Shake to the Booka Shade

German duo Booka Shade pushes a couple rain clouds over nu-rave's sunshine. As integral members of the Berlin-based electro-house label Get Physical, Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier deliver noirish sheets of cascading synths broken intermittently by gently lilting swoons. The pair is responsible for discerning DJ-approved singles "Mandarine Girl" and "In White Rooms," and had a hand in hits for labelmates M.A.N.D.Y. and DJ T, among others. Throughout their charcoal sketches and numerous remixes, the producers have exhibited a focused yet diffused quality sharing the contrasts of a rumbling storm with its eventual reprieve. Catch a glimpse of Booka Shade when it hits town on Friday, March 23, at Mezzanine at 9 p.m. Admission is $14 adv.; call 625-8880 or visit ww.mezzaninesf.com for more info. — Tony Ware

K-OS (born Kevin Brereton) hails from the fertile rap scene of Toronto, better known in urban circles as the "T-Dot," and is the most successful MC to cross the border. As his new (and third) album Atlantis: Hymns for Disco demonstrates, K-OS favors uncomplicated beats that hearken to old-school hip-hop heroes, but he flips decidedly modern rhymes that aim for substance. What other rappers do you know who reference Coretta Scott King? K-OS appears with Gym Class Heroes, RX Bandits, and P.O.S. on Tuesday, March 27, at the Fillmore at 7 p.m. Admission is $16.50; call 346-6000 or visit www.thefillmore.com for more info. — T.P.