fri 7/22
Jimmy Scott
PHOTO BY MICHAEL WILSON
Jessica Lea Mayfield: See Friday.
PHOTO BY PETER JUHL
Daniel Johnston: See Friday.
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[See Page Two.]
Daniel Johnston, Jason Falkner
@EL REY THEATRE
"I am a child," Neil Young once sang, but it's the music of unusual Texas troubadour Daniel Johnston that really embodies a state of natural, youthful innocence. Singing in a shaky voice that makes Young's tremulous pipes sound like Perry Como, Johnston weaves imagery about comic book superheroes and an obsession with the Beatles into his folk-pop tales of broken hearts and Frankenstein lovers. His lyrical preoccupations may seem naïve, and his lo-fi melodies deceptively simple, but songs like "Walking the Cow" and "Funeral Home" are both charmingly playful and deeply moving. The manic-depressive singer has been championed by Matt Groening, and his songs have been covered by everyone from the Butthole Surfers and Sparklehorse to Tom Waits and the Flaming Lips. Tonight he's joined by power-pop stylist Jason Falkner (the Three O'Clock, Jellyfish), who produced Johnston's 2009 album, Is and Always Was. —Falling James
Ty Segall
@CENTER FOR THE ARTS EAGLE ROCK
Laguna Beach is not full of surprises, but it did produce young Ty Segall, a power-chording white bro straight outta the garage and right into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — stranger things have happened, true? The kid's got a tuff new-old take on the classic-rock history book that his just-out Goodbye Bread (Drag City) mélanges in magical ways, and if we do spot-the-reference here — he's all things Troggs to T. Rex, Beatles to bubblegum, White Stripes to, well, all of it —that's because at this point it's a bit too easy for a listener to do. Segall's a facile and fun tunesmith still knocking around one very large warehouse of rock-idol moves 'n' motifs; in the meantime, he delivers his stuff in a charismatic, carefree style that belies the obvious passion and brains behind it all. —John Payne
Fitz & the Tantrums
@THE MUSIC BOX
Fitz & the Tantrums play sweet old soul music that sounds like real old soul music, and they do it with such authenticity that when you leave their shows, you're not quite sure what decade you're living in. Singers Fitz and Noelle Scaggs are incredibly high-energy performers, and their complementary duality is what makes Fitz & the Tantrums a great live act. They feed on each other, daring each other to sing louder and dance harder before they turn on the audience. A lot of new bands claiming retro-soul/funk influences tend to be cheesy, but Fitz & the Tantrums manage to evade all the traps of hokeyness and make the sounds of the '60s — perhaps the greatest decade for songwriting ever — their own. —Lainna Fader
Dolly Parton
@HOLLYWOOD BOWL
Dolly Parton recently told Billboard that she's playing only five new songs on the world tour that hits L.A. this weekend. Too bad: Given the excellence of Better Day, the legendary country star's just-released studio disc, we'd gladly show up to hear her do the entire thing. (At least she's singing "The Sacrifice," which unsparingly depicts the difficult decisions faced by a female entertainer of a certain age.) Then again, who wants to miss out on vintage Dolly ditties like "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors" and "Here You Come Again"? Expect all of those tonight, along with a smattering of stuff from 9 to 5, the hit Broadway musical that seems to have revived Parton's mainstream currency. Also Sat. —Mikael Wood
Jessica Lea Mayfield
@PAPPY & HARRIET'S PIONEERTOWN PALACE
Beguiling Ohio singer Jessica Lea Mayfield brings welcome cool blue idylls from her excellent new folk-pop album, Tell Me, to this dusty desert outpost tonight. "I did not ask to be born with these eyes," she declares. Her powers of observations are searing and unsparing, even as she confesses to being the other woman and causing heartbreak and tragedy in her late-night love songs. The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach produced the album and surrounds Mayfield with a diverting variety of musical settings, from chipper girl-group pop and roots-rock rambles to funereal country balladry. She's always articulate and intriguing, even as she questions her role as a spy in the house of love: "My brain is speeding faster than my mouth can move/I'll sit still and silently observe the room." —Falling James
Soundgarden, The Mars Volta
@THE FORUM
Grunge's erstwhile arena-filling alchemy fused caffeinated punk irreverence to hard rock's drama and dynamics, yet returned scene shot-callers Soundgarden lean firmly toward the latter. Capable of earnest, ominous Zeppelin grooves ("Jesus Christ Pose," "Spoonman") and, like a true metal band, Zippo-ready slowies ("Black Hole Sun"), even these Seattleites' more mundane material is rendered magnificent by Chris Cornell's alternately simmering and orgasmic moan — a wonderfully controlled, Godlike sound that resonates across genres and generations. It says much for Soundgarden's self-confidence that they're prepared to follow The Mars Volta's impossibly convulsive, Latin- and jazz-tinged prog for a few nights. Factor in TMV frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala's otherworldly, androgynous wail and these become doubleheaders of rock's most remarkable and recognizable voices. —Paul Rogers
Also playing:
JIM WHITE at McCabe's; CARL STONE at the Wulf; WALLPAPER at Troubadour; THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL at House of Blues; GABY MORENO at Bootleg Bar; YOUNG DUBLINERS at T Boyle's Tavern; HAR MAR SUPERSTAR at Viper Room; INXS at Wiltern; ELECTED at the Echo; TIM ROBBINS at Largo.
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