If you don't have plans yet for the busy Memorial Day weekend, don't fret, I can help you out with that. There are plenty of music to check out. First, read my Music Roundup in today's paper, now peep out my top five picks for the weekend:

Hip-hop lovers in Fresno know this all too well: There are not too many places to see live performances in town.

Rejoice, hip-hop heads, Cloud 9 Productions has started a monthly hip-hop night at The Bar, happening the last Thursday of each month. Cloud 9 head honcho Joe Scotia says he wants the night to be something chill and fun (not gangster-ish) where rap fans can see live shows.

In my column today, I ask you good folks to send me your Fresno treasures, you know, the cool places in town that aren't River Park, Starbucks and Cheesecake Factory, the places that are mom-and-pop businesses that you find through word of mouth.

Just how much disdain do I have for "American Idol?" Did you read my column last week? So much disdain that last night I choose to watch the Academy of Country Music Awards instead of Taylor vs. Kat. And I'm a guy who's bumpin' the new E-40 CD in my headphones as I write this.

I did, however, switch over to "Idol" as it was winding down, while the country awards were on commercial. I saw enough to see Taylor dancing around like a fool yelling "Soul Patrol," to see Simon predict Taylor would be the next "American Idol" and to notice that Taylor and his father look more like brothers.

Here's your weekly rundown of what's happening music-wise in Fresno and elsewhere in the Valley. As always, there's lot to do, in all genres of music. So give it a look.

If I missed something, tell me about it in the comments section. If you saw something you liked or didn't, leave a comment. Enjoy.

Let's just get right into it: There's A WHOLE LOT happening this weekend music-wise and party-wise in the Valley. For a full view, check out my Music Roundup in today's paper and my package of stories from Thursday's paper about weekend events. But I'm gonna help you downsize those massive lists, with my top five choices:

I like it when people listen to me. Is that wrong? Maybe I'm just egotistical like that.

Remember that column where I talked about how Fulton Plaza Thursdays was going to be a monthly event this year, and having it on the same Thursday at ArtHop was a bad idea? My take was that there needed to be more events downtown, on different days, not sandwiched together.

The Fresno Grizzlies listened. They are starting "Party in the Park," a concert series that will take over their stadium's Miller Pavilion on Thursdays when the team is on the road.

The first one is on June 8. Local blues cats The A.C Myles Band will perform. There's also a Mr. and Mrs. Thirsty Thursday competition.

There's an ever-growing number of Christian-influenced rock bands in Fresno. Many bands wear their religion on their sleeve and some bury it in their pocket.

Seven Years Pass is the first kind. They're playing some important gigs on the Christian rock circuit (including Spirit West Coast), and are doing pretty well locally trying to blend in with the rest of the Fresno rock masses.

It looks like the Dixie Chicks could be on their way to Fresno.

According to a tour itinerary released by the band this morning, the country trio's "Accidents & Accusations" is scheduled to make a stop at the Save Mart Center on Sept. 6.

I love Pac Man and hate "American Idol." Not quite sure how I feel about this.

It's a take off on Pac Man, with Taylor Hicks' head replacing Pac Man. Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and the recently voted-off Chris Daughtry star as the ghosts and Ryan Seacrest heads are a power pellets in the corner.

If you're looking for something to do before tonight's "Idol," give it a try. I got 5,890 on my first try. Beat that, Soul Patrol.

Another weekend, another long list of music things to do. Which is why you need me and my Music Roundup to help you make sense of it.

Here at the Friday Five, though, I'm giving you only my top picks, the stuff I'd be checking out if I weren't high-tailing it this weekend to go show my mom that I love her.

Last week, local hip-hop station B95 (KBOS, FM 94.9) announced its Summer Jam concert for June 3 at Warnors Theatre, with Too Short, Keak Da Sneak, The Wolfpac, Mistah F.A.B., J. Diggs and the Thizz Nation and Diego Redd.

Yesterday, word hit about competing station Q-97's (KSEQ, FM 97.1) Summer Fest, with Pitbull, Twista and David Banner at Selland Arena. The date? You guessed it -- June 3.

Cattie Ness, Fresno's rockabilly queen, is celebrating her birthday again this weekend. If you're a fan, you know what that means -- she and her band are playing a gig, a rarity around these parts.

They play in Los Angeles sometimes and routinely at rockabilly festival Viva Las Vegas, but Fresno dates are scarce, since half of her band, The Revenge, lives in L.A. But every year for her birthday she makes it a point to play for her Fresno fans.

More after the break ...

Yes, this post is a little late. You'll have to excuse me, I'm not in L.A. at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3, to those in the know), I'm in Fresno writing about podcasts and Manfest.

But I've been following what's been happening at E3, and it's enough to make hard-core gamers drool. Here's a brief run-down of some this week's big news. For Nintendo and Sony, it was about rolling out details for the next-generation consoles. For Microsoft, it was about unveiling new toys for its Xbox 360.

More after the break ...

Just how big has comedian Carlos Mencia gotten? Well, big enough to play Save Mart Center. And that's pretty big.

Mencia, who has made Fresno a regular stop for years now, will return to the area to perform at the Save Mart Center on Nov. 25. Tickets cost $39.75 and $43.75 and will go on-sale at 10 a.m. May 20 though Ticketmaster and May 22 at the Save Mart Center box office.

While he's used to playing theaters and casinos, this marks a big step-up for Mencia. That's what happens when you get a show on Comedy Central.

Now the question is, can he fill up the arena? George Lopez has done it twice. Last time he was here, Mencia played back-to-back shows in Tachi Palace in Lemoore in January that sold out, bringing in about 2,500 people. With his TV show now in its second season, perhaps he could bring in 10,000 people to see him live. What do you think?

