Rock Picks: Tangerine Dream, Spindrift, Robyn Hitchcock

Terry Reid at McCabe’s

British rock & roll kingpin Terry Reid has both an extraordinarily powerful set of pipes and one of the most impressive track records in the business. Famed as the bloke who, with longtime cohort Jimmy Page, put together Led Zeppelin (after his spot as lead singer evaporated due to contractual binds with notorious hustler Mickie Most, Reid personally drafted Robert Plant), his fans include Aretha Franklin (who once ranked him as the greatest white soul singer of all), the Rolling Stones (who used him as opener on their 1966 and 1970 tours) and Cheap Trick (who cut a memorable cover of Reid’s “Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace”). While Reid’s own impressive recorded output (get a load of his stomping 1968 debut platter, Bang Bang You’re Terry Reid) never quite set the world ablaze, his soulfully expressive, R&B-informed vocals have always stood as a model for aspiring shouters on both sides of the Atlantic. He’s currently working on a new album (a Robert Plant–enabled deal with Rounder), and this low-key session will afford an ideal opportunity to soak up Reid’s superlative combination of tough instinct and tender interpretation. (Jonny Whiteside)

Johnny Buzzerio

Ragged company: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Michele Noach

Shavian wit: Robyn Hitchcock

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• Linda Ronstadt
• Mr. T
• Flying Lotus (Musician)
• Folk Music
• New Age Music

Also playing Sunday:

THE WHO at Nokia Theatre; THE B-52’s at Fred Kavli Theatre; BECK, JENNY LEWIS at Club Nokia; LITTLE FEAT at House of Blues; THE BLACK WATCH at Mr. T’s Bowl; JESSE DAYTON, MIKE STINSON at Redwood Bar & Grill, noon.

Playing Monday:

BECK, JAY REATARD at Club Nokia; LINDA RONSTADT at Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara; KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW, DUKE & DUCHESS, FLASH EXPRESS at the Echo; VIC CHESNUTT, ELF POWER at the Echoplex; JOHN HIATT at House of Blues; THE MONOLATORS, THE HEALTH CLUB at Pehrspace; MIKE STINSON at Redwood Bar & Grill; LISTING SHIP at Tangier.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11

Spindrift at the Roxy

Spindrift are, of course, L.A.’s leading practitioners of exotic soundscapes, conjuring up dreamy spells that alternately evoke spaghetti Westerns, psychedelia, dusty blues and Old World klezmer. The cinematic sweep of the band’s music begs to be put to use in a real movie, and their new CD, The West, is considered a companion piece to the soundtrack they composed for the recent film The Legend of God’s Gun. New frontiers, both real and imaginary, inspire much of the sounds on The West, where band leader Kipatrick Thomas seeks to re-examine that era in American history, between 1850 and 1930, when “the romanticism of the power of railroads dominated the landscape . . . [and] times were ripe for discovery.” Spindrift’s discoveries on The West include the stomping yet ethereal electric blues of “The Wind,” the Morricone-isms of “Ace Coletrane,” the purple art-rock haze of “Excrete From the Collective Subconscious” and the waltzy sea chantey “Frozen Memories.” Julie Patterson’s somber vocals soften the trippy groove “La Noche Mas Oscura,” while the group borrows lyrics by Howlin’ Wolf and places them in a noir-ish new context to great effect on “Colt’s Crime” (although nothing’s scarier than Chester Burnett’s own nightmarish blues). (Falling James)

Also playing Tuesday:

KAISER CHIEFS at Henry Fonda Theater; TRINI LOPEZ at Orpheum Theatre; EARLIMART at the Echoplex; METHOD MAN, EVIDENCE at House of Blues; RICKIE LEE JONES at Largo; DEACON JONES BLUES BAND at Redwood Bar & Grill; PIT ER PAT, HECUBA at the Smell.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals at the Roxy

Whether she’s running a slide down the strings of her brown Flying V guitar to stir up some bluesy atmospherics or stretching out her arms as if to corral her big, bad Hammond B-3 organ before it floats away, Grace Potter is a mesmerizing performer onstage. Even she seems amazed by the soulful, churchy swells of warm sound she casually hammers out of her keyboards as she closes her eyes and sinks back deeply into a song. She belies her innocently youthful appearance and model-like good looks with a bluesy molasses voice that sounds as old as the hills on her third album, 2007’s This Is Somewhere (Hollywood Records). While the Nocturnals’ blend of ’70s classic rock and retro blues seems to be more about faithfully duplicating an earlier era’s style rather than acknowledging the modern world in any meaningful way, Potter’s songs are nonetheless infused with vibrancy and immediacy, thanks to Scott Tournet’s tastefully wild guitar solos, Matthew Burr’s solidly propulsive drumming and Bryan Dondero’s muscular, SVT-cranked bass. For all of the fire and passion in Potter’s singing, at this stage her lyrics are still fairly erratic, ranging from the intriguing allure of “Ah Mary” to the unintentional campiness of “Stop the Bus” and the painfully inarticulate (albeit feverishly moody) new heavy-blues workout “Sugar.” (Falling James)

Also playing Wednesday:

LUPE FIASCO at Club Nokia; LOVE GRENADES, MISS DERRINGER at the Bordello; THE HEALTH CLUB at Mr. T’s Bowl; THE ENTRANCE BAND, THE GROWLERS at Spceland; THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY at El Cid.