L.A. WeeklyLos Angeles is a hotbed of live music, and L.A. Weekly is here to help navigate this embarrassment of riches. From proto-punks MC5 to the Prince of Darkness himself, to the pop of Lily Allen and R&B songstress Snoh Aalegra, here are the 12 best music shows in L.A. this week.
fri 10/5
MC50
JOHN ANSON FORD AMPHITHEATRE
When Wayne Kramer, Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson and Michael Davis, at the time the three surviving members of Detroit proto-punks MC5, went out on tour as DKT/MC5 in 2004, some fans raised their eyebrows at the use of the hallowed name, regardless of the “DKT” addition. That band, with a rotating lineup of second guitarists and frontmen, was more often than not a thrilling live proposition, yet the mere fact that they were daring to use the MC5 name annoyed many. So what will those naysayers make of Kramer going out with members of Soundgarden, Faith No More, Fugazi and Zen Guerrilla as MC50 and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the influential Kick Out the Jams album? Davis is sadly no longer with us, and Thompson has apparently decided to stay out of it, so expect insults to fly. But Kramer won't care — this is a celebration, not a reunion, and we're sure the gigs will be awesome. —Brett Callwood
CalJam
GLEN HELEN AMPHITHEATER
Foo Fighters' CalJam 18 attempts to invoke the spirit of the two massive CalJam festivals of the 1970s, when such dinosaurs as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith and Heart still roamed the Earth in their prime. This modern incarnation of the festival represents a certain kind of revenge for Iggy Pop, who will reprise the songs from his unexpectedly successful 2016 late-career state-of-the-union address, Post Pop Depression. Back in the '70s, Pop was by far the wildest rock child of the era, but his music was so incendiary that it was routinely banned from most classic-rock airwaves. CalJam 18 also features the glittery alt-rock allure of Garbage, the Sabbath-style riffage of Black Mountain and the mannered rock-comedy shtick of Tenacious D, but don't miss the feminist punk fury of FEA, a spinoff of Girl in a Coma. Also Saturday, Oct. 6. —Falling James
sat 10/6
Def Leppard, Journey
THE FORUM
Could there be anything less cool, less current, less relevant from a taste-maker's POV, than a double bill of Def Leppard and Journey? The answer is no, unless Styx and/or REO Speedwagon were added at the last minute. This is basically the living, breathing definition of dated dad-rock. Two bands that, at one point, were on top of the world and, now, tread water. Except, not really. That's the perception that the nose-in-the-air, self-important snobs want to push. Here we are in 2018, and the Forum likely will be heaving with fans still excited to hear “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and “Don't Stop Believin',” people who couldn't care less about who they're supposed to listen to. They'll sing and dance for three hours or so, and go home with a beaming smile etched on their faces. And that is fucking cool. —Brett Callwood
Run the Jewels; Credit: Dan Medhurst
Adult Swim Fest
THE ROW DTLA
The Adult Swim Festival jumbles together a lineup of midlevel comedians such as Hannibal Buress and Jena Friedman with a seemingly random assortment of musical acts. The three-day festival is dominated by rap and hip-hop iconoclasts, such as the intense, aggressive duo Run the Jewels and DJ/producer Flying Lotus, leavened with Georgia Anne Muldrow's soulful contemplations and the jazz-funk dexterity of Thundercat, a longtime collaborator of Flying Lotus. The festival also encompasses the electronic-industrial subversions of J.G. Thirlwell's instrumental space-age project Xordox and the poetic country-pop fables of powerhouse singer Neko Case. Meanwhile, Julianna Barwick wraps herself up in loops of soothing electronic echoes, hip-hop empress Big Freedia brings her pumped-up New Orleans bounce, and synth-pop diva Zola Jesus sifts through the ashes and bones of her 2017 album, Okovi. Also Friday, Oct. 5, and Sunday, Oct. 7. —Falling James
sun 10/7
Dying Fetus
THE REGENT THEATER
Death metal is a spiritual experience. Four death-metal bands on one bill — with all the regional inflections that implies — is like a day full of Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis and Carolina barbecue, and anyone who eats like that knows how close to blissful nonexistence that can take you. Dying Fetus hurtle onward as a prime mover of the Metal That Is Death with their Relapse release Wrong One to Fuck With, while newish Arizona death-metal merchants Gatecreeper ride high on their recent Relapse record Sonoran Depravation. D.C. metal outfit Genocide Pact make a deal to rock you to death but keep pulling you back from that damned light, and Incantation celebrate the finer aspects of flaying and flagellations on their album Profane Nexus — because, just like fried chicken, everyone knows the skin is the best part. —David Cotner
Satan
WHISKY A GO-GO
Satan were part of the New Wave of British heavy metal that also birthed Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Raven, the Tygers of Pan Tang and Budgie and, like Venom, they come from Newcastle in the north of England. Formed in 1979, Satan were part of an exciting, new scene back then, but things went off the boil relatively fast for all but the giants of the genre. Satan changed their name to Blind Fury and Pariah as they attempted to reignite things, to no avail. Then, in 2011, they reunited and ultimately scored a deal with Metal Blade. Now, Satan can be seen all over the world, and the Cruel Magic album came out this year. Just as the Lord of the Flies would want it. —Brett Callwood
