12 of the Best Music Shows This Week in L.A.

From fresh local punks The Regrettes and prog vets Toto to dub legend Lee “Scratch” Perry and an intimate evening at the Grammy Museum with Halsey, here are 12 of the best music shows in Los Angeles this week.

fri 9/20

The Regrettes

THE FONDA THEATRE 

Love in all its messy permutations bursts out of every track on The Regrettes’ new album, How Do You Love? Lead singer Lydia Night charts the ups and downs of romance, moving from joyful exuberance to confusion and mixed feelings to, inevitably, regrets. “I wanna walk along the beach, as cheesy as it sounds,” she declares amid the momentous chords of “Coloring Book.” “Anything can happen,” Night insists as sparkling guitars swirl around her. “So just let it happen.” Her initial idealism and hope eventually turn to disappointment on such tracks as “More Than a Month,” whose jangling chords and upbeat tempo mask her newfound melancholy: “All my Joni records, they will get me through, and Patsy helps a little but won’t give me you/So I moved on to write my very own depressing song.” —Falling James

Toto (Scottie Richie)

Toto 

THE WILTERN

Toto is the one American band who can be honestly described as the band that’s done it all. They bring their latest iteration of progressive top-40 rock fusion to their decades’ worth of faithful fans with their “40 Trips Around The Sun” tour. A new chapter — or a concluding coda? Only time will tell. As for right now and this night, it’s a rare opportunity to experience a band in the full flower of its own maturity. Toto has worked with everyone from George Benson (on the Grammy-winning “Turn Your Love Around”) to Michael McDonald  (on “I Keep Forgetting”) to Boz Scaggs (their first gig). They can play music in 17/8. Not only that, but they created one of the greatest soundtracks of the ’80s when they recorded the music for David Lynch’s Dune.  Toto: It means everything. —David Cotner

sat 9/21

The Selecter (Dean Chalkley)

The Selecter

THE GLASS HOUSE

The Selecter’s place in British ska history was set with the release of their lively, infectious 1979 single, “Too Much Pressure”/“On My Radio,” and subsequent debut full-length album, Too Much Pressure. The multiracial, coed band fused classic Jamaican ska and reggae with a little bit of soul and a lot of uptempo punk energy and were distinguished by Pauline Black’s charismatic vocals. For some years, there were two editions of the group using The Selecter name, as founding guitarist-songwriter Neol Davies and Black each had their own version of the band until Black eventually won the rights to the name. She continues to tour and record with original co-vocalist Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson. The duo’s engagingly soulful 2017 album, Daylight, emphasizes that the current lineup are more than just an oldies act. —Falling James

Dickies 

THE WHISKY A GO GO

The last time veteran L.A. punks the Dickies were performing around this area, it was to play the Stukas Over Disneyland and Idjit Savant albums in their entirety. That was fascinating, though one suggests that this Whisky gig will be a little more informal (not that those other gigs were formal in any conventional sense). This one is for Stan Lee’s birthday (the other Stan Lee), the guitarist who formed the Dickies with original bassist Billy Club after seeing The Damned’s first U.S. tour. It’s been a long and whacky road since then, with the band seeing capers and controversy, and a surprise hit single with that cover of the Banana Splits theme. He deserves a good party. The Bastards, Scurvy Kids, The Pawns, Sick Sense, Am Samstag and Bloodbelly Blues also play. —Brett Callwood

sun 9/22

The Vibrators (Hannah O’Brien)

The Vibrators 

THE WHISKY A GO GO

British band The Vibrators formed in 1976, and so were there right at the very beginning of the punk rock movement. That said, despite the sexually charged name, they came from the pub-rock scene with a more traditional rock & roll sound. Indeed, in ’76 they backed Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople fame on his solo tour. The lineup had changed dramatically since then — notably, founding member Knox is no longer performing with them and the only original member left is drummer Eddie Edwards. But whatever, any opportunity to hear “Automatic Love” live is worth taking. It’ll be boozy, snotty, spit-fueled fun. Sin City Rejects, GOB Patrol, Anarchy Lace, Brain Anchor and Toxic Energy also play. —Brett Callwood

Dead Rock West

McCABE’S GUITAR SHOP

 In 2015, Dead Rock West released It’s Everly Time!, a lovingly crafted set of remakes of timeless songs by The Everly Brothers. With The Everlys, harmonies are so crucial in delivering their heartfelt, heartbreaking tunes, and Dead Rock West vocalist Cindy Wasserman and singer-guitarist Frank Lee Drennen blended their voices enchantingly on such classics as “Cathy’s Clown” and “Gone, Gone, Gone.” The duo will soon release Glitter and Gold, a follow-up to It’s Everly Time! on their own label, Angel Flight Recording Co., with more Everly Brothers covers paired with a song Drennen wrote with X’s Exene Cervenka. The new record includes contributions from Dave Alvin and Wasserman’s late brother, Rob Wasserman. At McCabe’s, the vocalists will be backed by Phil Parlapiano, Geoff Pearlman and David J. Carpenter for an acoustic set. —Falling James

