I love it when strangers touch me

The new Sound Advice rules: For this first month of ’09, we’re going to be busting out new ground rules—or resolutions, have you—each week. (Or we may give up on the idea; stay blickin’ tuned.) Anyway, this first one’s a no-brainer:

Go to more live shows!

Thusly, options … all of which take place Second Saturday evening. One hip-hop, one rock and one dance—no excuses, son. (Nick Miller)

There will be Free Blood: John Pugh left !!! last year, but Saturday he’ll be back in Sac at Old Ironsides for a gig at Shaun Slaughter’s Touched by a Stranger deejay/live-show series (10th and S streets, 10 p.m., $5, 21 and up). Free Blood is Pugh’s new outfit, a kind of experimental/dance vibe, which of course is not unlike his work with !!!, but that’s a good thing, yeah? Yeah. (N.M.)

Nice Monster? Never met one: But Nice Monster, the local folk/math-rock group, has an EP release at Fox & Goose (1001 R Street, 9 p.m., $5, 21 and up) on Saturday night, with Be Brave Bold Robot opening.

Nice Monster’s vocalist Matthew Gerken, who was also part of the songwriting triptych involved in last year’s Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies, will be heading to D.C. after this Foxy gig for a gangbusters Barack Obama inauguration show at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue on January 17. Sac bands going national, again, for a change. I can believe in that. (N.M.)

VIP for everyone: Souls of Mischief, Serendipity Project, Knobody!, Sonicbloom, Bloe, the Insomniaks, DJ Supe and DJ Oasis will be holding down the fort at Image VIP Lounge on Saturday (705 J Street, 8 p.m., $12). We’ve directed your asses to Image a few times in these pages, but for the uninitiated: It’s a new club, doing new shows—and hip-hop, no less. Check it. (N.M.)

Who the hell books a hardcore band to play at their house? After an extended clusterfuck regarding who was going to play first, the Nodzzz house show in Davis on New Year’s Day started an hour and a half late—which is still quite early. Anyway, the Nodzzz’s singer is the epitome of nerdy chic: high-waisted Guess jeans, sipping merlot while performing. They remind me of local band the Four Eyes: classic pop with a loveably sloppy and geeky twist. Next up was Sex Vid, a hardcore four piece from Olympia, Wash. They played a terrifying loud first riff and I thanked goddess for my ear plugs. A pit sprang up and some cushions were hurt in the maelstrom. I guess this freaked out the house’s residents, but then who the hell books a hardcore band to play at their house? After Sex Vid, the place reeked of B.O. and hangover farts. But the air eventually cleared and all-lady band Finally Punk went on. They were just OK, bringing to mind some of the bad parts of riot grrrl (e.g., trading instruments on every song and not being able to play any of them). But they had spunk and they were having fun, and so was everyone at the show. (Becky Grunewald)

Karate Kid + romance + acid trip: Meet Fancie, one of Sacramento’s more innovative bands and quite possibly the craziest. Part TLC, part Frank Zappa and part nightmare, Fancie is Elisabeth Wood (lead singer, Casio, guitar), Katelyn Reeves (trumpet, vocals, live performance art, Casio, heavy bass), Genie Masterflash (strange sounds, drums) and Jocelyn Noir (guitar, vocals, live performance art, drums). The band creates music that somehow rallies genres: ’80s, new wave, hip-hop, electro, mystic. And there are extras: video projection of random images—The Little Mermaid, church choirs, gymnastic routines. Sadly, Friday night at Luigi’s Fun Garden may have been one of Fancie’s last local shows for a long time (Wood’s moving back to Berlin). But Fancie tracks can be found online. (Terra Lopez)