Rock Picks: Riot Girl Carnival, Miniature Tigers, Death Cab for Cutie, Deer Tick

Hootenanny at Oak Canyon Ranch
The Hootenanny festival has always been a weirdly enduring marriage of convenience, pairing the occasional authentic roots-rock pioneer with a horde of latter-day retro wannabes — leaving it up to you to see if you can tell the difference. As such, fashion often trumps musical creativity, but the bookers usually land just enough demented visionaries (such as the Cramps and Little Richard) to counterbalance the dispiriting swarm of look-alike, sound-alike nouveau tattooed-love-boy “rebel” rockers. While many of this year’s lesser bands are only interested in playing Sha Na Na/Elvis Presley dress-up (complete with hokey, bogus Southern accents), headliners like Los Lobos remind us that it’s still possible to dig genuine soulful warmth and passionate, lyrical immediacy out of these old, dusty roots-rock archetypes. While the Danish ska-pop-rockabilly band HorrorPops aren’t as deep or musically adventurous as Los Lobos, singer Patricia Day brings some much-needed feminine spirit to this testosterone-heavy affair. Pumping her big standup bass, Day belts out charismatic tales of love, heartbreak and revenge with a majestic voice that sometimes approaches the moody grandeur of Siouxsie Sioux. Keeping it all in the family, her guitarist-husband, Kim Nekroman, leads his psychobilly group Nekromantix through their own set of souped-up roots-punk savagery. 5300 Santiago Canyon Road, Silverado Canyon.  (Falling James)

Tony Nelson

North Carolinian Tift Merritt performs at Santa Monica Pier.

Ryan Russell

Death Cab for Cutie versus the L.A. Phil at the Bowl: Wimp-rock, or “Kashmir”?

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More About

• KISS (Band)
• Hollywood Bowl
• John Fogerty
• Folk Music
• Fourth of July

Also playing Saturday:

ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE, THE DUANE PETERS GUNFIGHT, JAKKED RABBITS at the Roxy; THE ITALS at Saint Rocke; LILLIAN AXE, LAMOUR, THE STRIPT at the Viper Room.

SUNDAY, JULY 5

Death Cab for Cutie, Tegan & Sara, New Pornographers at the Hollywood Bowl
You’ve gotta give props to the Hollywood Bowl’s programming staff for waiting ’til now to book Death Cab for Cutie for a one-off with the L.A. Phil: For over a decade, these sad-eyed Seattle-ites have been making supremely melancholy indie-pop records, any one of which would’ve benefited tidily (and predictably) from orchestral support. But with its unruly guitar fuzz, urgent rhythmic throb and prog-appropriate track lengths, last year’s Narrow Stairs represented a bit of a break from the band’s proven wimp-rock formula; I’m not exactly expecting “Kashmir” tonight, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Phil (playing arrangements by Beck’s dad, David Campbell) finds a way into the group’s noisier, knottier sound. Tegan and Sara took a similar left turn on their latest, 2007’s The Con, which the Canadian twin sisters made with Death Cab guitarist Chris Walla; it’s a kind of art-folk deconstruction of their earlier neo-new-wave stuff. They’re currently at work on a follow-up with Walla that’s reportedly due out this fall. No word on when we can expect a new one from the New Pornographers, who also hail from the Great White North. Frontman Carl Newman released his second solo disc, Get Guilty, in January, so maybe he used up all his fresh tunes. In any event, the Pornos boast one of indie’s most exuberant songbooks — they won’t have any trouble filling their opening set with delights tonight.  (Mikael Wood)

Stacey Q at the Airliner
Stacey Q is the voice of Southern California dance music. Her work with early-’80s seminal synth-pop groups Q and SSQ made her a darling of the then-burgeoning electronic underground, but it was the international pop hit “Two of Hearts,” released in 1986, for which the Orange County native is best known. With its sputtering hook, “I-I-I-I-I need you,” the song outlived the hi-NRG era, remaining a staple of house parties and clubs. But, for those who only know the hit, we suggest checking her earlier synth gems. Her breathy melodies from Q/SSQ-era tracks like “Playback,” “Video Girl” and “Big Electronic Beat” lay the groundwork for the club sound of the early ’00s emanated by artists like Miss Kittin and the Hacker and Ladytron. Stacey Q is currently finishing work on the forthcoming album Color Me Cinnamon, the title a reference to her stint on The Facts of Life. (Liz Ohanesian)

Also playing Sunday:

THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS at Amoeba Music, 6 p.m.; CROCODILES, THE MEEK, LOWER HEAVEN at the Echo; VOKO, FRANK FAIRFIELD, HOMESICK ELEPHANT, TRIPLE CHICKEN FOOT at Echo Curio.

MONDAY, JULY 6

Miniature Tigers at Spaceland
Miniature Tigers sing about shrunken heads, hot venom, fake blood and cannibal queens. It might make you think that the band serves up White Zombie–style horror metal; however, the Phoenix-bred Tigers live amongst the Weezers and Fountain of Waynes of the rock world. Their superb debut disc, Tell It to Volcano, overflows with catchy, clever tunes, from the aforementioned “Cannibal Queen” to other killer gems like “The Wolf” and “Dino Damage.” Frontman Charlie Brand has a wonderful way of giving his lovelorn lyrics an extra bite with his cheeky (but not overly precious) phrase-turning. The album opens with the delightful couplet “This is not a test or an SOS/I’m no longer on a quest to get girls undressed,” which feels both self-deprecatingly comic and honestly heartfelt. More than just a one-man show, the group injects its hooky tunes with enough quirks to avoid being too twee, deconstructed or by-the-book. With a captivating mix of quick-witted melodies and sharp-tongued lyrics, the Miniature Tigers are a power-pop animal that’s easy to love. Andy Clockwise also performs, beginning his month-long Monday-night residency. (Michael Berick)