Also playing Monday:
AC/DC at the Forum; XU XU FANG, WINTER FLOWERS at the Echo; JAKE LA BOTZ at Redwood Bar & Grill; THE MOVIES, RADEMACHER, SARAH NEGAHDARI at Spaceland.
Alexander Warnow
Weapon of choice:
The Coup’s Boots Riley
Lionel Deluy
Murs demands a recount.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9
The Nightwatchman, Boots Riley at El Rey Theatre
Because he’s got plenty of impassioned things to say about truth, justice and the (un)American way, it’s no bummer to hear Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello do his bare-bones acoustic-folk act as the Nightwatchman. (Well, no more of a bummer than hearing about misery and corruption always is.) Still, dude is probably one of the five unique guitarists in current rock music — limiting his arsenal seems an awful lot like a waste of resources. Fortunately, Morello expands his sonic palette a bit on The Fabled City, this fall’s follow-up to his 2007 Nightwatchman debut, One Man Revolution; showgoers desperate for Rage’s hard-swinging funk-metal should request the new album’s “Whatever It Takes.” Fans of opener Boots Riley’s like-minded hip-hop duo the Coup probably have plans to catch the band’s gig with Meshell Ndegeocello Monday at House of Blues; tonight, the MC performs Coup tunes, accompanied by acoustic guitarist Carl Restivo of Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party. (Mikael Wood)
Also playing Tuesday:
KANYE WEST, T.I., BUSTA RHYMES at Gibson Amphitheatre; CHICAGO BLUES REUNION, INDIGENOUS, LADY DOTTIE & THE DIAMONDS at House of Blues; AGNOSTIC FRONT, LEE VING at Key Club, 7 p.m.; MIKE STINSON, DAVE GLEASON at Redwood Bar & Grill; THE MONOLATORS at Spaceland; K.D. LANG, MANDY MOORE at the Troubadour.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10
Ruben Guevara at Eastside Luv
Any examination of Los Angeles’ Chicano rock & roll scene leads to Ruben Guevara — not simply for the reason that the cat was there at its very dawn but also because he has played a crucial role in its evolution. He began his musical life as a doo-wop rocker with the Apollo Brothers, playing at the legendary El Monte Stadium, then steamed through the ’60s as a powerhouse soul balladeer with a regular spot on the network-TV show Shindig. His career took a significant twist after he picked up Frank Zappa’s parody platter Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, which resulted in a congenial confrontation — where the singer explained that Zappa’s caprice mirrored almost exactly his own life — and Guevara ended up fronting the band. But Guevara’s passion for, and involvement with, Chicano and Mexican culture led him into more contemplative territory (where he created his alter ego Funkahuátl, “the Aztec god of funk”). A complex and compelling figure, Guevara promises that tonight will “refunkafy and stir-fry your feet, heart and soul.” Since he’ll be joined by all-star members of Thee Midniters and Oingo Boingo and special guest John Densmore, it’s clearly a case of truth in advertising. (Jonny Whiteside)
Kassin + 2 at the Hotel Café
The uniquely sensual charms (head + feet + heart) of the music that these Brazilian guys do individually and collectively on their albums on the Luaka Bop label (see Futurismo, Sincerely Hot and Music Typewriter) is arguably the real future of Brazilian music, a truly progressive approach to molding the classic heartbeat rhythms and heart-wrenching melodies of historical sambas and exploiting the pure musical intelligence inherent in the style. While a lushly sexy bossa vibe pervades everything this trio does (albeit sometimes in subverted, sneaky ways), their experiments with rocking, psychedelicizing and generally modernizing the form make for a consistently fascinating — exhilarating, actually — trip into the potentially vast realms of great Brazilian music. (John Payne)
Also playing Wednesday:
THE PRETENDERS, CSS, BLOC PARTY, BLACK KIDS at Club Nokia; SULLY ERNA at Henry Fonda Theater; LEDISI at El Rey Theatre; HIGH ON FIRE at the Knitting Factory; MARGARET CHO, MICHTO PELO at Largo; ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA at the Roxy; OBSTACLE CORPSE, HUMAN HANDS at the Smell; POP LEVI at Spaceland; HEAVY D at the Viper Room.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11
Murs at El Rey Theatre
Nicholas “Murs” Carter titled his latest solo album Murs for President, which would be a righteous slogan in almost any other election year. However, the freethinking, free-rapping former member of Living Legends had much tougher competition in November than the usual white-establishment figureheads who inspire such protest candidacies. But Murs is certainly more socially farsighted, historically aware and grounded than, say, your average governor from Alaska, and his lyrics go far beyond typical narcissistic, gang-glorifying rap. “You do what you can to make it out the trap/and that right there is the origin of rap,” he announces on the new CD’s philosophical centerpiece, “The Science,” which works both as a succinct history lesson and as an individual statement of purpose and determination. “It wasn’t always played on every radio station/It was us making the best out of a bad situation . . . We took turntables and start flipping it/Stole electricity from the streetlights.” He’s not always as high-minded, whether he’s confessing to lustful distractions (“Road Is My Religion”) or trying to chill out and avoid road rage (“Sooo Comfortable”). Romantic disappointment hits him hard on the archly titled “Break Up (The OJ Song),” which is countered by the uplifting immediacy of “Time Is Now,” where Murs exchanges verses with guest star Snoop Dogg. (Falling James)
Also playing Thursday:
CSS, NATALIE PORTMAN’S SHAVED HEAD at the Echoplex; MIRANDA LEE RICHARDS at the Hotel Café; PO’ GIRL at the Mint; ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA at the Roxy; NEW ROME QUARTET, SWORDS OF FATIMA at Taix.
