Music Picks: Laura Veirs, Experience Hendrix, Boyz II Men, Earthworm Ensemble
Also, David Scott Stone, Slow Club, Little Boots and others
Friday/March/5
Location Info
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El Rey Theatre
5515 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Category: Bars/Clubs
Region: Mid-Wilshire/ Hancock Park
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Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
Category: Attractions/Amusement Parks
Region: Out of Town
The Redwood Bar & Grill
316 W. Second St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Category: Bars/Clubs
Region: Downtown
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The Bird and the Bee, Juliette Commagere at El Rey Theatre
The Bird & the Bee's Inara George and Greg Kurstin are a madly talented pop duo. George is the daughter of the late Little Feat mastermind Lowell George, and she's also a part of the dreamy new femme-vocal supergroup the Living Sisters. Meanwhile, keyboardist/producer Kurstin has collaborated with Lily Allen, Peaches, Beck, Gwen Stefani, Rilo Kiley and Little Boots (among many others). As the Bird & the Bee, George and Kurstin whip up retro, highly stylized pop tunes that are both sugary and smart, although their mellow moods can sometimes get a bit twee and precious. Case in point: At tonight's show, the Bird & the Bee are celebrating the upcoming release of their new CD, Interpreting the Masters, Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates. While it's debatable that Hall & Oates are masters of anything (beyond watering down Philly soul to the point of fluffy insubstantiality), George and Kurstin will likely put their own distinctly charming twist to dorky hits like "Private Eyes" and the exceedingly annoying "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)." Better catch the Bird & the Bee now, as the pregnant George is expecting a baby in April and will be out of action for a spell. The local singer Juliette Commagere opens with a set of invitingly ethereal electropop chansons from her latest CD, Turntablism. (Falling James)
Experience Hendrix at Gibson Amphitheatre
What kind of music would Jimi Hendrix make if he were still alive today? Of course, we'll never know the definitive answer to one of rock's great what-if questions, although tantalizing clues might be found on the upcoming Valleys of Neptune (due next month), a collection of previously unreleased recordings whose mere existence (and recent rediscovery) is somewhat astonishing, given how many times Hendrix's musical tomb has been ransacked over the past 40 years. Near the end of his short life, the prolific Seattle guitarist was exploding in seemingly a hundred different directions at once, jamming with Miles Davis and inventing his own fusion of fluidly grooving space funk and otherworldly world music. One thing's certain, however: Hendrix — who was increasingly frustrated that his teenybop fans only wanted to hear the early hits — probably wouldn't still be trotting out his oldies with the kind of deferentially unimaginative note-for-note treatment that often occurs at tribute concerts like this. That said, this edition of the annual Experience Hendrix tour does feature some interesting guests (along with a more predictable assortment of the usual flashy suspects, like Joe Satriani, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang). Jimi's old Army buddy and post-Experience bassist Billy Cox will be on hand to lend some much-needed authenticity and warmly rounded bottom end, along with Isley Brothers guitarist Ernie Isley, the terminally underrated Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, Los Lobos' Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo, and Living Colour (buried puzzlingly at the bottom of the bill). Still, one wishes that the booking of this all-male, mostly retro lineup showed the same freewheeling creativity and genre-crossing bravery that Jimi once embraced. Just imagine how fiery it might have been if the promoters had invited such disparate freak-flag wavers as, say, Marnie Stern, P-Funk's Blackbyrd McKnight, Love's Johnny Echols, Meshell Ndegeocello, Backbiter's Jonathan Hall, Kaki King, MOB's Roger Miller, the Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood and Tinariwen's Ibrahim Ag Alhabib. Oh well. Guess we're "still raining, still dreaming ..." (Falling James)
Also playing Friday:
EVEREST, DEER TICK at the Natural History Museum; ROCKY VOTOLATO, ADAM H.STEPHENS at the Troubadour; MALFAKTOR, UNWRITTEN LAW at the Queen Mary (Long Beach); MIKE WATT & THE MISSINGMEN, TOKYO LIGHT, THE MORMONS at the Bootleg Theater; THE GLASSELL PARK 3, DALMACIO VON DIAMOND & THE ENOCHIAN KEYS, WOMAN, OTHERS at the Smell; BRIG FELTUS at the Dakota Music Lounge; VAUD & THE VILLIANS at Fais Do-Do; THE COOL KIDS, PAC DIV at the Key Club; LIMBECK, THE ABSOLUTE, COYOTE GRACE, ANGIE EVANS at the Mint; OLD CALIFORNIO, RICHARD MARCH at the Redwood Bar.
Saturday/March/6
Boyz II Men at Club Nokia
For early-'80s babies, there's no R&B group more smooth, sensitive and in sync than Boyz II Men. The legendary vocal quartet came together in 1986 at a Philadelphia high school for the arts, and rose to fame with the coming of New Jack Swing, the game-changing hybridization of sample-heavy hip-hop and barbershop soul. So what if boy-band impresario Lou Pearlman engineered Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC after he witnessed BIIM's success in the suburbs; it never got better than Nathan, Michael, Shawn and Wanya. Much of that is due to the fact that while other groups were going deeper down the rappin' hole — or going straight pop — these four stayed mostly old-school over the course of 10 albums (!), having more to do with the Spinners than with their contemporaries. Today, BIIM is down one member — bass singer Michael McCary — but the remaining Boyz are showmen to the bone. They will woo you fully, shower you with roses, then leave you a little bleary-eyed as they go on their way. (Chris Martins)
826LA Benefit feat. the Submarines, the Growlers, Pity Party, Summer Darling at the Echoplex
The Chickens in Love "mini music festival" takes its name from an upcoming compilation curated by the good folks at 826LA, the Echo Park–based chapter of Dave Eggers' nationwide nonprofit youth + writing organization. The record itself is composed of songs whose lyrics were written by 826LA students (ages 6 to 18), recorded by L.A.-area artists. The list of players runs the gamut — from Fiona Apple and Tim & Eric to Dum Dum Girls and She & Him — and includes the four bands performing at this event: folksy pop duo the Submarines, surf-country Costa Mesa crew the Growlers, indie experimentalists Pity Party and the math-rock–inclined Summer Darling. The Hive Hair Shop is scheduled to be on hand to provide on-the-spot punk 'dos, apropos "rocker accessories" will be available from local designers, and the Grill 'em All food truck will provide burgers. All proceeds from the $15 show go right back into 826LA, which means enabling hardworking creative types and wide-eyed kiddies to execute yet more great ideas. (Chris Martins)
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