The Friday night music scene is so good in LA lately that I find myself with a top-heavy weekend - big Friday night, smaller Saturday night. Probably better for my liver, brain, and Monday morning. 

Tomorrow is no different. Even though all across the country, festivals and raves are booking some big names (SXSW, Ultra, Winter Music Conference, Beyond Wonderland), there are still amazing acts to see right here in LA. And these three shows are all about the HOUSE music (the deep kind, not the Swedish kind). Here are three picks you can get funky, weird, and sexy to:

Friday 3.15.13

• GET FUNKY: A Club Called Rhonda with Todd Terry at Los Globos (Silverlake)
  
  I am getting mixed reviews about Rhonda lately, but I still love coming here (even if it means showing up before 10). According to all the regulars, Rhonda is going downhill. Meaning it’s getting too popular and not underground enough for the fierceness that usually exists at Los Globos. That doesn’t mean the talent is any less amazing and the party is any less fun. Todd Terry is still going to make you dance to some real groovy house music. Die-hard house heads are in love with him. Expect a lot of sweat, strong looks, and a headliner that jumps on at 2 am. And I love good vibes on the dance floor at Rhonda. The jello shots help.
  Listen: Todd Terry - Jumpin’
  
  
• GET WEIRD: Awakening presents Beyond Wonderland Pre-Party with Maceo Plex and Maya Jane Coles at Exchange LA
  (Downtown LA)
  
  I’m personally surprised with this booking at Exchange on a Friday, usually known for its #trancefamily Friday. Maceo Plex has been around a while, but thanks to the label Crosstown Rebels, he’s getting some PR and more opportunities to spin amazing house/borderline techno on the dancefloor. After him is the young and lovely Maya Jane Coles, whose closing set at Space last year started my love affair with her sound. I guess if we’re going to be genre whores about it, she plays garage/deep house. This party will go late into the AM with an unbelievable sound system at Exchange. Ignore the overdrugged post-grad crowd, but own the amazing dance floor and music. Before you know it, the night will be over and your feet will have not stopped moving.
  Listen: Maceo Plex Boiler Room Set & Maya Jane Coles Closing Set - Space Ibiza

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Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.

- Clarence Thomas

I love manners. I was raised to say please and thank you. Open doors. Offer your seat on the bus. Make good eye contact and give a firm hand shake.

There are rules to live by daily, but most easily forgotten in the party scene. Manners in nightlife?! Not exactly the first thing you think of. Alcohol, drugs, and hedonistic entitlement play a large part in the rudeness associated with going out in Los Angeles. Forget being rude to just cabbies and bartenders, I’ve seen some people be straight out rude to the talent!

If you are going to go out in this city and act a fool, you will be remembered as such. Like Mr. Thomas said above, good manners will get you further than any “good-on-paper” qualification you might have. However, this is not a guide on how to manipulate those around you to get ahead in status in the LA party scene (whatever that means - free booze I guess?).

What this guide and the #422 are really about is finding and participating in special music and nightlife experiences in LA. By following these few tips, I hope I can help you get the most out of your party experience. And maybe, along the way, it will help make the night a little nicer for the people who work so hard to give you that experience.

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I know it’s a good week in musical performances in LA when I have at least two shows I want to go to every night. Unfortunately, I can’t clone myself or my dance moves. Otherwise, we’d have quite a scene on our hands.

I can, however, give you my top picks for every night this week (a.k.a. the places where you can count on running into me).

Ready to hear some amazing tunes and dance your ass off? Here’s the #422:

Monday 2.25
Andres at Carbon (Culver City)
Fave track: “New For U”
After the States of Being party was shut down and moved last Friday, a lot of disappointed fans did not get to hear this Detroit-native spin. Well tonight, enjoy his track selection of disco, funk and house, for FREE. I promise you won’t stop dancing.

Tuesday 2.26
Dim Mak Studios Presents Goldroom (Live Set) (Hollywood)
Fave track: “Sweetness Alive”
I’ve featured Goldroom on the #422 before, and he is definitely at the helm of the tropichill electronic revival here in LA. He’s debuting a brand new live set, too! Perfect way to start your week smiling.

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Jazz you say? What is the #422 doing there?!

The #422 is all about music, no matter what the genre. As someone who’s lived in Venice and the Westside for almost 10 years, I KNOW how hard it is to keep a good jazz venue open, west of the 405.

Sure, we’ve got the weird and old jazz crowd at Harvelle’s, and the more polished jazz nuts at Hal’s. Then jazz tried to be there for the young people and we let Angel’s on Wilshire die (I was a regular there for most of 2011, *sigh*). And yes there is hope for the new Jazz Bakery - but while we’re waiting, why not check out RG Club? 

The RG club may just bring another type of venue to the jazz scene in Los Angeles - one that’s all about the music and with none of the pretense. Hello, it’s in VENICE after all, and trying to be uptight or snobby about one of the freest forms of music in one of the freest cities in the world… well, ain’t nobody got time for that.

The owner Brad Neal sounds like he’s got big plans to include a restaurant and smoking patio, but what really struck me is his dedication to keeping jazz in the club, always.

So who’s playing…and why should I go?!

Well, the term ‘residency’ seems to be thrown around loosely these days. It seems that a residency means once every 3 months in Vegas, but what it really means is what the Azar Lawrence Quartet will be doing 3 times PER WEEK at RG Club. 

A real resident (jazz, rock, electronic or otherwise) plays for hours on end, multiple times a week, which means a different jam, a different sound, and a different experience every time. Check out the website here for the schedule and come by. I’m sure the RG Club will be happy to have you.

And all that other #422:

2536 Lincoln Blvd
Venice CA, 90291
(310) 822-1715

Full bar. Cover is $15, and only $7 for 90291 residents (too bad I moved!)

Best part? Cover is FREE between 12 am and 2 am :D