Music Picks: Method Man, Sufjan Stevens and Raymond Raposa, Billy Childs Jazz Chamber Ensemble

Billy Childs Jazz Chamber Ensemble

VITELLO'S

PHOTO BY ELLEN VON UNWERTH

Cyndi Lauper: See Friday.

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Los Angeles–born composer and pianist Billy Childs was a traditionally trained jazz pianist but had an eye to expanding his repertoire to include elements of classical music. A decade ago, Childs founded a jazz chamber ensemble, including a harp, sometimes adding a string or woodwind quartet. Childs' composing prowess and willingness to push boundaries have so far garnered him 10 Grammy nominations with three awards, including a 2006 Grammy for his jazz chamber composition "Into the Light." His two shows Saturday feature guitarist Larry Koonse, harpist Carol Robbins, bassist Hamilton Price, saxophonist Katisse Buckingham and former Tonight Show drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith. —Tom Meek

Also playing:

EARL SCRUGGS at Royce Hall; YOU ME AT SIX at House of Blues; KATE VOEGELE, PARACHUTE at El Rey Theatre; FRUIT BATS at Troubadour; DUNES, JON WIESE at the Smell.

sun 11/6

Slow Club

THE ECHO

When they played at Spaceland last year, British duo Slow Club pulled out all the stops to make the audience feel at home. Much of the time, singer-guitarist Charles Watson and singer-percussionist Rebecca Taylor eschewed microphones, standing at the lip of the stage or in the middle of the dance floor to give their cleverly romantic pop songs more of an intimate feel. Switching from typical drumsticks to bundles of long, tightly wrapped sticks to hammer down her exacting beats, Taylor was especially beguiling, fulfilling the titular prophecy of "Sorry About the Doom" when she apologized in advance because it was "a sad song." On Slow Club's new album, Paradise, such sad songs, including the achingly wistful "Never Look Back," are incredibly moving, but Watson and Taylor occasionally break the spell with grand pop-rock ebullience on "Where I'm Waking" and "Two Cousins." Also Tues. at the Troubadour. —Falling James

Mac Miller

House of Blues

At first glance, 19-year-old Mac Miller looks more like the kid who used to crack wise at the local skate park than hip-hop's newest phenom. But thanks to his familiar, comforting charm — not to mention an improving flow — countless teens and hip-hop purists alike now are riding for this Pittsburgh MC. Through social networking, extensive touring and a steady stream of mixtapes, Miller, signed to Rostrum Records (home of Wiz Khalifa), has slowly generated impressive numbers: His current tour has sold out nearly every date and his most recent EP, On and On and Beyond, topped the iTunes hip-hop charts this past March. Next month, Miller drops his debut LP, Blue Slide Park, for which pre-order numbers are already massive. Hardly what you'd expect from that one neighborhood smart-ass. —Dan Hyman

Also playing:

NO AGE at the Smell; LANG LANG at Walt Disney Concert Hall; BILL CUNLIFFE QUARTET at Vibrato; DON PRESTON at Alvas Showroom.

mon 11/7

Lights

EL REY THEATRE

This Toronto-based electro-pop lass in 2009 released a major-label disc that seemed aimed at the lovesick kids who'd propelled Owl City to platinum sales earlier that year. Now, though, Lights is back with a new studio album, Siberia, on the hip Canadian indie Last Gang. She even recruited the self-consciously edgy dance-punk duo Holy Fuck to co-produce, and rocks a Skrillex-style side part on the record's cover. Yet Lights hasn't abandoned her wimp-attuned instincts entirely: In the best of her new songs, she's still giving voice to the romantic yearning burning inside North America's bookworms. The beats may be rougher, but she remains a softie at heart. —Mikael Wood

Boots Electric

THE ROXY

Hollywood homeboy Jesse Hughes fronts garage-art champs the Eagles of Death Metal, where Hughes makes ludicrous references to all things funk and dumbo rock & roll. A primo hook man, Hughes gives his glam dance-rock solo debut, Honkey Kong, a hectic stomp and a 1950s rock & roll melodicism: ELO and T. Rex hump Funkadelic, Ultravox and the Big Bopper. "Boots Electric Theme" and "Love You All the Thyme" have a new-wave synth sleaze, guitars, big, fat bump bells, steam organs, violin solos and warped special FX — and Jesse's lyrical purview? Why, that'd be baby-take-me-back, sexy trannies and running with the devil. —John Payne

Also playing:

LYKKE LI at Fox Theater (Pomona); V.V. BROWN at Bardot; JACQUES LESURE JAM SESSION at Nola's; GRAM PARSONS TRIBUTE at Joe's Great American.

tue 11/8

Thrice

MAYAN THEATER

With 2005 opus Vheissu, Thrice became the post-hardcore U2: still somewhat screamy, yet forest-of-fists anthemic and a li'l bit Bible-thumpy to boot. But this P.C. O.C. quartet's subsequent, often experimental releases have bravely punched them out of that bag and bought them the luxury of just being a rock band again. Thrice's recent eighth album, Major/Minor, is a celebration of the sheer latitude of the previous seven, at once referencing the urgency and odd time signatures of their early output; a Vheissu-esque sense of scale; and a palette broadened by more recent acoustic and electronic adventures. But ultimately Major/Minor, and Thrice's 13-year career to date, succeed on single-minded musicality and the supple sincerity of Dustin Kensrue's soul-searching croon. —Paul Rogers

Sufjan Stevens and Raymond Raposa

VISTA THEATRE

Indie-rock troubadour Sufjan Stevens and Castanets' Raymond Raposa joined forces to write the score for the compelling documentary film Beyond This Place and will perform it live when the film has its L.A. premiere at the historic Vista Theatre. Stevens is a childhood friend of filmmaker Kaleo La Belle, whose moving documentary chronicles his attempts to connect with the free-loving, stoner father who abandoned him as a child. The music accompanies the duo on their epic bike ride across the scenic Pacific Northwest. Following on the heels of Stevens' ambitious tour supporting his acclaimed recent album, The Age of Adz, this performance will offer fans the rare chance to catch the singer in an intimate setting and hear the folksy, banjo-picking tunes unfettered. —Laura Ferreiro