Soundbites

ONE NIGHT OF SODOM: One of the most consistently fun and engaging house/dance groups of the past decade, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult brings its hell-on-tour-bus-wheels show to town this week.

One of the biggest complaints about club music (and one with which I concur) is that too often the music is mere pulsing beats programmed by faceless artists, and that in that respect, its only use is as dance club fodder. That is, it's not something you'd throw into the CD player while kicking it at home. But MLWTTKK is that rare dance act with personality, a personality obsessed with campy references to Satanic horror schlock, sleazy sexcapades and virtually anything shocking and debauched.

Yeah, they've got the beats, but they make them more listenable than the usual fare by mixing it up with neo-psych samples and sexpot vocals, and to their credit, each of their albums sounds a little different from the last. Plus, you can be sure that, in a live setting, they will put on a show.

Also on the bill is former Pigface vocalist Meg Lee Chin, touring in support of her solo debut, Piece and Love (1999, Invisible Records), on which she collaborated with Martin Atkins, whose résumé includes Public Image Ltd., Pigface, Ministry, Killing Joke and Nine Inch Nails. The result is a delicious slice of noise-addled beat-heavy tech-pop that incorporates healthy doses of hip-hop, Beat poetry ("Nutopia" even swipes the opening line of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," updating it for the new millennium as, "I saw the best minds of my generation caught up in the virtual reality of living/Memorizing PIN numbers and secret codes"), and even the occasional--albeit fuzzed-up--electric guitar. A refreshing listen.

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult and Meg Lee Chin appear along with Phoenix's Victims in Ecstacy at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 14, at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Advance tickets are available for $15 at Hotel Congress, Zip's University, CD Depot, Guitars, Etc. and online at www.ticketweb.com. To charge by phone call 1-800-965-4827. For more information call 622-8848.


PUTTIN' ON THE RIFF: Remember all those bands in the '70s that bowed down to The Riff? Y'know, the slow, grinding, meaty guitars that made your head, unbeknownst to your brain, begin bobbing up and down involuntarily? Admit it: sometimes you just can't help yourself and start digging through the heaps of vinyl and cassettes looking for that one Sabbath or Foghat tune you just can't seem to shake.

Good news, friends: There's a quadruple-band rawkfest this week with yer name on it.

Bottom is an NYC-based female trio whose stoner grooves sound like an alley brawl between Nebula and The Runaways, as evidenced on their debut disc, last year's Made in Voyage, released on their own Mudflap imprint. Residing in Oakland, Calif., and on Frank Kozik's Man's Ruin label, Drunk Horse is more in the Guess Who-fronted-by-Nugent vein. Tucson's own Thunderosa just might rock harder than anyone out there right now, with its Southern shit-kickin' blaze-a-billy frenzy. You get all this, and fellow longtime underground locals Parasite round out the bill with their speedy metal concoction.

It all goes down, way down, in the basement of the Double Zero, 121 E. Congress St., at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18. A mere four bucks will get you through the door, and you can call 670-9332 with any remaining questions.


IT AIN'T EASY BEATING GREEN: If you've ever been to The Mint Cocktails, 3540 E. Grant, one of my personal favorite dive--er, neighborhood taverns, you know that it's better known for its karaoke nights than for being on the cutting edge of electronica. But the beloved Mint will indeed be the setting for a very special night of live performances, with DJs spinning in between. Metrognome plans a set of airy, organic drum and bass beats; Debbie will be a bit darker and denser, noisier and louder, harsher and hip-hoppier; and DJs Putney Swope, Carbon 14 and Jcat will keep the grooves non-stop. The performance, dubbed Asimetrix vs. Sic., gets underway at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, at the Mint Cocktails. There is a suggested $2 donation for this 21-and-over show. Questions? Call 881-9169.


FINGER-PICKIN' GOOD: Heads up, bluegrass fans! Get your tails out this weekend for a very special double bill. Frog Mountain, which features flatpicking master Peter McLaughlin (who's won two Telluride Guitar titles as well as the 1988 National Guitar Flatpicking Championship), shares the stage with McLaughlin's former bandmates in the Titan Valley Warheads for what should be a toe-tappin', knee-slappin' night of fun at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, at Plaza Palomino, at the corner of Fort Lowell and Swan Roads. It's part of the Plaza's Courtyard Concert Series. Advance tickets for the all-ages show are available in advance for $14 at Hear's Music, The Folk Shop, Antigone Books, Brew & Vine and Enchanted Earthworks. They'll be $16 at the door. For more information or to charge tickets by phone call 297-9133.