Echoplex

MUSIC The Pitchfork Music Festival darlings formerly known as Games, now called Ford & Lopatin, will take their 1980s-inspired pop rock to the Echoplex as part of a powerhouse bill that includes Telepathe, Sun Araw and DJ Frosty. The Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., L.A. 8:30 p.m. Thu. $15. (213) 413-8200; http://www.attheecho.com.

Ricky Garay was in his car, like many Angelenos are when inspiration strikes, when he first got the idea for Mucho Music — the weekly Latin dance party now moving to the Echoplex in Echo Park after three years at downtown's La Cita club. "My friends and I would drive around passing out fliers and listen to Latin pop and we would always say, 'Man, wouldn't it be great if there was somewhere we could go and listen to Latin pop all night?' There were places that played Brit pop and hip-hop but no Latin pop. " Garay, who was the day manager at La Cita, pitched the idea to owner Carl Lofgren, who had purchased the longtime Ranchero bar with his three partners in 2006.

The bass savant producers in the Low End Theory scene are better known for moving hips than hearts, but at this concert — a benefit for tsunami and earthquake relief in Japan — founder Daddy Kev, Nobody, Gaslamp Killer and guests will spin to help the country recover. All door proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross Society. Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., L.A. 9 p.m. Thursday. $12. http://www.attheecho.com.

Rainbow Arabia, matthewdavid, Unknown Mortal Orchestra When: 9 p.m. Friday Where: The Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd. Price: $10 Info: http://www.attheecho.com

Danny Preston of Rainbow Arabia has the rare day job that might actually inspire his songwriting. By night, he mans the production duties for the global-noise electronica duo with his wife, Tiffany. But on weekdays, he charters private planes for the world's wealthy, shuttling them to urban enclaves and distant paradises with no need for a frisking at the gate. "I can hop on a plane whenever it's empty," he said over banh mi sandwiches at Xoia, a Vietnamese restaurant in Echo Park, last month.

The captain may be gone, but the ship sails on; experience raw sonic power and mad poetics at Gary Lucas' Captain Beefheart Symposium, celebrating the work of bluesman and painter Don Van Vliet ? a.k.a. Captain Beefheart. Guitarist Lucas was a member of the last incarnation of Beefheart's Magic Band and will be playing live, spinning unreleased tracks, and showing slides of Van Vliet's artwork. The Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Thurs. Seats: $15 adv; $17 door; Standing: $12 advance; $14 door.