Farina, Farina

There are a few giants who stand at the forefront of downtempo electronic music: Portishead, Massive Attack, Zero 7, and Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister — and, of course, DJ Mark Farina, who’s been steadily releasing house-style mixes and morphs of downtempo, hip-hop, jazz and soul with his Mushroom Jazz series on the Om Records imprint since 1996. You can pick up Farina’s sixth Mushroom Jazz volume, released last year, at Twist & Shout, 2508 East Colfax Avenue. And if you stop by today at 5 p.m., then you’ll have the opportunity to fall in love with Mark Farina himself when he spins a special Valentine’s Day set. Call 303-722-1943 or visit www.twistandshout.com.

Or if you’d rather enjoy Mr. Mushroom Jazz in a party setting, head to Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, 2637 Welton Street, for Love: A One-Night Stand, the first ever Valentine’s Day production from the folks at Boogie Down; you’ll also get a chance to move to the beat of Fort Knox Five vs. Thunderball, plus the visual entertainment of fire dancers and live painters. The show starts at 9 p.m.; tickets are $25. Call 303-297-1772 or visit www.boogiedown-productions.com.
Sat., Feb. 14, 5 p.m., 2009