AUSTIN, Texas--It won't likely hit store shelves until the fall, but if Galactic's set here last night was any indication, the New Orleans funk group has cooked up quite a doozy of a new record.

Seems the quintet has taken a shine to some of the best emcees in hip-hop, and have decided to make an album featuring the likes of Blackalicious' Gift of Gab, Lyrics Born, Boots Riley from the Coup, Chali 2na from Jurassic 5, Digable Panets' Ladybug Mecca, and Lateef tha Truth Speaker.

In its set last night at Emo's, the band was joined by Gift of Gab, Lyrics Born, and Boots, each of whom played a short set of their own material back by Galactic and debuted the songs on which they appear on the forthcoming album.

Gab was first, jumping into an astounding version of "Alphabet Aerobics," a Blackalicious track on which Gab rattles off two lines apiece for every letter of the alphabet, starting with, "Artificial amateurs, aren't at all amazing / Analytically, I assault, animate things" and rapping faster as he moves through the alphabet.

Galactic was up to the challenge, upping the tempo every few bars and reaching a frenzy as Gab screamed, "Zealots!" to deafening applause. The human party-starter, Lyrics Born, was up next. Other than a funked-up version of his song "I Changed My Mind" and the new song with Galactic called "What You Need," the emcee seemed content to freestyle for most of his set in his ultracatchy, rapid-fire, sing-song style over Galactic's funky grooves.

Boots then took to the stage to the dirty, laid-back funk of "Get That Monkey Off Your Back" from the Coup's Pick a Bigger Weapon before jumping into his song with Galactic, which seemed to be called "Buckle Up." All three emcees joined the band onstage for a freestyle rap, organ- and saxophone-laden groove frenzy, capping off the set with a blaze of energy and pure, unadulterated hip-hop party music. Fans of funky hip-hop are in for a treat this fall.

Perry Farrell's Satellite party

Earlier in the night, Perry Farrell had a party at Stubb's. A Satellite Party, in fact, as his latest musical project is dubbed. Featuring a sex kitten backup vocalist, a bassist, drummer, and one-time Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt on guitar, Satellite Party played a set of groove-heavy hard rock. The band played primarily tracks off its forthcoming debut album, Ultra Payloaded, which hits stores May 15.

The set was full of somewhat generic hard rock at times, but Farrell's sheer personality kept the proceedings anything but boring. Wearing a black-and-white striped sweater and possibly the shiniest silver pants in Texas, the former Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros frontman commanded the stage and pranced across it like someone who has spent most of his lifetime on it.

The set included new songs like "Kinky," "Mr. Sunshine," and "Ultra Payloaded Satellite Party," the latter of which features Fergie on the record. Payloaded is also set to feature Flea and John Frusciante from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Thievery Corporation, and an as-yet-unreleased spoken word verse from late Doors frontman Jim Morrison. Farrell sent the Jane's fans in the crowd into a tizzy by playing "Ain't No Right" from 1990's Ritual de lo Habitual.

Andrew Bird's eclectic, expansive pop

Satellite Party was preceded at Stubb's by Andrew Bird, an Illinois-based singer and multiinstrumentalist who plays the kind of pop that seems custom-built for the soundtrack of your favorite art house flick. Bird's latest album, Armchair Apocrypha, hits stores next week, and if last night's set was any indication, it's full of spare, eclectic, pastoral pop.

Backed by a drummer and guitarist/bassist, Bird used a loop pedal to build out his more multiinstrumental songs, playing a violin or mandolin section and then looping it and moving on to another instrument. Bird also whistled on quite a few songs, including on the new "Scythian Empires," which sought to connect the social inequalities of today to those of Scythians in the Middle East in 2 AD. "Scythian" built into a lush, string-laden anthem of sorts. This was a set of beautiful, expansive pop, classy and compelling.

Indian Jewelry's psych fest

The Houston-based psychedelic rock combo Indian Jewelry played a set at the Blender Bar at the Ritz last night that seemed limitless upon arrival, with distorted guitar and pounding drums accompanying a swirling electronic bass line.

But after about 15 minutes of the same rhythm and without a single verse or chord change, it grew a bit monotonous. Maybe they deserved more patience, but in a 30-minute set of experimental psych rock, the experimentation seemed to take a backseat to repetition.

Tiny Masters take on the man

The night began at Club DeVille with a slightly surreal and quite entertaining set of punk rock from Tiny Masters of Today, a Brooklyn-based band that consisted of the tiny brother-and-sister duo of Ivan, 12, and Ada, 10, along with an even tinier, spastic backup dancer, and an adult drummer. Songs included "Stickin' It to the Man," and "Bushy," both of which added a cute wrinkle to familiar antiestablishment rants. On the latter, Ada sang, "Tell ya what you're worth to me / A little less than a little penny / All my friends agree with me / You're the worst president, Bushy."