Rock Picks: Mark Eitzel, Wanda Jackson, Dan Deacon, Heartless Bastards

Also playing Saturday:

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK at the Palladium; JAMIE STEWART (XIU XIU) at Echo Curio; ABE VIGODA,THE INTELLIGENCE, THE DRONES at Spaceland; DUBFIRE (ONE HALF OF DEEP DISH) at Vanguard; SANDRA COLLINS at Avalon; DO OR DIE, KYRO KANAAN, SAURUS AND BONES at the Knitting Factory; GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS at the Little Room at Largo; HIPSTER HOEDOWN II WITH LESLIE AND THE BADGERS, COBRA LILIES, MISSISSIPPI MAN, ROMAN CANDLES at Pehrspace; KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD at House of Blues.

SUNDAY, APRIL 19

WANDA JACKSON AT ULTRA LUX HAIR SALON & LOUNGE

Wanda Jackson, the fiery, growling and universally acknowledged Queen of Rockabilly, rates as one of the most remarkable figures in American pop-music history. Aggressive scarcely begins to describe her vocal attack, and her classic 1950s-brewed set list positively blazes with a relentlessly hard-charging brand of nonstop guitaristic kapow. Moreover, Jackson’s mixed-race band represented an utter defiance of racial taboo, but that didn’t stop her — just imagine what fun a pretty little white girl had touring the Deep South with black musicians. Jackson epitomized rockabilly’s cultural insurgency, and as such, one would assume those squares at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame might be able to recognize such bold significance. Well, come to find out they just did — not by enshrining her in the Hall itself, but by relegating her to the boneyard “Early Influences” category. While she’s in good company there (alongside Jelly Roll Morton and Bessie Smith), the classification is as ludicrous as it is insulting — Jackson’s highly individualized sound is rock & roll at its most dizzyingly genuine. 1312 Aviation Blvd., Redondo Beach; 2 p.m. (Jonny Whiteside)

Also playing Sunday:

GARRETT PIERCE, EVAN WAY at Home; RICHARD BUCKNER at McCabe’s; RAUL CAMPOS at Deep; CARY BROS. at the Roxy.

MONDAY,APRIL20

Playing Monday:

SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS, FISHTANK ENSEMBLE at El Rey Theatre; FOOL’S GOLD, VERY BE CAREFUL, JAIL WEDDINGS, OLIWA AND THE PLEASURE CIRCUS BAND at the Echo; BLUE CRANES at Home; THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE, THE WHIP, ADELINE AND THE PHILISTINES, MARVELOUS TOY at Spaceland; CAPTAIN AHAB, BITCHES, I.E., CALIFORNIA JAZZ at Pehrspace.

TUESDAY, APRIL 21

JAMES PANTS AT THE ECHOPLEX

The story goes that James Pants walked right up to the DJ booth (on his prom night) and introduced himself to Peanut Butter Wolf, then needled his way into an internship at Stones Throw Records (where PBW runs the show). That was 2001, and now, eight years later, the always-style-forward James P. has carved out a niche so much his own, he’s almost like a present-day Gary Davis — a funk curiosity who can repel you with his occasionally epileptic electronic drone, then bring you right back with expertly crafted ’80s soul mixes, rhythmically kinky melodies, and his signature jerry-rigged multi-instrumental slop. He’ll mix anything, from Arabian Prince, Suicide or Cabaret Voltaire to the Whispers and Freestyle Fellowship, wrapping it up with a bouncy Herbie Hancock riff, and a sometimes cloying, never-ending loop of Skyy’s “Let’s Celebrate.” Pants’ live shtick is both a dirty, sweaty dance fest and a self-promotion machine that features Pants growling, contorting, goofing off and scooting his white-boy dance moves across the stage. (Wendy Gilmartin)

HEARTLESS BASTARDS AT SPACELAND

Before we fumble around in the dark for the appropriate metaphors and approximate comparisons meant to summarize Heartless Bastards’ impressively heavy (yet tuneful) sound, let’s establish some perspective and make things perfectly clear: They’re one of America’s best rock bands. That’s “rock” in the classic sense, as in power, intelligence, melody and volume, as opposed to “indie rock,” which all too often implies irony and self-awareness instead of actually kicking ass. That said, the Cincinnati trio aren’t a retro group, despite their affiliation with the Mississippi blues label Fat Possum. There are some bluesy undercurrents, as well as newfound strains of woozy violin and rootsy banjo plucking, on the Bastards’ third CD, The Mountain, but generally the album has an over-the-hills-and-far-away dreaminess, stoked by thunderously massive riffs, with a modern immediacy that goes far beyond grunge and Led Zep. Erika Wennerstrom has a majestically mournful voice, which has to be strong enough to soar over her surging guitar chords on epic rumbles like “Out at Sea” and “Nothing Seems the Same.” She recently reunited with one of her early rhythm sections, drummer Dave Colvin and bassist Jesse Ebaugh, and they lower the boom and doom with plenty of hazy intensity. (Falling James)

Also playing Tuesday:

JEFF BECK, DAVY KNOWLES at El Rey Theatre; BLACK MATH HORSEMAN at the Silverlake Lounge; THE WAR ON DRUGS, SLANG CHICKENS, RADEMACHER at the Echo; THE BOXER REBELLION, FUNERAL PARTY at the Troubadour.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22

HECUBA, RAINBOW ARABIA, LUCKY DRAGONS AT THE ECHO

It’s another night of the No Culture club at the Echo, but then perhaps they’re being ironic, because in fact you couldn’t ask for a higher-heaped plate of resonant new cultural madness than this night of musical and art provocateurs, all aligned with the exceedingly relevant Manimal Vinyl. Tonight is ostensibly a record-release party for Hecuba’s new Paradise album, due soon and which, like last year’s obliquely rarefied electro-pop-gospel-grainy-’70s-PBS-science-show Sir EP, offers an even deeper dive into the duo’s multidimensional music from a parallel universe. They’re also visual artists with a fine eye for unsettling plumage and film projections, so look out. Hecuba’s eerily complementary label mates Rainbow Arabia are something like hearing Hecuba from the other side of the globe; their unusually piquant blend of Middle Eastern microtonalisms and rhomboid polyrhythms gets crosshatched with catawampus guitar and vocals, and it’s a real toe-tapper’s delight. Lucky Dragons will strew the stage with things to pluck on, toot and beat at, maybe drag you up there to help out. (John Payne)