Rock Picks: Amanda Palmer, Metallica, War Tapes

Also playing Saturday:

MIKE NESS, MIKE STINSON at El Rey Theatre; STEVIE WONDER at Nokia Theatre; THE STITCHES, THE CROWD, THE HITCHHIKERS at Alex’s Bar; COCO MONTOYA & ERIC SARDINAS at Brixton South Bay; DAVE MASON at the Canyon; DEADLY SYNDROME, HAPPY HOLLOWS, PITY PARTY at the Echoplex; SWEET & TENDER HOOLIGANS, FANGS ON FUR at House of Blues; CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO at the Mint; ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA at the Roxy; JAKE LA BOTZ, SPEEDBUGGY at Sam’s at the Regent; 18th DYE, DEVON WILLIAMS at Spaceland.

It’s always darkest before the Abysmal Dawn.

Stu Geisbert

Green hills, bluegrass: Roni Stoneman

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14

Sothis, Abysmal Dawn, Exmortus at the Knitting Factory

The look, sound and label of symphonic black-metallers Sothis are so Norwegian, you’d never know they were Angelenos. The polished slab of bombastic evil that is De Opresso Liber will have you sharpening your battle ax by the second chorus of “Of Night and Silence,” but Sothis are no corpse-paint-wearing poseurs: They’ve got the chops to back their intimidating song architecture. Abysmal Dawn possess ingredients by now familiar to any fan of classic early-’90s American death metal: Cookie Monster vocals, blast sections and hella technicality. On Programmed to Consume, these dudes, also local, manage enough unexpected bits — random time-signature changes, flourishes of melody, puffs of atmosphere — to make it their own (not an easy thing in this same-y genre). Give it up for Exmortus, a quartet of Whittier thrash fiends working a consistently head-nodding shred with fretboard runs that sound plain exhausting when they aren’t exhilarating. With Rise, and those pioneers of Aztec blackness, Mictlantecuhtli. (Andrew Lentz)

Also playing Sunday:

JOHN WAITE at Brixton South Bay; THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM, THE ALKALINE TRIO at Key Club; SANDRA TSING LOH at Largo; KELLY JOE PHELPS at McCabe’s; EVANGENITALS at Redwood Bar & Grill; THE BINGES at King King.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 15

Roni Stoneman at the Echoplex

While Roni Stoneman — for good or ill — is best remembered for her 18-year stint on the television corn-fest Hee Haw, the banjo-slinging veteran also carries the wise blood of Ernest “Pop” Stoneman, the revered patriarch of one of country music’s most crucial clans. Pop was a sensation on wax at the very dawn of recorded hillbilly, scored a slew of big sellers and, with Victor’s Ralph Peer, also had a direct hand in overseeing the first sessions by Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. Sure, Roni is of second-generation issue, but she made her professional start at Pop’s knee, performing with Pop Stoneman & His Little Pebbles, and her distinctive Scruggs-infused wizardry with the banjo ranks second to none. Significantly, Roni’s a pioneer in her own right, as the first female picker ever to cut a bluegrass instrumental (for the 1956 Folkways American Banjo Scruggs Style album). Her visit here tonight is a most welcome kick in the head, as it’s all too rare that Southern California has the honor to host such a certifiable country-music monster. Act accordingly. (Jonny Whiteside)

Cheap Trick at House of Blues

Cheap Trick have really put us through the emotional wringer this year. Back in June, we were positively ecstatic about the Rockford band’s unexpectedly wonderful reprise of their Sgt. Pepper’s tribute at the Hollywood Bowl. Usually, such homages are lifeless, dehydrated caricatures of the genuine article, but Cheap Trick pulled off the not-so-cheap trick of successfully re-creating the classic Beatles album while simultaneously infusing it with their own style, with Bun E. Carlos energetically laying down Ringo Starr’s drum rolls, while bassist Tom Petersson’s sublimely intuitive bottom end firmly anchored the sometimes-shaky attempts at rock-&-roll rhythms by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. But by September, we were dismayed to see that the still creatively thriving Tricksters were already back on the oldies circuit, where they were reduced to opening for terminally mediocre acts like Journey. The problem with such retro-tilting gigs is that Cheap Trick tend to play down to their aging audience’s expectations, forgoing such vital, exciting recent songs as “Sorry Boy” (from their severely underrated and aptly titled 2003 CD, Special One) and “Oh Claire” (from the generally strong 2006 CD Rockford) in favor of formulaic piffle like the bombastic, factory-assembled power ballad “The Flame.” (While singer Robin Zander can make practically any cliché sound meaningful, we’d much rather that he use his awesome set of lungs for good instead of evil, perhaps on one of the band’s own, sincerely passionate ballads like “Ghost Town.”) Since they’re headlining this time around, at this two-night stand, let’s hope they dig deeper into their big bag of rarities or, better still, rediscover their own recent classics instead of merely rehashing the ancient hits. Also Tues. (Falling James)

Also playing Monday:

TEST YOUR REFLEX, KEN OAK BAND, SIMON LYNGE, YOU ME & IOWA, KRISTY HANSON at the Hotel Café; JAKE LA BOTZ at Redwood Bar & Grill; THE MOVIES, NICO STAI at Spaceland; THE JONESES, PRIMA DONNA at the Viper Room.