Music Picks: Ornette Coleman, Gary Numan, Natacha Atlas

OF MONTREAL, JANELLE MONÁE AT THE PALLADIUM

Of Montreal mastermind Kevin Barnes did a good deal of work on the band's new False Priest in L.A. with producer Jon Brion. He brings it back with a Palladium gig guaranteed to be as long on outré spectacle as Lady Gaga's Monster Ball tour. Following a handful of increasingly funk-flirting efforts, False Priest marks the completion of Of Montreal's unlikely transformation from a twee indie-pop group into a freaky avant-R&B act. In synthed-up, falsetto-laden jams like "Hydra Fancies" and "Like a Tourist," Barnes taps into the same sex-positive energy that drove Prince to make Dirty Mind. Expect to see the mental made physical here. Opener Janelle Monáe released her exhaustingly ambitious future-soul full-length The ArchAndroid earlier this year; she also appears on False Priest, which suggests we might be in for an onstage collab. (Mikael Wood)

Cult secret weapon: Kristian Hoffman

Location Info

Map

El Rey Theatre

5515 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Mid-Wilshire/ Hancock Park

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The Troubadour

9081 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: West Hollywood

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The Avalon

1735 Vine St.
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Hollywood

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Shrine Auditorium & Expo Center

649 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Category: Community Venues

Region: Out of Town

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Hollywood Palladium

6215 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Category: Music Venues

Region: Out of Town

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House of Blues Sunset Strip

8430 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Out of Town

Photos

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WHITE DENIM AT EL REY THEATRE

From the depths of Texas comes White Denim, a band that laughs in the face of categorization, with new, self-released album Last Days of Summer. In three years, these guys have defied genre and expectations by putting out four albums that all sound completely different from each other. Fluctuating from soul to psych to garage rock to country and back again, these three friends are sure to have something for everyone. Don't like what's playing? No worries, wait five minutes and it'll change. A lot. With Portugal the Man. (Molly Bergen)

Also playing Saturday: THE NEGRO PROBLEM at the Getty (see Music feature); PELICAN, GOATSNAKE, NAILS at the Troubadour; ZACHARIAS CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN, MOZART at Disney Concert Hall.

SUNDAY/OCTOBER/31

DJ SHADOW AT HOUSE OF BLUES

DJ Shadow has done one thing and done it incredibly well. In 1996, living amidst the vibrant Bay Area turntablist scene, he gave instrumental hip-hop its wings with a true classic of the form, his debut album, Endtroducing. Though the record was constructed entirely of samples, it was (oddly) not derivative in the least — noirish, highly musical of its own accord. But he's made only two proper albums since: 2002's Private Press, which was still great but didn't do much to differentiate itself; and 2006's The Outsider, which was a mostly unfortunate dip into rap collabs revolving around the hyphy movement. But Shadow's got tricks up his sleeve in the live arena, where the nuisance of clearing samples hasn't yet ruined the fun. This tour finds the legendary producer performing from within his Shadowsphere, a gigantic ball that serves as both command center for his bass-loving beat excursions and a 360-degree screen lit up with elemental and electronic imagery. (Chris Martins)

VERY BE CAREFUL AT EL CID

At first glance, the local collective Very Be Careful might appear to be a traditional cumbía band, pumping up Colombian-style vallenato tunes with accordion and clattering percussion. They also like to mix in tropical rhythms and Latin funk for a distinctive sound that's usually upbeat and up-tempo — a celebratory mélange that's meant for nonstop dancing. And yet, for all of their respect for tradition and roots, they also crank things up with a frenetic punklike energy and experimentation that make their music vital and unpredictable. In the past, such adventurousness has attracted the participation of such stellar worthies as the Beastie Boys' Money Mark, who produced Very Be Careful's 1998 album El Niño, and the group has transcended the boundaries of genre by performing with disparate but simpatico performers like the late Joe Strummer and Gogol Bordello. They have a new CD, Escape Room, a typically lively assortment of festive workouts like "La Furgoneta." The Careful Ones have a busy Halloween, performing tonight at El Cid following a midafternoon jaunt down to Long Beach's Museum of Latin American Art. (Falling James)

Also playing Sunday: HARD HAUNTED MANSION at the Shrine Expo Hall; MOSES CAMPBELL, BROKEN WATER, MORGAN AND THE ORGAN DONORS, WHITMAN at the Smell; DECREPIT BIRTH at the Whisky a Go Go; JOE PUG at the Echo; ZACHARIAS CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN, MOZART at Disney Concert Hall.

MONDAY/NOVEMBER/1

DEERHUNTER, HIGH PLACES AT THE MUSIC BOX

Deerhunter could have been another Animal Collective, bright and psychedelic. They could have been the Strokes part deux, disaffected and jangly. They could have been the new Sonic Youth, unapologetically noisy and too cool for school. They could have been an ambient act, lost in the ether. But instead of being any one of these things, Bradford Cox and co. became their own band by being all of them at once — an indie-rock revue that somehow always avoids becoming a mere tribute act or devolving into incoherent mush. Deerhunter's latest, Halcyon Digest, is calmer than 2008's downright incredible double album, Microcastle/Weird Era Cont., but it's still that perfect mix of art-damaged rock and slackerly pop. L.A.'s own High Places is a little easier to pin down, though fascinating in its own right. The honeyed vocals of Mary Pearson coast over the dubby dance-rock concocted with Rob Barker. Their new album, High Places vs. Mankind, is a pretty, atmospheric and often poppy work that deserves some good headphones time. (Chris Martins)