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what''s up, chuck?

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If you''re in one of those places where you just want to hit the road, say to hell with it all, and leave your broken heart in the trash along with the half-eaten frozen dinners, then The Nonchalants'' 1999 album, Drive, might be the soundtrack for you. Don''t worry, it''s not one of those woe-is-me, wallowing-in-it sorts of albums. It''s more like a getting-in-touch-with-your-anger, stomping-on-the-accelerator, but still seeing-the-humor kind of album.

The Nonchalants are Jean Synodinos and Steve Uhler, a Greenwich Village duo transplanted to Austin, and they deliver a rollicking blend of rootsy music that isn''t really one genre or another. The music blends a little blues with rock, pop and a little country twang, and delivers it with the impassioned personal sort of feeling that you expect from navel-gazing singer/songwriter--only with less self-importance. Take the title track (which they don''t break into neat stanzas in the liner notes): "I''m tired of being angry, I''m tired of feeling blue. But most of all I''m tired of being tired of you. I''m tired of talking about it, I believe we talked it to death. I''m all out of words, I''m all out of breath..."

All in all, it''s a high-energy album, and if other critics'' assessments are correct, their live show should follow suit.

The Nonchalants, Sunday, 8pm. Morgan''s Coffee and Tea, $7. 642-4949.

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Trance Jazz?

You won''t recognize any of the instruments being played by Mobius Operandi at the Henry Miller Library on Saturday. They''re all one-of-a-kind, custom-built pieces of sculpture built by Oliver DiCicco in the Bay Area. Looking like beautiful escapees from a tech and industrial museum, the instruments are visually beguiling constructions of wood, steel and electronics that make their own kind of music.

But, unlike a lot of experimental musicians, the band Mobius Operandi has harnessed the various exotic noises and turned them into a sort of jazz/trance sound that is recognizable as music--even to the untrained ear. If you''re looking for an adventure in music, this is a show you might want to check out.

Mobius Operandi, Saturday, 3pm. Henry Miller Library, Highway 1, Big Sur. $10. 667-2574.

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Blues

More predictable and comfortable are the blues offerings at Sly''s, where both Kaye Bohler and Mighty Mike Schermer are making return appearances. Bohler, formerly lead singer with Pele Juju, has been big in the Santa Cruz area for a couple years, and, bolstered by her appearance at this year''s Monterey Bay Blues Festival, she''s developing a following at this end of the bay, as well. Guitarist Schermer, who''s backed people like Charlie Musselwhite and Angela Strehli, is touring in support of his first CD, 1st Set.

Kaye Bohler, Friday, 9pm; Mike Schermer, Saturday, 9pm. Sly McFly''s, 649-8050.