German techno duo Modeselektor (Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary) has one hell of a Rolodex. On their latest release, Happy Birthday, they schizophrenically cobble together collaborations featuring Francophone rappers TTC and rasta crooner Paul St. Hilaire, dropping in tracks with rockers like Maxïmo Park and Thom Yorke along the way. And while that entourage won't be accompanying Modeselektor stateside, the pair still brings it live. A recent show in Berlin had the duo DJing under a ceiling full of lights while two gorillas whooped it up onstage. Okay, so the gorillas might not get work visas, but the music will more than make up for it. Modeselektor performs on Thursday, Oct. 18, at 222 Club (222 Hyde) at 11 p.m. Tickets have sold out; call 440-0222 or visit www.222club.net for more info. — Andy Beta
Ragnar Schmuck
Modeselektor.
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Ann Arbor's Matthew Dear (a.k.a. Audion, False) turns his attention to snaps, crackles, and pop on his latest album, Asa Breed. Dear can still construct one hell of a halftone portrait from his digitally drafted pocks and perforations, but his minimalism now kneads less striated, more winsome melodies — with a new addition of narrative vocals placed inside the crimped percussion. Dear's sonic real estate is no longer mere microcosms flickering; he now tugs at the heartstrings of electrohaus. Check out the gently jacking rhythms of Dear and his Big Hands band on Thursday, Oct. 18, at Mezzanine at 9 p.m. Admission is $22; call 625-8880 or visit www.mezzaninesf.com for more info. — Tony Ware
DJ Vadim may get less attention these days than when he was cranking out abstract/breakbeat productions back in the '90s, but his music grows more interesting and globally minded with every release. After several solo instrumental hip-hop discs that aligned him with DJs Krush, Cam, and Shadow, the Soviet-born, London-raised, Brooklyn-residing, and ever-touring Vadim Peare started to hit the road a few years ago with a full band and MCs in tow. He's also toured as part of One Self, a collaborative hip-hop unit. More recently, Brazilian, West African, and Indian textures began creeping into his tunes, but the most evident stylistic ingestion on his recent release The Soundcatcher is that of Jamaican ragga and dub. Vadim and his Soundcatcher band light up Mighty on Friday, Oct. 19, at 10 p.m. Admission is $12; call 762-0151 or visit www.mighty119.com for more info. — Michael Alan Goldberg
After a long, storied, and pleasantly debauched residency at the Endup, "Fag Fridays" is moving from the speedy streets of SoMa to its new home at Pink in the Mission. No merciless corridor of taquerias can stand between hundreds of gays and their beloved weekly party, so the transition should be smooth and the housewarming fabulous. The first evening at Pink finds DJ Tedd Patterson in from New York for a celebratory set, along with resident DJs David Harness and Rolo spinning contemporary house, and glamourpusses Juanita More and Glamamore acting as hostesses. The party may be moving, but the parade of wasted homosexuals stumbling home through the Mission on Friday night has just begun. Fag Fridays takes place on Friday, Oct. 19, at Pink at 10 p.m.; visit www.fagfridays.com for more info. — Evan James
In 2004, Cologne, Germany's Aksel "Superpitcher" Schaufler released Here Comes Love, a debut that shuffled melancholy postpop alongside a Teutonic glam stomp. At times the shadowy figures inhabiting Superpitcher's opium din of pursed, glitchy groove seemed weary, but then they rebounded injected with love both pining and pulsing. On his recently released effort with minimalist techno producer Michael Mayer, Supermayer (Save the World) Schaufler still has some heart on his costumed sleeve, but he's putting sole (not just soul) to the dancefloor and drawing from Kraftwerk, Kosmiche, noirish haze, and springy horns, some of which will be on display when Superpitcher performs on Saturday, Oct. 20, at Temple at 9 p.m. Admission is $10-15; visit www.blasthaus.com for more info. — T.W.
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