Put on the new Icona Pop song and throw your keyboard in the air...IT'S THE WEEKEND! Here are some excellent things to do with yourself this Friday through Sunday:

"The Meaning of Life"
The Wall Gallery is arguably the least accommodating space among the galleries located around Telegraph Avenue and 25th Street. In fact, it’s actually more of a hallway. But don’t let its narrowness deceive you into thinking that its shows are insignificant. Through August 10, The Wall is featuring the thought-provoking work of abstract painter Adam Cardello: The Meaning of Life is a collection of five large, square paintings that depict the cycle of life. According to Cardello’s artist’s statement, the series was a way for him to weave a narrative out of two life-changing events — the birth of his daughter and the death of his close friend. The resulting story is a dynamic manipulation of color, pattern, and geometry into effervescent pictorial metaphor. By overlapping thin layers of paint, Cardello achieves a fogginess that adds crucial depth to his dreamy pieces, drawing the viewer in. Actually, a space of transition like a hallway may be the perfect place to view The Meaning of Life because it relates the same message as the work: We’re all just passing through. TheWallGallery.Blogspot.com — Alex Bigman

The Mantles
Bay Area quartet The Mantles have just returned from an extensive national tour promoting their recently released second album Long Enough to Leave, which Express music critic Sam Lefebvre said contained some of their best songs to date. The band’s jangle-pop-meets-garage-rock sound is especially electric in a live setting with frontman Michael Olivares’ warbling vocals backed by tons of reverb and distortion. While some of The Mantles’ music feels simple and minimal on their records, the band plays everything louder and faster live, edging into noisier, more psychedelic territory. The Mantles took a six-year break between their debut album and Long Enough to Leave, so be sure to catch the band at The Uptown when you have the chance. With Skygreen Leopards, New Faultlines, and Cruel Summer. Fri., Aug. 2, 9 p.m., free. UptownNightclub.com — Whitney Phaneuf

East Bay Wine Melee
It’s like a potluck — with corks! The East Bay Wine Melée at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center aims to replicate those fun grab-baggy gatherings at which each guest brings a sealed bottle of wine, all of which are opened and shared. Bring a sealed bottle worth at least $15 — prices will be verified via Wine-Searcher.com — and this, along with a nominal cover charge, affords access to wines brought by all fellow guests. Wines will be grouped by region and varietal for easier navigation. Sat., Aug. 3, 3-7 p.m., $10-$15. — Anneli Rufus

Art & Soul 2013
What does it mean to capture the soul of a city? Though some may argue that organized street fairs are all pretty much the same, Oakland’s famed two-day Art & Soul festival brings just so much music, art, and food to the table, and so many people out to the event, that it manages, at least in some small way, to capture the pulse of this place. With four stages; more than forty musical performances in genres including R&B, indie, soul, and more; hundreds of art vendors; live mural painting; food trucks; kids’ activities, and more, Art & Soul deserves the accolades: Oakland, most often defined by the spectacle of First Fridays, goes big. Join thousands of others this weekend in downtown Oakland for the 2013 event, which will include musical performances by The Rescues, Lisa Loeb, Leela James, Los Rakas, and the Big O’s — a band made up entirely of music teachers and band directors from Oakland public schools. Sat., Aug. 3, 12-8 p.m. and Sun., Aug. 4, 12-6 p.m., $5-$15, kids 12 and under free. ArtandSoulOakland.com — Azeen Ghorayshi

Stereo Sundays
If you fondly recall the days when boomboxes blasted old school hip-hop, R&B, and soul, the new party Stereo Sundays is for you. On the first and fourth Sundays of every month at SomaR, local DJs Henroc and Mpenzi play vintage summer jams. Both DJs are local nightlife veterans known for their funky, world-beat sound: Henroc has been a resident DJ at Reggae Gold and Smoove, specializing in soul, hip-hop, dancehall, and Soca; Mpenzi was one of the founders of the longrunning MÄJOR SUNDAYS, a soul/roots party at SomaR that ended in 2011. Expect the duo to dust off their eclectic record (and maybe even cassette) collections and showcase party music by international artists. Sun., Aug. 4, 9 p.m., free. — W.P.

Plus...
Get your cheapskate on:
This is how much we love you guys: Here are our searchable listings of every single free event happening in the East Bay this weekend.

Feed Us: Got any East Bay news, events, video, or miscellany we should know about? Holler at us at Azeen.Ghorayshi@EastBayExpress.com.