Infected Mushroom, the world-famous techno group that combined traditional Jewish themes with an incredible electronic beat on Oct. 30, is back this Friday at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.

Appearing with Dyloot, popular on the San Francisco trance scene, and Christopher Lawrence too, Infected Mushroom's show will start at 8:00 pm (doors at 7). Tickets are available here, for $30-33.

Plus, look out for an exciting review this coming week. EBAC will examine the influences and development of a "trans-national" band. After the show, send us your thoughts and observations!

The East Bay Arts and Culture Review (aka us) is going to the Mushroom concert this Friday at the Cow Palace! (It's a part of Live 105's Halloween Spookfest.) Let us know if you're gonna be there, so we can find out what you think.

If you don't know, Infected Mushroom is an incredible Israeli trance band that is known for their highly-musically-developed concerts. Their international popularity is apparently growing, and I'm excited to see how they perform in a mostly-American lineup.

Note: Tickets are available here, and you can find out more about the band at their web site: http://www.infected-mushroom.com

Shalom, shalom! Tonight at Temple Emanuel in San Francisco, the Sway Machinery is presenting a special Rosh Hashanah concert. My dad nearly had a conniption when he heard that the concert is on the second night of Rosh Hashanah, but I explained to him that it's a critical opportunity to unite the young Jewish adults of the Bay Area, at a time when a growing number are increasingly disconnected from the religious establishment.

Look for more on the Sway Machinery after I've seen the show, but the preview on their web site sounds way cool. It's also fun to see who I know at the event, since Bay Area Jews tend to attend large-scale events in huge numebrs to represent their organizations. (When I went to a similar party celebrating Chanukah last year, I saw way many people from Camp Tawonga, Midrasha, and other groups.) By the way, if you're free tonight, open bar at 9 and free show at 10. See you there!

Speaking of Rosh Hashanah, this from Moment Magazine's blog:

For the past two weeks, I've been up at Camp Tawonga (a.k.a. heaven on earth). I'm here for the rest of the summer, until mid-August, so my entries may be less frequent. However, when they do happen, they will be ever so much more juicy, because of the inspiration they will receive from this amazing location.

Also, my radio show will be not-weekly for the duration of my time here. It will appear sporadically as a podcast, which you can receive here or by searching "Noah Zaves" in iTunes.

Thank you for your interest in my blog, and look forward to some amazing photos this summer as well!

Tomorrow morning, I'm heading up to Portland to watch the Metropolitan Opera's live broadcast of Dr. Atomic, John Adams' awesome new opera (I think it premiered during my freshman year here). John Adams is a minimalist composer, which is SO COOL, and he also writes about contemporary historical events. Tight.

This opera in particular is about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb," and his friends at the Manhattan Project in the 40's. What a thing to write an opera about!

While we're talking about the Met, you can Ask Figaro if you need help deciding which opera to see. It's a really fun quiz. Check it out!

I saw another of John Adams' operas in person, a couple years back. The Portland Opera performed Nixon in China, which was a total trip. The minimalist music, plus the incredible staging, made for a fabulous performance.

Fabulous was the "word on the street" this morning on Sesame Street. The yellow monster said that it means "wonderful."

About a week ago, my good friend Cameryn called me up and asked if I wanted to go to a rave on Saturday. "That sounds like fun," I replied, never having been to one before. "Tickets are 80 dollars," she said. As the fun level plummeted in my head, I wondered if maybe we could experience the rave without having to pay.

Inspiration dawned. We could attend the event as reporters for the Noahblog, and spread the good word about raver culture to our vast readership. Skillz DJ Workshop, the event's organizers, loved the idea, and agreed to provide Cameryn and me with press passes to attend the event.

So, we're off to the Cow Palace tonight for this year's ETD Popsicle rave. Ticketmaster says that the Cow Palace's capacity exceeds 20,000. Exciting? Quite, because who doesn't love to dance? Stick around for a follow-up post soon after the event!