Staying in the thick of it

Five years ago, if I told you that rave icon DJ Dan would be spinning records at a local club over the weekend, you’d reply, “Wow, people still listen to that stuff?” Of course, in 2010, it’s obvious that people do, what with dance pop like Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” dominating the airwaves and teenagers ODing to the sounds of Black Eyed Peas at massive parties around the world. Two decades deep, DJ Dan remains in the thick of it, remixing tracks for the Pussycat Dolls and Lady Gaga and issuing Future Retro, which mixes “retro” covers of classics like A Guy Called Gerald’s “Voodoo Ray” with “future” floor stompers like “Come On & Get It.” Even American Idol also-ran Blake Lewis makes an appearance, and you can’t get more mainstream than that. DJ Dan plays Thursday, September 23, 9 p.m., call for cover; Mix Downtown, 1525 L Street; (916) 442-8899; www.mixdowntown.net.