QUIET DIDN'T REALLY cut it as the new loud, but synthesizers stand a good chance of usurping guitars as the dominant instrument – for a little while, at least – thanks in part to boutique club nights like Synth. The monthly parties at the Blind Tiger helped put laptoppers like Gold Chains and Blectum from Blechdom in the spotlight and have been a hub for new artists doing smart things with sequencers, computers, and analog synthesizers for the past year. Synth's anniversary party combines visual arts, experimental electronica, and minimal techno performers and brings in some fresh faces. Co-headliners Hong Kong Counterfeit lug their skinny-tie electro grooves all the way from New York, while locals Memory Systems resuscitate the short-lived new-romantic style with some contemporary burp and squirt sounds. Known for his custom mixing software, Twerk does real math to make inner-worldly microtechno compositions. The guys from POP's biweekly techno party, Broker/Dealer, create streamlined sounds that still manage to break the typical beat cycle, and Sue Dean of Orthlorng Musork and Perry Phoenix investigate everyday experience with digital imagery. DJs Anon and Eelio Estevez and VJs Devon Simunovich and Swipe also perform at this XLR8R-sponsored event. 9 p.m., 859 O'Farrell, S.F. $12.50. (415) 885-0750. (Deborah Giattina)

'Catalyst: Peace Pieces in Violent Times'
Sat/23, Mills College Concert Hall