Rock Picks: Lucy Lawless, The Dagons, Big Daddy Kane and more

SATURDAY, JAN. 26 

MGMT, Yeasayer at the Echoplex

Up from the Delta: Honeyboy Edwards

Doron Gild

From the mists of time: Yeasayer

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More About

• Mirah (Musician)
• Lucy Lawless
• Jessie Evans
• Old School Hip-Hop
• Hip-Hop and Rap

Brooklyn's blog-buzzed MGMT don't stick to a single sound on their major-label debut, Oracular Spectacular, which has been available on iTunes since last fall but just hit record stores this week. Actually, they don't even stick to two or three sounds: Produced by Flaming Lips pal Dave Fridmann, the album flits from Bowie-damaged art-pop to Beck-style funk-hop to fake-Dylan folk-rock and beyond. It's an approach the duo might well have lifted from shapeshifting Of Montreal mastermind Kevin Barnes, who's acted as something of a mentor to Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser; he's taken MGMT on tour and is reportedly at work on a side project with VanWyngarden. As at an Of Montreal show, expect costumes tonight. Equally blog-buzzed openers Yeasayer, also from New York, play an appealingly hectic brand of indie rock full of auxiliary percussion and Eastern-accented melodies. (Mikael Wood)

From the Jam, Hugh Cornwell at El Rey Theatre

Doron Gild

From the mists of time: Yeasayer (Click to enlarge)

Heavy D: Big daddy, big cigar (Click to enlarge)

Magic-carpet riders Drug Rug (Click to enlarge)

"From the Jam" may seem like a curiously awkward name to describe the reappearance of founding Jam members Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler — it's the equivalent to Ringo Starr dubbing himself as "From the Beatles"— but, no matter what you call them, it's a welcome return to action by these two ace musicians. Singer-guitarist and main songwriter Paul Weller got most of the attention as the Jam's leader, but it's hard to imagine early hits like "In the City" and "News of the World" without Buckler's energetic drumming. Foxton penned a few of the English band's hits, including "Smithers-Jones," and his memorably elastic, melodically popping bass line forms the backbone of Weller's "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight." It's frustrating that Weller apparently won't reconcile with his old mates — he toured here last year, playing Jam favorites with a generic backup band — because the old tunes just don't sound the same without his classic rhythm section. Former Stranglers lead singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell also is making a rare appearance on these shores; his previously scheduled local gig last year was postponed due to this country's strict new visa policies. (Falling James)

Also playing Saturday:

CIRCLE JERKS at Ventura Theatre; DIOS MALOS, MIKE WATT & THE MISSINGMEN at Alex's Bar; GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS at Amoeba Music, 3 p.m.; JANET ROBIN, MAIA SHARP at the Hotel Cafe; TALIB KWELI at House of Blues; MARC FORD at Malibu Inn; ODETTA at McCabe's; TODD SNIDER, COUSIN LOVERS at the Mint; BACKBITER, SMASH FASHION at Mr. T's Bowl; CORREATOWN at Pehrspace; LUCY LAWLESS at the Roxy; MOTORCYCLE BOY, STITCHES, SUPERBEES at Safari Sam's; TIM FINN, MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS at the Troubadour; MONTE NEGRO at the Westchester; JERRY SIKORSKI BAND at the Stone Bar.

 SUNDAY, JAN. 27

Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Heavy D at House of Blues

Not so much old-school as the headmasters themselves, the cream of mid-'80s hip-hop crop comes together tonight, evoking a comparatively placid time in which fights were just as easily settled with a dance-off and "put your hands up" meant a jam not a stickup. Big Daddy Kane, forever getting the job done, was most recently heard with the GZA on 2007's "Cameo Afro," while Slick Rick's pal Doug E. Fresh showed up on American Idol doing "The Show"— and likely the Human Beatbox will rhythmically zrbtt before long this night; just don't ask him about the Tom Cruise video. Slightly lighter lately, Heavy D may play songs off a forthcoming LP alongside "Now That We Found Love"— yes, you'll hear all the hits, and they might sound the same as endless times before, but Abba-Zabba never changes, and I don't hear you complainin'. And R.I.P. Trouble T-Roy! (David Cotner)

Also playing Sunday:

WHITE WILLIAMS, MAGIC BULLETS, THE BLAKES at the Echo; GEOFF MULDAUR at McCabe's; LIZ PAPPADEMAS at Mr. T's Bowl; SWORDS OF FATIMA, CHUMP CHANGE GANG at the Scene; UPSILON ACRUX at Spaceland; DAEDELUS at Charlie O's Lounge, Hotel Alexandria.

Playing Monday:

RADAR BROS. at the Echo; WADDY WACHTEL at the Joint; METAL SKOOL at the Key Club; THE PARSON RED HEADS, IDAHO FALLS, THE MONOLATORS at Spaceland; NICO VEGA, FRED ARMISEN, PETRA HADEN at the Troubadour. 

TUESDAY, JAN. 29

Drug Rug at Spaceland

The indie-rock world has been populated with its fair share of music-making couples. Kim & Thurston, Exene & John, Ira & Georgia on through to Dean & Britta and Win & Regine. You can add to this musical lovebirds list Drug Rug's Tommy Allen & Sarah Cronin, who say that they came together over their shared love for a not-quite-indie musical couple: Paul & Linda McCartney. While Drug Rug's endearingly frayed sound conveys some Ram-like qualities, perhaps a more apt description is that the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based band weave strands of the Velvet Underground's dark downtown drone rock with the sunnier '60s psychedelic folk-rock spun by the Byrds and Moby Grape. Riding high on their buzz-generating '07 self-titled debut, Drug Rug are sweeping through L.A. for the very first time, dispensing generous doses of their shambling stoner folk-rock. (Michael Berick)