Whereas DJ Shadow presaged the reign of DJ-as-bandleader, stitching rare funk singles into rowdy soul symphonies, the new generation of indie hip-hop producers is dragging instrumental hip-hop into a psychedelic awakening. On his recent Since Last We Spoke (Mikael Wood’s review is in "Off the Record"), Def Jux auteur RJD2 fused gnarly Hendrix-ian garage-rock guitars to acid-funk synths. But the record to get is the promo-only remix by Philly party starter Diplo: when the Hollertronix mastermind drops a verse from Slick Rick’s "Mona Lisa" over RJ’s "Exotic Talk," the beat goes bananas. Touring together, RJD2 and Diplo are at the Space in Portland tonight (September 16); the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge on Friday; Pearl Street (413-584-7810) in Northampton on Saturday; and Nectars (802-658-4771) in Burlington on Sunday. And whereas Diplo’s official solo debut, Florida (Ninja Tune), melds trippy soul and pornographic psych-rock with Dirty South grit, his labelmate, the Canadian producer Sixtoo, nabbed two members of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and a cameo by Can’s Damo Suzuki for Chewing on Glass and Other Miracle Cures. The vibe is all eerie, twitching menace, combining live-instrument krautrock and feedback drones with bleary, atmospheric bitscapes: imagine the RZA producing Silver Apples. Sixtoo plays the Middle East on Wednesday and Club Metronome (802-865-4563) in Burlington next Thursday, September 23.

We’re not calling the Vermont septet River City Rebels a bunch of poseurs — well, okay, maybe we are — but they might be the mallcore Village People. On their new Hate To Be Loved (Victory, out this Tuesday, September 21), each member dresses as a member of his favorite band: guitarist Jungle Face Jake infiltrates the Clash, goofball frontman the Bopper thinks he’s Duane Peters, the trombone player does Nick Cave, the bassist wants to be in the Strokes, and the other guitar player aspires to be either Iggy Pop or CC DeVille. The good news is, the former ska punks play as good as they look: a horn section once used to hit rocksteady accents now does swell impressions of the E Street Band and Rocket from the Crypt, and the rest of ’em have polished up on their T. Rex, Slade, and D-Generation. Our fave moment comes halfway through their Dolls-ish vamp "I’m So Vain," when the album’s producer — who just happens to be Sylvain Sylvain — jumps from behind the boards to crow, "When you got it, you got it, and when you don’t, you don’t." The Rebels play the first night of the two-day "SkateFest" at the Palladium (800-477-6849) in Worcester on Friday and Saturday.

Kid Rock’s singles have been exiled to country radio, but his Motor City showband are still plenty rock and roll: he’s at Tsongas Arena (978-848-6900) in Lowell on Saturday. The Canadian singer-songwriter Hayden puts his grizzled, musk-ox baritone to good use in log-cabin indie-folk tunes that we’ve come to think of as the missing link between Lou Barlow’s romantic swoon and the rustic charm of Iron and Wine. With his backing band, the Elk Lake Serenaders, he’s at the Big Easy (207-871-8817) in Portland tonight (September 16) and the Paradise Lounge (617-562-8814) in Boston on Friday.