Rock Picks: RZA, Etta James, Zola Moon, Tori Amos, The Monolators

Thursday, December 13

Rock & roll roustabout Richard Hawley (Photo by Steve Gullick)

Do they know it’s Christmas? Good for the Jews

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More About

• Richard Hawley
• Etta James
• Zola Moon
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Knitting

Rock & roll roustabout Richard Hawley (Photo by Steve Gullick)
(Click to enlarge)

Do they know it’s Christmas? Good for the Jews
(Click to enlarge)

Pity Party bundles up.
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Richard Hawley at the Troubadour

While there’s never been a shortage of moody, self-absorbed Brits harping endlessly on their star-crossed misfortune and illimitable psychic torment, Richard Hawley’s blend of lowly moaning with Roy Orbison dramatics and crafty Burt Bacharach–style orchestration elevates the standard scab-picking formula to an artful degree that can be, at moments, almost dizzying. He’s the spawn of a guitar-twanging Teddy boy, and his teenage launch as a rock-&-roll roustabout in the blue-collar English hellhole Sheffield soon made it clear that his was a singular voice crying in the pop wilderness. His intense fixation on the high-’60s school of melodic pop — Reprise-era Jimmy Bowen hep and Lee Hazlewood atmospherics — created a pathology that Hawley continues to exploit with no small aplomb. He’s bringing a deck of numbers from his current CD, Lady’s Bridge, so expect a potent demonstration of expressive musical thrills. (Jonny Whiteside)

Also playing Thursday:

R. KELLY at Honda Center; TEAM SLEEP at Henry Fonda Theater; WEST INDIAN GIRL, SARA MELSON at the Bordello; MOVING UNITS, SCISSORS FOR LEFTY at the Echoplex; THE NIGHTWATCHMAN at the Hotel Café; TWISTED SISTER at House of Blues; WATKINS FAMILY HOUR at Largo; MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT at Safari Sam’s; DEWEY COX & THE HARD WALKERS at Guitar Center Hollywood.

Friday, December 14

Good for the Jews at the Knitting Factory

The international Jewish conspiracy is malevolent and vast. Henry Ford knew this, and so did the fabricators of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Theories that have been labeled as anti-Semitic are entirely plausible, like this one by me: The Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week” was really a secret lesson about the Eight Days of Hanukkah. The Beatles’ deviant Jewish manager, Brian Epstein, already had them denouncing Jesus, and the infamous “Butcher” cover for Yesterday and Today was a demonstration of how Jews extracted the blood of Christian babies. Humor like this is Good for the Jews, especially around Christmas time, when the duo of Rob Tennenbaum and David Fagen sing us through the alienation. They go great with Chinese food and can make Adam Sandler blush, but more importantly they’ll get you through an oppressive desert worse than the Sahara — J-Date. This Putting the Ha! in Hanukkah Tour is sponsored by Heeb magazine. www.goodforthejews.net. See Hoopla. (Daniel Siwek)

RZA at El Rey Theatre

Things are busy for the Wu-Tang Clan right now: Earlier this week, the New York hip-hop supergroup released their first new studio album in six years, 8 Diagrams, which has both fans and critics buzzing about a return to the outfit’s early form. And on December 4, Ghostface Killah — perhaps the Clan’s highest-profile member at the moment — issued his latest solo disc, The Big Doe Rehab, another typically thrilling collection of breathless crime-world travelogues. Tonight RZA, Wu-Tang’s mastermind and sonic architect, drops in at El Rey for a concert likely to feature material by Bobby Digital, his futuristic pimp-warrior alter ego. In truth, though, anything could happen: As anyone who’s seen one of Wu-Tang’s notoriously chaotic live shows knows, the only thing you can expect with these dudes is the unexpected. (Mikael Wood)

The Christmas Sweater Festival at Crash Mansion

That craptastic fashion don’t, the Christmas sweater, has become a do at hip holiday fetes, and this rock-a-thon offers the ultimate eve to break out all the ugly-ass knitted red/green/reindeer/Santa garb granny gave ya — or buy some. A benefit for Doctors Without Borders, the anything-but-silent night presented by the Fold will offer local bands gifted with both an imposing melodiousness and unpredictable performance style: the rootsy beat lashings of the Deadly Syndrome, the epic electric mojo of the Mae Shi, the pop-pocked power of the Happy Hollows, the icy atmospherics of Eskimohunter and the emotionally charged rhythmic extractions of the Pity Party. All will be doing revolving 15-minute sets, and, in this condensed, (hopefully) swift-moving format, it’s sure to be a manic yet magical holiday happening, not to mention mighty toasty with all those acrylic blends around. Bring an undershirt. $5 minimum donation. (Lina Lecaro)

Also playing Friday:

JOHN MAYALL, REO SPEEDWAGON at Malibu Performing Arts Center; BETH THORNLEY, JIM BIANCO, PRISCILLA AHN at Getty Center; LISA LISA, COVER GIRLS, DAZZ BAND, EVELYN KING Gibson Amphitheatre; VAN HALEN, KY-MANI MARLEY at Staples Center; R. KELLY at the Forum; CHANNEL 3 at Alex’s Bar; ANAVAN at the Echoplex; KNITTERS, DEAD ROCK WEST, AMY FARRIS at Safari Sam’s; MILES LONG, SHINICHI at Temple Bar; IMPERIAL TEEN, MIDNIGHT MOVIES at the Troubadour; D.I., HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED at the Epicenter.

Saturday, December 15

Etta James at the Wiltern

The mid-’50s rhythm & blues tradition that Etta James near solely represents today was a frighteningly turbulent school of artistry, and she bears the scars from innumerable busts, beatings, shakedowns and dope binges. Yet the very oppressive weight suffered by these beautiful ’50s renegades produced not only a slew of romping, raving and deeply black big-beat classics, it also laid the foundation for what, thanks to Miss James (and Solomon Burke and Sam Cooke), became known to the world as soul music. A highly significant psychic transition that altered American pop music in its entirety, it’s also the key to understanding James’ creative mind: At once earthy and celestial, passionately expressive, anchored in truth and consistently striving for maximum interpretive impact, she reigns yet as one of the most effective, untrammeled and unpredictable song stylists working. Whether growling “Tell Mama” or taking on a piece of shit like the Eagles’ “Take It to the Limit,” James flat gets the job done. (Jonny Whiteside)