by JAY WATTS III

MEG, the little festival with the nomenclature issues (replacing “electronic groove” with “eclectic groove” is not that much of a step up) takes place over this weekend, and while the daily portion of the festival is gem-full (pompadoured avant-skronkist James Chance!, Duchess Says and the opportunity to huck beer at the Flaming Lips), the choicest snaps are the late-night French Touched events at the Metrop. Beyond gutter-mouthed ’n’ stunted stutter rapper Uffie (and boyfriend Feadz), maestro Busy P, Teki of TTC and Sebastian (sadly no Zdar!), there’s also knob-twisting wizard DJ Mehdi, who collaborates with Montrealers Chromeo on “I Am Somebody,” a cut from his newest album. A positive electro-jam saga about clubbing, velvet ropes and identity issues, leavened with pitch-bent synth and that Chromeo staple, the vocoder, the guitar lead also segues finely with that Braxe remix of Kelis’s “Bossy.” Grab that from Call Me Mickey (http://callmemickey.blogspot.com/2006/08/dj-mehdi-lucky-boy.html) or make him your internet friend (www.myspace.com/djmehdi).

Paranoid hair-rockers detoxed and botoxed, the real navigators of inner space today are given supreme instruction by their godhead, Japanese face-melt-psych collective Acid Mothers Temple, (led by long-hair guru Makoto Kawabata), who do more with flutes and delay pedals in 30 seconds than Jethro Tull have managed in 30+ years. On their new album, Have You Seen the Other Side of the Sky?, profundity runs abundant, if you're the type inclined to consider the difficulty of interplanetary real-estate transactions, in songs like “Buy the Moon of Jupiter” (www.mattwrightpr.com/mp3/Acid_ Mothers_Temple Buy_The_Moon_Of_Jupiter.mp3), while “Attack From Planet Hattifatteners” (www.mattwrightpr.com/mp3/Acid_Mothers_Temple Attack_From_Planet_Hattifatteners.mp3) is a prime example of that aforementioned flute prowess, dancing across a flower-bed soundscape of mystic mountain skullfuckery, pure delight for the teeth-gritting cheek-chewers, whatever universe they may find themselves voyaging to.

WHERE'S MY LAMINATE? goldkicks@gmail.com

>> Music Listings