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

Also playing:

FIRST AID KIT at Troubadour; MATES OF STATE at El Rey Theatre; GORDON LIGHTFOOT at Royce Hall; GALLOWS at Glass House (Pomona); THE JEZABELS at the Echo; PETER WOLF CRIER at Bootleg Theater; THOM ROTELLA at Vitello's.

PHOTO BY ELLEN VON UNWERTH

Cyndi Lauper: See Friday.

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wed 11/9

Anthony Hamilton

CLUB NOKIA

One of R&B's most consistently underappreciated talents, Hamilton attracted a bit of overdue shine this summer when he opened a month of big-room shows for Jill Scott. With any luck, that attention will persist through Hamilton's headlining tour and the release next month of a new studio disc, Back to Love. The lead single, "Woo," should help: It's a plush, Babyface-helmed jam that shows off the appealing grain in Hamilton's voice. According to his rep, the album also will include collaborations with Salaam Remi and "So in Love" producer Kelvin Wooten. Hook him up, dudes. —Mikael Wood

M83

THE MUSIC BOX

French electronic composer Anthony Gonzalez — M83's sole permanent member — has long experimented with both meticulous sound sculpting and rock arena–worthy orchestrations, and continues to outdo himself with each new record. After the all-consuming beauty of 2008's Saturdays = Youth, Gonzalez, now an L.A. resident, follows with Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, his astounding new double LP, a 74-minute exploration of the possibilities of synth-pop. We hear washes of retro synths, saxophone solos and melancholic vocals on the album released a couple weeks ago. "Very, very, very epic" is how Gonzalez described Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, and as soon as the first track begins, you understand why. —Lainna Fader

Also playing:

MICHAEL SCHENKER, ULI JON ROTH at El Rey Theatre; THE BANGLES at House of Blues; YUKARI WATANABE GROUP at Blue Whale.

thu 11/10

Tav Falco's Panther Burns

THE ECHO

The underground-music icon Tav Falco is like a walking encyclopedia of American roots music, so it's no surprise that he recently co-authored (with journalist Erik Morse) a 450-page "psychogeography" about his adopted hometown of Memphis, called Mondo Memphis, redefining Bluff City as a near-mythic intersection of "urban legends and rural fables." Earlier this evening (at 7:30 p.m.), he and Morse will discuss their wide-ranging tome at Stories Books & Café, ahead of Falco putting his revisionist historical theories into practice with a live concert. Over the years, Panther Burns (which Falco started with the late Alex Chilton in 1979) set the stage for better-known bands like the Cramps and brought attention to musical pioneers like R.L. Burnside and Charlie Feathers. Now based in Europe, Falco makes a fairly rare local visit. —Falling James

Henry Franklin

CROWNE PLAZA LAX

Bassist Henry "The Skipper" Franklin is a SoCal institution, having begun his professional career as a teen in the band of vibraphonist Roy Ayers. Over the past several decades Franklin has worked with jazz legends Count Basie, Milt Jackson and Sonny Rollins. His credits include gold records with Stevie Wonder's The Secret Life of Plants, but his own music invariably comes back to the bebop he grew up with. Franklin doesn't come into town as often these days from his base in Riverside, so tonight is a chance to sample all that his experience has to offer, with his crew of pianist Theo Saunders, trumpeter Nolan Shaheed, saxophonist Chuck Manning and drummer Ramon Banda. With no cover, validated parking and a low $15 minimum, it'd be hard to go wrong here. —Tom Meek

Also playing:

RA RA RIOT at El Rey Theatre; YELLE at the Wiltern; BRANDT BRAUER FRICK at Satellite; ALEJANDRA GUZMAN at Gibson Amphitheatre; BLESSTHEFALL at the Roxy; BLAZE BAYLEY at the Key Club.