Introducing the “Hit List,” a weekly roundup of the hottest concerts, new music, art exhibits, parties and events in Silicon Valley. Check back to Metro’s Activate blog every Wednesday to find out what’s poppin’ off in the South Bay. This week: DJ Mustard is at Pure Lounge, Kenny Rogers comes the Mountain Winery for one last hand, veteran Bay Area spinner DJ Jose Melendez keeps things lit at Opal in Mountain View. All that, plus much more…

Kenny Rogers
Wed, 7:30pm, $50-$130
Mountain Winery, Saratoga

“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.” That’s according to country music legend Kenny Rogers. Apparently the 77-year-old singer—who has sold more than 120 million records—has decided that the time has come to cash in his chips, at least when it comes to performing live is concerned. His farewell tour, appropriately dubbed “The Gambler’s Last Deal,” will mark the end to a musical journey that’s lasted nearly six decades. The show will feature retrospective videos, a career-spanning setlist (including rarely played deep cuts), and personal stories from the icon himself. (SM)

Magic and Loss
Wed, 7pm, Free
Books Inc., Mountain View

Known as an ardent advocate of everything online, as well as for her masterful and stylish prose, journalist Virginia Heffernan is taking her innovative ideas about the web one step further. In her new book, Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art, the former senior editor for Harper’s argues that the internet is a massive work of art. Her radical and utterly fascinating thesis insists that the web is perpetually working to subvert conventional cultural expectations. Furthermore, she insists that it is growing at such an clip that it has become something rivaling a god. (TM)

The Roots
Thu, 7:30pm, $50-$100
The Mountain Winery, Saratoga

The history of The Roots is more extensive and far more interesting than that of most modern bands. From their mid-’90s start in Philadelphia as underground proponents of the neo-soul movement, to their current gig as the house band for NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the soul-rock-rap fusion group have grown from being a band of musician’s musicians into a widely recognized staple of American popular culture. With 10 critically acclaimed studio albums under their belt, The Roots have taken to making collaborative albums in recent years—working with the likes of Elvis Costello, Betty Wright and Sufjan Stevens. (TM)

Gash
Thu, 8pm, $6
Johnny V’s, San Jose

It would appear there is an unspoken competition among certain punk bands to continually one-up each other with ever more lewd and lascivious monikers. Case in point: Gash. This Philly-based crew back up their smutty name by incorporating ball gags, chains and other fetish gear into their shows. They call it “S&M punk.” Lead singer Tibbie X plays bass for legendary ’80s punk group Reagan Youth, and Gash’s personal band dominatrix (really), Stephxecutioner, has performed with horror-metal masters GWAR. (TM)

Julian McCullough
Thu, 7pm, $17
The Improv, San Jose

A regular on Chelsea Lately and a contributor to This American Life, Julian McCullough has covered a plenty of ground as a comic. Indeed, the Philly-born comedian has spent a lot of time on TV—performing on both Conan and The Tonight Show, landing his own Comedy Central Presents special and appearing on a number of MTV and MTV2 programs (most notably MTV2’s Guy Code). With a classic approach to stand-up, McCullough’s delivery comes across as casual and conversational, with jokes that build upon each over the course of his sets. (MH)

Robert Powell
Thu, 8pm, $15
Rooster T. Feathers, Sunnyvale

Let’s just clear up one thing right off the bat: the Robert Powell performing at Rooster T. Feathers this weekend is not the Robert Powell who played the titular Jesus of Nazareth in the 1977 movie. So go ahead and loosen your collar—his set won’t be in Aramaic. Powell has been featured in the Shaq All Star Comedy Jam multiple times and was voted Louisiana’s Comedian of the Year three years in a row. He’s also had an inside view into the world of politics, working as a Special Assistant under Bobby Jindal, former governor of Powell’s home state. (MH)

DJ Mustard
Fri, 10pm, $15
Pure Lounge, Sunnyvale

You may not know DJ Mustard picked up his performer name from his actual first name, Dijon, but you’ve definitely heard YG’s “Mustard on the beat!” DJ Mustard has proven himself by being a part of practically every successful rap song in the past few years. Songs like “Rack City,” “HeadBand” and “Left, Right” have made DJ Mustard a modern household name and his hip hop tracks will have you dancing all night long. (MH)

Code Mixing
Fri, 12pm, Free
MACLA, San Jose

Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana’s latest show, “Code Mixing,” focuses on the work of Latina street artists, draws contrasts between street and gallery work and, through cultural and political intersections, explores the dearth of gender diversity in the Latino arts community. The exhibit, curated by New York-based artist and educator Alice Mizrachi, brings together a healthy variety of talent, including San Jose artistic fixtures, like Misty Avila Aguila and “the first lady of graffiti,” Lady Pink. Other artists featured include Jessica Sabogal, Nanibah Chacon, and Leslie “DIME” Lopez. Part of July’s South First Friday art walk, “Code Mixing” exhibit runs through August. (TM)

