L.A. WeeklyLos Angeles is a hotbed of live music, and L.A. Weekly is here to help navigate this embarrassment of riches. From two awesome punk billings chock-full of legends to Busdriver, St. Vincent and hometown rockers Deap Vally, here are the 12 best music shows in L.A. this week.
fri 10/26
Molly Burch
BOOTLEG THEATER
Molly Burch is a native of Los Angeles who now lives in Austin, Texas. Her second album, First Flower, is a collection of languid pop songs tinged with a hint of country. “This is a dangerous space/I hope I learn from my mistakes,” Burch sings amid the gentle chord changes of “Dangerous Space.” But most of the tracks on the new record don't really communicate a sense of danger or darkness. Instead, the general mood is breezy and light on such adoring romantic balladry as “Candy” and the title track. “I like the things you say, the things you do,” Burch confides with a simple earnestness on the latter song. “I don't need to scream to get my point across,” she announces aptly enough on the sleepy reverie “To the Boys.” —Falling James
Agent Orange/U.K. Subs
ALEX'S BAR
Aka Awesome Punk Package Bill of the Week, No. 1. Veteran O.C. hardcore/surf punks Agent Orange are joining forces with old-school snotty English hooligans U.K. Subs. That's an incredible double bill to begin with; Agent Orange's Mike Palm and the Subs' Charlie Harper are killer frontmen, mainstays of the genre that have worked their butts off to not let their standards drop. The Subs' last album, Ziezo, was their 26th in total (a new album title for each letter of the alphabet), and it's well worth a listen. Meanwhile, Agent Orange haven't put out anything new since 1996's Virtually Indestructible but Palm recently told us he wants to put that right. Both bands are sure to slay. And as if that isn't enough, Huntington Beach's own Guttermouth will open this Long Beach show. —Brett Callwood
sat 10/27
Timmy's Organism
THE HI-HAT
Timmy “Vulgar” Lampinen is a beloved figure within the tight Detroit underground rock & roll scene. Indeed, when The White Stripes broke through in the '90s, and every label and critic was heading to the D to uncover the next garage-rock shining light, Lampinen's The Clone Defects were a hot tip. His next project, The Human Eye, was equally revered on a local level for several years, thanks to a few fascinating, experimental albums. But the beginning of this decade heralded the formation of a new band, Timmy's Organism. A deal with old friend Jack White's Third Man Records has enabled Lampinen to take his unique noise to a wider audience, and that's to everyone's benefit. Expect uncompromising, thrilling post-punk action at the Hi-Hat. Zig Zags and The Fly Traps also play, and Don Bolles DJs. —Brett Callwood
Boys Noize
BELASCO THEATER
Boys Noize needs no introduction. A legend in the dance-music realm, the German DJ/producer has worked with some of music's greatest, including Snoop Dogg, N.E.R.D, Daft Punk and Depeche Mode. In 2005, real name Alexander Ridha started his own label, Boysnoize Records, consistently unleashing explosive remixes and originals for his fans. With Halloween quickly approaching, Boys Noize teams up with Minimal Effort to headline their All Hallow's Eve show. The eventful evening offers house and techno favorites including WhoMadeWho and Human Resources. —Shirley Ju
Busdriver; Credit: Emari Traffie
sun 10/28
Busdriver
ZEBULON
“Galaxies unfurled, children born from our fire/Swept up in technologies that we don't control, condone, uphold,” Busdriver muses against traffic noises and an intimate, jazzy trumpet interlude on the title track of Electricity Is on Our Side, setting the scene for the galaxies of words and sounds that follow on the L.A. rapper's 10th album. “I'm from the golden age of name calling,” he declares on the next song, “I'm From a Different Time,” setting himself apart from the judicial corruption and poverty that often define real life in the inner city. “I don't want to hear your personal take, the elders know,” Busdriver continues abstractly. “A branch of motor neurons being plucked like a six-string.” Featuring guest visitations from Daedelus, Hemlock Ernst, Denmark Vessey and Dntel, the record ranges from heavy rap and jazzy contemplation to more arty, psychedelic soundscapes that match Busdriver's ever-intricate and poetically incisive wordplay. —Falling James
Autograph
WHISKY A GO-GO
Pasadena hard rockers Autograph may not have reached the dizzy heights of a Mötley Crüe or Ratt, but they've stuck around, survived the '90s and are still putting out quality albums, most recently last year's Get Off Your Ass. All of this is particularly amazing when considering the fact that the group was created as a solo project for original guitarist and former Silver Condor member Steve Plunkett. In fact, by the time 2003's Buzz came out, Plunkett was the only original member left. Now, in a complete reversal, O.G. lead guitar Steve Lynch and bassist Randy Rand are back in the band, and Plunkett isn't interested so there's a new singer, Simon Daniels. They might be playing personnel switcheroo but they're still an impressive live unit. —Brett Callwood
