Rock Picks: Hank III, Joe Strummer Tribute, Wu-Tang Clan

Saturday, Dec. 22

Patria Jacobs at Taix

Suicide Silence try to look menacing.

Are you ready for some Hank III? (Photo by Mike Boles)

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More About

• Patria Jacobs
• Kevin Shields
• Hank Williams III
• Punk Rock
• Hip-Hop and Rap

The former Rubyfish singer Patria Jacobs has been lying low for a long time now, so it’s good to see that she’s finally back, performing a low-profile solo set tonight at Taix. Her 2005 CD, Poison of the Sea (Buniwabbit Records), is a frequently beguiling reminder of her various talents. “We could destroy each other,” she sings in a deceptively innocent and pure voice on “Sweet Pea,” her heartbroken message veiled by Corky Hale’s lulling harp. “Stayed Away Too Long” is a rueful country lament with properly rustic guitar by I See Hawks in L.A.’s Paul Lacques. The Negro Problem’s Stew co-produced the album and co-wrote its ethereally mesmerizing opening track, “Hurricane,” where Jacobs coos, “I impressed him with my use of Triple A maps,” before driving fearlessly right into the approaching storm. The CD includes “Indian Burn,” a lost 1995 track by Rubyfish, which swirls and seethes within a heat mirage of intriguingly tangled romantic imagery: “Voodoo heat like foliage trapped/Tie me up, tie me up, for I must match the furniture . . . those nights when water pipes shake/and it’s creepier than ever.” It’s a beautiful kind of creepiness. (Falling James)

The Gene Taylor Blues Band at Cozy’s Bar & Grill

Are you ready for some Hank III? (Photo by Mike Boles) (Click to enlarge)

Gene Taylor, the hard-charging piano monster who rose to well-deserved renown whipping the 88s for everyone from Canned Heat to the Blasters to the Fabulous Thunderbirds, has only very rarely been afforded a chance to hog the spotlight — yet that is precisely where he belongs. He has an icy-hot set of pipes, a formidable sense of rhythm and a keen grasp on the essential spirit of the blues, and his masterly keyboard assaults are second to none; after all, he made his bones as a teenager here, working gigs with such long-lost geniuses as Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton and Lowell Fulson (he’s also sandwiched in stints with such notable white boys as Doug Sahm and Ronnie Hawkins). This Yuletide spate of action reunites him with longtime Blasters cohorts Bill Bateman, John Bazz and Dave Alvin, and, as Taylor eschews such mundane formalities as a set list, they’re hitting it strictly on instinct. Spontaneity rarely holds such promise. 14058 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (Jonny Whiteside)

Joe Strummer tribute at the Key Club

As modern punk rock devolves into defanged corporate-rock careerism and mall-punk-derived rebellion, the late Clash singer Joe Strummer is missed more than ever. Luckily, his music lives on, as does Strummerville, an organization founded in his name by friends and family that benefits struggling musicians. Tonight, some of those friends gather to perform tunes from Strummer’s various projects (the Clash, the 101’ers, the Mescaleros). While one wouldn’t normally associate Bauhaus bassist David J with the confrontational sociopolitical intensity of the Clash, he’ll be on hand, and there are rumors that he may bring along the rest of Love & Rockets for an extremely rare appearance. The multi-talented, if frustratingly erratic Zander Schloss, who’s best known for playing bass in the later lineups of the Circle Jerks and the Weirdos and who also appeared alongside Strummer in Alex Cox’s self-indulgently sprawling spectacle Straight to Hell, appears with his new band, the Wilderness Years. His solo material, dubbed Schloss Angeles, includes surprisingly enjoyable somber balladry and intricately plucked folk songs. With Hellride, La Plebe and the local rockabilly trio Three Bad Jacks. (Falling James)

Also playing Saturday:

BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA at Gibson Amphitheatre; SHINY TOY GUNS at the Wiltern; VERY BE CAREFUL at the Bordello; THE VANDALS at House of Blues; JON BRION at Largo; GARY HOEY, JAMES WILSEY at Safari Sam’s; MEDUSA at Temple Bar; LAS 15 LETRAS at the Westchester; RRIICCEE at Rec Center Studios.

SUNDAY, Dec. 23

Wu-Tang Clan at House of Blues

Wu-Tang Clan’s 8 Diagrams is just out, and, yes, it was worth the wait: It’s good, real, real good. In fact, this is one of those rare long-anticipated returns to action by a superstar act that not only ranks with their greatest past stuff but whose quantum conceptual/experiential leaps even trump the group’s entire back catalog. RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Method Man, Inspektah Deck, Masta Killa and U-God compose the current lineup, each bringing a wizened depth to their raps, which are in turn chilling, hilarious, ruminative and sorta sweet. In production genius RZA’s amazing kung-fu hands, these soul jams and mystery-theater raps are cinematic, quite dramatic and, maybe most importantly, kind of organically avant-garde. (It’s as if the RZA simply lacks the ability to make music that doesn’t sound different.) They do the guest-superstar thing too, with Dhani Harrison, Erykah Badu, John Frusciante joining in on the single “The Heart Gently Weeps,” which takes off on George Harrison’s original in a surprisingly sentimental way. And the beats? Slamming, of course, but also hugely varied. I.e., they’ve done it again, establishing a new state of the art with some extraordinary new shit. (John Payne)