You know those TGIFriday's commercials, where they portray the hard workers of today sitting at a round table and laughing, drinking, and eating inexpensive but tasty comfort foods to celebrate the end of another work week?

Not this time.

This Friday, it's time for a fast, light meal and one or all of the variety of events going on in this city. It seems there's been a lot more nightlife lately, with parties happening left and right and nearly every night of the week. This weekend, there really is something for everyone, but let's start with tonight:

Tiefschwarz (Germany)
Friday, September 21st
Axis
11 Landsdowne St.
Boston, MA
myspace.com/bostonaxis
21+ / 10pm DOS / $15
w/ Randy Deshaies (Boston)

Day by day, Axis and Avalon have been closing down their parties after years of throwing some of the most extravagant events and bringing in the biggest names of techno, house, trance, and all other facets of electronic music. Located right in the middle of the Red Sox storm, Landsdowne Street has become a landmark for dance music and nightlife. As Avalon celebrated its final dance night with Armin Van Buuren this past Sunday, and tonight Ali (Alexander) & Bastl (Sebastian) Schwarz will close out Axis with their very first Boston appearance. All the way from Germany, their collected moniker is better known around the world as Tiefschwarz, which means "deep black" in their native language. Minimal yet crunchy, their signature deep house style is one that has developed to a unique sound that they've cultivated together since 1995. The opening set will be from local resident Randy Deshaeis of BUMP - Phoenix Landing's Sunday nights - who spins some of the best house & techno in town.

MySpace: Tiefschwarz
MySpace: Randy Deshaies

Bostonist Pick: Thunderdome VII: Baltimore
Friday, September 21st
American Legion Marsh Post
1 Gerry's Landing Rd.
Cambridge, MA
Directions to Venue
21+ / 10pm DOS / $7

"Thunderdome is a movement." This is the tagline for the nearly year-old party that rides on the theme of bringing people together by resurrecting the DJ battle. Previously housed in the sweaty mecca of the Elk's Lodge in Central Square, Thunderdome has moved to a new location for one final summer hurrah on the first day of fall. Representing Boston will be Mistaker, who's ideas gave birth to the success of Thunderdome past, micL ptvn of The Campaign For Real-Time and Cassette, and DJ Die Young, who premiered on the Boston scene in February and has been absolutely tearing up house parties as well as SOLID! and Make It New. Representing Boston is none other than Scottie B. - the active producer and DJ who has been elevating the Baltimore Club scene to an entirely new level. Joining him will be Spank Rock DJ's Chris Rockswell + XXXChange, who will further the truth: Baltimore Club music is dirty, raw and unbeautified. Not only will this be the most extreme B-more event in Boston, but also the venue is out on the water and a Grey Goose is five dollars. Can't beat.

MySpace: Thunderdome
MySpace: Scottie B.

DJ Scientific + Hearthrob
Friday, September 21st
Institute Of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave.
Boston, MA
http://www.icaboston.org
$10 members / $15 general admission
21+ / 8p - 12a

For those that haven't walked past the Middlesex Lounge on a random Tuesday night, there is a pretty major event for a middle-of-the-weekday going on. Boston-based electro masters Hearthrob, a DJ supergroup featuring Red Foxx, Baltimoroder, Morgan Louis, and Sensitive Hand, have been drawing huge crowds at area clubs, and they make their ICA debut in a multimedia party. Mix together bold contemporary art, house-shaking beats, complimentary food from Wolfgang Puck and a cash bar, and you get the ICA's Experiment. While Hearthrob starts off the night, visit a multimedia lounge in the theater. Later on, the lobby and café heat up as DJ Scientific spins the party. The highlight is hip-hop mastermind DJ Scientific (a.k.a. Elan Vytal), who comes from Brooklyn and is known for mixing in classical and world music into his beats and scratches. When Scientific made it to New York in 2002, he went from DJ to DJ-to-the-stars, spinning regularly at high-class celebrity parties, and opening up for Doug E. Fresh. One of the most progressive of hip-hop DJs, it will be an incredible experience set on the water at Boston's ICA.

MySpace: DJ Scientific
MySpace: Hearthrob

Night of the Dolls
Friday, September 21st
TT The Bear's
10 Brookline St.
Cambridge, MA
http://www.ttthebears.com
18+ / 9pm
$5 before 10:30p
$10 after

Dresscode: Latex. Fetish. PVC (that's Polyvinyl chloride, for all you non-believers). Goth, industrial and creative. All black. If these words have not popped out at you yet, then there's not much else you can do but see for yourself. Night of the Dolls is a monthly party put on at TT's where Latex Lily, Fantasy Factory and other local party throwers get together to celebrate a subculture that continues to thrive when the sun goes down. Man Ray's old night XMORTIS resurrects, and the treat of the evening is a set by DJ Volvox, who comes from the industrial background but has broken her limits long ago to become one of the most absorbent DJs in the scene, mashing genres and getting more physically into her set than just about any other DJ that Bostonist has had the pleasure of seeing in the last 6 months.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/nightofthedolls
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/djvolvox

Post contributed by Vicki Siolos.