Music Picks: Grizzly Bear, Muse, Dark Dark Dark, the Charlatans UK

HEART AT GIBSON AMPHITHEATRE

There's no doubting that tonight's Heart show will include many (if not most) of the Wilson sisters' biggest hits, from mid-'70s hard-rock jams like "Magic Man" and "Crazy on You" to mid-'80s power ballads such as "Alone" and "These Dreams." And there's no doubting that those hits will sound awesome; these ladies remain powerhouse performers with vocal and instrumental chops to spare. Check it out, though: Even if Heart announced in advance that they planned to spend their entire set playing stuff from their new album, I'd still advise you to go, since unlike 99 percent of latter-day efforts from bands Heart's age, the just-released Red Velvet Car totally rules. It's got riffed-out rockers ("WTF," "Wheels"), folky campfire sing-alongs ("Hey You," "Safronia's Mark") and one tune ("Queen City") in which Ann Wilson somehow makes "Yo ho, yo ho" seem like a cool lyric. Easier said than done, people. (Mikael Wood)

PHOTO BY RANDEE ST NICHOLAS

We (heart) Heart.

Aren't the xx too young to know what a VCR is?

Location Info

Map

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

8800 Irvine Center Dr
Irvine, CA 92603

Category: Performing Arts Venues

Region: Out of Town

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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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The Smell

247 S. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Downtown

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Hollywood Bowl

2301 N. Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90068

Category: Music Venues

Region: Out of Town

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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

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The Echo

1822 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Echo Park

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Also playing Saturday: DENGUE FEVER, FITZ & THE TANTRUM at Lobster Festival; THE DANCE PARTY at Spaceland; TWEK, WOUNDED LION at the Smell; FIREBALL MINISTRY at Blue Star; AUTOLUX, GIANT PANDA at El Rey Theatre; SWORDS OF FATIMA at Redwood Bar & Grill; ELIZABETH COOK at McCabe's; LADIES OF SOUL at Gibson Amphitheatre.

SUNDAY/SEPTEMBER/19

TONYA WATTS, THE GEARS, TROY WALKER, SIMON STOKES AT VIVA CANTINA

The lineup at this evening's edition of the Messaround — the monthly no-cover music series presented by the veteran country-music critic and L.A. Weekly contributor Jonny Whiteside — might be the strangest and most pleasingly diverse bill he's assembled so far. It's headed by Alabama firebrand Tonya Watts, who subverts traditional country expectations with slyly rebellious Southern rockers like "Music Made a Man Out of Me" (from her new album, Handcuff My Soul) and such insightful ballads as "Daddy's Redneck Flaws." Meanwhile, L.A. punk survivors the Gears continue to crank out an authentic pre-hardcore punk sound that marries the Ramones' sense of summertime fun and terminally teenage subject matter (girls, smoking dope, vowing to never grow old, etc.) with rootsy, Stones-y rock & roll power. The bill shifts gears, so to speak, yet again with a set by the fascinating transvestite icon and lounge-pop-country stylist Troy Walker, whose fans have included everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Cramps. Amping up the weirdness and seediness factor is underground-rock renegade Simon Stokes, whose freaked-out garage-rock '60s beginnings barely hinted at the depraved stance of his controversial '70s biker-rock outfit, the Black Whip Thrill Band. The late-afternoon show begins at 5 p.m. (Falling James)

VIVA MEXICO! WITH CALEXICO, OZOMATLI, MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

In honor of the bicentennial of Mexico's independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, here's a night with artists whose varied sounds and sights share a cultural bond with that other world just south of the border. Named after the town near the California/Mexico border, Calexico mix a new spaghetti Western with ranchera, norteño and a Euro-modernist twist in a heavily atmospheric mélange that boasts a genuinely epic drama. Multicultural mixmeisters Ozomatli are L.A.'s kings of the hip-hop/cumbia/samba/funk/merengue/comparsa stew, with tasty dashes of R&B, reggae and raga thrown in. Sonic seer Camilo Lara and his Mexican Institute of Sound lay out the joy from their recent album Soy Sauce (Nacional), a blissfully retro-modern messing with trad cumbia and other sonidos in a heady swirl of electronic dance tracks. Also performing: Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, the first all-female mariachi group in the U.S., and the swirling splendors of Grandeza Mexican Folk Ballet Company. (John Payne)

TAMARYN, PURO INSTINCT, DUNES AT THE ECHO

Before the release of Best Coast's chart-climbing debut Crazy for You, New York's Mexican Summer label was known mostly by vinyl collectors and music-blog devotees — the kind of imprint to release thick slabs of wax in limited-color runs from a rogue's gallery of bands more or less destined for greatness. The label may be getting more attention, but its commitment is still thusly aligned, evidenced by this showcase of sorts. San Francisco's Tamaryn specializes in a hypnotic sort of psychedelia where breathy female vocals float on a sea of heavy shoegaze and bright dream pop. Her new album, The Waves, is just out. L.A.'s Puro Instinct originally made its name as Pearl Harbor, a pair of flaxen-haired sisters (and friends) whose wistful, summery track "Luv Goon" caused a minor stir before the band relaunched under a presumably less burdened name. Dunes too are psych-inclined locals, but theirs is an angstier, more angular mash-up of girl-group swoon and gothic slouch. (Chris Martins)

CHILLY GONZALES AT LARGO

Chances are if you nurse even a passing interest in Feist, Peaches or Jamie Lidell, you've unwittingly heard the work of Chilly Gonzales. He's a virtuosic pianist, gifted producer and, erm, occasional rapper, and his best recorded work over the past 15 years has been in the service of others, using his dual French and Canadian citizenship to bounce back and forth across the Atlantic adding bits of ivory to records by the aforementioned three. But even if Gonzales' solo work is a bit wonky — see the unlikely boast "Never Stop Rap," on his just-released Ivory Tower — his live show is not to be missed. A surly fireball of Victor Borge musical humor and Andrew W.K. performance-art intensity, Gonzales has been known to strong-arm audience members into getting involved, stage impromptu piano battles and bring in some high-profile guests. Considering this Largo gig is being billed as a "Piano Talk Show," guests likely can expect all of the above. (Chris Martins)