FRIDAY/JANUARY/21
BRAD MEHLDAU AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
Suzanne Vega. See Saturday.
Pacific Hurt. See Tuesday.
Related Content
More About
Few pianists in any genre or sphere match Brad Mehldau's shattering blend of soulful physicality and deep, probing mind flow. We think of him as a true "jazz" musician in that respect (and he is), but he's also among the rare few who knows how to bring these principles into play in wildly varied contexts, adding an out-there, kinda dangerous vibe to the proceedings. Mehldau's finger-twiddlings are not numbingly virtuosic, either: His solo, trio and large-ensemble work imparts a genuine sense of shape and structure, and, most importantly, purpose. He's got a new album out, Highway Rider (Nonesuch), produced by Jon Brion, who collaborated with Mehldau on the fascinating Largo album in 2002. Tonight Mehldau works out Highway's "through-composed" piece in interaction between chamber orchestra and a small and real heavy-duty ensemble: Scott Yoo, conductor; Joshua Redman, saxophone; Larry Grenadier, bass; Jeff Ballard, drums; Matt Chamberlain, drums. (John Payne)
THE MELVINS, SHEPARD FAIREY (DJ SET) AT THE SATELLITE
As you all know by now, our Melvins are playing each Friday throughout January, with a different set and sort of theme each night, some of which feature entire albums from the band's vast catalog stretching back to somewhere like 1905. In this third installment, the semilegendary master monsters of metallic mayhem (when they choose to be) present, first, a stripped-down (though hardly unplugged) version of the band starring, of course, almighty Buzz Osborne. Wielding his shiny chrome ax, moppy Melfro and wizard's cloak, Buzz will be joined by bassist Jared Warren. Then you get a "normal" set by the whole band, featuring the lads doing the job on the entire Bullhead album. The Bride Screamed Murder, their newest and best record yet, no doubt will figure in the mix, too. Stay tuned for next week's Stoner Witch. (John Payne)
PHYSICAL FORMS, SKULL TAPE, TURRKS, BLEAK END @ BERNIE'S AT THE SMELL
One of the best things about the Smell is seeing how many new bands play there that are combinations of members of old Smell bands. Physical Forms features ex-members of the Mae Shi, Silver Daggers, Busdriver and Bad Dudes playing myriad instruments (including light-sensitive "self-oscillating" gloves of their own invention, called Sound Glovernors). Shouty, celebratory punk epiphany Skull Tape boasts ex-members of the Mae Shi (the band that keeps on giving), Robin Williams on Fire, XBXRX and Robotonists. This could mean there are four members of five bands — or it could mean two people are in each band and each of those people has been in multiple bands. Turrks used to be called Bipolar Bear and Bleak End @ Bernie's is the brief and broken-funk industrial drum-machine rantings of the enigmatic Bernie Bleak. Somewhere there's a vast Peter Frame–style family tree for the Smell that's just waiting to be drawn up in all its 47x63 glory. (David Cotner)
Also playing Friday: GEORGE GLASS at Origami, OLD 97's, LANGHORNE SLIM at the Music Box; BONDED BY BLOOD at BLVD Café; DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL at the Troubadour; SILVERSTEIN at Glass House; LA FONT, KAZAI REX, BODY PARTS, MASKS at 325 Glendale; RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR, PETER WOLF CRIER at the Echo; ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS at Molly Malone's.
SATURDAY/JANUARY/22
SUZANNE VEGA AT LARGO
Considering that Suzanne Vega is coming off one of her strongest albums — Beauty & Crime, a multilayered noir-romantic opus set in New York — it's a bit surprising that the singer-songwriter is revisiting her past work with her new, multivolume Close-Up series. But rather than acting as a mere greatest-hits roundup, the four-part collection gives her a chance to strip her songs down to their core, making them simultaneously more intimate and exploratory. These reinventions often are revelations, whether she's thematically linking her more personal confessions on volume one's Love Songs or taking a reportorial perspective on volume two's People & Places. (Upcoming volumes have the themes States of Being and Songs of Family.) "I need to reorient myself in this new landscape since the old system seems to be crumbling," Vega says about the music industry in a phone interview from Troy, N.Y., on the eve of her West Coast tour. She remains a master of evocative lyrics, conjuring a dreamscape of things that are both real and imaginary through such recurring, mysterious, half-seen images as veils, stockings, lace, threads, foam, smoke and fire. "What I'm after is spirit," she says. "There's a world beyond this one; I want to define it and catch it in some way." (Falling James)
KIMYA DAWSON, DEFIANCE OHIO, MOSES CAMPBELL, PETER PANTS AT THE SMELL
It's ironic, of course, that "Kimya" is Swahili for "silent." From the moment we first met Kimya Dawson, the prolific antifolk heroine has been destined for her own subversively cutesy sort of stardom. As a member of the Moldy Peaches, she couldn't help but stand out. That King Buzzo–esque shock of frizzled hair belied a small but penetrating voice — a dangerously adorable weapon as likely to deliver a line about true love as one about dancing until a turd drops from one's pants. Most folks know her work from Juno, via the MP's "Anyone Else but You," but the Olympia, Wash.–based Dawson has a sizable catalog of solo albums (title sample: Hidden Vagenda) and odd collaborations, including work with Aesop Rock and Third Eye Blind. Her latest is the children's album Alphabutt, released on K Records and no doubt inspired by her 4-year-old daughter, Panda Delilah, who accompanies Dawson on the road. Expect an even split of fart jokes and universal truths. (Chris Martins)
THE BLOODY BRAINS AT THE LITTLE CAVE
