Music Picks: Aesop Rock, Azealia Banks, Toots & the Maytals
Also, Mariachi El Bronx, Phil Ranelin, Spaceghostpurrp and others
Mariachi El Bronx, L.A. Vampires, Peanut Butter Wolf
MOUNT ANALOG
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Highland Park's new vinyl-centric record shop is celebrating its opening with what essentially amounts to a festival: eight performances and at least as many DJ sets from an exciting lineup of local stars. Topping the live list are Mariachi El Bronx, the impassioned SoCal punks who traded their electric guitars (mostly) for the classical type — plus horns, violins, accordions and congas — in order to play their own roughed-up take on traditional Mexican music. Stones Throw CEO and long-revered rap producer Peanut Butter Wolf will contribute a beat-based set, while electronically inclined noiseniks David Scott Stone and John Wiese do their highly experimental thing. Pop psychonauts Peaking Lights are guaranteed to spin some rare left-field gems, but best of all might be LA Vampires, who play a goopy godsend of '80s etherea, crunchy bumps and opium-soaked vocals. Food trucks and free refreshments will be on hand. —Chris Martins
Viva Pomona
THE GLASS HOUSE
Pomona comes alive with a deep and diverse bill headlined by La Sera, aka Katy Goodman. As La Sera, she moves beyond the jangling girl-group garage rock of her old band, the Vivian Girls, into a more lavish and lush brand of elegantly bittersweet pop. In her recent double video for the songs "Real Boy" and "Drive On," Goodman morphs convincingly from a whip-cracking circus performer into a pulpy kidnap victim who's haunted by a scalpel-wielding evil twin. Whatever role she's playing, La Sera always comes off as a serenely charismatic singer who's just beginning to dig into her rich potential. This early-evening bill isn't just stacked with such adventurous new bands as Dirt Dress, So Many Wizards and, especially, Grass Widow, whose poppy femme harmonies are buttressed by swirling post-punk riffs; the night also includes a visit from art-rock legends the Urinals, who practically invented SoCal post-punk in the late '70s with their elliptical lyrics and unusual, lo-fi chord changes. —Falling James
Also playing:
KENNY CHESNEY & TIM MCGRAW at Angel Stadium; RED SIMPSON at Viva.
sun 7/15
Toots & the Maytals, Ziggy Marley, Freddie McGregor, Maxi Priest
HOLLYWOOD BOWL
All year long, but especially in the summer, something much like reggae can be heard pumping out of various South Bay bars as various local pretenders attempt to evoke the hazy days of reggae's worldwide breakthrough in the mid-1970s. Of course, the only thing missing is authenticity, as well as the urgent desperation and spirituality that buoyed classics by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. The cover bands' riddims might sound roughly the same, but there's something crucial missing from today's casual beachside troubadours. For one night at least, the Hollywood Bowl banishes all attempts at imitation by booking certified reggae legends Toots & the Maytals, whose influential tracks "Pressure Drop" and "Funky Kingston" are infused with just as much hard-won soul as lilting reggae. The bill comes fully loaded with sets by Bob's son Ziggy Marley; Jamaican veteran and eternal Big Ship captain Freddie McGregor; and British-Jamaican singer Maxi Priest, who judiciously mixes dancehall and R&B into his reggae. —Falling James
LEVITT PAVILION (pasadena)
Trombonist Phil Ranelin has been a fixture on the L.A. jazz scene for decades. Before coming to Southern Califonia 35 years ago, Ranelin helped found Detroit independent jazz label Tribe Records, and he has chosen this concert to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Ranelin's credits include working in the bands of Freddie Hubbard, the Luckman Jazz Orchestra, Horace Tapscott's Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and many others. Ranelin's quintet here includes notables Pablo Calogero on reeds, Mahesh Balasooriya on piano, James Leary on bass and Kenny Elliott on drums. Tonight's show features three acts in all, with Gaby Hernandez opening, followed by a set from DJ Carlos Nino. Expect another fine evening of both weather and music from this free summer concert series. —Tom Meek
Also playing:
SCREECHING WEASEL at the Fonda; SIMON JOYNER at Bootleg Bar; SHEARWATER, HUSKY at the Echo.
mon 7/16
Animal Raps
LOS GLOBOS
By day, Paul Prado is one of the brevity-obsessed comic geniuses at L.A.'s own 5 Second Films. He's their in-house Method actor — a guy who takes what he does so seriously, he'll shave his head clean for a five-second spoof of Citizen Kane. He can occupy a character like nobody's business, so it should come as no surprise that Prado by night takes on an entirely different guise. Donning a full-body bear suit and usually ending up bare-chested, a more primal Prado unspools raw rhymes and coos Auto-Tuned come-ons as Animal Raps. Taking cues from indie-hop diarists like Sage Francis and Atmosphere, he makes songs that drip with emotion and swagger with personal empowerment — they just happen to be animal-themed (see "Beautiful Bear" and "Jump Like a Rabbit"). Is it gimmickry? Perhaps, but Prado is talented and driven enough to pull it off. —Chris Martins
Also playing:
PRINCETON at the El Rey Theatre.
tue 7/17
Spaceghostpurrp
THE ECHOPLEX
What a difference a year makes. Last spring, this Miami rapper-producer was posting hypnotic tracks on a barely viewed YouTube page that sounded cranked out of a broken Jack-in-the-box or a twinkling merry-go-round from The Twilight Zone. They were creepy and haunting, the work of a '90s baby influenced in equal parts by the Cartoon Network and grimy lo-fi rap. We found him lurking there, but before long, Syd the Kid was spinning his 2011 anthem "Suck a Dick" at Odd Future shows, and blogs quickly picked up the scent. Now, Purrp has collaborated with his hero from Three 6 Mafia, Juicy J, has produced for Wiz Khalifa and is headlining shows. He has managed both to cozy up to and already cut ties with the rap darling du jour, A$AP Rocky, but not before gathering a sizable following for his own crew, the Raider Klan. (In case you're wondering, we're Team Purrp.) Backed tonight by the hardcore punks from Sacramento, Trash Talk, who will be the first act not from Odd Future to release an album on the notoriously insular collective's imprint. —Rebecca Haithcoat
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