Thurs, Sept 3, James Pants

James Pants sounds like that sexy dude in junior high who tried to dry-hump you in the hallway. Pants mixes Cybotron-era techno, Maggotron-styled bass and other synthesized things with a dose of outsider-artist surrealism. Pants’ Welcome, released on Stones Throw Records in early 2008, confused me: Was it sincere or some sarcastic hipster shit? But it’s like a funky groove I can’t get out of my head; I’m still humming, “I want k-a-a-a-s-h, baby!” Other dates on Pants’ West Coast tour feature Gary Wilson, who’s even weirder than Pants. But Sacramento just gets Pants. 1050 20th Street, www.myspace.com/jamespants.