SETH TROXLER'S HEADY AND SEXY TECHNO
London-via-Detroit-via-Kalamazoo producer/DJ Seth Troxler has developed into one of techno's great eccentrics. Take his press bio, for instance, which is a crazy assemblage of outlandish statements like "Seth draws the majority of his inspiration from Robert Downey Jr., and the idea of releasing the shackles that bind Downey so he can finally do heroin in peace." Aha. But Troxler's proclivity for wacky self-mythologizing don't hinder his ability to create late-night techno cuts of cerebral and sensual exquisiteness. His releases for esteemed labels like Circus Company, Wagon Repair, and Spectral Sound reveal the twisted quirkiness of Troxler's personality while maintaining dance-floor functionality—no mean feat. Not that long ago, those scientific arbiters of electronic music at Resident Advisor rated Seth the world's third-best DJ after Ricardo Villalobos and Richie Hawtin, so Mr. Troxler is a serious double threat in the club. (He also runs the Visionquest and Soft Touch labels, so triple threat, actually.) With Nordic Soul, Kyle Winters, and Xan Lucero. Q Nightclub, 9 pm, $12 adv, 21+.
EMA, THE NON-HISTRIONIC ELECTRONIC-POP DIVA
EMA (aka Erika M. Anderson) has emerged from the sullen lo-fi brooding of Gowns to transform herself into an electronic-pop diva of some finesse and moodiness. Her 2011 album, Past Life Martyred Saints, and this year's upliftingly pessimistic The Future's Void are like Zola Jesus if she toned down the operatics and gothier-than-thou atmospheres. On the latter release, especially, EMA shows a lot of range, from the spare, aching, orchestral ballad "100 Years" to the hymnlike "Dead Celebrity" to the glowering, industrial stomp of "Neuromancer." With Magic Mouth. Barboza, 7 pm, $13 adv, 21+.
THE GASLAMP KILLER GETS WILDLY ECLECTIC AND ANIMATED ON THE DECKS
Show me the DJ who's more animated or full of contagious energy and enthusiasm for the tracks he's playing than the Gaslamp Killer and I'll... I'll shake your hand. What could come off as self-aggrandizing onstage, though, is actually wholly endearing. GLK (LA-based Finders Keepers–affiliated crate-digger William Bensussen) really is possessed by the fantastic cuts he's spinning and has the wicked dance moves to prove it. His act would be an awful farce if he didn't have the awesome goods in his record bag and/or on his hard drive. But in 2013, GLK had a near-fatal scooter accident that slowed his roll for months. He needed his spleen removed, and now he can't party with the gusto he once did. Nevertheless, it's doubtful that this mishap has dimmed GLK's lust for music. It's hard to imagine that this whirling-dervish turntablist will let a near-death experience stop him from covering so much ground (a global banquet of psych rock, dubstep, hiphop, funk, IDM, soul, and jazz) on the decks. With the Librarian and Hendrix Jones. Re-bar, 10 pm, $22 adv, 21+. 
