FRIDAY, AUGUST 7
The Brooklyn-via-Venezuela band Los Amigos Invisibles
Roxy Epoxy: “I want to own you.”
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DAM-FUNK, COMPUTER JAY AT CALLING ALL KIDS AT THE HYPERION TAVERN
Stones Throw signee Dâm-Funk has been making waves with his G-funk-steeped brand of electro-boogie — seemingly the perfect cooling agent to this recent heat wave. The Leimert Park producer/singer is currently working his way through an ambitious five-LP album debut, titled Toeachizown. Only one 40-minute installation, Vol. 1: LAtrik, has been released, but its seamless mix of Prince-y freakiness, mellow keyboard work and thick bass makes for a near-endless groove. This is a DJ appearance, but Dâm is, no surprise, an L.A. funk connoisseur, and he’s known to sing while spinning. The Calling All Kids weekly — founded by Anticon manager Shaun Koplow (DJ Sodapop) and Dublab affiliate/artist Matthewdavid — has been picking up steam as well. Recent performers have included Lucky Dragons, Hecuba, the Human Ear Music gang, Ras G, and Yoni Wolf of WHY?, while bookings for the coming weeks include Daedelus, Pedestrian and an L.A. Record night. The event usually includes a mixtape exchange, and an exquisite-corpse art piece (butcher paper + markers). (Chris Martins)
ROXY EPOXY & THE REBOUND AT THE KNITTING FACTORY
You might remember Roxy Epoxy as the charismatic, androgynous lead singer of the Portland new wave–revival band the Epoxies, who were just starting to make an international impact when they broke up in 2007. Now Epoxy’s back with another new group, the Rebound, whose recent CD, Band-Aids on Bullet Holes (Metropolis), has a harder, darker allure than the singer’s early perky-pop phase. At times, Epoxy’s clipped, frenetic delivery sounds like Sparks’ Russell Mael or Celebrity Skin’s Gary Jacoby, as the Rebound buries everything in buzzing guitars, robotic post-punk rhythms and crunchy synthesizers. “I want to own you/I want I want I want to own that face,” Epoxy demands on “Svengali,” an interesting tale of beauty, image and physical makeover that parallels Epoxy’s own transformation into “a delicate fucking flower.” (Falling James)
LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES AT HOUSE OF BLUES
It’s not clear if the Venezuelan band Los Amigos Invisibles were being sarcastic or ironic (or perhaps even hopeful) when they titled their latest CD Commercial, but the album’s blend of disco, funk, pop and acid jazz certainly veers more toward mainstream dance music than it does toward anything truly adventurous or subversive. That said, the shiny electronic grooves of the disco reverie “Sueño Erotico” and the breezy pop ramble “Es la Verdad” have a soothingly escapist allure, even if the production and backing are slick and anonymous. The band (now based in Brooklyn) are much more interesting on the rubbery retro funk of “Plastic Woman,” the Meters-style trip-hop of the instrumental “Burundanga” and the recent single “Mentiras,” which has a relatively catchy neo–new wave beat. Sometimes you wish Los Amigos Invisibles would step out from behind their machines and really rock it up with the fire and personality that only occasionally slip through Marcelo Añez and José Luis Pardo’s airtight production. (Falling James)
Also playing Friday:
HA HA TONKA, HIGH SOCIETY, C.B. BRAND at the Bootleg Theater; MAZE & FRANKIE BEVERLY at the Nokia Theatre; THE MUTAYTOR at the Roxy; THE BLACK EYED PEAS at the Pacific Amphitheatre; VISA, THE SHRINE at the Troubadour; THE JONAS BROTHERS, JORDIN SPARKS, WONDER GIRLS at the Staples Center; SOVEREIGN STRIKE, EARTH FROM ABOVE, MY ETERNAL ENDING, OTHERS at the Cobalt Cafe; THE ZEROS at the Redwood Bar; DIMPLES, TEEN SUICIDE, SUPERSTITIONS, HELLOMYNAMEISCHAD at the Smell; THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION, CIRCUS MINOR, THIS IS NOT MY LIFE at Spaceland; MONDO GENERATOR, IT’S CASUAL, 16, DISASTROID at the Viper Room.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8
THE DODOS AT THE GETTY
The Dodos take their stride from the twangy clatter of Meric Long’s acoustic guitar and Logan Kroeber’s athletic drum playing. After the characteristically tight beat and riff have been set, they apply a melodic flourish (with help from Keaton Snyder, who’s just replaced the Gris Gris’ Joe Haener) — the bleepy bliss of the Casio SA-1, a mellow trombone or some toy piano might creep into the mix. Comparisons to Animal Collective, Passion Pit and others are undeniable, but the Dodos are as solid a set of standard-structure songwriters as Conor Oberst or the Shins’ James Mercer, and the Dodos don’t get too wrapped up in the gratuitousness of sampling and the overload of random stage instruments. Plus Long and Co. are much more apt to make the 16-year-old girls yelp and swoon than Animal Collective. They’ll visit L.A. again in September at El Rey Theatre (when their new album, Time to Die, is officially released — although it leaked online two months early); better to enjoy them outside tonight in the warm canyon breezes before summer’s gone. (Wendy Gilmartin)
CASIOKIDS, THE WAVE PICTURES, SLOW CLUB AT SPACELAND
London’s Moshi Moshi Records may not be well known stateside, but its artists sure are. Among the gaggle of impressive names that got their start on the indie imprint: Bloc Party, Kate Nash, Hot Chip and the Rakes. But rather than wrangle an already familiar all-star lineup for this, Moshi Moshi’s 10-year Anniversary Tour, the label is doing what it’s always done best: spotlighting talent that hasn’t broken just yet. Casiokids, hailing from Norway, specialize in extremely catchy dance-rock instrumentals (think Ratatat meet Peter Bjorn and John) that often feature striking, ethereal vocals sung in the band’s native language. The distortion-free rock & roll of the Wave Pictures is imbued with a similar summery brightness despite the band’s British heritage. The group has actually been around (in various forms, under various names) for more than a decade, which is more than enough time to perfect its minimalist, lovelorn tunes. Opener Slow Club — a boy-girl duo from Sheffield that makes lush, folksy pop — rounds out the all-Moshi bill. (Chris Martins)