Mark Knopfler 

THE GREEK THEATRE

Yeah, we know. Nobody quite says “dad rock” like former Dire Straits man Mark Knopfler, with his straggly headband and Dylan-esque vocal stylings. But calm your shit, because Knopfler is a phenomenally talented guitarist and songwriter, and Straits classics such as “Walk of Life,” “Money for Nothing,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Sultans of Swing” have certainly stood the test of time. In addition, last year he released his ninth studio album Down the Road Wherever, and it’s an elegant piece of work that washes over you beautifully. Knopfler has said that he’s not a fan of Dire Straits’ early hits, so don’t expect a reunion any time soon (although some former members have been touring as Dire Straits Legacy, or DSL). Surely though, Knopfler will pull out some old faves at the Greek. —Brett Callwood

mon 9/23

Halsey (Mathew Tucciarone)

Halsey 

THE GRAMMY MUSEUM

It’s been a big couple of years for Halsey. Since appearing on Saturday Night Live, she’s gone from up and coming pop vocalist and in-demand guest singer (for The Chainsmokers, etc.) to bona fide pop star. Her electropop-meets-R&B vibe might not be fast-paced enough for some, but the chill thrills are plentiful, as heard on her second album, 2017’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. So it’ll be wonderful to hear her talking about it all during this intimate talk and performance at the Grammy Museum. These events are always fascinating — recent similar evenings with Cherie Currie & Brie Darling, and also the four main paisley underground bands, were wonderful. This one will be no different. —Brett Callwood

tue 9/24

Kate Tempest

TERAGRAM BALLROOM

The aptly named Kate Tempest sweeps into town like a verbal whirlwind, casting out bold imagery like runes from her latest album, The Book of Traps & Lessons. The British poet-novelist-rapper infuses her febrile words with shape-shifting layers of electronics and sound collages to stirring effect. She decries the destructive nature of love on “I Trap You” even as she ruefully gives in to its inexorable pull: “Love is an endless sky, an endless cliché that imagines itself to be deep revelation,” Tempest insists before confessing, “Can’t you see I’m walking this threadbare tightrope made out of dental floss stitched together with strands of tobacco and dog hair?/And it stretches between two precious fantasies — my fantasy of me and my fantasy of you.” On “Firesmoke,” she declares, “My visionary is a vision … Let me untangle the madness that knots you.” —Falling James

Jail Weddings

THE SATELLITE

Jail Weddings’ new album, Wilted Eden, is an ambitious work that expands the Southern California collective’s sound and emotional range further than their past releases. Infused with High Desert bandleader-novelist Gabriel Hart’s haunted worldview, the record invokes eternal themes of love and death and salvation against a backdrop of foreboding strains of punk, folk and alt-rock. Julie Carpenter’s weaving strings bind together Hart’s urgent pleas and spiraling saxophone on “Skin Invocation,” a feverish duet with vocalist Mary Animaux. Oliver Hart sets his guitar to boil on “Face of Kindness,” a stately ballad that splits the difference between The Saints’ midperiod jangle and murderous Nick Cave balladry, whereas “Quality of Mercy” is a more reflective rumination. Hart and company trip out further amid the dreamlike but anguished passages of the blue-hour epic “Love Me Like I’m Dead.” —Falling James

wed 9/25

Lee “Scratch” Perry (@lea23c)

Lee “Scratch” Perry 

SAINT ROCKE

He’s 83 years old and still getting out there and jamming. Reggae, dub and ska pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry is a genuine legend — a producer and inventor who perfected the art of the reggae remix and has a Grammy under his belt. And look, if you go see Lee “Scratch” Perry in 2019, you have to be aware that he might not be in his prime. The shows can be a tad unpredictable. But fuck, he’s 83 and still kicking it. You have the chance to see a living legend in a venue as intimate as Saint Rocke. Plus his latest album, a collaboration with Jersey producer Mr. Green called Super Ape Vs. Open Door, is worth a listen. There’s still life in the old fella. —Brett Callwood

thu 9/26

Rick Ross 

THE BELASCO

Florida native Rick Ross exploded into the rap game with his debut single “Hustlin” in 2006, proving it’s possible to change your life for the better even when all the odds are against you. His debut album Port of Miami came shortly after, one of his most prized projects to date. This year, he followed it up with Port of Miami 2 which includes standout single “Gold Roses” featuring Drake. The 15-track project also features appearances from Gunplay, Meek Mill, Summer Walker, John Legend, Wale, Swizz Beatz and more. Whether you’re a new or old Rozay fan, this show will be one for the books. —Shirley Ju

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