DJ MikeQ brings his rapidfire vogue-house style to the Icee Hot party

SUPER EGO Gotta say it: the weekend after a holiday weekend is the best for clubbing. Less pressure, more drink specials, fewer amateurs. Not that I have anything against newbies: like space girls, they're easy, but please. A ton of epic shit I don't remember happened over the Presidents' three-day — hopefully not a Bush threeway — but if it involved the word "epic" I'm certainly glad I don't. Crowded parties are totally my thing (and the gigs I'm recommending below will surely feel cozy). But if I get elbowed in the boob one more time at the bar, I'm gonna go Yoko Ono. I definitely look forward to the myriad hot happenings this weekend to have more room for my quick steps and sidekicks on the dance floor — and to not involve the word "sick," either. Let's get into it.

SHUTTER: THE MASQUERADE OF THE RED DEATH

"He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall." With a tagline that baroque, how can you refuse? This masked ball is one of the most beguilingly glamorous nights of the year, as DJs Omar, Justin, and Nako of monthly dark wave party Shutter play for a crowd that seesaws gorgeously between Louis Quatorze and Siouxsie Sioux. Powdered wigs in full effect, y'all.

Wed/23, 10 p.m., $5. Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. www.elbo.com, Facebook: Shutter Red Death

RED BULL SF THRE3STYLE

"Who's the best on the decks in SF?" the energy drink has the temerity to ask. It also has the bulls to back up the interrogative. But this time they're getting wingy with the straight-up DJ battle rules for its Thre3style competition: Each contestant gets a 15-minute set, but the catch is that set must contain at least three different genres of music. (Good luck identifying individual genres in this day and age, but that's for judges Shortkut, Hakobo, Trevor Simpson, and DJ Jazzy Jeff — yes, that one — to figure out.) Before I start to sound all product placementy, the reason I'm stoked for this is because the Red Bull folks have picked competitors from scenes as disparate as dyke electro, glitch-step, and indie-breaks — and it will be a treat to see them jam out of their comfort zones. The winner will go on to rep the city at the National Finals in Las Vegas. Competing for the taurine crown: Platurn, B. Cause, Natalie Nuxx, Eric Sharp, Jeffrey Paradise, Goldenchyld, Solomon, and Dials.

Thu/24, 8 p.m., $10–$15. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., SF. www.dnalounge.com

AS YOU LIKE IT

The luscious intelligent techno party emerges from the underground to get all official and stuff at Public Works. This night promises wide appeal: In the main room, Berlin techno hero Ben Klock heads up a showcase of his Klockworks label, with DVS1 and As You Like It residents Christina Chatfield and Mossmoss. Meanwhile upstairs there'll be some disco-y deepness happening, with Rich Korach, Conor, Lovefingers from NYC, and a DJ who never fails to twist my silky sonic panties up into a ball, Parisian cutie Le Loup from the Wolf + Lamb label. (Arooo!) This party is known for its immersive visual environment, so prepare to be dazzled.

Fri/25, 9 p.m.-4 a.m., $15–$20. Public Works, 161 Erie, SF. www.publicsf.com