Rock Picks: Jon Brion, Andrew Bird, Tortoise, Vice Squad

Also playing Sunday:

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, IT’S CASUAL, INTRONAUT, MINSK at the Knitting Factory; LOCH LOMOND at Spaceland; SARA HAZE at the Mint; KIM LENZ at Amoeba Music; PRO-PAIN, SWORN ENEMY, MANTIC RITUAL, K626, REIGN OF FIRE, FEAR THY MAKER at the Key Club; ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO at McCabe’s; ONEIDA, AMPS FOR CHRIST, CLIP’D BEAKS at the Echo (2 p.m.); FLEXIONS, BRONZE, PUPPY DOG, KILL KILL KILL at the Smell.

Jon Brion

Michael Rubenstein

Joan Jett

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• Jon Brion
• Hollywood Bowl
• Catalina Bar
• Punk Rock
• Metal and Hardcore

MONDAY, JULY 13

Beyonce at Staples Center
Unless Michael Jackson’s aborted O2 Arena run morphs into the celeb-studded tribute event rumored to be in the works, 2009 probably won’t produce a brighter, louder or more complicated pop spectacle than Beyoncé’s current world tour, which began its U.S. leg last month at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Judging by reports from the road, it seems safe to say that music constitutes only a portion of this multimedia juggernaut; equally important are the costumes, the choreography and the jumbo-sized video screen that someone from B’s posse evidently swiped from Times Square on the way into the Garden. Still, don’t discount the music: Last year’s double-disc, I Am . Sasha Fierce, has held up better than I thought it would (still hate her treacly take on “Ave Maria,” though), while the gritty funk tracks from 2006’s B’Day have only grown more appealingly strange with age. Also at Honda Center, Sat. (Mikael Wood)

Also playing Monday:

INCUBUS, THE DUKE SPIRIT at the Hollywood Bowl; JAPANESE MOTORS, DIRT DRESS, UV LIGHTS, CORREATOWN at the Echo; ANDY CLOCKWISE, NATALIE PORTMAN’S SHAVED HEAD, HEY CHAMP at Spaceland; LAST AMERICAN BUFFALO, AVI BUFFALO, EVAN WAY, GREG JONG at Silverlake Lounge.

TUESDAY, JULY 14

The Datsuns at the Echo
The Datsuns continue the long tradition of New Zealand guitar bands finding beauty and glory in three or four well-reasoned, insistent chords and a catchy melody. Will they shock you with innovation? No. They tackle guitar rock with flair and energy, but not much expansive curiosity. The band’s new release, Headstunts, couples Buzzcockian sprints with freaky guitar solos and lots of chanting to create a caffeinated six-string stomp. (Randall Roberts)

Also playing Tuesday:

KURT ELLING at Catalina Bar & Grill; SCARLEY GREY, LIDO BEACH, OH NO NOT STEREO, THE LEISURELIES, TOTAL MISCHIEF at the Troubadour; MINI MANSIONS, THE CHILD at Spaceland.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 15

The Veils at Spaceland
On an off night from their opening slot on Foreign Born’s nationwide tour, the Veils have a chance to show us what they do best tonight by engaging a small, intimate crowd and executing their words and music within striking distance. The band’s slick, high-production single “The Letter” isn’t really the best example of their burgeoning potential. It’s during the quieter, subtle stanzas of pared-down songs like “Scarecrow or The House She Lived In” (off the new album, Sun Gangs) that the band merely steps back and sets the backdrop for Finn Andrews’ chilly, gravel-scraped voice to do most of the heart-wrenching, nostalgic aching and sensual suggesting. They work well in a small setting, since they are essentially a support band for Andrews’ artfully orchestrated persona to interact with the crowd on another level. With his lanky Mennonite chic, Rufus Wainwright–meets–Nick Cave combo and instinctual theatricality, Andrews can surely move a larger crowd; it’s just more scintillating to get up close and personal to his brand of tortured crooner.  (Wendy Gilmartin)

Also playing Wednesday:

FOL CHEN, 60 WATT KID at Pershing Square; RYAN CABRERA at the Troubadour; ACTRESS at the Silverlake Lounge; XU XU FANG at the Three Clubs Cocktail Lounge; KURT ELLING at Catalina Bar & Grill; LULUC, RACHAEL CANTU, REAL GEORGE at the Bootleg Theater.

THURSDAY, JULY 16

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts at Pacific Amphitheatre
Joan Jett has come a long way since she was considered washed up — when she was barely out of her teens — following the messy implosion of the Runaways in 1979. She was punk enough to record with the Sex Pistols and cool enough to produce the Germs’ debut album, G.I., but she had such a “Bad Reputation” — due in no small part to the prevailing patronizing mindset of many critics and industry executives at the time — that it was quite shocking and infectiously liberating when she crashed the mainstream party with a series of Top 40 solo hits, including “I Love Rock & Roll,” which went to No. 1 in 1982. Like AC/DC and the Ramones, Jett cranks out a deceptively simple, compulsively catchy form of rock & roll that’s stripped down yet extremely loud. It doesn’t hurt that she has one of the most unique scratchy-raw howls in rock & roll. She’s bubblegum enough to headline tonight at the Orange County Super Fair, but she’s underground enough to have worked with the Gits and Bikini Kill. Unlike most folks who end up playing the fair, Joan Jett is still relevant: Her most recent CD, 2006’s Sinner, was a strong mix of originals and well-chosen Replacements and Sweet covers, while her ongoing Blackheart label champions such promising local pop-punks as the Dollyrots, as well as the exhilarating mood swings of the fascinating Texas post-punk trio Girl in a Coma. (Falling James)