Here's your week in Fresno music happenings. If I missed something, feel free to post it below. If you check out something you liked (or didn't), leave a review.

WEDNESDAY
Popsmear, "Fresno's indie and alternative dance solution," holds another of its bi-weekly dance nights at Club Glo. And as always, there's Starline's open jam night.

THURSDAY
Flyleaf and Dropping Daylight, two rising rock bands, make a tour stop at The Belmont. [ more ].

Also: Locals Gypsy Cab and The Batteries welcome touring indie artists Uzi & Ari and Taught Me at Tokyo Garden. The Bar has a night of local rock with Amongst The Missing, Hop Scotch Heroes, Perfect Til Now, Thirteenfifty. Lauren Wilson performs at Full Circle Brewing Co.

Check out the rest of the week after the break ...

Fresno rock fans packed The Crossroads on Friday night for the grand finale of the Battle for Manfest, a five-week concert series that started with 12 bands battling for a chance to perform at Saturday's Manfest, a hard rock festival put on by KRZR, FM 103.7.

It was down to the winners. The four bands playing -- Absit, Lucid Nightmare, The Dirty Sanchez and Grooveyard -- had won their first round battles and were onto the finals, all hoping to share the stage with Taproot and others on Saturday, if they won the vote from the fans.

Keep reading to find out who won ...

Hi friends. It's Friday. It's Cinco De Mayo. It's beautiful out. There's plenty of stuff to do this weekend: Fresno Filmworks' film festival is the top of lots of lists. And since we all know, this could very well be our one nice weekend of spring (if that exists in Fresno), go make the most of it. Here are five music suggestions, as well as five other random things that demand your attention on this Friday.

As always, remember for more info on local shows, read my Music Roundup from today's paper.

All the fun is after the break ...

Going into Thursday's ArtHop/Fulton Plaza Thursdays combo I knew I'd have to some debating of my column from a few weeks ago.

I said making Fulton Plaza Thursdays a monthly event, on the same Thursday as ArtHop no less, wasn't the best idea.

And debate I did. But I gave it a chance, too.

It was a fun night, can't say otherwise, but here's the problem: While I checked out some of my regular ArtHop stops and listened to live music for a little while on the Fulton Mall, I drove home feeling like I hadn't really experienced either. It was like party hopping on New Year's Eve -- you never stay in one place long enough to really have a good time.

Photo: Robert Barron-Gushel of Super Lucky Catz performed a solo set at Fulton Plaza Thursdays. Click the photo for my photos from the evening. More after the break ...

There might not be anybody in Fresno who cares about his/her band as much as Anthony Valenzuela cares about his band Nightwolf.

When things are good, he's really excited. When things go wrong (like if a gig gets canceled), he's genuinely sad and apologetic to fans.That's why there's one thing no one can deny about Nightwolf's music -- it comes from the heart. Just listen to their song "Cry."

Consisting of Valenzuela (vocals and lead guitar), Ernesto Cordero (vocals, rhythm guitar), Mike Diaz (bass) and Ruben Gaitan (drums), Nightwolf play straight-ahead rock music that would probably best fit into today's alternative mix. There's an obvious Latin rock influence, just check the guitar playing. But the band's style is general enough that fans of bands like The Eagles can enjoy what Nightwolf does, too.

We talked with Valenzuela about the band's beginnings, how it crafted its sound, what's coming up for Nightwolf and its gig on Friday night.

More with Nightwolf after the break ...

Need something to do? There's plenty. Here, look:

THURSDAY
It's the day a lot of people have been waiting for -- the start of this year's Fulton Plaza Thursdays. And it's ArtHop night. All in all, that adds up to a big night downtown.

For a ArtHop rundown, go to the Fresno Arts Council's ArtHop page or check out Donald Munro's ArtHop picks.

Fulton Plaza Thursdays features 40 Watt Hype (right), Rob "The Voice" of Super Lucky Catz and Steve Alcala. It starts at 5 p.m.

Elsewhere: Joel Pickford performs at Full Circle Brewing Co. and Rademacher plays its post-ArtHop bash with the Magic Whores and others at Tokyo Garden.

More after the break ...

We knew the Red Hot Chili Peppers were coming. We just didn't know when, or where, with who or when we could buy tickets.

Well, they've cleared all that up.

The Chili Peppers are set to perform Aug. 27 at Selland Arena, with The Mars Volta opening. They'll start the three leg North American tour on Aug. 11 in Portland. They'll continue into November, including a headlining spot at the Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans on Oct. 28

Tickets will go on-sale on May 13, according to the band's camp, with pre-sale tickets available to fan club members starting on May 7. Also, anyone who pre-orders the band's new album "Stadium Arcadium" on iTunes, can purchase tickets on the album's release date, May 9.

The Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center did confirm the show was coming, but couldn't confirm the on-sale date or release a ticket price. Stay tuned for that.

UPDATE: The folks at Selland announced today that it's a general admission show and ticket prices will be $53.50. They confirmed that tickets will go on-sale May 13.

Summer is here -- as evident by the near-90 degree temperatures and the rush of concert news.

The Save Mart Center announced today that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tickets would go on-sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, costing $52.25, $77.75, $112.75 & $202.75. In case you didn't hear the news last week, it's a July 23 concert.

Of course, the Save Mart Center isn't the only venue making music news:

Tachi Palace's rockin' summer
Tachi Palace in Lemoore is getting busy. A bunch of summer concerts recently went on sale: .38 Special and Kansas on July 7, Willie Nelson and John Fogerty on Aug. 30, James Brown on Sept. 7 and REO Speedwagon and Styx on Sept. 27.

And they've already announced INXS (June 13), Poison and Cinderella (June 29) and their annual car show with Naughty By Nature, Coolio and Digital Underground (Sept. 3).

For more details and ticket info, go to www.tickets.com.

More after the break ...