It's been a slow climb, but MEN — the three-year-old dance-punk trio fronted by JD Samson of Le Tigre — will release their first album Talk About Body in February on L.A.-based label IAMSOUND.

The current LA Weekly cover story, featuring an extensive talk with Samson and bandmates Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Michael O'Neill, dropped that little kernel of news, along with how their politically charged party music came to fruition.

And, as Samson allowed, how much fun it is to perform it:

“It's like the joy of being able to speak your mind and be visible to other people like you and to spread your politics and spread your feelings and all of that together. I feel that's something that is really important to me and us as a band. And no matter if there's three people there or 3,000 people there, we're gonna play the same show. We're gonna fucking give people the energy that they deserve for paying money to come.”

Tonight offers two chances to see MEN — an early-evening performance at the Skybar in the first of IAMSOUND's Mondrian sessions at the West Hollywood hotel (details here); and an appearance later at Club Underground at the Echo.

Other big deals this weekend:

• Lobsterfest goes off at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro with a notably strong music lineup: Saint Motel headlines tonight; Gram Rabbit, Fitz & the Tantrums and Dengue Fever play Saturday; and John Doe & Exene Cervenka cap the festivities on Sunday.

• Breakout L.A. quintet Local Natives does sold-out shows tonight and Saturday at the Music Box.

• Art-rockers Autolux, their sophomore album Transit Transit finally out, play the Glass House tonight and the El Rey on Saturday.

• Phoenix, Grizzly Bear and Girls team up for a big Hollywood Bowl show on Saturday.

• The lineup for 93.5 Kday's Fresh Fest on Saturday at the Nokia Theatre includes Ice Cube, DJ Quik, Tha Dogg Pound and Warren G.

• Dead Meadow headlines the two-day Clean Air Clear Stars festival at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown.

• And Ozomatli (with guests Cut Chemist and Cheech Marin) and Calexico highlight KCRW's ¡Viva Mexico! program on Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl.

Also tonight: Hanson at the House of Blues; Primus and Mariachi El Bronx at Club Nokia; Avenged Sevenfold and Distrubed at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre; the Parson Red Heads at Spceland; Mark Kozelek at Largo; Gamble House at the Grand Star in Chinatown; Pantha Du Prince at the Echoplex; Marina and the Diamonds and Young the Giant at the El Rey Theatre; Mystery Jets at the Troubadour; Eliza Gilkyson at McCabe's; Spirit Vine at the 5 Star Bar; Keaton Simons at the Mint; the Silver Lake Chorus at the Bootleg Theater; Matt Sorum's Darling Stilettos at the Viper Room; the Adicts at the Key Club; Assemble the Skyline at the Roxy; and Abrakadabra at Saint Rocke.

Also Saturday: Casxio and the Dance Party at Spaceland; Tyvek, Jeff the Brotherhood and Wounded Lion at the Smell; the Riverdales at the Troubadour; Heart at the Gibson Amphitheatre; the Motels at the Brixton in Redondo Beach; Taylor Locke & the Roughs and Heavy Young Heathens at the Mint; Joe Gil at the Hotel Cafe; Moses Campbell at Pehrspace; Dirty Sweet and the Binges at the Bootleg Theater; the B Foundation at the Roxy; Nekromantix at the Glass House; the Steve Miller Band, the Cult, the Fixx and others at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre; Swords of Fatima at the Redwood Bar; Elizabeth Cook at McCabe's; Lyfe Jennings at the Key Club; Fireball Ministry at the Blue Star Bar; Bastidas at Echo Curio; and the Love Language and Radar Brothers with a free in-store at Origami Vinyl.

Also Sunday: A free in-store at Amoeba with Richard Thompson; Mia Doi Todd at the Hotel Cafe; Fiction Company at Spaceland; Tamaryn and Puro Instinct at the Echo; Screeching Weasel and the Dollyrots at Club Nokia; the Emotions and Deniece Williams at Gibson Amphitheatre; the Jonas Brothers at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre; the Blasters at the Redwood Bar; and Peter Himmelman at McCabe's.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.