RYAN GATTIS—From the field of thrillers with literary merit, Steve Humphrey read Ryan Gattis' new novel, All Involved, which sets a character-driven tale against the 1992 Los Angeles riots, making it a timely-as-ever social commentary:

As a beleaguered nurse in All Involved ruminates, "There's a hidden America inside the one we portray to the world, and only a small group of people ever actually see it." And it's this small group who are hit hardest by the racism and classism bubbling just below the surface. But when the shit goes down, even the most fortunate among us can expect to become involved.

EDM—Robert Ham dug deep into Michaelangelo Matos' new tome on the rise of electronic dance music, The Underground is Massive, extracting gems like this one for those of us who can't even hope to make it through the whole thing:

Using his journalistic skills, Matos builds up his story with care and intelligence, while keeping an ear cocked for choice quotes from the 300-plus people he interviewed. A favorite: Here's Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim, discussing rumors about the specific amounts of alcohol that promoters were contractually obligated to provide for him: "A certain amount of vodka, definitely. But it wasn't a demand in writing—[more like] 'It's Norm, give him his usual.'"

NORM MACDONALD—SPEAKING OF people named Norm, Erik Henriksen wrote an ode to masterfully grumpy comedian Norm Macdonald, who's coming to Helium this weekend. Quoth he:

No matter how much Macdonald tries to downplay it, to see one of his sets is to see not only the funniest guy in the room, but also the smartest. He'll veer into the absurd, or get meta, or go dark, but no matter how bleak the jokes—a few years ago at Helium, he replied to a heckler's fear of clowns by telling them they'd be better served by a real phobia, like choking to death on black bile in the middle of the night—there's a core of earnest, red-blooded humanity beneath them.

Oh, Norm!

EVEN MORE ART—On the visual art front, we've also got an action-packed schedule ahead, with a Keyon Gaskin performance, a Feminist Bookstore, and classic video art for the A/V nerds among us all happening over the next few days! Go look at stuff!