HOUSE PARTY: A kind of a mini-Lollapalooza of NYC house legends is on tap at Avaland next Friday, March 15, as DJs/producers Junior Vasquez and Louie Vega headline a can’t-miss bill with a curious name on the undercard — DJ Peretz, who is neither from NYC nor a house DJ but is instead the nom de spin of, yes, Jane’s Addiction/Porno for Pyros main man Perry Farrell. After honing his skills out West for a couple of years, Farrell will be making one of his first East Coast DJ appearances at the club. That’s at 10 p.m. at Avalon, 15 Lansdowne Street, and tickets are $25. Call (617) 423-NEXT.

DROPPING SCIENCE: Indie heroes Yo La Tengo are headed this way — without any of the songs you know and love. Instead, they’re bringing their film-music project "The Sounds of Science," in which they accompany a selection of short films by the late mad genius Jean Painlevé, who was, among other things, a pioneer in the field of natural-science film documentaries. Painlevé’s best-known work revolves around sea life — he was among the first to figure out underwater photography — and in YLT’s program, his images of seahorses and octopi will form the basis for some kind of exploratory avant-garde version of the Discovery Channel. At least, that’s the theory. Yo La Tengo’s "The Sounds of Science" will be presented April 8 at 8 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square in Somerville. Tickets are $17.50; call (617) 931-2000.

NEXT WEEKEND:

Dropkick Murphys

By rights, St. Patrick’s Day belongs to the Dropkick Murphys. Over the past five years, the band’s distinctly Boston-Irish take on punk rock — equal parts Pogues rowdiness, Clash-worthy class conflict, and Stiff Little Fingers–style barbed anthemicism — has evolved from one-shot gimmick to something approaching iconic. Since the release, on St. Patrick’s Day of 1999, of the their breakthrough The Gang’s All Here (Hellcat/Epitaph), the drinking man’s holiday has also been the occasion for the Murphys’ most celebratory performances. Last year, the band sold out two shows at Avalon on St. Patrick’s Day, cementing their status as one of the city’s most beloved rock-and-roll institutions. This year, with a new EP in stores, they’re on the verge of selling out a three-night stand at the same club.

Actually, the band’s 2001 St. Patty’s shows came in the midst of a grueling national tour. "Last year was brutal," recalls founding bassist/songwriter Ken Casey. "We had shows for two weeks prior to the date — and then we didn’t do two nights, we did two shows in one day, and then the next night we had to play another city. We wanted to plan this one to enjoy ourselves." The band have even posted the itinerary of their extracurricular activities for next weekend — including a Saturday-afternoon Bruins game, complete with their seating section, and of course the Southie parade on Sunday. "A lot of people are coming from out of town," says Casey, "so we put up what we’re doing so it’s not like you don’t have anything else to do. It’s funny, since I put up that we sit in section 302, there’s usually some kids at every game that come by for autographs."

The Murphys have just returned from a European jaunt during which they were compelled to commandeer a Liverpool pub to watch their beloved Patriots win the Super Bowl. ("I didn’t think we were gonna escape with our lives after making them watch American football," Casey laughs.) And a one-off split EP with Face to Face on Vagrant Records has just hit stores. The band play two covers — CCR’s "Fortunate Son" and "21 Guitar Salute" by late-’80s NYC Oi! obscurities Press — plus a new original, "The Dirty Glass," on which they’re joined by Kay Hanley. "We’re actually from the same area," says Casey of Hanley, "and I know Kay’s dad really well. We had been talking about doing something for a while, and when I wrote this I was kinda thinking of her right off the bat."

The band have also written 11 songs for a new album, their first full disc without founding guitarist/songwriter Rick Barton; they’ll be playing a bunch of the new material next weekend and recording the shows for a live disc. (Last year’s shows were recorded as well, but by the band’s own admission, they’d hit the sauce a little too hard for the tracks to be usable.) "Part of the last record was written without Rick," says Casey, "but it was written when [new] guys were just coming into the band, and bits and pieces were being added. This one is just us seven guys, and most of it has been written in my basement sitting around playing acoustic — not that the album’s going to be acoustic — with bagpipes, tin whistle, mandolin."

And the mood in the Murphys camp now that they’ve mostly sold out a three-night Avalon stand? "To me, it feels really good," says Casey, "but what I really like to look and see is that there’s bands on the radio who sell millions of records and can’t sell out a venue like Avalon. Those million-selling bands, half the people are buying it for just one song, and they don’t have any desire to go out and find anything else about the band. We sell maybe 100,000 [albums per release] in America, and it just goes to show how much more supportive the people who buy our records are."

The Dropkick Murphys shows at Avalon next Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17, are officially sold out; tickets remain for a third show on March 15, with Ash and Avoid One Thing opening. Call (617) 423-NEXT.

BY CARLY CARIOLI