fri 5/27
PHOTO BY DANIEL JACKSON
Lykke Li: See Tuesday.
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Prince
@The Forum
What else can we say about Prince's 21-Nite Stand residency last week? Yup, it's obscenely good. Pro tip: DO NOT LEAVE THE VENUE unless security forcibly ejects you. Even if it looks like the show is over, it ain't. Prince's "encores" the first night turned into an extra 90 minutes of gems and obscure jams. Go. —Gustavo Turner
Joan as Police Woman
@BOOTLEG THEATER
Joan as Police Woman is the nom de guerre of Joan Wasser, a singer-violinist who got her start with the Dambuilders and has collaborated with such stellar folks as Joseph Arthur, Lou Reed, Antony & the Johnsons and her late boyfriend, Jeff Buckley. Her new album, The Deep Field, is a fine collection of neo-soul workouts and solemn balladry. Although the subdued electric keyboard tones and her tremulous vocal delivery on songs like "The Action Man" and "The Magic" evoke vintage 1970s soul, Wasser is at her most interesting when she breaks away from the retro formula and adds traces of her own restless personality. "Flash" is a more intriguingly ethereal soundscape, where her fragile vocals create a slowly building spell, while "Say Yes" is a fuzzily glittery modern rocker. —Falling James
My Chemical Romance
@HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM
The latest album from these now-local emo-goth guys hasn't captured mainstream attention the way 2006's platinum-selling The Black Parade did. But Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys might actually be the better record — at least, if you've been looking for a band committed to finding the midpoint between Coldplay's Viva la Vida and the first album by Suicide. (Last year, frontman Gerard Way told us Danger Days had been inspired in part by M.I.A., whom he called "the new Johnny Rotten.") My Chem sounded (and looked) great tearing through the new stuff at a release-week House of Blues gig last November. But it's a good bet that after two months on the road, these drama kings will bring even more fire tonight. Also Sat. —Mikael Wood
Gangi, SFV Acid, Baron Von Luxxury
@THE ECHO
Matt Gangi's music is a bit disorienting, a fact he blames on all the bright lights and loud noises that mess with our little minds as we try to go about our daily business here in the city of angels and demons. Gangi and drum buddy Eric Chramosta drag in a thousand genre sources that can shift without notice within the same song, then they rain it down with ambient/musique concrète effects atop an otherwise ethereal big-beat pop and decidedly heavy-duty psychedelic rock. SFV Acid's wobbly funksonic spew makes for a seriously ill take on West Coast hip-hop, among other things; post-post-synth-pop king Baron von Luxxury has done wicked things on the underground disco scene via remixes for Glass Candy, Health, Little Boots and Hilary Duff. Video artist Miko Revereza supplies the eye candy. —John Payne
Also playing:
MOUNT EERIE at Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock; JON BRION at Largo; RED PONY CLOCK, WOUNDED LION, FATTY DEAREST at the Smell; DUSTIN O'HALLORAN at Masonic Lodge.
sat 5/28
Prince
@The Forum
[See Friday.]
Mobb Deep
@House of Blues
It ain't hard to tell the "Queensbridge murderers" came to prominence in the same hardcore hip-hop era that also saw the rise of the Notorious B.I.G.: Prodigy and Havoc's verses cut sideways glances out of narrow slits of eyes at the grimy street life of their native New York. Their deliveries are mirthless, underscored by the roiling, dark clouds of Havoc's production. Prodigy's real life actually mirrored his raps and landed him in prison for three years. But their music transcends time precisely because it speaks to the darkest corners of human nature. Prodigy was released from his sentence just a couple of months ago, and the place will become a party if a longtime friend, local producer the Alchemist, drops by. —Rebecca Haithcoat
Daniel Lanois' Black Dub
@THE MUSIC BOX
Yes, he did produce the likes of U2, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Peter Gabriel, but guitarist/pedal-steel ace Daniel Lanois sidelines in solo and band projects that highlight the restless polytalent's considerable chops in diverse musical worlds. Dive into the warming waters of his Black Dub, an experimental bar band whose slack 'n' swampy rock & roll delivers a high-stepping, good-timey vibe that owes a lot to Lanois' bluesy ax-slinging and to the yeoman efforts of a real sterling band: soulicious vocals courtesy Trixie Whitley (the late Chris Whitley's daughter), Daryl "Da Bird" Johnson on bass and the ever-smoking tub whacker Brian Blade on deeply, deeply funky back line. Keep your ears peeled, too, 'cause Lanois might slyly strew the whole mess around via some secret, special miking magic. —John Payne
Bobby Womack
@THE SHRINE
This legendary soul man is best known for '70s singles like "That's the Way I Feel About Cha," "Woman's Gotta Have It" and "Across 110th Street," but a new generation is discovering his bone-rattling baritone thanks to an unlikely source. Last year, the singer's voice came buzzing through the airwaves on the back of the disco-damaged Gorillaz single "Stylo." It was Womack's first studio recording in nearly a decade, and he wound up joining Damon Albarn's star-studded cartoon band for a massive tour last fall. It's safe to assume this concert is inspired by the warmth Womack received on the road — he's spoken about seeing teen Gorillaz fans waving his early albums at him from the audience — and that it'll be chock-full of timeless R&B classics. —Chris Martins
