PICKS

DEVOTCHKA

DeVotchKa describe themselves as "Eastern-bloc indie rock." We still can't suss out the gypsy, beyond the instrumentation (which includes accordion, violin and sousaphone), and anyone looking for something like Barbez won't find it here. However, they won't be disappointed by a band reminiscent of their Denver compatriots 16 Horsepower, peddling a yodeling, high-lonesome sound, filigreed with fiddles and trumpets and more benign than its album titles (Supermelodrama, Triple X Tango) suggest. While they don't have the withering Baptist menace of 16 HP (with whom they share a producer), this is the sort of music that is satisfyingly live. Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. (betw. Ludlow & Essex Sts.), 212-260-4700, 7:30, $8.

100 YEARS OF BLOOMSDAY

Officially, Bloomsday doesn't roll around for another two weeks. But Nola Tully, clearly determined to get a jump on the rest of the world this centennial year, has decided to celebrate it now, with a reading from her new book. Above all else, Yes I Said is an introduction to Ulysses for people who, until now, had been afraid to read Ulysses. More than that, it's an introduction to Joyce's oeuvre, an overview of his legacy and a celebration of the yearly hootenanny his novel inspired. Astor Place Barnes & Noble, 4 Astor Pl. (betw. B'way & Lafayette St.), 212-420-1322, 7, free.

THURSDAYJUNE 3

ANGELA MCCLUSKEY AND JOLIE HOLLAND

Angela McCluskey and Jolie Holland bring two of pop's distinctive voices to Joe's Pub tonight, playing separate sets in styles that, while diverging in idiom, are equally grounded in sly young wisdom and that world-weary yearn. McCluskey pushes out louder, fronting the rock/soul sound of a band lead by Nathan Larson of Shudder to Think. Working her voice onto a worn edge that both teeters and exults (Macy Gray is the inevitable comparison, though McCluskey's familiar from Telepopmusik's Mitsubishi theme "Breathe"), she drives hard at tonal cracks like Miles Davis veering onto abstract terrain. She's peaty, too, Glasgow-born and acrid like an over-young single malt. Holland's arrangements, on the other hand, strip back Americana for the new millennium, infusing Bob Wills and hill/country traditions with a detached sinew and crack songwriting skills. She reduces vocal affect to occasional Southern jowling, the wry distinctions of a Texan transplanted to San Francisco. But the real beauty of her singing appears in spare, almost shadowed embellishments and melismata that could slip past but for their lean timing, pinioning Holland's pared, somber songs. 425 Lafayette St. (betw. E.4th & Astor Pl.), 212-539-8778, 7:30 (McCluskey) & 9:30 (Holland), $15.

SOFA NY

Dash all couch-slouch visions from your head-this Sofa is just an acronym for Sculpture Objects & Functional Art exhibition. Form, function and acres of high-concept art will be on display, with styles ranging from the dauntingly modern to the preciously cute. That means the comments from the aspiring artists in attendance will range from sniggering mockery to catty jealousy. 7th Regiment Armory, Park Ave. (67th St.), 800-563-SOFA, 11-8, $28 incl. catalog.

FRIDAYJUNE 4

ECOLOGICAL COLLAPSE?

If The Day After Tomorrow preview has you spooked, a lecture by Professor Michio Kaku might be what you need. Or it might make things worse. In any case, the man knows what he is talking about and is eager to keep your fears scientifically grounded. CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Ave. (34th St.), 212-817-8215, 7, $15, $5 st.

SOULSTATIK

Soulstatik is the stage name of New York Press music columnist and dance machine, Mr. Dan Martino. Tonight, he's spinning his favorite deep house, R&B and soul cuts, with some indie stuff, raucous hiphop and burning punk rock thrown in for bad measure. He'll put the boogie in your butt like an old-school Eddie Murphy tune. Oh, and attendance is mandatory. Bar 169, 169 E. B'way (Essex St.), 212-473-8866, 9, free.

SATURDAYJUNE 5

OLD COP CARS

Before the era of Crown Victorias, the five-oh used to protect and serve in some sweet black and white whips. Showing pride in their cruisers from the days of yore, the finest are rolling out their finest retired vehicles today. TV cops get their due, too, with Car 54, Where Are You? and Adam 12 on display. Sadly, the Bluesmobile will not be present. See the black and whites that struck fear in the heart of your bootleg-gin-running grampa. New York City Police Museum, 100 Old Slip St. (betw. Water & South Sts.), 212-480-3100 x119, 10, free.

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY

Unfortunately, today's event has nothing to do with LSD. Instead, it's a get-back-to-the-wild, commune-with-nature, sweat-under-the-weight-of-a-big-backpack thing. City parks are welcoming volunteers and interested parties to help clean up trails at area parks or just hike on them. Urban park rangers will lead guided tours of the Highbridge Water Tower, with arts and crafts activities on offer for the kids. Highbridge Park, 173rd St. & Amsterdam Ave., 212-360-1339, 10-4, free.