Rock Picks: Antony & the Johnsons, Kings of Leon, Jay-Z

 
The Physics of Memory at Pehrspace

You can’t accuse Daniel Hart of not having lofty creative ambitions. The North Carolina multi-instrumentalist, who’s worked with John Vanderslice, St. Vincent and the Polyphonic Spree, leads his own chamber-rock outfit, the Physics of Meaning, which just released its second grand opus, Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight. But Hart risks being labeled pretentious with such clunky, nonironic songs as “Destiny Reveals an Unbelievable Truth” and “In Dreams, We Discover Ourselves, Broken and Yearning” — the kind of titles that aspire to profundity but instead come off like overwrought, faux-intellectual nonsense along the lines of the Moody Blues’ Days of Future Passed and Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The album appears to be an obsessive-romantic rock opera of sorts, starting off with an interlude of Hart’s torrid violin scraping before segueing into slow, occasionally windy classic-rock-influenced songs. Hart’s clear-voiced, if earnestly bland, singing unwittingly evokes Firehose’s Ed Crawford, and the overall impact is sort of like a Monkees simplification of what L.A. oddballs W.A.C.O. were doing many years before the current chamber-rock fad. Not that that’s entirely a bad thing; several of the more straightforward tracks, especially “We Were Made for This World,” “No More Sleeping in the Shadows” and the non-meandering sections of “Song for a Snake Charmer,” have memorable melodies that transcend the pompous settings. (Falling James)

The Physics of Meaning’s Daniel Hart never did like surprise parties.

Scott Irvine

Jolie Holland: Sensually morbid

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Also playing Friday:

DUFFY, ELI “PAPERBOY” REED at Orpheum Theatre; JULIETA VENEGAS at Nokia Theatre; PANIC AT THE DISCO, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, PLAIN WHITE T’S at Staples Center; ROBERTA FLACK at USC’s Bovard Auditorium; MIKE WATT & THE MISSINGMEN at Alex’s Bar; QUINTRON & MISS PUSSYCAT at the Echoplex; DITTY BOPS at McCabe’s; ZOLAR X at Pig ’N Whistle; YEAR LONG DISASTER at the Roxy; SUNN0))) at Safari Sam’s; ABE VIGODA, DAVID SCOTT STONE at the Smell; ATOMIC SHERPAS at Taix; GUITAR BOY at Beyond Baroque.

 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11  

Playing Saturday:

CÉSARIA ÉVORA at Royce Hall; LUDACRIS at Cal State Northridge, Sierra Quad Lawn, noon; PENNYWISE, GORILLA BISCUITS at Oak Canyon Ranch, Silverado; PATTI LABELLE, ANGIE STONE, SARAH DASH, SIEDAH GARRETT at Wilshire Theatre; THE SWORD, BLACK COBRA at Henry Fonda Theater; SARA BAREILLES at the Wiltern; BOZ SCAGGS at Cerritos Center; POLAR GOLDIE CATS at Echo Curio; CARBON 9 at Paladino’s; BAJOFONDO at the Roxy.

 
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12  

 
Health-Care-Reform Benefit at the Echoplex

With the crappy economy and the wars on the political forefront, an equally vital issue has seemingly been pushed aside: health-care reform, a fundamental void in this country we only truly understand when we — or someone we know — gets really sick. A bunch of local rockers have banded together to help a pal battling cancer sans insurance. They’ll make some noise about the problem, and, with this lineup, expect serious noise. Chaotic and dirty yet artful and beguiling, the sounds of Sub Pop duo No Age will headline the rockin’ rally. Considering the circumstances, the guys are sure to bring it with even more passion (if that’s possible), spewing the spacey fuzz-laden throb and gritty punk gobs that not only made ’em unofficial ambassadors farther east, at the Smell, but garnered their last disc, Nouns, critical fancy. The equally potent yet melodic (and conscientious) stylings of David Scott Stone, the Movies, Modern Memory, the Tyde and Dublab DJs are also on tap, as are speakers and raffles from local businesses. Doors open at 4 p.m.; $12, includes a raffle ticket. (Lina Lecaro)

 
Killdozer at the Echo

Hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since the Madison madmen known as Killdozer gathered to purvey their concept of cynical and precise rock assaults. For the uninitiated, titles like “Intellectuals Are the Shoeshine Boys of the Ruling Elite” give you some idea of where they’re coming from. Sonically, it’s as if they’d sprung fully formed from the head of a god — or, at least, a frog that got kissed and didn’t change all the way. It’s the classic Hobson/Gerald/Hobson lineup this time out, with the Hobson brothers flying in from Wisconsin; lead growler Michael Gerald spends time these days as a lawyer (!) in Los Angeles. They’ve been inspired since reuniting for Touch & Go’s 25th-anniversary concerts in 2006 — their first appearance since splitting in 1996 — and you’ll reap the benefits from falling in love with their snide saturnine glories all over again. Killdozer are the forced handjob of rock music, and it’s a beautiful day to be held hostage to it. (David Cotner)

 
Also playing Sunday:

NICKELBACK at the Forum, 4 p.m.; YNGWIE MALMSTEEM at Avalon; K.D. LANG at Malibu Performing Arts Center; DEAD ROCK WEST, CHRIS SHIFLETT at the Echo, 5 p.m.; VAUD & THE VILLAINS at Fais Do-Do; DJ MUGGS, LARGE PROFESSOR, PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS at Knitting Factory; INARA GEORGE & GREG KURSTIN at Tangier.