Red Rocket

by M.J. Fine

rock/pop

The five guys in West Philly's Red Rocket clearly do whatever they want, whether that means playing inexplicable music, booking shows at their residential venue Danger! Danger!, or putting out CDs on their nonprofit Starpower City label. With this weekend's record release show, they get to do all three at once. Red Rocket mixes dreamy hardcore with hippie jazz. It's hard to imagine their sound if you've never heard them and hard to follow even if you have, but it's not hard to listen to. Don't worry if you're not feeling them at any given moment — they'll move on soon enough. "Clear the Fence," from their new mini-album Folktales, opens with nervous guitar and quiet, nasal vocals and ends after a sunny, chanty jam, but in the four intervening minutes, it gets spooky, surfy, spacey and screamy. Steer clear if you're not ready for a wild ride.

Sat., Dec. 30, 10 p.m., $7, with VIP, Nicky Click, Pony Pants, Up the Empire and MC Digga, Danger! Danger!, 900 S. 47th St., www.myspace.com/dangerdangerhouse.