While William Reed and Paul Kimport leap one b-b-beat closer to opening Johnny Brenda's performance space their way (not the highway's) and booking big rock in Fishtown, another booker we love is hoofing it. Sorta. Jon Hampton: The guy we wowed over when he left his Troc booking gig for EFC/Live Nation has just, after two years, left the Larry. Magid that is. "It's all friendly," says Jon. "I upped my profile at EFC. I was having a great year." What changed, Jon? Damn it, man, tell me! "I missed being my own guy—working on my own, starting projects from the beginning." Building things. So, though he's still a Philly principle in Bryan Dilworth's Heyday Entertainment, Hampton is heading to Central Jersey, doing independent booking for MaxCruise, a company best known for Bamboozle, the 55,000-attendance emo-punk rawk jam at Giants Stadium (promoted with Live Nation). Like Max did with Live Nation, they will join forces with promoters who did Coachella (Goldenvoice) to create a West Coast Bamboozle. Independence called. Jon answered. "I'm not afraid to act without a safety net." Solid.

When she ain't recording her sophomore LP Abuse Gets Heavy, cellist Monica McIntyre is in Drake: the classjazzical drum 'n' bass ensemble with trumpeter Dave Ramsey. Get on it: Cafe Habana June 9.

Starting: Neil Ferguson of yon Philly Weekly is a Harp-ie. Not an Irishman, but a big waggish editor at the rock rag. Doylestown's Jay Mehler—of Ty Cobb and Mad Action—joined Kasabian as a guitarist. Give 'em a Ted Nugent "rrreaaarr" when you see him. Another Southhampton-ite, manager Derek Crew's pure-hard-pop band Illinois, signed a publishing deal with Chrysalis right before playing a showcase for Capitol label bigwigs.

M-Room-mate Alex Strang—Puppet Karaoke proprietor, Waiting for Cable videographer—is putting his buds to work. Strang's band Jupiter Fly-By (dolphin-friendly electro-pop with a twist o' weird) just cranked out Soccer Every Sunday. That's fine. That his influences are "ABC and Mike Oldfield" is no biggie. That Strang got perf-art pals David Cassanova, Mr. Deadguy and David E. Williams to perform covers from Soccer without Strang hearing them before their tribute to him (June 10, M Room) is. What if Strang didn't like how they covered "Digging Up Felix?" "I have no ego when it comes to this stuff," he says. And the Felix of which Strang sings—director Mr. Felix Diaz? His Felmark Entertainment will drop its first DVD, Superhero Excelsior!, with its next one, Hell's Threshold, to follow in fall, both starring big-mane illustrator Scott Johnston. But say you want Johnston's mega-hero graphics in a sacred surrounding: Do you love Star Trek? Klezmer? Wish somebody could merge them? Me neither. But jazzbo Dave Posmontier has a band, Klingon Klezmer, whose CD, Blue Suede Jews, features Johnston's yarmulke-on-Venus art. Oy!

By now, you're knee-deep in the complex lit-pop of Josh Olmstead. He'll do it to it at M Room June 11 with Fishtown's strummy Corrado. But who's Josh's billmate, Amoroso, other than jagoffs nearly snagging my name? "They play wild beastlike Yes-instrumentals in the vein of the dream sequence in Buffalo '66," says Josh.

I have Pissed Jeans. Not an old pair o' urinated-on slacks, but rather the band's 7-inch single ("Don't Need to Make Myself Disappear") follow-up to Shallow. Only this chunk of dronepunk comes on Sub Pop. See the yellowed Allentonians June 14 at Khyber.

My very favorite thing: the gawwgeous cobalt-colored bowling ball and baby blue leather bag that came with my invite to Lucky Strike's June 14 bash. If looking this good bowling is wrong, I don't wanna be spared. Doy!

Respect Pose 2 and his seven-year-itching B-Boy BBQ—the best local hip-hop art 'n' sound event this city has to offer: starting June 8 with the Bawdy Girls at North, 222 South St., June 10 at Hawthorne Recreation Center and ending that same night at Fluid with a Squarebiz bash.

You know that I know that you know Philly expat Paul Green's School of Rock gets greedier daily. A new CEO—Matt Ross from Clear Channel. A Hollywood branch so to be close to Jack Black's kids. Yet, it's funnest knowing that chicken-choking guitarist Adrian Belew (King Crimson) just plucked a duo of Philly Greenies, siblings Eric and Julie Slick, to anchor Belew's new power trio, this after playing Zappa's "City of Tiny Lights" at February's School of Rock gig at World Café Live. "Musically it's closer in spirit to Crimson than Cream," says Belew of his trio's odd time signatures and dark chordal shapes. "But we'll follow the Cream/Hendrix mold of adventurous playing and loads of stunt guitar work." And if the kids act up, will Belew take away their allowance? "Worse yet, their credit cards!" says Belew, who's "pretty much of a kid myself."

World Café Live won't have GM Michael Cash to kick around. He's Audi 500, amicably. Restaurant old-pro Neil Sulkes just took his place. Which means he'll have to listen to jokes like Greg Lynn's. Comedian Lynn made some nasty WCL barbs—like telling the staff to "make like David and DYE!"—at Danny Ozark's "Notebooks" open mic at Bar Noir. Well, June 12 at Bar Noir, Lynn rejoins Ozark (from Raven's "Wiggle Room" Thursdays and Abilene Wednesdays) for more WCL torture. Will there be payback?

Whowhatwhere:Raven lounge owner Jon Hunter got a surprise for his b-day when every graphic nerd from Philly's Wizard World 2006 that wasn't Kevin Smith hit his Poe-joint Saturday. Todd Henkin, blues harmonicat from Philly's The Great Unknown, got called on by Gavin Degraw to share some licks on stage at TLA. Philly's Terrance "The Heat" Cauthen was spied beating the shit out of Nurhan "Sun King" Sulyman at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, for the International Boxing Union World Jr. Middleweight Championship. That means "Heat" is now Philly's only current World Champ. For anything. Lots of tail for Terrance.

And while Radiohead-ers Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke like art—hitting the Museum of Art's Gallery 176, hanging in the "Energy Yes!" exhibit steered by Carlos Basualdo, the museum's new curator of Contempo Art—Yorke goes for photography when alone. The blinky singer got new cover shots for Paste mag shot by Pier Nicola D'Amico at his 10th Street studio with projections posted onto Yorke by klip//collective. "He came with just a road manager and agent. Wouldn't be styled or dressed because he thought it looked like he was wearing someone else's clothes. Came with a black raincoat he just bought. Hated staying at Loew's Hotel. Was super disappointed that his solo album was leaked onto the 'Net," said D'Amico in one breath. "He was very talkative." Guess they got along.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)