Planetary Alignment

Drop those bongos, dude! Though Planet of the Drums may sound like a swirly rhythm circle at Hippie Hill, it's actually an annual tour that dispatches drum 'n' bass DJs across the third rock from the Sun. Vinyl jockeys AK1200, Dara, and Dieselboy — global superpowers of the genre — bring custom dubplates to shock and awe the dancefloor, MC Messinian barks orders on the mike, and local crews like Compression, LowPro Lounge, and the Fringe fill out the S.F. ranks. It should be noted, however, that Planet of the Drums tends to recruit the heaviest, techiest drum 'n' bass grunts: This ain't no smiley breakbeat rave.