Music Picks: Prince, Amanda Jo Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Xzibit, Civet,

Amanda Jo Williams

@ THE ECHO

PHOTO BY NORMAN JEAN ROY

The Ditty Bops: See Wednesday.

Location Info

Map

The Forum

3900 W. Manchester Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90305

Category: Music Venues

Region: Inglewood

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Staples Center

1111 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Category: Community Venues

Region: Out of Town

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Walt Disney Concert Hall

111 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Category: Music Venues

Region: Out of Town

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The Greek Theatre

2700 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Category: Community Venues

Region: Los Feliz

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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 Redwood Bar & Grill

316 W. Second St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Downtown

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More About

• Prince (Musician)
• Gustavo Turner
• Yefim Bronfman
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

This Georgia-bred former fashion model (who, though allegedly transient, seems to spend a lot of time in L.A.) sings and plays lovably clunky new/old country like the love child of Emmylou Harris and Jonathan Richman. [Ed.'s note: To us she sounds more like the love child of a lesbic menage à trois between Melanie Safka, Minnie Pearl and Jane Birkin, but what do we know?] She warbles like a flush-faced li'l kid going totally for broke as she bashes away at that poor old acoustic guitar. But Williams is chameleonic; dig a bit and you'll find a painful honesty in her dark, raw tales of life's woes and wonders. Onstage, she's prone to quirky chitchat and stretched-out instrumental jams, helped by a solid band that includes dancing sprite Feather on foot bells [L.A. Weekly Music lo-o-o-o-ves Feather!] and the great, versatile Alex Maslansky on guitar. This show also is FREE. —John Payne

Also playing Monday: CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD at the Echo; RUM­SPRINGA, MOSES CAMPBELL at Bootleg Theater.

tue 4/26

Carla Morrison

@ THE ECHO

Carla Morrison's pop songs are so delicate, they seem like they might float away in the ether the moment you hear them. The Tecate native coos with a soft, intimate voice that hovers like a hummingbird over gentle guitars and low-key keyboards. "Pajarito del Amor," a duet with fellow Mexican chanteuse Natalia Lafourcade, couldn't be any sweeter, as the pair's intertwined notes flutter like leaves between the strings of a slow acoustic guitar. Morrison builds on the momentum of her recent appearance at SXSW with this small club show, following a set by alt-son combo Las Cafeteras. —Falling James

Also playing Tuesday: ZION 1 & GROUCH at El Rey Theatre; PAPA ROACH at House of Blues.

wed 4/27

Dub Club + dublab

@ THE ECHOPLEX

Double (or should we say "dubble" — har har) treat for lovers of addictively repetitive Jamaican sounds. L.A. reggae institution Dub Club presents soundsystem legends, a Japanese crew and the mighty Shinehead (one of our favorite local reggae icons — great guy and performer) downstairs at the 'Plex, while upstairs Frosty and his dublab gang of merry pranksters feature Dub Club's Tom Chasteen, assorted Punky Reggae Partiers, plus Duppy Gun, which is Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras, who just returned from Jah-land after producing the Congos. (Yup, you heard that right: Sun Araw produced the m-f-ing CONGOS! Salivating ...) —Gustavo Turner

New Garage Explosion (film screening)

@ LANDMARK THEATRE

[See Page Two.]

Heidecker and Wood

@ LARGO

It's tough to know what to make of Heidecker and Wood, a duo whose easy-breezy soft-rock style seems to suggest a contemporary redo of the hallowed Loggins and Messina team-up. This group's namesakes confound matters, though: Tim Heidecker of Adult Swim nutso comedy Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, and Davin Wood, composer for that same series. They call their songs a "strange mix of dry humor and sincerity," but given their background, the "dry humor" part might mostly be a selling pitch. Instead, on their just-out debut, Starting From Nowhere, the two straight-facedly belt out groovy Doobies-esque jams like "Wedding Song" and '80s-checking Huey Lewis–isms like "Right or Wrong." It's enough to set one's irony meter on the fritz, but the sing-along factor is high indeed. —Chris Martins

The Ditty Bops

@ THE HOTEL CAFÉ

Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett may sing whimsically bopping ditties about summer rains and lazing under lemon trees, but their casually playful attitude belies their serious musicianship. The duo's folk-pop tunes seem drawn from an unspecified old-timey era, but their close harmonies are as fresh and immediate as morning dew. There's an inescapably enchanting dreaminess in the yearning melodies of "Heaven Isn't for the Angels" and "Moon Over the Freeway." Barrett's and DeWald's voices are so beguiling, both Bob Dylan and Natalie Merchant asked the Ditty Bops to accompany them on recent albums. The pair have written children's books, and their latest release, The Color Album, reflects their growing interest in making kids' music. —Falling James

Also playing Wednesday: DONALD GLOVER, CHILDISH GAMBINO at the Music Box; THE BUILDERS AND THE BUTCHERS at the Satellite.

thu 4/28

Dark Dark Dark

@ The Satellite

Some of us read "Minneapolis-based chamber pop sextet" and we start nightmaring visions of an army of self-righteous, college-educated North Midwestern + Canadians (the 49th parallel is a political fiction) terrifying us like entire arcades burning down in anthemic fires. Except Dark Dark Dark are way, way better than that, and their secret weapon is singer Nona Marie Invie, as good a soul singer as tUnE-YaRdS' Merrill Garbus. This sleeper is hands-down the best show of the evening (unless a certain purple imp announces another date at the Forum ...). —Gustavo Turner

Miguel

@ KEY CLUB

His sound dangerously bedroom-eyed R&B, this one-name wonder released his debut album just last November. He's been a low-key star for years, though, showing up on gifted lyricist Blu's classic Below the Heavens, and writing for both uber–pop star Usher and college rapper Asher Roth. But the minute his falsetto yearned over a distant, tangy guitar in last summer's steamiest song, "All I Want Is You," nobody could recall the last time Usher had made a song sweat with such raw sexiness. "Teach Me" is all Prince-dirty electric guitar riffs; "Quickie"recalls winding Caribbean hips. The L.A. native has boudoir tricks for days, and plenty of women are hoping he shows them all off tonight. —Rebecca Haithcoat