Rock Picks: DJ Quik, Alejandro Escovedo, Ratatat

Out there in the hot hot heat of Tucson, Arizona, thrives a mysterious hotbed of musical creativity fed on a regular basis by, for some strange reason, artists from France who invariably improve upon (or at least warp intriguingly) the American roots styles they so obviously adore. For example, French Cowboy, formerly of French superstar band Little Rabbits, which recorded seven albums in Tucson with renowned producer Jim Waters (Sonic Youth, Jon Spencer Explosion). They’ll be offering their atmospheric brand of noirish surfy country. Also on the bill are compatriots Papier Tigre, who offer a very hard-rocking chunk of punky rock-disco angularity straight outta Nantes, France. Tucson’s own Solace Bros. bring the baritone guitar, keys and drums to deliver a tension-filled and musically deep punk squawk, replete with some unusually well-imagined melodies and chordal quirks amid their fuzzily fascinating wall of noise. All three bands have new stuff out on the excellent Havalina Records label, which you ought to seek out, ’cause c’est fantastique! (John Payne)

 
DJ Quik at the Key Club

Lisa Wassmann

Ellen Allien: Techno, Berlin style

V. Akelsi

Witchcraft: A wicked ragnarok of classic Euro hard rock

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More About

• Randall Roberts
• John Payne
• Henry Fonda
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Electronic Music

It’s hard to find a more well-connected musician than DJ Quik. The Compton rapper has worked with 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Janet Jackson, Talib Kweli, Whitney Houston, Adina Howard, E-40, Jay-Z, Kurupt, Ludacris, Xzibit, Chingy and a whole bunch more. With equal skills on the mic and behind the scenes, it’s easy to hear why. As an emcee, Quik commands attention with gritty rhymes and a smooth flow. His first two records, 1991’s Quik is the Name and 1992’s Way 2 Fonky, showed the world that the CPT wasn’t a one-trick pony ridden by N.W.A. But it’s his clean production techniques that separate the man born David Blake from other rhyme slingers. Quik’s most recent album, 2005’s Trauma, sounds as nice as a cool pillow on a warm summer day and features the rapper’s uncanny ability of making the slickest-sounding bass and drums in hip-hop. Compton should be proud. (Ryan Ritchie)

 
Also playing Saturday:

Nine Inch Nails with Deerhunter at the Forum; The Twilight Sleep at Spaceland; Bic Runga at Largo at the Coronet.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

 
Death Vessel at Spaceland

Sub Pop’s latest blog-buzz beneficiary shares more than a goth-leaning name with one of the label’s earlier hype magnets: Like Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, Death Vessel’s Joel Thibodeau, from Rhode Island, crafts remarkably intimate folk-pop ballads that pull from any number of backwoods roots-music traditions; also like Beam, he utilizes a rotating cast of musicians happy to throw in their lot with a guy whose delicate nature belies a firm artistic sensibility. Most appraisals of Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us, Death Vessel’s new Sub Pop disc, have focused on Thibodeau’s unique singing voice, which is certainly fair, as dude sounds uncannily like a lady. But don’t let the freak-flag factor distract you from Thibodeau’s songwriting, which (again like Beam’s) plumbs gnarly realities with tenderness and grace. (Mikael Wood)

 
Witchcraft, Warlocks, TK Webb & the Visions, Graveyard at the Echoplex

Recorded “100 percent Pro Tools- and digital-free” and using only ’70s vintage amps and studio gear, The Alchemist (Rise Above) is Swedish hard rockers Witchcraft’s latest release, their third and not coincidentally most wicked ragnarok of classic Euro-rock hard stuff. Rising above the doomy sludge of their initial output, the band now looks to a more melodicized (a la Deep Purple, say) framework for their extended psyche-boogie excursions, the result of which is a nice big load of hummable dark-drone ditties with monster riffs that seem even more head-lurching because of their memorability. Fock dude, these guys can really play, seriously, so savor the detailed approach they take in pushing the metal forward. Swedish brethren behemoths Graveyard and the brilliant brutality of Brooklyn’s psycho-blues henchman TK Webb and his Visions unit further solidifies the fun and frolic, as does L.A.’s own Warlocks, laying on choice slabs from their upcoming Heavy Deavy Skull Lover album (Tee Pee). (John Payne)

 
Also playing Sunday:

The Bird and the Bee and guests at Tangier.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

 
Amos Lee, Lucy Wainwright Roche at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater

Philadelphia-based Amos Lee plays a loose-limbed brand of folk-soul that, given its tasteful acoustic vibe and his alignment with Norah Jones’ crew, I’ve been expecting to soften into coffeeshop mush for three albums now. Yet thanks to his velvet-sandpaper vocals and his habit of singing about family strife and the trouble with exporting democracy, Lee’s stuff has remained sharp almost despite itself. His latest, June’s typically solid Last Days at the Lodge, features contributions from a cast of music-biz heavyweights, including producer Don Was, keyboardist Spooner Oldham and bassist Pino Palladino; instructive song titles are “Truth,” “Better Days” and “Jails and Bombs.” Tonight, don’t let Lee get away without playing “Sweet Pea,” a charming little shuffle seemingly modeled after “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream),” and “Careless,” a gorgeous love song with an unexpected third party. With Lucy Wainwright Roche, half-sister of Rufus and Martha. (Mikael Wood)