St. Vincent; Credit: Nedda Afsari
mon 10/29
St. Vincent
HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM
Earlier this month, St. Vincent performed an intimate concert at the Belasco Theater, backed only by pianist Thomas Bartlett, as she sang stripped-down arrangements of the songs from her 2017 album, Masseduction, alongside a cover of Joni Mitchell's “Court and Spark.” The performance echoes the approach on her new companion record, MassEducation, in which she and Bartlett break down such tunes as “New York” and “Los Ageless” with a starker, more vulnerable delivery than she revealed on the original versions of those tracks from Masseduction. For tonight's concert at the Hollywood Palladium, St. Vincent will be joined by her full band — bassist Toko Yasuda, drummer Matt Johnson and keyboardist Daniel Mintseris — as she mixes songs from her past with the varying versions of her more recent tunes. —Falling James
The Adicts, The Dickies
THE NOVO
Aka Awesome Punk Package Bill of the Week, No. 2. Eternal droogs The Adicts have enjoyed a new lease of life since signing with Nuclear Blast Records last year, a label that might be closely associated with extreme metal but actually got started releasing hardcore punk. The resulting And It Was So! album might not be a career highlight but it's far from a let-down. In the live arena, Monkey and his merry crew still never disappoint. Put them on a bill with local first-wavers The Dickies and fireworks are guaranteed. The pairing is perfect: two quirky, super-entertaining and funny punk bands from two continents, with bags of awesome tunes between them. Messer Chups have the task of warming up the crowd. —Brett Callwood
tue 10/30
Deap Vally
ECHOPLEX
Apart from a scheduled appearance at the recent Desert Daze festival and a show last year at the Observatory in Santa Ana, Deap Vally haven't performed much near their L.A. hometown during the last year. But the duo of singer-guitarist Lindsey Troy and drummer Julie Edwards have been busy for much of the past few years touring seemingly everywhere else around the world. Deap Vally's 2016 album, Femejism, remains a thrilling collision of hard-rock, blues, grunge and punk riffage mixed with Troy's smart, defiant lyrics (“I am happily unhappy, man,” she sings dismissively to the stranger in a bar harassing her on “Smile More”). Troy and Edwards' new single, “Get Gone,” is a minute-and-a-half crush of psychedelic garage-rock energy. —Falling James
Oh Sees; Credit: Amdo Photo
wed 10/31
Oh Sees
TERAGRAM BALLROOM
One can't help wondering which guise Oh Sees will wear for tonight's Halloween show. Will it be the thrash-heavy band who churn out such heavy tracks as “Overthrown,” or perhaps the gentler, kinder combo who segue into such relatively gentle contemplations as “Last Peace”? Or will it be the freakified Oh Sees who expand into such trippy explorations as “Anthemic Aggressor,” from the San Francisco group's latest album, Smote Reverser? Chances are it will be all three of these versions and more, as leader John Dwyer and his crew trip the light fantastic with bone-crushing hard-rock heaviness mixed with an almost jazzy psychedelic fluidity. Unlike so many bands who attempt to be psychedelic, Oh Sees blast away any pretense of revivalist nostalgia with sure-handed flexibility and bone-crushing power and exactitude. —Falling James
TsuShiMaMiRe
THE VIPER ROOM
A Halloween show at the Viper from Japanese surf-noise-punk trio TsuShiMaMiRe is entirely appropriate; the women — Mari Kono, Yayoi Tsushima and Maiko Takagi — have been known for their disturbing lyrics and videos since forming in 1999. The band's name isn't a real Japanese word but rather an amalgam of the members' names. And that quirky, sweet fun blends wonderfully uncomfortably with the group's sinister edge. Following a couple of early demos, the Pregnant Fantasy album in 2004 really announced the band's arrival, and subsequent efforts Giving Blood, Shocking and Abandon Human have cemented their standing as a Japanese underground superpower. Last year's new album, honestly titled NEW, is further proof that more Westerners should know about them. —Brett Callwood
thu 11/1
Joan Jett, Morrissey
MICROSOFT THEATER
Usually musicians are a bit too self-serving to have a real mind-melter as their opening act. There have been exceptions, however, that escaped that black pit of ego and launched themselves into the skyclad glories of immortality. Iggy Pop opening for The Rolling Stones in 1981; Kool & The Gang opening for Van Halen in 2012; and, rather fortuitously circuitously, The Smiths opening up for SPK in 1983. So when you hear that Joan Jett is opening up for Morrissey, you tend to sit up and take notice. She's got a new documentary, Bad Reputation; his latest album is Low in High School. Chances are you've seen either of them more than a few times — getting Joan Jett's peanut butter in Morrissey's chocolate and Morrissey's chocolate in Joan Jett's peanut butter is just an extra added treat at this point. —David Cotner
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