Music Picks: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, VoicesVoices, Peter Gabriel, Jakob Dylan

IAN WHITCOMB AT THE COFFEE GALLERY BACKSTAGE
Ian Whitcomb, the multifarious provocateur whose four-decade career has taken him from a groundbreaking 1963 big-beat start with Dublin-based Bluesville Mfg. (earning him the "Godfather of Irish Rock" handle) to full-blown teen-idol status in the U.S. with the extraordinary, chart-topping 1965 eroto-asphyxiation gasper "You Turn Me On," remains both a powerful showman and a critical firsthand spectator to pop culture's tortuous evolution. With a singular perspective, burnished by views from behind the footlights at the Hollywood Bowl and the Troubadour (a straight-up folk club when Whitcomb became the first rocker ever booked there) and a trove of wild alliances — collaborations with Mae West and, yes, Bugs Bunny — the far-reaching multi-instrumentalist has not only seen it all, he directly participated in much of it. This appearance combines a characteristically unpredictable set of ragtime-to-rock numbers with readings from Whitcomb's recent memoir, Letters From Lotusland, and is sure to twist through a kaleidoscopic montage of astute observations, spontaneous ravings and exotic musical artifacts which you'll find nowhere else. (Jonny Whiteside)

Also playing Saturday: WAS (NOT WAS): LE at Harvelle's; GLORIA TREVI at Nokia Theatre; BILL MEDLEY at The Canyon; E-40 at Grove of Anaheim; 60 WATT KID, THE FRITZ, CENTIPEDE EAST, FRENCH SHIP at Echo Curio; RED SPAROWES at The Echoplex; ANGEL CITY OUTCASTS, THE ROYAL HIGHNESS at The Troubadour; AKWID, CLOROFILA at The Echo; LOS CAMPESINOS at El Rey; T.S.O.L. at Galaxy Theatre; WARNER DRIVE, LOVE & A 38 at The Roxy; SOLITARIOS at Hollywood Park Casino; RUST at Viper Room; LYNCH MOB at Key Club; SANTA MONICA FESTIVAL at Clover Park; WARPAINT, PRIESTBIRD at Bootleg Theater; HOOBASTANK at Hotel Cafe; MARTIN SEXTON at House of Blues; DANTE VS. ZOMBIES at The Smell.

Jakob Dylan trades in proverbial albatross around his neck for literal pet.

Location Info

Map

Hollywood Bowl

2301 N. Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90068

Category: Music Venues

Region: Out of Town

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The Smell

247 S. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Downtown

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SUNDAY/MAY/9

LES SAVY FAV AT THE ECHOPLEX
The difference between a good Les Savy Fav show and a bad one really comes down to one thing: whether or not you enjoy being sweated on/humped by/regurgitated into by a mostly nude bearded, balding man-strosity. Tim Harrington leads his New York–based post-hardcore crew with a peculiar zeal that, at least once, has found him chomping up chocolate Easter bunnies and mouth-feeding the bits to his fans. And if Har Mar Superstar is in the crowd, be prepared for loads of sensual in-crowd crotch-to-ass grindage. That such singular delights don't do much to distract from the music is a testament to the band's weird magic, which has thus far delivered 15 years of exceptional, angular and hugely energetic art-punk. Les Savy Fav's 2007 album, Let's Stay Friends, followed a six-year gap between records but found the group more focused than ever. While tracks like "The Equestrian" are as coarse as ever, others such as "What Would Wolves Do" showcase a certain savvy for cool pop perhaps even better suited to accompany a healthy spray from Harrington's brow. (Chris Martins)

Also playing Sunday: LES SAVVY FAV at The Echoplex; MIA DOI TODD at Space 15 Twenty; PATTI LABELLE at Gibson Amphitheatre; "GRAND OLD ECHO" at The Echo; RECKLESS KELLY at The Roxy; KOZMONAUT, CASPER & THE BAD SPIRITS at Key Club; SILVERBACKS at Liquid Kitty; SYMPHONIC CIRCLES at Cinespace; COLLISIONS at Echo Curio; WHAT DO I GET at Alex's Bar; JOHN WIESE, HATERS, POD BLOTZ, OWL EYES at Show Cave; ALEXISONFIRE, TRASH TALK at The Troubadour; LOS RECODITOS at Pico Rivera Sports Arena.

MONDAY/MAY/10

Playing Monday: STEEL PANTHER at House of Blues; THE LIKE at The Echo; SWEETHEAD at Spaceland; LET GO OF THE RAIL, STATE REC at Pehrspace; LOS CAMPESINOS at The Glass House; PATHOLOGY at Whisky A Go-Go; FANG ISLAND at Amoeba; MARK BALLAS, ERIC BAINES at The Mint; ESTES SHANE WHALEN at Hotel Cafe; THE KEVIN KANNER QUINTET at Blue Whale.

TUESDAY/MAY/11

FUCK BUTTONS, SUN ARAW, INFINITE BODY AT THE TROUBADOUR
The Troubadour probably isn't the best setting for a full-bore acid trip — bouncers, bright lights, the Technicolor splay of West Hollywood just outside — but psychedelics are a must for this tripped-out trio. Highland Park's Infinite Body seems to divine his drone-based music from dream scapes, sea wash and whatever happens inside pianos during minor earthquakes. This should make for an easy kaleidoscopic climb into the strange, psychotropical dub-funk of Eagle Rock resident Sun Araw. His music dabbles in the ambient as well, but spends more time exploring reverb-soaked wah-wah guitar, fuzzy bursts of bass, muffled chant and unidentifiable samples. This, in turn, should lay the proper foundation for a headlining set from Bristol duo Fuck Buttons. Truth be told, while these two build incredibly thick, inspired soundscapes that split the difference between Aphex Twin and Mogwai, their sets verge on the repetitive — a mite bit boring if you're sober, but damn-near perfect heard echoing down the ol' rabbit hole. (Chris Martins)

KATE NASH AT EL REY THEATRE
One wonders what Kate Nash would sing about if she could ever find a decent boyfriend. Her new CD, My Best Friend Is You, is thematically much like her 2007 debut, Made of Bricks, in that it focuses on two kinds of people: sketchy boyfriends who don't pay enough attention to her and the conniving sluts who try to steal those sketchy boyfriends away from her. The British singer is able to make this self-absorbed subject matter interesting because she crafts catchy pop hooks and is often a witty lyricist. As usual, Nash contrasts her songs' polite arrangements with presumably shocking swearwords, although there's nothing on My Best Friend Is You that approaches the savagely exhilarating rush of her 2008 B-side "Model Behaviour," where her catty vitriol was aptly matched by pure punk-rock power. (She should really consider punking out more often.) Apart from the bittersweet pop of "Do-Wah-Doo" and the intriguingly shadowy "I've Got a Secret," the new album works best when the arrangements are less cluttered, such as the gently affecting closing ballad, "I Hate Seagulls." Nash sprained her ankle after a concert in Toronto last week — "she's not sure exactly how it happened," says her publicist — but the plucky singer intends to play through the pain at tonight's gig, although a previously scheduled appearance at Amoeba Music has been canceled. (Falling James)