Music Picks: Los Lobos, Lord Huron, Calculator, Exmortus

Local sibling duo Belle Brigade (Ethan and Barbara Gruska) come from a long line of L.A. musicians: Their father is noted songwriter Jay Gruska and their grandfather is John Williams, the Oscar-winning conductor and composer who wrote the scores to Jaws, Star Wars, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and countless other classics. It wasn't until Barbara had returned from touring the world drumming with the Bird & the Bee, Jenny Lewis and Benji Hughes that she and Ethan decided to get together and form the Belle Brigade. On their Reprise debut, they wade through half a century of Southern California pop grounded in the Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles. Fress off a national tour with k.d. lang, the Belle Brigade are next up in the Grammy Museum's "Homegrown" series. —Lainna Fader

Princeton, Maps & Atlases

Rasputina: See Friday.

Location Info

Map

The Greek Theatre

2700 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Category: Community Venues

Region: Los Feliz

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Key Club

9039 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: West Hollywood

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The Glass House

200 W. Second St.
Pomona, CA 91766

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Out of Town

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The Troubadour

9081 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: West Hollywood

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More About

• Princeton (Band)
• Hollywood Bowl
• Rasputina
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Indie Rock and Indie Pop

@TROUBADOUR

Princeton's twin brothers Jesse and Matt Kivel and pals named their band not after the prestigious university but for the Santa Monica street they once lived on — They were testing us. An artfully tuneful band who seem to wonder what-all they can cram into the pop song form without losing its winsome charms, Princeton have deftly woven clever cribs of classic British, French and Brazilian pop and Stax-y soul sonorities, even refashioning the "concept" album of art-rock's fruity past to plow and fertilize heretofore unthinkable musical fields. The results are always surprising: Check their oddly black-humored recent single "To the Alps"/"The Electrician" for some untypical beauty. On roughly similar turf, though with a more American-acoustic reference palette, come Chicago's mathy players Maps & Atlases. —John Payne

Also playing:

STONE DARLING at the Satellite; ROBERT FRANCIS at Bootleg Theater.

tue 8/2

The Naked and Famous

@MUSIC BOX

There must be something about growing up in Australasia that instills a pogo-ing optimism in its people. Like their Australian neighbors Architecture in Helsinki, New Zealand's the Naked and Famous produce giddy 'n' fearless pop that's the perfect soundtrack for summer adventuring. These youngbloods have been longtime sweethearts of tastemakers like the BBC and KCRW, and with good reason. Their 2010 debut, Passive Me, Aggressive You, is more than a study in reliving childlike joy: Gauzy harmonies and tinges of industrial production evoke meditative contemplation as much as they do the urge to jump on trampolines. Expect a heavy dose of reverb and volume at their live show. —Andrea Domanick

Yes, Styx

@GREEK THEATRE

A lot of music we thought was utter garbage back in the day has come into a new light with the passage of time. That's because (A) it's comforting to live in the past — obviously the present and future are too damn scary, and (B) what we thought we knew about music was really ignorant anyway, right? English progressive-rock icons Yes and American saccharine-pop kings Styx are on the same bill, and perhaps one highlight will be the howls of derision each "side" will hurl against the other as it proclaims the vast superiority of its chosen nostalgia provider. Yes are still capable of enormous cinematic power as a live unit, especially when they stick to the grand epics like Close to the Edge. —John Payne

Also playing:

THE CALICOS at Silverlake Lounge; DREDG at the Glass House; ALLAH LAS at the Echo; WOODS, FRESH AND ONLYS, WHITE FENCE at Echoplex; YUJA WANG PLAYS RACHMANINOFF, TCHAIKOVSKY at Hollywood Bowl.

wed 8/3

Sun Araw

@HARD ROCK CAFÉ

[See Page Two]

Also playing:

COLDPLAY at UCLA Tennis Center; LYKKE LI at Greek Theatre; RED OAK DUO at Blue Whale; SCATTERED TREES at the Satellite.

thu 8/4

Weezer

@PACIFIC AMPHITHEATRE

Considering that they put out no fewer than three albums last year, it comes as a surprise to find that in 2011 Weezer haven't released anything yet. (The alt-rock vets appear on an upcoming Muppets tribute disc, covering "The Rainbow Connection" with help from Hayley Williams of Paramore. It's as weird as you'd hope.) Even so, they've been busy: Last week Weezer played a pair of joint New York–area shows in which they alternated songs with the Flaming Lips, and before that they unveiled the Weezer Cruise, which you can take in January from Miami to Cozumel. No word on what we should expect from this headlining set at the OC Fair. Wackiness of some form, though, is bound to ensue. —Mikael Wood

Also playing:

JOHN HIATT at the Troubadour; BEIRUT at Greek Theatre; LENI STERN TRIO at Blue Whale; JOANA CARNEIRO CONDUCTS NIELSEN, LINDBERG at Hollywood Bowl; JESSE MALIN at Key Club. Rasputina: See Friday.