub's series), and it finds OutKast and Ludacris freely mingling with the Cure and Yazoo -- as well as Cat Power and Le Tigre. As fun as the CD is, it's still dwarfed by the experience of catching Diplo mashing such divergent sounds together in person, especially when he's bringing along a friend like DJ Marlboro (aka Fernando Luis Mattos da Matta), who is largely considered the godfather of funk carioca, which has been Rio's bass-driven, sexed-up, outlaw take on funk for a good quarter-century. You don't have to know how to get crunk in Portuguese to appreciate the internationally jamming night of music going down on Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Rickshaw Stop; call 861-2011 or visit www.rickshawstop.com for more info. -- Tamara Palmer

If you've exhausted yourself on the dance floor, your liver has absorbed too much Maker's Mark, and the crystal sheen on your face has started to glimmer too brightly, you might want to consider pulling out of the tailspin that is now your life. But that doesn't mean you have to stay home and, God forbid, read a book. Instead, relax, sober up a bit, and get in touch with your inner senior citizen by playing a few rounds of bingo while listening to some lite easy-listening at "BingoTopia." Every Thursday at the Knockout (formerly hipster-nerd enclave the Odeon) attendees get the chance to win booze, prizes, and victory with festive and wholesome rounds of the family fun game. But the real reason to go is to hear DJ Rick E. Cheese play some of your favorite smooth hits and KOIT-ish "Love Songs After Dark." Until now, you could only catch those overproduced gems on the radio or in your dentist's office. Bingo is your name-o from 7:30 to 10 p.m.; call 550-6994 or visit www.theknockoutsf.com for more info. -- Brock Keeling

Mos Def,Jean Grae, and Pharoahe Monch are not only highly respected hip hop artists from New York, they're also old friends with lots of experience performing together, and that's certain to show on this tour. From high-profile acting gigs such as starring as Ford Prefect in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to hosting HBO's Def Poetry program, Mos Def has been demonstrating his star power beyond music for a while. But his greatest talent is still hip hop, and here's where to catch some of his new songs and ideas. Grae, meanwhile, is, some would say, the Big Apple's best female rapper, bypassing the ghetto-fabulous posture of many lady MCs for an educated, street-wise sexiness. Her latest, Hurricane Jean: The Jeanius Strikes Again!, is embarrassingly good. Monch has been the most behind-the-scenes in recent years, ghostwriting for ultrabig hip hop stars, a testament to his talents. As if these three weren't enough, Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface joins the action on Saturday, Oct. 29, while Talib Kweli , Mos Def's Black Star partner (and longtime compatriot of Monch and Grae), appears on Sunday, Oct. 30. Both dates are at Mezzanine; call 625-8880 or visit www.mezzaninesf.com for more info.-- Tamara Palmer