Yo-yo for ’Ye, no way?

Way to go, Sacto!:
What kind of absolute wasteland goes to enjoy a show—and then ends up stealing a deejay’s laptop?

Well, this is exactly what happened last Tuesday at Grimey, a dubstep night in Midtown: Late in the evening, after a jaw-dropping 400-plus enjoyed San Francisco duo Lazer Sword’s set, someone swiped Antaeus Roy’s MacBook, which not only cost $5K, but also was loaded with all sorts of irreplaceable goodness, such as the group’s almighty beats. Bummer, because Lazer Sword’s Roy, who was on the early leg of a big tour, had to borrow a friend’s laptop to finish the jaunt.

If anyone has any clues or tips, contact Grimey on Facebook. And if you’re the one who snatched the goods, well, I’ll see you in hell, guttersnipe.

Speaking of fiery death: What is wrong with you, Sacramento? You’re earning quite the (bad) reputation among touring musicians for being a world-class city … for having gear stolen. Vega, Dusty Brown, Pregnant, Dan Costello and Kelly Lynae, Axemen—all these acts had equipment pinched over the past few years, and that’s just the thefts I know of and can recall off the top of my head. If we keep stealing from musicians at this rate, there’ll be no touring band in the land brave enough to cross the causeway. Nice one. (Nick Miller)

Beautiful, dark, twisted confession:
Kanye West and I don’t get along. A few years back, when West was in town for two days of moonlighting at downtown’s The Hangar, his bouncer threatened to shove a Nikon camera lens down my throat while I was lurking outside the studio jockeying for a snapshot. Also, the same bouncer bullied an SN&R intern during West’s Arco Arena show. Total jerks.

But as it turns out, we were lucky: Months later, His Westness and a bodyguard were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for scuffling with a paparazzi and smashing his camera.

Despite earning props for calling out Dubya during Hurricane Katrina, West and his entourage were on my jackass list. Plus his last album, 808s & Heartbreak, was “SOS and train wreck.”

So it pains me to admit that I kind of like ’Ye’s latest, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I watched his indulgent, sophomoric, 35-minute Cremaster 3 meets Moonwalker video for “Runaway,” the album’s first single, even though his acting makes Michael Jackson look like Marlon Brando and his blunt raps about saying goodbye to the “douche bags” and “assholes” is a bizarre self-exorcism. Still, I liked it. Hell, I even dug the album’s soft ballad “Blame Game,” with its Aphex Twin Drukqs sample—and that’s saying a lot, because I can’t stand pretty boy John Legend.

But what’s truly embarrassing is that Pitchfork gave West’s latest a 10 out of 10 rating—an unprecedented score for a new release. Man, I’m such a bandwagoner. Please, hit me over the head with a camera lens. (N.M.)

Nostalgia Books:
Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong of the Books were the first artists I interviewed as an SN&R contributor some five years ago, so it was a nice full-circle moment last Tuesday to catch the duo, along with multi-instrumentalist Gene Back, at the 500-seat auditory mecca that is San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. The musicians nearly hourlong set included more than a dozen songs accompanied by original films projected on a screen above the trio. The result was like Yo-Yo Ma meets indie rock meets America’s Funniest Home Videos. But for me, it was like reading an old special book all over again. (N.M.)

Get Grouchy:
Each December, emcee the Grouch packs up his tour bus full of rappers and deejays and hits the road for his annual “How the Grouch Stole Christmas” jaunt, which stops in Sacramento this week. I’m sure their tour bus puts Willie Nelson’s to shame. Anyway, performers this Tuesday, December 14, include Brother Ali, Eligh, Los Rakas and, of course, the Grouch himself. The holiday party goes down at 8 p.m. at Tropicana, 1696 Arden Way; $22; all ages. (N.M.)