The Act; Womanrock.com Panel; VHS OR BETA; North By Northwest & Sex Mob, Outside; MorganScott Ballet, Outside; Rumblers Car Club BBQ; Yes w/Wakeman; Nick Lowe

Sick of asking to see the band room and being shown a broken toilet in the janitor's closet? Or requesting 50 fresh handles of Jack in your rider only to open an oak cabinet and see Stoli staring back? Then you and your bandmates should head over to CB's 313 Gallery Weds., July 31, at 7 p.m. for an "educational" panel?sponsored by Womanrock.com?on booking your own tours. Discover the magic that is avoiding the entire state of Alabama. 313 Bowery (Bleecker St.), 677-0455, $8.

Because we listened to New Order and Depeche Mode back in the 80s when they were popular, we tend to avoid all those newer bands imitating the music now. Lucky for us we didn't skip over the Louisville, KY, band who call themselves VHS OR BETA. Their debut record is an homage to Daft Punk, not only in the title (Le Funk) but also in the music, which is comparable to French dance purveyors Air and Cassius and blends rock music with danceable beats. The dance party happens this Thurs., Aug. 1, at Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. (betw. Church St. & B'way), 219-3055; 9, $10.

We're loving that there are so many outdoor movie screenings this summer in places other than Bryant Park. This Thurs., Aug. 1, they're showing one of our favorite Hitchcock films at the bandshell in Prospect Park: North By Northwest. The scene where Cary Grant is buzzed by the biplane, the climactic fight scene on George Washington's nose at Mt. Rushmore...so cool. Cooler still, the movie is preceded by a concert by Sex Mob, those hipsters who revamp classic movie music and themes. We especially like what they do with the greatest movie music of all time?the James Bond movie scores. It starts at 7:30, and it's free. 9th St. (Prospect Pk. W.), Park Slope, 718-855-7882 x45.

The MorganScott Ballet, the little ballet company that could, is five years old now, and is sort of an antidote to the NYCBs and ABTs of this town. MorganScott's dancers are classically trained, yes, and the programs are most definitely ballet, but the strict classical idiom is just a starting point for choreographer Edward Morgan's repertoire of jazz, neoclassical and contemporary pieces. Like "Fiesta de Aranjuez," backed by classical Spanish guitar music, "Stockhausen 2000" and the "Five Faces of Al Jarreau"?all of which will be performed, for free, at 5 p.m., Sat., Aug. 3, in Bryant Park, 6th Ave. (41st St.), 582-1941. If it rains, they'll move indoors to City Center that evening for a 7:30 performance, 130 W. 56th St. (betw. 6th & 7th Aves.).

The last time we were at Union Pool they were turning a whole pig on a spit, its pink tongue lapping the grill with every turn, like it was making itself hungry. A three-legged dog fought a much bigger mutt for scraps. Everybody was sporting the urban redneck look?cowboy hats and lots of tats for the guys, cowboy boots and miniskirts and lots of tats for the girls. We got very drunk on endless rounds of Coronas and tequila shots and got lost on our way home. In short, this is just the sort of faux-lowbrow hipster hangout we like. This Sat., Aug. 3, starting at 10 a.m., the Rumblers Car Club throws a bbq and party, lining the street with pre-'64 hotrods and classics; a dozen bands, including the Turbo AC's and Tombstone Brawlers, will pretend with varying degrees of success that they're Southern rockers (southern Williamsburg, anyway); meanwhile, much drinkin' and flirtin' and pukin' will ensue. 484 Union Ave. (betw. Conselyea St. & Skillman Ave.), Williamsburg, 718-609-0484; $15, $12 adv.

Nothing we could say about Yes is going to convince non-fans to attend one of their three area shows this week, so this is really an announcement instead of a recommendation, a way to let YesFans, as Jon Anderson likes to call them, know that the band's touring with its near-original lineup of Anderson, Howe, Squire, White and, especially, Rick Wakeman. Yes played Radio City last September, with full orchestra but no prominent keyboards, and it showed: even a platoon of violins couldn't replace the mad-scientist sound of Wakeman's synthesizer. This notice also alerts fans to rumors that most of the music will be longer, "classic" songs, and that they may play "South Side of the Sky" for the first time since pot was $20 an ounce. Sat., Aug. 3, 8 p.m., at the Tommy Hilfiger Jones Beach Theater, 1000 Ocean Pkwy. (Wantagh Pkwy.), Wantagh, L.I., 516-221-1000; $22-$52. www.jonesbeach.com; Mon., Aug. 5, 8 p.m., at Radio City Music Hall, 1260 6th Ave., (51st St.) 247-7777; $35-$85; and Tues., Aug. 6, at the PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, 201-507-8900; $30; www.yesworld.com.

Meanwhile, those of you with adult and sedate tastes in popular music who nevertheless think Yes sucks might try to crash Nick Lowe's sold-out solo shows at Joe's Pub Mon.-Tues., Aug. 5-6, at 9:30 p.m. His pub-rock and new-wave days well behind him, Lowe is aging very gracefully as a Brit soul crooner (see the interview in this issue's "Music"); even Mr. Rock Til You Drop Strausbaugh approves. Though he does sometimes channel Lee Hazlewood and peddle some unlistenably goofy kitsch, recent acts of genius like "The Beast in Me," "Homewrecker" and "Lately I've Let Things Slide" resonate painfully with his middle-aged core audience, and he's sure to play them all. 425 Lafayette St. (betw. E. 4th St. & Astor Pl.), 239-6200; $25.