Music Picks: Overdoz, The Cure, Lucinda Williams

fri 11/18

Kendrick Lamar

MUSIC BOX

Barrio Tiger: See Friday.

Location Info

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The Redwood Bar & Grill

316 W. Second St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Category: Bars and Clubs

Region: Downtown

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More About

• Dean Brown
• Kendrick Lamar
• Katy Perry
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Hip-Hop and Rap

When Kendrick Lamar played the Music Box in August, the buzzy young Compton rapper surrounded himself with high-wattage pals Snoop Dogg and Game. "Special guests" are promised tonight, too, plus support from DJ Green Lantern and a whole mess of underground L.A. rap types, including Azad Right, TiRon & Ayomari and ScHoolboy Q. But even if the surprise cameos don't rise to the A-list level of August's show, you can rest easy in the knowledge that your $25 goes to a good cause: This KDAY-sponsored gig is a benefit for Project Rishi (whose mission is "to develop and transform rural Indian villages into progressive and modern communities") and Downtown Women's Center. —Mikael Wood

Barrio Tiger

REDWOOD BAR & GRILL

It's so hard these days to find a good rock band that isn't embarrassingly stupid. Barrio Tiger come closer than most, with anthemic choruses and a driving sound that alternates between a tuneful Ramones drone and AC/DC's stop-and-start thunder. Lead guitarist Jimmy James (the Hangmen, the Comatones), a veteran scenester who also books shows at the Down & Out, powers Calixto Hernandez's lamentations with succinctly fiery solos without devolving into wankery. At times, Hernandez rises above his well-worn imagery about guns and bullets and shows hints of a more complicated Paul Westerberg perspective. Then again, in the hard rocker "Fading," he tells his poor girlfriend, "I'm just here to make you feel all right," before shouting "Your good looks are fading" about 20 times. —Falling James

Interface L.A., Lucky Dragons, Mike Gao

BOOTLEG BAR

Interface L.A. presents a multimedia event showcasing the artistic exploration of human-computer interactions through a series of live performances and demonstrations. The night begins with performances from Interface L.A.'s core collective: ro, Altitude Sickness and Merbert Moover, with visuals by Oicho and interactive installations from members of CrashSpace. Special guests Lucky Dragons will demonstrate the tactile interface they developed — YouTube their "make a baby" video to see a synthesizer played by two or more people touching one another on the skin — with an interactive performance, and Mike Gao will show off his latest iPad invention and beats. The monome experts behind Interface L.A. say to expect a secret guest appearance from one of California's top controllerists. —Lainna Fader

Also playing:

KYUSS at the Wiltern; NEON HYMNS at Room 5; BLIND PILOT, POINT JUNCTURE at El Rey Theatre; SKETCHY BLACK DOG at Blue Whale; BEARRACUDA at the Echoplex; COLD WAR KIDS at Troubadour; KIMYA DAWSON at the Echo; CENTRO-MATIC at Satellite.

sat 11/19

The Pixies

MUSIC BOX

Since reuniting in 2004, The Pixies have sold out shows on the strength of their seminal 1980s albums and impeccable live performances, with no new material in the repertoire. It's hard to think of another band that could milk an album's 20th anniversary for two years with globe-spanning shows and still hold audiences' rapt attention. This album is 1989's Doolittle, one of the most groundbreaking indie-rock records ever. The quartet has been playing the disk in its entirety, with B-sides, to the delight of old and new fans. While "Here Comes Your Man" remains one of their biggest hits, nothing illustrates The Pixies' tremendous influence on everyone from Nirvana to The White Stripes as much as "Debaser." Time to slice up some eyeballs. —Laura Ferreiro

The Civil Wars

WILTERN

Nashville duo Joy Williams and John Paul White could be describing their own music when they sing, "There's no second-hand alibis/Just some black ink on some blue lines/And a shadow you won't recognize." So much of modern Americana and folk is undercut by a lack of authenticity and the distressing and patronizing attitude that seems to equate performing traditional music with playing dumb. The Civil Wars aren't dumb, and they set their meditative lyrics to gently melodic music that's lulling without being soporific. There is a certain haunting quality in the way they pour their voices together reverentially on Barton Hollow, the debut full-length album that already has become an unexpected critical and popular success. —Falling James

Gaby Moreno

BOOTLEG THEATER

It's been said that Gaby Moreno learned English from obsessively devouring classic blues records as a child. Guatemalan by birth, Moreno took up retro American music and never let go. But unlike vintage-music sweethearts Zooey Deschanel or Norah Jones, Moreno brings an edge to the modern-day blues — from her assertive flourishes of Latin musical influence to the occasional all-out, Ma Rainey–style growl. Returning to Los Angeles after a long tour promoting her independently released second album, Illustrated Songs, Moreno will be in her comfort zone at the Bootleg, where she's become something of a mainstay. Go for her one-of-a-kind blend of English, Spanish, sweet, rough, stringy and soulful L.A. blues. —Erica E. Phillips

Also playing:

PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS at El Rey Theatre; HUNX & HIS PUNX at Alex's Bar; PAT TODD, SIMON STOKES at Redwood Bar & Grill; L.A. PHIL PERFORMS HANDEL's WATER MUSIC at Walt Disney Concert Hall; VICENTE FERNANDEZ, NYDIA ROJAS at Gibson Amphitheatre; OZ NOY at the Baked Potato.

sun 11/20