mon 10/8
Snoh Aalegra
THE REGENT THEATER
Snoh Aalegra is here to provide all the FEELS … literally. While the R&B songstress recently got a huge look from Drake sampling her record “Time” on his own “Do Not Disturb” from More Life, it's the debut album FEELS that music lovers are gravitating toward. Hailing from Sweden but now based in Los Angeles, Snoh Aalegra has been deemed the modern-day Amy Winehouse. Her music comes laced with butter-smooth vocals and meaningful lyrics that anybody can relate to. In addition to working closely with legendary producer No I.D., she's also worked with the likes of John Mayer, RZA and Common. She's one to watch for sure. —Shirley Ju
Lily Allen
THE FONDA THEATRE
“Yeah, I'm a bad mother, I'm a bad wife/You saw it on the socials, you read it online,” Lily Allen discloses coolly on “Come on Then,” an electro-pop confessional from her fourth album, No Shame. “If you go on record saying that you know me, then why am I so lonely?” The English singer has always been outspoken, whether poking fun at her critics or being even more savagely disparaging about herself, but Allen's music has evolved from the ebullient ska-pop of her early recordings into a more electronic sound. There are still traces of reggae flavor on such breezily idyllic interludes as “What You Waiting for?” Much of the record centers on themes of love and loss and the breakup of Allen's marriage on such tracks as “Apples,” “Three” and “Family Man,” while “Cake” is a more uplifting feminist ballad. —Falling James
tue 10/9
Shannon & The Clams
THE REGENT THEATER
Following Shannon Shaw's headlining appearance in August at the Echo Park Rising festival, in which the Bay Area singer-bassist explored the Dusty Springfield–style grandeur of the country-pop songs from her debut solo album, Shannon in Nashville, she returns to town with her main band, Shannon & the Clams. While Shaw's solo record was a country-rock variation interspersed with girl-group harmonies and torch-ballad intimacy, her work with Clams guitarist Cody Blanchard on such albums as 2018's Onion (produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach) is still retro but more overtly rocking. “Love Strike,” “If You Could Know” and the poignant heartbreaker “The Boy” evoke 1950s pop-rock, while the organ-driven “Strange Wind” has more of a '60s garage-rock feel. Throughout it all, Shaw belts it out with genuine passion and charisma. —Falling James
wed 10/10
Jarvis Cocker
THE REGENT THEATER
While everyone seemed to be debating the (ongoing) Blur-versus-Oasis debate in the '90s, there were those of us who knew better. We knew that, in fact, Pulp were the reigning kings of Brit-pop, and dammit, we were right. Cocker's crew were sharper and lyrically more intelligent than the other two (and the other stragglers), plus they had better tunes. In 2006, he released his debut solo album, Jarvis, and it was more of the same. Like John Cooper Clarke, Cocker has a natural ability to take everyday, run-of-the-mill English life stories — anecdotes and bleak tales — and create poetry around them. Cocker is just as sarcastic as Clarke, if a little less grouchy, and last year's Room 29 with Chilly Gonzales is further proof that he's still the same indie-rock Oscar Wilde. —Brett Callwood
thu 10/11
Graham Nash
THEATRE AT THE ACE HOTEL
Like all three members of Crosby Stills & Nash, British-American singer/songwriter Graham Nash is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of fame inductee, thanks to his time in CSN and The Hollies. Nowadays, of course, the three members of CSN (before we even get into the Y) admit that they can barely stand to look at one another, never mind perform together. So they're all out on solo tours, and all three have been getting decent reviews. Nash's 2016 album, This Path Tonight, his first solo full-lengther in 14 years, pulled in decent reviews thanks in part to some seriously introspective lyrics (he wrote it during the separation from his wife of 38 years). Yes, in a perfect world C, S and N would sort out their shit and get back together. For now, they all seem to be producing great work. —Brett Callwood
Ozzy Osbourne; Credit: Mark Weiss
Ozzy Osbourne
HOLLYWOOD BOWL
With Black Sabbath and in his solo career, Ozzy Osbourne has been saying goodbye publicly for decades. Black Sabbath recently spent two years on their self-proclaimed The End tour. If it was really the British metallurgists' final tour, it's a shame, as their 2013 release, 13, was a powerful and engaging swan song. Osbourne is titling his latest solo farewell jaunt No More Tours II, whose name refers to his 1992 No More Tours tour, a purported farewell that was followed just three years later by the tellingly labeled Retirement Sucks tour. Osbourne now claims that he will continue to perform live but not tour as extensively as he has in the past. Either way, expect him to revisit two or three Sabbath classics alongside more than a dozen solo standards including “Mr. Crowley,” “Suicide Solution” and “Crazy Train.” —Falling James
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