Music Picks

For the week of May 4 - 11

Comments (0) By L.A. Weekly Music Staff Wednesday, May 3 2006

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{mosimage}KIIS-FM Wango Tango at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Converting his and Jon Brion’s intricate Late Registration arrangements to the stage will prove hard work for Kanye West, who headlines this year’s Wango Tango as a thank-you to Top 40 powerhouse KIIS-FM for playing his record. But if anyone can make live hip-hop work as something more than an extended shout-out session, it’s West, a born showman unable to accept the idea that a task might be beyond his ability. R&B queen Mary J. Blige — riding high with “Be Without You,” her finest single in years — does the live thing just fine, making up for a lack of precision with plenty of baby-mama drama. Also: reggaetón heavyweight Daddy Yankee, dancehall diva Rihanna, R&B smoothies Ne-Yo and Ray J, popwise MC Baby Bash, singer-actor Nick Cannon, and U.K. pop tart Natasha Bedingfield. 8808 Irvine Center Dr., Irvine. (213) 480-3232. (Mikael Wood)

R. Kelly at Gibson Amphitheater

If piss doesn’t turn you on, you’re probably not into the idea of R. Kelly putting his “key” in your “ignition.” But there’s still a universal horn-dog benefit to appreciating the near-iconic impression that Kelly’s knack for the thuggishly literal has on pop culture. The success of “Trapped in the Closet” indicates that subtlety is passé, innocence is doomed, and butt-sweating, melodically motionless, concept-driven relentlessness is in. Embrace this as obviously as you can, like the “sticky-icky” playa you are, by getting nasty with this shit live as Kelly, backed by a full band, performs as “Mr. Show” in the Light It Up Tour. Evidently, Kelly still believes he can fly, even after all the litigiousness that’s gone down. We might have better sex if we believe him. Also Sun. 100 Universal City Plaza. (818) 622-4440. (Courtney Fitzgerald)

Starlight Mints: Curiously poppy

Erasure: Oh baby, please. Give a little respect to them. (Photo by Sebastian Artz)

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SUNDAY MAY 7

{mosimage}Starlight Mints at the Troubadour

Oklahoma does not revolve around The Grapes of Wrath or the Flaming Lips. Starlight Mints, the other surrealist-pop Okie meat, have their own Tornado Alley taste. “Boring” places known for tumbleweeds breed a special kind of creativity; the Mints’ ballsy quirk is proof. Their ambitiously experimental arrangements of bells, whistles, violas and dreamlike storytelling make the Mints fresher than the pop you normally suck on. It’s hard to put into real words — even if you try doing it backward: Google their recently released third album, Drowaton, and see. The L.A. stop of their two-month tour promises to be an especially “Rhino-Stomp”–ing good time: They’re flying in a string section just for us — an element crucial to their texture that hasn’t been employed live since ’99. The full effect also includes a crazy light show and some potential guest Muppets. Mmm . . . minty. (Courtney Fitzgerald)

MONDAY MAY 8

Angels & Airwaves at the Troubadour

A sold-out four-night stand at the Troubadour by a band whose debut album isn’t out till May 23 — seems extravagant, right? Of course, Angels & Airwaves isn’t just any new band; this San Diego quartet is led by Tom DeLonge, singer-guitarist with pop-punk superstars Blink-182, who by most accounts have officially broken up. On We Don’t Need to Whisper, DeLonge picks up where he started in 2002 with Box Car Racer, his short-lived emo-rock side project. (Angels guitarist David Kennedy was in BCR; the other two members are veterans of the Distillers and Rocket From the Crypt.) That means moodier melodies, a depleted sense of humor and more ambient electronics — an airtight formula for success with Blink fans who’ve grown out of penis jokes and into high school psychodrama. Also Tues.-Wed. (Mikael Wood)

TUESDAY MAY 9

8-Bit, The Advantage, Kewl Kids Club, Super Mario Opera, Totally Raddat the Knitting Factory

This “Nintendo Punk Event” harks back to a simpler time when all you had to do to be happy was line up your 20 quarters on the Super Mario Bros. game at the Alpha Beta, trade Polish jokes with your friends, and wonder why Lionel Richie won an Oscar but Harrison Ford hasn’t. Gangsta-rappin’, fire-retardant/retarded robots 8-Bit wow the world with tales of urban despair like “Bubble Tint,” 8 Bit Weapon plays Commodore 64 & Gameboy choons with old computers and live drums, just as the Advantage unveils full-length rock versions of NESTM themes like “Metroid.” Super Mario Opera? Q.E.F.’ing D. Totally Radd? Yes. 14 Year Old Girls? Unclear, and since this is a family publication, propriety and the editors prohibit us from commenting further. (David Cotner)

WESNESDAY MAY 10

{mosimage} Erasure at John Anson Ford Theater

Nothing peculiar about two of the biggest disco dollies of gay-club subculture going unplugged: Andy Bell can out-sing the highest-octave-climbing diva underwater. And he can wear wings (or an Edwardian costume or hot pants) onstage too if he wants, ’cause he truly has the voice of an angel. Bell and Vince Clarke — the Silent Bob to Bell’s Jay — are touring their current all-acoustic Union Street (recorded in Brooklyn), which features mostly lesser-known tracks and B-sides from previous albums they think deserve a second, more intimate listen. So don’t expect a greatest-hits night. But make enough clamor — gently, though, this isn’t last call in Boys Town — and you just may get an “Oh L’Amour” here or “Blue Savannah” there with nothing but a guitar onstage, trees in the back and stars above. 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hlywd. (888) 464-2468. (Siran Babayan)

The Wailing Souls at the Echo

Although they are currently down to a two-man operation, Jamaican trailblazers the Wailing Souls, namely Lloyd “Bread” McDonald and Winston “Pipe” Mathews, certainly have more than enough grit, soul and skill to live up to a stunning track record. Bread and Pipe began their artistic life as studio singers, but by the early ’70s, the Wailing Souls were at Studio One, creating a tall stack of hard-headed, harmonious classics (“Back Biter,” f’rinstance), an inspired output that rates them as not only one of reggae’s pioneering forces, but also as an act who have managed to maintain undeniable quality and vision: ”Fire House Rock,” kiddies. (Jonny Whiteside)