Are You There, God?

IT''S ME, MARGARET Fronted by Leslie Pereira and Paula Venise, It''s Me, Margaret delivers a soulful pop/alt sound that''s picked up attention from radio stations around the country. This marks the Southern California group''s debut appearance in Monterey. For full story, see page 18. 9:30pm. Blue Fin Billiards, Cannery Row. No cover. 375-7000.

Sing It, Sister

LITTLE SISTER AND THE BAD INTENTIONS Leading the charge in what seems like an invasion by Bay Area rock ''n'' blues groups this weekend is Little Sister and the Bad Intentions, a San Fran-based blues sextet featuring lead singer Christine Enos, guitarist Stephen Camp, keyboardist Bill Zerbe, sax man Steve Davidson, drummer Tony Coleman and bassist Artis "AJ" Joyce. Led by Enos'' soulful vocals (she''s another singer who made it to the blues league by playing in the church-choir farm system), the band has a swingin'' sound that''s propelled Ocean Thunder dancers to their feet during the band''s previous visits to the club in the last year. 9pm. Ocean Thunder, 214 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey. 643-9169.

Everything Nice

OLD SPICE GIRLS Quick: what do Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and the Old Spice Girls have in common? All are (or at least have been in some happier time) husband-wife rock ''n'' roll duos delivering a uniquely stamped sound. The Old Spice Girls are a little more, shall we say, boutique than the other two bands, but they''ll blow your mind and leave you sore from aural ecstasy. Former Montereyans who now reside in San Francisco, guitarist Tom Ayres and bass player Angelina Ayres provide an explorative soundscape filled with Hendrix-esque guitar licks and original timing signatures that leave the jaw dropping and the skin crawling with energy. Tom Ayres is a guitarist who seems bonded to his instrument, using screams, effect loops, and wild stage antics to pull off one hell of a dazzling show. 9pm. Blue Fin Cafe and Billiards, Cannery Row. 375-7000.

Real Live

DELTA WIRES The Oakland-based Delta Wires are frequent (and popular) visitors to both ends of the Monterey Bay, appearing with regularity in Santa Cruz as well as our own blues-lovin'' burg. Theirs is a performance that roams the full range of electrified, geographically informed blues styles, from the Mississippi to the Chicago to the West Coast. Over the years the band, with vocalist/harmonicat Ernie Pinata as front man, has shared the stage with a whole range of blues dudes including John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, Bo Diddley, Boz Scaggs and Robert Cray. It all adds up to good, hip-shakin'' blues on Cannery Row tonight. 9pm. Sly McFly''s, Cannery Row. Call for price. 649-8050.

A Hipster''s Hipster

MARK MURPHY Long before it came to indicate girls in plaid hip-huggers and boys with black-painted fingernails, the term "hipster" referred to another subculture: the cohort of cool cats that hung around jazz clubs improvising, scatting and in all other ways turning American music upside down. Six-time Grammy-nominated vocalist Mark Murphy earned his creds among this set. Discovered in the 1950s by Sammy Davis, Jr., Murphy went on to launch a career of constant reinvention and integrity that is perhaps best known for his mastery of vocalese, which is a way of applying lyrics to existing instrumental solos. Very much the jazz insider''s jazz singer, Murphy has won praise from the very best (Ella Fitzgerald declared him to be her equal) and continues to win his fans'' loyalty; for several years running he has bagged Best Male Vocalist in the DownBeat Readers Poll. A great chance to see a master at his craft. 7:30pm. The Jazz And Blues Company, 236 Crossroads, Carmel. $45 preferred/$35 general. 624-6431

First Ladies of Film

LANGE AND CUNNINGHAM DOCUMENTARIES When budding documentary filmmaker Meg Partridge discovered among her father''s possessions eight hours'' worth of audiotaped interviews with her grandmother, the noted photographer Imogen Cunningham, she knew she had just stumbled upon buried treasure. Those interviews became the basis for Partridge''s "Portrait of Imogen," which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short in 1988. (In it, Cunningham emerges as a quirky, scrappy sort with a playful sensibility-a nice surprise, given her penchant for coolly elegant plant forms and striking nudes.) Continuing her inquiry into her family''s photographic associations, Partridge next trained her camera on the life of Dorothea Lange, for whom Partridge''s father served as assistant during Lange''s famous documenting of the Depression. Both films provide a window into the artistic sensibility, which is surprisingly available. Says Lange in "Dorothea Lange, A Visual Life," "One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you''ll be stricken blind." 2pm. Steinbeck Center, One Main, Salinas. $12 includes both films and admission to museum. 775-4738.

This week''s Hot Picks were flipped and flopped by Aaron S. Birk, Traci Hukill and Chuck Thurman.