Floats like a butterfly, sings like a Cat Power! (Friday)
The Cramps, Saturday: It's that time of the month (Photo by Jimmy Hole)
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 24
Josie Cotton, Thursday (Clearly Johnny was queer.)Josie Cotton, Geza X at the Knitting Factory
It would be a shame if Josie Cotton were remembered only for her 1981 hit version of “Johnny, Are You Queer,” the somewhat annoying power-pop tune that was also a staple at Go-Go’s shows in the late ’70s. Her own songs, scattered sporadically over the decades, betrayed a sly wit and defiant intelligence that ultimately forced her to sink deeper underground and maintain an emotional blockade against the machinations of the music industry. With the shape-shifting pop personas of Movie Disaster Music (Scruffy), her first full-length release since 1993’s Frightened by Nightingales, she’s back — and unlike any Josie Cotton you may think you already know. She wraps herself invitingly in the gauze of Paul Roessler’s glimmering keyboards on “Bridget in the Sun,” kicks up her rockabilly heels while “Lookin’ for Elvis,” slinks through the serpentine exoticism of “Nikita” and is quietly spellbinding amid the spectral chimes of the aptly titled “Beautiful but Deadly.” The similarly reclusive Geza X — best known for producing the Germs, Redd Kross and Meredith Brooks — opens with a rare set of his new-wave deviations, such as the aggressively eccentric “Isotope Soap.” (Falling James)
Mamadou Diabate at Skirball Cultural Center
Stodgy traditionalists believe that folk music should remain frozen in time like a museum piece. But for the songbook to get off life support, it must evolve organically, whether it’s Appalachian or West African. The best torchbearers respect the old ways, but also transform them to keep the legacy fresh and relevant. Griot cousins and master kora players Toumani and Mamadou Diabate have recontextualized the Manding harp-lute within globally informed modernist soundscapes while honoring the centuries-old musical stories of their people. Mamadou moved to the U.S. from Mali a decade ago and almost snagged a Grammy last year with Behmanka, a gorgeous solo recital of nuggets and newbies. His soon-to-be-released Heritage, a sometimes jaunty, other times meditative suite, continues to channel ancient-future wisdom with rippling riffs and shimmeringly subtle melodies. Free; starts at 8 p.m. (Tom Cheyney)
Don Caballero at Spaceland
Let’s face it, the term “math rock” is so, so utterly lame. On the other hand, in a pinch it suffices to describe veteran Pittsburgh brain-crunchers Don Caballero. Recorded live, their new album, World Class Listening Problem (Relapse), is their first in six years, and offers more of the same — tricky time signatures, longish constructions, genuine dynamic variation, a lot of dissonance, indie-ironic song titles like “Mmmmm Acting, I Love Me Some Good Acting” and “Palm Trees in the Fecking Bahamas” — all pummeled and prodded with the fierce precision of a metal or punk band, only . . . smarter. Free jazz and Beefheart figure in their mix, as do Crimson, the minimalists, and the entire history of headbanger symphonists attempting to transcend the limitations of the rock-band format. Electric chamber music? You do the math. (John Payne)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25Redd Kross, The Cramps, Hank III at the Sunset Junction Street Fair
Wild in the streets, baby. That’s the plan at the annual blowout Sunset Junction, and this one may surpass every preceding edition: Saturday mixes Ashford & Simpson’s smolder with the hot thrum of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but it’s the unbeatable high-bubblegum-rock blast from Redd Kross that’s sure to sate the craving-est of thrill seekers. Come the Sabbath, things may spin out of control; somewhere between Candye Kane’s sultry blue purr and the hellbilly thrash of Hank III, the receptors should flare open enough to allow the magnificent monstrosity of the Cramps to take total possession. The notion of Lux Interior rallying a mob frenzy is hardly farfetched, and, with Poison Ivy’s hypnotic guitar primitivism and Buster Bateman’s skull-denting drums, they may well take you to places scarcely imaginable, not of this Earth — but indescribably beautiful. 3600-4400 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake; 10 a.m.-11 p.m. www.sunsetjunction.org. See Hoopla. (Jonny Whiteside)
Richie Havens at the Troubadour
Folk boss Richie Havens has slipped through a remarkable American cultural course, whether kicking off the infamous Woodstock festival (with a powerhouse three-hour set) or living it up with Muhammad Ali. The singer — who began life as a street-corner doo-wop rocker — never fails to mesmerize. A personality of extreme high-voltage charisma, Havens shifts naturally from big-beat guttersnipe to Greenwich Village bohemian, and he made it with such a rare combination of ambition, art and a spiritual sensitivity that, by the early 1970s, he was virtually a household name. While you’re likely familiar with his classic albums Mixed Bag, Something Else Again and Alarm Clock, even they can’t prepare you for the sublime jolt that Havens conjures onstage. (Jonny Whiteside)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 27Rickenbacker’s Anniversary of the Electric Guitar at House of Blues
Where would rock & roll be without Rickenbacker guitars? They were the guitars of the Beatles, and their 12-string tones forged the Byrds’ signature sound. Bands from the Who through Franz Ferdinand have all played Ricks. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the first fully electric guitar — a Rickenbacker, naturally. So the Southern California guitar maker is celebrating with a big bash that’ll benefit the Carlsbad-based Museum of Making Music (whose new exhibit focuses on the electric guitar). The eclectic lineup of Rickenbacker worshippers ranges from rock warhorses Jefferson Starship and Yes’ Chris Squire to slightly younger acolytes the Minus Five (featuring R.E.M.’s Peter Buck), the Smithereens, the Church’s Marty Willson-Piper, and that mod duo, Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs. But will anyone have the nerve to smash his or her guitar, Townshend-style? (Michael Berick)
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