Also playing Monday:
GOLDEN ANIMALS, MY PET SADDLE, SLIPPING INTO DARKNESS at the Silverlake Lounge; JULIETTE COMMAGERE at the Echo; STATIC-X, BURN HALO, MY EVOLUTION, THE FLOOD at House of Blues.
TUESDAY, MAY 5
LOS CREEPERS, REZUREX, VIERNES 13, THE TENDERBOX, OTHERS AT THE ECHOPLEX
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the Echoplex is hosting a big-ass psychobilly/ska/punk/rock throwdown featuring burlesque (by La Cholita), tattooing (courtesy Into Pain Tattoo), “fyne art” from David Lozeau and Bigtoe, and at least eight bands. Among the eight are a number of the city’s tightest tattooed love boys: Los Creepers bring bouncy punk energy and smart hooks (especially on their “Mistakes and Broken Hearts,” which rolls along with grace and confidence); Viernes 13 play remarkable ska music that draws from both Tex Mex and southwestern tejano traditions but keeps its feet firmly rooted in fourth-wave ska (or have we progressed to the fifth wave yet?); Resurex’s singer Daniel deLeon looks like a Dia de los Muertos doll the way he paints half his face like a white skull, and his band delivers spooky dead-inspired psychobilly that draws from the Cramps, Misfits and Elvis Presley (and they’ve got awesome mohawks). Overall it should be a good night to catch up with the L.A. psychobilly and ska scene. (Randall Roberts)
Also playing Tuesday:
IGLU & HARTLY at the Roxy; AVI BUFFALO, DEEP SEA DIVER, TENLONS FORT, 60 WATT KID, TIME OF WOLVES at the Echo; THE FORECAST, DEATH IN THE PARK, LIMBECK at the Knitting Factory; MIKE DOUGHTY at the Hotel Café.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
PARIS, DEAD PREZ, PLANET ASIA, OTHERS AT EL REY THEATRE
For nearly 20 years, gravel-tongued lyricist Paris has never minced words — calling his post-9/11 album Sonic Jihad and issuing it with cover art that depicts a plane kamikaze-ing the White House — developing a fervent fan base full of fisted fury. All without anything approaching a hit single. Dead Prez, on the other hand, while very much in the same pissed-off spirit as Paris, has one of the greatest and most celebrated songs in rap history. “Hip Hop,” from the duo’s debut album, Let’s Get Free, is a soundtrack for revolution that ranks right up there with “Fight the Power” and “Sound of da Police.” (Brandon Perkins)
Also playing Wednesday:
DANIELSON at Spaceland; WAR PAINT, EXITMUSIC, VOICEs VOICEs, ALEXANDRA HOPE at the Smell; RYAN BINGHAM at the Troubadour; SEAL, PETE CINCOTTI at the Nokia Theatre; MIKE DOUGHTY at Largo; GRAN RONDE at the Bordello.
THURSDAY, MAY 7
TOM BROSSEAU, HAUSCHKA
Tom Brosseau’s voice — a little shaky, sincere but never saccharine — is an affecting thing that pulls you in the way teacher whispers to capture children’s attention. Brosseau’s new Posthumous Success, out in June on Fatcat, is a deceptively plainspoken round of ruminations on the ups and downs of life. His folky-blues acoustic palette owes much to his early life on the wide plains of North Dakota. Like a good book or movie, the unadorned sentimentality of Brosseau’s songs creates a terrain of far denser proportions. Brosseau says he’s guided by the spirits of the great literary figures of the 20th century, but the soundtracks to silver-screen blockbusters move him just as much. Thus he’s always stood apart as a singer-songwriter, as consumed with mood-altering atmosphere as he is with your deeper lyrical content, a predisposition given blurry focus on Posthumous’ intriguing instrumental interludes of spidery banjo lace and hovering voice, Jew’s harp and silvery strings. It’s a fascinating carpet of sound, and subtly so — wholly in tune with Brosseau’s North American dreams. Arrive in time to experience Dusseldorf’s prepared-piano minimalist Hauschka, a.k.a. Volker Bertelmann. (John Payne)
Also playing Thursday:
VAN MORRISON at the Orpheum; HER SPACE HOLIDAY, CITY LIGHT at the Echo; FONSECA at El Rey Theatre; RUMSPRINGA, THE OUTLINE, THE NEWNO2 at the Echoplex; THE SILENT YEARS at Spaceland; RESTAVRANT at the Silverlake Lounge; OH NO NOT STEREO at the Viper Room.
