Rock Picks: The Hives, Buck 65, Redd Kross, Yo La Tengo

Jeff Dahl at the Knitting Factory

Jeff Dahl, the caveman from Cave Creek, Arizona, is a “fucking rock & roll star,” even if he’s better known in Europe than in his homeland. He released his debut single (“Rock N Roll Critic”) way back in 1977 and was later a part of Powertrip, the Angry Samoans and the early Hollywood supergroup Vox Pop (with members of 45 Grave and the Germs). He’s also worked with the Dead Boys’ Cheetah Chrome, but Dahl is best known for his dozens of solo albums. His latest CD, Battered Stuff , is an atypically all-acoustic affair, but he still strums with a punk rock drive and sensibility. He croons “I Wouldn’t Change a Thing” with a lost-and-lonely alley-cat yowling that’s akin to his late pal Nikki Sudden, and he coolly eviscerates the Hollywood myth on “California Blues.” He’s flashes a Lou Reed–style lyrical wit amid the catchy pop backup vocals on “Vaguely Picasso,” which sounds like something straight outta the Lower East Side (pre-Giuliani gentrification, of course). For his first L.A. show in five years, Dahl is aptly billed with the Shillaly Brothers (with ex-Powertripper John Duffy) and fellow Johnny Thunders acolyte Kevin K. (Falling James)

Also playing Saturday:

RODRIGO Y GABRIELA at Henry Fonda Theater; IAMX, MISS DERRINGER at El Rey Theatre; MINUS THE BEAR, HELIO SEQUENCE at Avalon; ANITA BAKER at Nokia Theatre; ENON, LOVE OF DIAGRAMS at the Echo; BOB SCHNEIDER, AM, BRANDI SHEARER at Hotel Café; XU XU FANG, LION FEVER, WINTER FLOWERS, MAGIC MIRROR at Spaceland.

Sunday, Nov. 4 Buck 65, Bernard Dolan at the Troubadour

Not so long ago, Buck 65 was having second thoughts about his love of fist-pumping beats, like he was almost embarrassed about being a white Nova Scotia hip-hop kid. Thankfully, he’s left this angst-y stage well behind. On his second proper solo disc, Situation , he turns shopworn phrases into trippy metaphors that are more than just inspired nonsense. On the disc’s best tune, “1957,” he crystallizes a tipping point in Western civilization: “Orpheus descending, swimming in the crooked waters/Hello Sid Vicious, goodbye Brooklyn Dodgers.” Chunky as the boom-bap is, sometimes it’s just a foil for his lyrical gems to sparkle (i.e. “strippers taking time off, wearing fuzzy-bunny slippers”). Like-minded raconteur Bernard Dolan — subtly adventurous with the rhythms, more blunt in the verbal department — is worth checking out too. (Andrew Lentz)

Uz Jsme Doma at Safari Sam’s

From the small Czechoslovakian border town of Teplice, the rather astoundingly beautiful/ugly art-rock aggregation known as Uz Jsme Doma (prnounced “oozhmuh doma”) are back after an extended break from touring and recording, regrouped with new vigor — when you hear the way they play, you’ll understand why they needed a rest — and set to slay in support of their new opus called Cod-Liver Oil (Skoda). It’s the latest in an exhaustingly exhilarating series of works dating back to 1985 that showcase this virtuosic ensemble’s politically charged but blackly humorous anthems, Eastern European folk-imbued sonic scattershots replete with barking, operatic vocals/chants and neck-snapping tempos and time changes — a thorny orchestration of chaotic havoc. The album was mixed by Dan Rathbun of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and features SGM’s Nils Frykdahl and Carla Kihlstedt. (John Payne)

The Valerie Project at the Silent Movie Theatre

The Valerie Project is a Philadelphia composers collective that reinterprets vintage films via new soundtracks inspired by the films and played live as they roll. The group, which includes several members of Espers, sets its current sights on Jamoril Jires’ 1970 Czech new-wave cult item Valerie and Her Week of Wonders , a surreal meditation on death, religion, sex and love whose visual splendors are, not entirely paradoxically, quite musical on their own. Inspired in part by Philip Glass’ live accompaniment of new scores to a trilogy of Cocteau films — which seemed to work best if you either closed your eyes or stuck your fingers in your ears — the Philly crew aim to create a vibrating middle area somewhere between the rich on-screen imagery (which will be projected off a freshly cleaned-up 35mm print) and the moodily mesmerizing, ‘60s-trippy soundtrack (which is available as a separate release on the Drag City label). Performances at 6 & 9 p.m. Also Mon., 8 p.m. 611 N. Fairfax Ave. (323) 655-2510. (John Payne)

Also playing Sunday:

RODRIGO Y GABRIELA at Henry Fonda Theater; DO MAKE SAY THINK, APOSTLE OF HUSTLE at the Echo; MAD HAPPY, STEVE GREGOROPOULOS at Mr. T’s Bowl; MARIEE SIOUX at Tangier.

Monday, Nov. 5Playing Monday:

SHOUT OUT LOUDS, JOHNOSSI, NICO VEGA at Henry Fonda Theater; MELISSA MANCHESTER in the Pantages Theater lobby; SUFFOCATION, IMMOLATION at House of Blues; OLLIN at Mr. T’s Bowl; CITIZEN FISH, M.D.C. at Safari Sam’s.

Tuesday, Nov. 6 Architecture in Helsinki at the Troubadour

Some bands reveal their hometown before the first chord is struck, certainly before the end of the first verse, but Architecture in Helsinki may as well be the house band from Mars. Not that their sound is so alien (high-energy indie-pop meets electronic music with a dance-punk twist and more instruments than an oom-pah band), but the group from Melbourne play like they’re opening for Mitch Ryder in Detroit on one song and for Lord Kitchener in Trinidad on another. They debuted with Fingers Crossed (Bar/None) in 2004, which brought them mucho attention back home, showcasing tap dancing as a tracked instrument, but two albums later leader Cameron Bird brought the flock (losing two chicks along the way, becoming a sextet) over to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to record Places Like This with Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) for their new label, Polyvinyl. The Glass Candy and the Panthers open at this two-night stand at the Troubadour. Also Wed. (Daniel Siwek)