Zola Jesus
@ THE SATELLITE
PHOTO BY SARAH WILSON
Carrie Rodriguez: See Sunday.
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Nika Roza Danilova had planned on a career in opera, but the Madison, Wis., native instead became a rising star when her lo-fi gothic pop set the blogosphere on fire in 2009. Her DIY ethic and flair for the darkly dramatic made her something of a home-recording female echo of Ian Curtis' ghost. As the buzz rose — thanks to sludgy, sultry downer dance hits like "Night" and "Poor Animal" — she fleshed out her touring band into a black-clad small army of synthesizer-sporting malcontents. The fashion-forward Danilova is arresting and often hypnotizing in person, bringing the operatic experience to the dumps and dives of the indie underground. —Chris Martins
Also playing Saturday:
THE SUBMARINES at the Troubadour; EDDIE & THE HOT RODS, PRIMA DONNA at the Redwood; FLEET FOXES at Hollywood Palladium; DIDDY-DIRTY MONEY at Club Nokia; NORTEC at Luckman Fine Arts Complex; THE 88 at El Rey Theatre.
sun 5/8
Carrie Rodriguez, Pieta Brown
@ McCABE'S
This Texas singer-fiddler first achieved national recognition in 2001, when she was championed by legendary songwriter Chip "Wild Thing" Taylor. She's since evolved into a unique performer in her own right. Her music roams restlessly across the Americana terrain, from rootsy pop to country and blues, all of it knitted together with her febrile violin embellishments. Far from a strict revivalist or traditionalist, Rodriguez is positively enchanting on defiant anthems like "Never Gonna Be Your Bride" and her woozily sultry version of Taylor's casting-couch fable " '50s French Movie." Iowa singer Pieta Brown opens with her gently confessional pop-country ballads. —Falling James
Cameron Carpenter
@ WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
When you see those massive pipe organs looming above you at your local cathedral, perhaps you're pondering the awesome power they might wield in the right or wrong hands, and feet. Organist Cameron Carpenter has been called "controversial" for his impassioned new way of playing the pipes — and likely because he doesn't fit the picture of the creaky old organ master. Carpenter is a former dancer who dresses like the flamboyant rock star he indisputably is, a splashy image that only enhances his charismatic virtuosity with a repertoire including Bach, Franck, Liszt and Ives, peppered with imaginative reworkings of songs by the likes of Kate Bush, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Annie Lennox. Carpenter brings to the pipe organ a thrilling showmanship and much needed physicality, by turns jaw-dropping, refined and very smart indeed. —John Payne
Also playing Sunday:
ANCESTORS, TWEAK BIRD at Bootleg Bar; THE METEORS at the Echoplex; WAMMO & FORSYTH at Molly Malone's; WORLD PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE at CalArts.
mon 5/9
Gutbucket Chamber Orchestra
@ REDCAT
This Brooklyn-based quartet (not to be confused with local psychedelic funk maestros Gutbucket) holds the firm belief that jazz, rock, contemporary classical and improvisatory new music — hey, all of it — need a good, swift kick in the keister. They play tightly composed art-rock chamber jazz angularities that veer off into foreign but often familiarly rocking places, with a lot of skronky, screechy sax, punky-overdrive guitar chip-choppery and some seriously slippery stop-'n'-start rhythm-section devilry. The core unit will perform and improvise on the ace tunes from their new album. Later, they'll be joined by CalArts players on woodwinds, vibes, keyboards, organ, cello, percussion, electronics, prepared instruments, noise toys, multiple basses and electric guitars. —John Payne
The Low Anthem
@ THE AUTRY
As full-band folk enjoys a renaissance of sorts, it'd be a mistake to overlook this Providence, R.I., group for some of its flashier counterparts. These four aim for timelessness with a brand of Americana that nods as much to high-energy gospel and gritty blues as it does to rustic, autumnal hues. Every member is a multi-instrumentalist, and live they change roles as their songs dictate, whether manning a combination of clarinet, pump organ and alto horn for the quiet classic "This God Damn House," electric instruments for their stomping cover of Tom Waits' "Home I'll Never Be," or standard busking fare for new one "Apothecary Love," from the freshly released Smart Flesh LP. Mumford and who? —Chris Martins
Also playing Monday:
MIA DOI TODD at Broad Stage [see Music to Pick Up/Download]; HE'S MY BROTHER SHE'S MY SISTER, SISTER ROGERS, SWEATERS, THE PLEASURE CIRCUS at the Satellite; KT TUNSTALL at El Rey Theatre; WHITE ARROWS, PAPA at Bootleg Bar.
tue 5/10
Pegi Young
@ THE HOTEL CAFÉ
Perhaps it's no surprise that Pegi Young's music is overshadowed by the work of her husband, Neil, but she's no dilettante, even if the late-blooming singer didn't get around to releasing her first solo albums until she was in her 50s. She was writing her own songs when she was in high school, long before she met Neil, but she subsequently dedicated herself to less glamorous pursuits, like raising a son with cerebral palsy and becoming the major force behind the Bridges School for special-needs children. Pegi isn't a brassy shouter, and her songs have a subtly intoxicating impact, like "Traveling," which eschews the fiery pyrotechnics of her husband's rock music in favor of a shadowy, contemplative and gently lulling R&B introspection. —Falling James
