Mix and Mash

Looks like dance denizens will descend upon downtown this weekend like never before, as two ballistic beat bashes go head to head in the city on Saturday. The Neighborhood Music Fest is more live-band oriented. Moody throbbers The Faint, twangy trash talker Mickey Avalon, funkbot romantics Chromeo and (s)punky Klaxons-like Glasgow groovers Shit Disco, are all, yup, the shit, but the DJs are no slouches either. DJ AM’s mashin’ skillz are a given, and the marvelous melds of Spank Rock, Flosstradamus, A-Trak and Steve Aoki are guaranteed to highlight and soundbite the best indie rock, hip-hop and bad ’80s electro jams — a hodgepodge that’s essentially the soundtrack to the hoody-wearing hip hordes. For a less ironic/pure electronic mix, there’s the long-running Nocturnal Wonderland, going down at a new Civic Center–adjacent location and featuring heavy hitters such as the Chemical Brothers (live), Paul Van Dyk and Carl Cox, plus Deep Dish’s Sharam, LTJ Bukem and many more. So what’s it gonna be, kiddies? Neo-wave or neo-rave? Neighborhood Music Fest at Exposition Park, 3911 S. Figueroa St., dwntwn.; Sat., Sept., 29, 3 p.m.-2 a.m.; all ages. See www.neighborhoodmusicfest.com. Nocturnal Wonderland, 836 Francisco St., near corner of Eighth and Figueroa, dwntwn.; Sat., Sept. 29, 7 p.m.-4 a.m.; over 18. See www.nocturnalwonderland.com.

—Lina Lecaro