Rock Picks: DJ Spinna, Bodega Girls, Andre Nickatina, Elevated Suspects
Also, Hilary Hahn, People Under the Stairs, KROQ Almost Acoustic Xmas and others
HILARY HAHN PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY AT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
An opportunity to sit and perhaps fully absorb the detailed, deep artistry of the one and only Hilary Hahn, the violinist's violinist. Plentiful recent critical plaudits (e.g., Gramophone magazine's Artist of the Year, two Grammys) rightly hail the onetime prodigy as a grown-up player both highly intellectual and passionate. Onstage, Hahn is a surprisingly charismatic figure of seemingly divine focus on her chosen repertoire, which spans an awesome range: She's as adept at graceful Bach and Beethoven fare as she is on knottier Schoenberg and Stravinsky; and the way Paganini inhabits her is almost uncomfortable (but thrilling). With the L.A. Phil under the direction of acclaimed conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Hahn will tackle Tchaikovsky's hair-raising Violin Concerto and Berlioz's magical Symphonie Fantastique. (John Payne)
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The Echo
1822 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Category: Bars and Clubs
Region: Echo Park
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Also playing Friday: WARPAINT at the Troubadour; MIKE DOUGHTY (of SOUL COUGHING) at Bootleg Theater; ANDREA BOCELLI at Staples Center; THE BIRD & THE BEE at Skybar; PARALLAXSCROLL, P R O T E C T M E, CRAZY BAND at the Smell.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11
FYF CHRISTMAS PARTY AT GLASS HOUSE
The FYF Fest crew have faced difficulties in the scheduling and crowd-control departments over the past couple of years, but they've never suffered a lack of exquisite taste. Their holiday party is going down in Pomona, between a very manageable pair of sites: proper venue the Glass House and tiny Mediterranean restaurant Aladdin Jr.'s next door. L.A.'s noise-pop heroes No Age headline, backed up by San Diego garage-rock purists the Soft Pack, punk supergroup OFF! (featuring Black Flag and Circle Jerks screecher Keith Morris, plus members of Burning Brides, Redd Kross and Rocket From the Crypts), and Long Beach psychedelicians Crystal Antlers. But that's hardly the whole story. A pair of refreshingly arty hardcore acts appear as well — Dangers and Comadre — alongside the more melodic Lovely Bad Things and La Sera, a Vivian Girls spin-off founded by Kickball Katy (the redhead). Two special guests are promised as well, so consider your stocking stuffed. (Chris Martins)
PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS AT EL REY THEATRE
Debate rages over the decision of indie hip-hop artists to remain independent or sign with a major label these days, but People Under the Stairs smashed that argument years ago, when the answer wasn't even questionable. They're now considered one of the most successful independent duos in the history of hip-hop, but P.U.T.S. have rolled up their sleeves and managed, produced and engineered themselves for more than 10 years to attain that assessment. Emerging in the late 1990s, P.U.T.S., along with fellow L.A. underground hip-hop groups Jurassic 5 and Dilated Peoples, shrugged off the stridency of their West Coast forefathers in favor of fun-in-the-sun lyrics and happy-go-lucky humor. Seven albums and more than 20 worldwide tours later, their brand of L.A. leisure still sells out shows. Laiiiiid back — with their minds on the music and the music on their minds — or as they say, "We Make Songs People Dance." (Rebecca Haithcoat)
Also playing Saturday: KROQ ALMOST ACOUSTIC XMAS at Gibson Amphitheatre; BLACK CROWES at the Hollywood Palladium; PETER HOOK (performing Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures) at the Music Box (see Q&A box); MOSES CAMPBELL, MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY, SPIRIT VINE, THE SCHOENBERG KNIFE FIGHT ENSEMBLE at the Smell; PRIMA DONNA at the Redwood.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12
WARPAINT AT THE TROUBADOUR
Connections can take a band a long way, but once onstage they're on their own. So don't let Warpaint's impeccable scenester credentials — former members include model/actress Shannyn Sossamon and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, while ex-Pepper John Frusciante mixed last year's Exquisite Corpse EP — distract from their bleak, breathy beauty. These four local gals inhabit a reverb-y world of gaunt guitars, elusive pixie voices, hard-to-get harmonies and anxious, guilt-soaked melodies. Yet debut full-length The Fool (released in October) is no aimless shoegaze opus but rather a gently experimental exploration of the ethereal: Like the Joy Division and early Cure it acknowledges, it lends weight to whispers, with compelling beats and chatty bass lines. And the well-toured Warpaint — who've opened for everyone from The xx to Vampire Weekend — deftly (and even mildly enthusiastically) re-create these delicate charms in concert. More's the pity that The Fool's standout song, "Undertow," so compulsively plunders Nirvana's "Polly." Also Friday, Dec. 10. (Paul Rogers)
Also playing Sunday: DONALD GLOVER/CHILDISH GAMBINO at the El Rey; NIGHT BEATS at the Satellite.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 13
PRINCETON AT THE ECHO
Twin bros Jesse & Matt Kivel and childhood bud Ben Usen have been making music together since they were all wee shavers but didn't get semi-serious about it until all three happened to meet up during a year of schooling in London in 2005. What the band studied there seemed to inform their tone or tenor, at least for a while, going by 2008's highly conceptualized four-song Bloomsbury EP. This wondrously musical (arranged, melodized) slab of pop layer cake, yes, depicted (and parodied) the infamous group of British intellectuals. With the addition of drummer David Kitz, the band followed up with last year's even more interesting Cocoon of Love (Kanine Records), where, if you can imagine, the Kinks meet Krautrock, calypso and Scott Walker. These are more melodiously moving tales inspired by "stacks of herbal tea, a glow-in-the-dark monument, paperback writers, the Wall Street Journal, a departing Mercedes, The Metamorphosis, a series of Cambridge-commissioned paintings, video arcades, graffiti and a cyclist on the Autobahn." Or so they claim. (John Payne)
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