Jose Melendez
Sat, 9:30pm, Free
Opal, San Jose

Though you might not recognize him on the street or even know his name when you hear it, if you grew up listening to hip-hop radio in the Bay Area, Jose Melendez has probably shaped the way you hear music. The Wild 94.9 DJ went to high school with the legendary DJ Qbert and earned his stripes spinning vinyl in San Francisco clubs—learning to read crowds and beatmatch by ear. He brings his decades of experience rocking dancefloors to Opal this Saturday. (MH)

Whew… That’s a lot to take in. It’s almost certainly too much to check out in just one week. Make sure you pace yourself. Like Kenny says, you gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and when to stop being that annoying friend who tries to drag your buddies to too many awesome events:

Condy ChesnuTT, performing at Pagoda Lounge on Thursday, remembers the day in 2002 when his cousin, who was his manager at the time, received a call from the Roots, telling him they wanted to collaborate with him. Specifically, they wanted to cover ChesnuTT’s song “The Seed” and have him sing on the track. It was all very strange considering that he had never met the Roots and his one album, The Headphone Masterpiece, was an obscure indie release.

Flattered, ChesnuTT, who plays the Pagoda Lounge this Thursday, wasn’t sure how he felt about actually doing it. He was still reeling from a debacle with Hollywood Records, which had signed his previous group, the Crosswalk, recorded their album and subsequently dropped them without releasing it. Working with another major-label group didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“I had it out for the industry. [But] my cousin told me it would definitely be a good move to make, so I gave it a shot, and it worked out,” ChesnuTT says.

The Roots’ version, “The Seed 2.0,” became a single on the band’s Phrenology album and the only song to get major radio airplay. With a mix of Black Thought’s rapping and ChesnuTT’s vocal hook, it became an accessible neo-soul pop track with hip-hop street cred.
Oddly, the Roots later told him their label didn’t want ChesnuTT to sing on the song because he wasn’t well known enough; they wanted them to use Lenny Kravitz.

“That right there’s how the industry works,” ChesnuTT says ruefully.

The success of “The Seed 2.0” helped bump The Headphone Masterpiece into the Billboard 200. It was an album completely unlike anything out there—a long collection of Guided by Voices–style lo-fi and four-track recordings that jumped all over the place in the most chaotic and jarring ways possible.

It included psychedelic rock, soul, R&B, hip-hop, gospel and punk sounds—and songs that fell outside of any genre. Some numbers were just short little bursts of emotion, while others were long meandering pieces with friends doing spoken word. Others, like “The Seed,” were genius pop gems.

“I wanted to make a statement. It was an in-your-face kind of project. At that point in time, a lot of the bands were too polished. It was completely at the other end of the spectrum,” ChesnuTT says.

Despite the newfound attention, ChesnuTT didn’t immediately release a follow-up recording. He remained more or less silent for a decade, with the exception of an appearance on Dave Chappelle’s Block Party in 2006 and the release of the EP Black Sin No Value in 2010.
In the midst of promoting The Headphone Masterpiece, ChesnuTT became a father.

“I really embraced the fact that I had to change,” he says. “I took time to get to know what fatherhood was all about and make sure I was in the best space possible to raise another human being. I was re-evaluating myself. I just took time to grow. I didn’t think it was going to take 10 years.”

It was an understandable decision considering the chaotic mind frame he was in while recording The Headphone Masterpiece. “I was all over the place,” he says. “I was rooming with four other people. It was the epitome of the rock & roll lifestyle. You can see it on The Headphone Masterpiece. I had the presence of faith on that record, but there was a darkness—a worldy spirit that occupied my headspace as well.”

Part of changing meant taking his spirituality seriously, which is apparent on his new record, Landing on a Hundred, released last October.

Songs like “Till I Met Thee” and “Everybody’s Brother” express a profound spiritual transformation. But really, everything about the decidedly sweet and passionate Landing on a Hundred is different than The Headphone Masterpiece. Rather than capturing his unfiltered emotions, he gave himself a lot of time to consciously shape everything that he was expressing.

“I took the opportunity to really look at each lyric to be sure it was saying everything I needed it to say without saying too much,” he says. “I put a lot of thought into what I had to say.”

In order to make the best possible album, while still maintaining control, ChesnuTT funded the project himself. When he ran out of money, he turned to Kickstarter to help finish the project and was surprised by the response.

“It just blew me away that people would donate and give so much, especially in a time when people hate paying for a record, even $10,” ChesnuTT says. “But they gave $50–$100 dollars for the project. It shows you the love people have for music, the passion they put behind projects they believe in.”