DJ Rashad, J-Cush July 6 at 285 Kent, $10
Hailing from the inner city area of Chicago, the style of dance music known as "footwork" is the stuff of sonic wizardry. Typified by skittering hi-hats and ping-ponging bass lines that sound like regular dance music ran through an unnecessarily aggressive dryer, Footwork can be melodic or schizophrenic, soulful or mechanic, unpredictable but always innovative. In short, it's the most exciting thing to happen to dance music in years. One of the genre's finest practitioners, DJ Rashad, is hitting Williamsburg this weekend. For a primer on Footwork, check 4 The Ghetto, Rashad's excellent album with DJ Spinn, which will show you all you need to hear. -Drew Millard
LA Guns, Electric Black Horse, Strotakin IV, July 6 at St. Vitus, $15
If you've heard of LA Guns, then you know why this is interesting. Started in Los Angeles by Tracii Guns (get it?) and Axl Rose in the early '80s, LA Guns would eventually be gutted by Rose so he could form a little group known as Guns N' Roses. Having your band be known primarily as the foundation of another isn't ideal, but it helped Guns, an impressive slinger of the six-string in his own right, launch a respectable career for himself in the world of '80s pop metal. After an extended period of inactivity they're back together, touring on the heels of their upcoming album Hollywood Forever. -DM
Guided By Voices, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The War On Drugs, Cloud Nothings at Central Park SummerStage, Free
Okay, so this CBGB Festival seems like yet another way to sell T-shirts to tourists, but we can't completely hate on anything that brings us a free Guided By Voices show. (We can't front on a free Superchunk show either, but there's a strict limit of one seminal '90s indie rock institution per Week Ahead post.) The genius of Robert Pollard is that even his bad songs are good songs, his good songs are great songs, and his best songs are among the best songs anyone has ever written. Before you challenge this, revisit "I Am A Scientist."
Anyway, after retiring the Guided By Voices name in 2004 for a spell, Pollard reunited within his "classic era" line-up a few years ago, and it's been all high-kicks and "Game Of Pricks" ever since. Also on this bill are three of the best young rock bands in America: psychedelic-folk wanderers The War On Drugs, teenage dreamers The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and noise-pop attackers Cloud Nothings. We're not ready to completely sign off on this repurposed CBGB brand name ... but credit where credit is due for a solid line-up. -Michael Tedder
Fishbone, July 8 at Brooklyn Bowl, $5-$15
How often do you think to yourself, "this lunch is pretty solid, but it would be a lot better if it was tracked by some raucous ska-funk that was slightly tinged with a thrash-metal breakdowns. And a somewhat insane guy doing backflips would just really put it over the top." All the time? Join the club. Well, the universe has answered your prayers for once, as the funk-punk-and-then-some legends Fishbone are playing a rather cheap ($5) afternoon show at the Brooklyn Bowl next Sunday and then a very reasonably priced one later that evening. These guys have been doing it forever, and still bring enough energy to shame bands a third their age. If your Saturday was less than optimal, these lifers should be able to help you salvage the weekend. -MT
