Ladyfingers at Redwood Bar & Grill
“I’ve got to lose some weight before the wedding, dude/I’ve got to practice my handshake . . . All my friends are geniuses, and they all respect me,” Adam Weiner, a.k.a. the one-man band Ladyfingers, brags/confesses on his new self-released CD, My Handbook. The New Yorker has “no management, label affiliation, booking agent or personal stylist,” and, as he makes clear on the defiant folk-funk rant “Scoliosis in Secaucus” (“Don’t entertain me/I can entertain myself”), he is a self-contained, self-aware and self-propelled song factory, obviating the need for rock critics. He’s a little bit like the early, pre-cute Jonathan Richman, with such sarcastic lyrics as “I’m happy listening to lite FM” and “There’s a World War II memorial underneath your dress . . . and I ain’t impressed,” but Mr. Ladyfingers sluices his raw ballads and electric-guitar-backed shuffles with a mournful beauty that goes beyond simple jokiness. He’ll be here all week (nightly, through December 5), but please don’t try the veal. It’s been through enough already. (Falling James)
Dream weavers: Azure Ray
Legalize them: The Herbaliser.
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Also playing Saturday:
JACKSON BROWNE, BONNIE RAITT, JOAN BAEZ, RY COODER at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium; DIR EN GREY at the Wiltern; JAMES INTVELD at Blue Cafe; DREAD ZEPPELIN at Brixton South Bay; ROSE ROSSI at the Hotel Café; BRUJERIA at House of Blues; MECOLODIACS at Taix; MELVINS, BIG BUSINESS at the Troubadour; LOS FABULOCOS at Joe’s Great American Bar & Grill.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Azure Ray, The Whispertown 2000 at the Troubadour
For those about to rock, we salute you, but tonight’s bill is all about subtler, softer sounds. Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink played together in Little Red Rocket in their Birmingham, Alabama, hometown before moving to Omaha and reinventing themselves as the ghost-whispering duo Azure Ray, becoming one of the shining lights in that city’s burgeoning indie-rock scene. They broke up in 2004, following the release of their Hold on Love CD, but they’re apparently reuniting just for tonight’s show. Taylor and Fink specialize in breathy, dreamily gorgeous pop songs like the silky-smooth “Sleep,” where violins hover gently over gauzy lyrics like “Fill these spaces up with days.” They fill the spaces in their songs with even more spaces, creating sublimely intoxicating reveries. Azure Ray are aptly paired with the aptly named Whispertown 2000, who recently opened for the Breeders at the Wiltern. The Whispers’ new CD, Swim, was just released on Gillian Welch’s label, Acony Records, and it’s a fine showcase for singer-guitarist Morgan Nagler’s folksy country laments and includes guest vocals from Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, one of the band’s early champions. (Falling James)
Also playing Sunday:
BONE THUGS N HARMONY at Club Nokia; THE JONAS BROTHERS at Hollywood Palladium; BLITZEN TRAPPER, PARSON RED HEADS at the Echo, 7 p.m.; NEIL HAMBURGER, MARIA BAMFORD, DAVE GLEASON at Spaceland; CHARLIE WADHAMS at Tangier.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 1
The Herbaliser at the Echoplex
The Herbaliser is an extended big band led by guitarist-bassist Jake Wherry and DJ Ollie Teeba, and their funky mélange of sounds extends beyond funk and hip-hop into coolly cerebral electronica dance grooves and psychedelic jazziness. They describe their swanky style as “James Brown meets James Bond,” and cuts like “Amores Bongo” have a whimsical exoticism that evokes modish spy-movie soundtracks. After a long stint on the Ninja Tune label, they released their latest CD, Same as It Never Was, earlier this year on !k7 Records. “Clap Your Hands” bubbles along on a funky throbbing bass line, with soulful singing and a riotous Greek chorus of horny horns. The track is densely arranged with chunky wah-wah guitar chords and busily percolating keyboards, and it’s simultaneously inspirational and effusively hedonistic. New member Jessica Darling, who sings several songs on the album, will reportedly make her local debut with the Herbs men tonight, adding another seductively slinky voice to their whirlwind of sonic distractions. (Falling James)
Also playing Monday:
WEAVE, WE ARE THE WORLD at the Echo; LADYFINGERS, JAKE LA BOTZ at Redwood Bar & Grill; THE MOVIES, EAGLE & TALON at Spaceland.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2
Playing Tuesday:
SISTERS OF MERCY at Henry Fonda Theater; SMASHING PUMPKINS at Gibson Amphitheatre; GRAY KID, KÁRIN TATOYAN at the Echoplex; SECONDHAND SERENADE, CUTE IS WHAT WE AIM FOR at House of Blues; SIXTH CHAMBER at Mr. T’s Bowl; NO AGE at the Troubadour; PATTY BOOKER at Joe’s Great American Bar & Grill; CHEATIN’ KIND, HELLO DARLINS, RONNIE MACK at El Cid; LADYFINGERS, MIKE STINSON at Redwood Bar & Grill.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3
The Hanson Brothers at Spaceland
The Hanson Brothers — the Canadian punk rock band — were inspired by the fictional Hanson Brothers, who were characters in the 1977 hockey film Slap Shot. To confuse things further, the movie Hansons were portrayed, in part, by real-life pro-hockey-playing brothers, while the “puck rock” Hansons feature siblings John and Rob Wright, who also front the monstrously heavy prog-punk trio No Means No. (None of this sibling revelry should be confused with the godawful lite-pop swill of former teen-idol brethren Hanson.) So, it’s kind of a parody of a parody of a sport that sometimes seems like a parody, if that makes sense. All you really need to know is that the Hanson Brothers — the band — crank out short, fast and brutally silly songs about hockey (“Rink Rat,” “He Looked a Lot Like Tiger Williams,” “Stick Boy”) and beer (“Blitzkrieg Hops,” “We’re Brewing”). The Ramones remain a major influence on their sound and style (the artwork to the Hansons’ 1992 album, Gross Misconduct, even parodies the classic John Holmstrom illustration on the Ramones’ Road to Ruin cover). They’ve apparently got a new concert CD/DVD, It’s a Living (on Wrong Records), but nothing beats getting beaten over the head in person by the Hanson Brothers’ nonstop, high-sticking attack. It’s certainly better than watching the unintentionally funny penalty-killing high jinks of this season’s Anaheim Ducks. (Falling James)
