Radar love
Austin’s Future Clouds & Radar, the project fronted by former Cotton Mather player Robert Harrison, return to Louisville with a new record, Peoria, mixed and produced in part by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips). They play Gerstle’s (3801 Frankfort Ave., 742-8616) Friday.
The title came about while the band was on tour, filming in the city. “We had fun playing with the whole concept of Peoria, the alleged test marketing capital of America,” Harrison says. “At that point, our project was obscure. We were seeking out the man on the street and asking them to listen to our music, but it got us going on this larger conversation, artistically: What does it all mean? It was metaphor.”
Peoria’s theme touches on the illusory nature of mortality. “The notion that’s being discussed there is that the life of the body is an extension of the life of the mind, and we create all of these problems for ourselves based on attachment. This comes across in many forms and in spiritual discipline.”

‘Christmas’ On Sixth
Speaking of the Lips, Jeff Blanchard at Sixth & Oak (530 W. Oak St.) has acquired permission to show the new Flaming Lips film, “Christmas on Mars,” on Friday and Sunday. Cost is $5. On Saturday, The Teeth, Lexington’s Tight Leather and Caboladies play at 9 p.m., and the film shows at midnight, followed by DJ Rebel Rouser. Cost is $8.

20 and counting
Since 1988, the nonprofit Kentuckiana Blues Society has been a resource for all things blues. Saturday’s  20th anniversary celebration is at The Vernon Club (1575 Story Ave.) at 6:30 p.m. The show is $5, but free for society members. Dayton, Ohio’s Miss Lissa & Co. and The Beat Daddys from Nashville, Tenn., perform, and a $1,200 custom-built luthier guitar will be raffled off.

Wailin’
The Original Wailers play at 9 p.m. at Phoenix Hill Tavern (644 Baxter Ave., 589-4957) on Friday. Tickets are $20 (adv.), $25 (door). Irie, irie.