WEDNESDAY/MARCH/17
LES BLANKS, THE BLASTING COMPANY, FRANCISCO THE MAN AT SPACELAND
The night’s opener and closer are fine enough — Les Blanks churn out swaggering, boot-stomping indie rock, and Francisco the Man specializes in epic alt-Americana — but the highlight of this show will almost undoubtedly be watching the Blasting Company deliver a full set of Balkan blues under an actual roof. You can typically catch the Petrojvic brothers (Justin, Joshan and Daniel) with a handful of Gypsy cohorts busking the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sundays. The ragtag gang is easy to spot — they camp out on the southern end, where there’s space enough for the sizable crowd they draw, which includes plenty of return customers. In addition to having a bang-up act (helped along by spiffy Eastern European duds and Justin’s charm), the boys of the Blasting Company have serious chops when it comes to their instruments — accordion, trombone, trumpet and pedal-propelled drums. Both the Petrojvics and their collaborators hail from the Killsonic street orchestra, so a certain roughshod excellence is always to be expected. (Chris Martins)
Also playing Wednesday:
OLLIN, BRANT BJORK at the Echo; YOUNG DUBLINERS, KING WASHINGTON at House of Blues; THE GROOVY REDNECKS at Jumbo’s Clown Room; DEAD RABBITS, CULAN’S HOUNDS, 1-94, SLUGGER O’TOOLE at Molly Malone’s; T.S.O.L., D.I., THE STAINS, AGRESSION at the Roxy.
Sailing to nowhere: Broken Bells
Mumiy Troll re-enact the Village People’s “In the Navy.”
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THURSDAY/MARCH/18
XIU XIU, TUNE YARDS, NOVELLER AT THE ECHO
Xiu Xiu have unleashed their challenging new record, Dear God, I Hate Myself, another incredibly ambiguous jumble of music and words and dashed hopes and future fears, rather frighteningly confessed by guiding black light Jamie Stewart. Thankfully, his painful warbling — blatantly confusing and sour to the taste, but always genuinely literate — spews forth, shrouded in startlingly original scapes of sound, shocking washes of xylophones and gongs, lacerating synths, much laptop hack and chop, and a perilous landscape randomly strewed with sonic rubbish. Stewart’s bewilderingly broad range of textural approaches to umbrella all this deeply scarred desolation makes a perfect kind of sense … in these confusing times. Tune Yards is Merrill Garbus, who flings a digitally damaged hodgepodge of reggae, hip-hop and folk loops onto the floor and stomps on them gleefully, foghorning powerfully, banging xylophones and punishing innocent ukuleles. Seek out her 4AD album Bird Brains, uncategorizably prime stuff. Also, avant-drone guitarist/filmmaker Sarah Lipstate, aka Noveller. (John Payne)
Also playing Thursday:
PENNYWISE, T.S.O.L. at Ventura Theatre; STEPHEN STILLS at Henry Fonda Theater; VOODOO GLOW SKULLS at Alex’s Bar; JUDY COLLINS at the Canyon; AGENT ORANGE at Key Club; THE WATKINS FAMILY HOUR at Largo; DOUBLE NAUGHT SPYCAR, THE BLACK WIDOWS at Taix; ASHLEY MAHER at the Talking Stick.
