Also playing Saturday:
WENDY & LISA at Largo at the Coronet; DIRT DRESS, TIMONIUM, THE SOFT OPENING at Pehrspace; STEVE MILLER BAND at the Pacific Amphitheatre; FERRABY LIONHEART, TERRA NAOMI, MICHELLE FEATHERSTONE, JAMIE MEYER, KRISTEN TOEDTMAN at the Hotel Cafe; NO DOUBT, PARAMORE, THE SOUNDS at Verizon Amphitheatre;VANAPRASA at the Bootleg Theater; SLEEP YOUR EXCELLENCE, PINS & NEEDLES, BLUE JUNGLE, GUPPIES, THE HEALTH CLUB, AUDACITY, BRAAIINS at the Silver Factory Studios; GENE LOVES JEZEBEL, NAKE EYES at Pershing Square; PATO BANTON, LILL HIT, REFLECTION I, DEDICATED MINDS, DIVERSFYED at the Key Club; COMPANY OF THIEVES at Spaceland; ANCESTORS, NÜ SENSAE, UPSILON ACRUX, RANDOM CUTS, HARRY MERRY at the Smell; DUAL, THE SUNDOWNERS, CASTANO, PUSSYCOW, THE HELL SURFERS at American Legion Post 206.
Brian Grillo sitting on the can
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SUNDAY AUGUST 2
NERVOUS GENDER
at the Echo
It’s said that history is written by the victors, and, with the recent waves of cookie-cutter corporate-punk bands, it would be easy to assume that all of the early punks must have looked and sounded exactly like the Ramones. In fact, the original punk scene was far more musically diverse than what passes for punk rock today, but even during that more open-minded era, the local synth group Nervous Gender were a polarizing outfit. For one thing, they didn’t dress like leather-jacketed cartoons of Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny and Tommy. For another, these Gender benders used abrasive synthesizers instead of guitars and employed insidiously compulsive dance beats to instill a new form of subversion in jaded punks. Founding member Gerardo Velasquez died of AIDS in the 1990s, but the remaining members — Edward Stapleton, Michael Ochoa and Joe Zinnato — brought back Nervous Gender in 2007 for more audio terror. After initially focusing on releasing their past music, the trio are currently recording new material, “much to the delight of cutter girls everywhere.” (Falling James)
Also playing Sunday:
INTERNATIONAL POP OVERTHROW at the Echoplex. JUDAS PRIEST, WHITESNAKE at the Gibson Amphitheatre; NO DOUBT, PARAMORE, THE SOUNDS at Verizon Amphitheatre;ANAVAN, DAZZLER at the Echo; THE PACK, MATEO, DEVI, SEAN REX at the Roxy; RUTHANN FRIEDMAN, VICTORIA & PAUL LACQUES, WEBA GARRETSON & RALPH GORODETSKY, PATRIA JACOB at Matsumoto’s 2nd Street Jazz.
MONDAY AUGUST 3
RONNIE MACK’S BARNDANCE WITH BIG JAY MCNEELY,
AND OTHERS
at Joe’s Great American Bar & Grill
Ronnie Mack’s no-cover Barndance showcase has undergone plenty of twists and turns over the past two decades, but one thing remains constant: He’s always featured the most compelling local talent. While tonight’s edition is under a double whammy, presented at a different venue and scheduled for a Monday (a shocking break from established Barndance procedure), the presence of legendary South Central R&B sax monster Big Jay McNeely nobly upholds the tradition of Mack-curated excellence. McNeely, of course, is one of the prime architects of Los Angeles’ explosive postwar rhythm-and-blues breakout, an insurrection directly fomented by McNeely’s volcanic 1949 instrumental “Deacon’s Hop,” a sock disc that opened the door for an army of honking sax cats. While competition was fierce, none equaled McNeely’s raw power or knack for manipulating audiences — he whipped crowds to frenzy pitch so routinely that, by 1952, an unofficial police and sheriff department ban precluded him from appearing anywhere in Los Angeles County — a predicament subsequently shared only by Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies. That level of musical intensity is where Big Jay always hangs out, and one would have to be insane not to partake. (Jonny Whiteside)
Also playing Monday:
BOH RUNGA at Largo at the Coronet; KEVIN KANNER QUINTET, J-LOGIC, THE BAND OF HEATHENS, THE NICK ROSEN GROUP at the Mint; LOWER HEAVEN, THE STREET & BABE SHADOW, DISSOLVER, Y at the Silverlake Lounge; LOCAL NATIVES, THE UNION LINE, THE OUTLINE, WE BARBARIANS at Spaceland; TYRANTS IN THERAPY, THE SURRENDERS at Taix; THE GROWLERS at the Echo.
TUESDAY AUGUST 4
THE TING TINGS
at Club Nokia Theater
It’s hard to believe “That’s Not My Name” shot to the top so quickly. On top of that, it was The Ting Tings very first single released, which makes the meteoric rise even more impressive. Despite their stats — Katie White, raised by a record-company manager and part of the bubblegum girl group TKO at 15, and Jules De Martino, long known for producing bands in Manchester — the Ting Tings’ evolution toward their current, punchy, beat-crazy incarnation wasn’t easy. As interest in cutesy girl groups waned in the late ’90s, White found herself without direction or a job. She and De Martino met while working at a local music club selling drinks and DJing, where touring bands like Le Tigre and the Gossip mutually awed them. Good thing, because Katie White’s Spice Girls influence wore off quick — replaced by a need to play a guitar, tour, adopt more delinquent behavior, and wear better clothes. See them again tonight with Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, whose relentless happiness and remarkable instinct for hyper, pop concoctions make them a very hard act to follow. (Wendy Gilmartin)
