LA WeeklyFrom family band The Haden Triplets and new romantic King Princess to metal titans Skinlab and non-binary indie rocker Ian Sweet, here are 12 of the best music shows in Los Angeles this week.
fri 1/24
Bizou
MOROCCAN LOUNGE
“What is lost cannot be found again,” Marisa Prietto declares serenely amid the shadowy passages of Bizou’s 2018 single “Superstition.” The line is especially apt as the former Wax Idols vocalist is accompanied by a group of all-stars in Bizou. Bassist/backup singer Nicole Fiorentino used to anchor the propulsive grooves of the great, lost post-punk band Radio Vago before going on to work with The Smashing Pumpkins, Veruca Salt, and The Cold and Lovely. Fiorentino has also played with the indie-rock group Light FM, alongside guitarist-singer-programmer Josiah Mazzaschi and guitarist Nicki Nevlin, who are also members of Bizou. Drummer Erin Tidwell (ex–Tennis System) rounds out Bizou’s lineup. Despite that impressive collective history, Bizou are all about looking forward on their 2019 self-titled EP on such goth-laced tracks as “Love Addicts” and the sparkling shimmers of “Andromeda.” —Falling James
The Haden Triplets (Shervin Lainez)
The Haden Triplets
ZEBULON
The Haden Triplets — Rachel, Tanya and Petra — are often linked with their late father, the influential jazz double bassist Charlie Haden, who played with Ornette Coleman and led his own Liberation Music Orchestra, among other projects. But the trio go further back in time to celebrate their heritage on their new album, The Family Songbook, drawing upon the rich musical tradition of their grandfather Carl E. Haden, who took his relatives — including a yodeling 2-year-old named Cowboy Charlie — to perform on Missouri radio broadcasts like a proto–Partridge Family. But whereas Charlie helped to radically reinvent jazz, Carl E. favored folk and country and hung out with the Carter Family and Porter Waggoner. The Haden Triplets revive some of those standards alongside more modern selections by Kanye West and their brother, Josh Haden, who opens the show. —Falling James
sat 1/25
King Princess (Vince Aung)
King Princess
THE WILTERN
“Nobody told me to sit down and shut up,” Mikaela Straus announces as King Princess on the aptly titled “Tough on Myself,” from her 2019 full-length release, Cheap Queen. But with such other song titles as “You Destroyed My Heart,” “Trust Nobody” and “Do You Wanna See Me Crying?,” the native of New York City bares her feelings more than her fangs throughout the album. King Princess does anything but sit down and shut up as she works her way through a series of vulnerable ballads and pop reveries. Even as she mulls over romantic disappointment, Straus finds the time in “Homegirl” to revel in the wonder of a new love unfolding: “And I like the way that you talk slow/Spelling my name with your tongue so you don’t have to say it.” Also Friday, January 24. —Falling James
(Courtesy of Village People)
The Village People
SABAN THEATRE
OK, so there’s only one original Village Person left, but who really gives a crap. They’re the disco Kiss, and that means we want to see a bunch of macho dudes up on stage dressed as cops, construction workers, leather bikers and politically incorrect Native Americans. That’s what they do. And deny it if you want, but “YMCA,” “Macho Man” and especially “Go West” are absolute bangers. A recent performance at Chicago punk festival Riot Fest saw a surprise mosh/circle pit break out in the crowd, proving that anybody can enjoy the Village People. In these toxic times, it’s refreshing to be able to put cynicism to one side and just have some silly fun. That’s what you’ll get here. —Brett Callwood
sun 1/26
Skinlab
WHISKY A GO GO
Bay Area metal band Skinlab formed in 1994, not quite in time for the ’80s thrash boom in that area but still in time to cultivate a reputation as one of the most ferocious metal bands in NorCal. They’ve taken breaks over the years, and band members have come and gone, but the quality of the output has remained fairly consistent. 1997’s Bound, Gagged and Blindfolded was the debut album, swiftly followed by Disembody: The New Flesh two years later. Both were produced by metal journeyman Andy Sneap (an occasional member of Judas Priest). The latest effort, Venomous, dropped last year and it’s typically ferocious. They play the Whisky with Bleed the Sky, Arise in Chaos, So This Is Suffering, and Luna 13. —Brett Callwood
mon 1/27
Juliana Hatfield
THE ECHOPLEX
Throughout her career, Juliana Hatfield has penned an impressive number of thoughtful, melodic and musically varied original songs. But going back to the 1980s and her time with Blake Babies — when she bent genders with a coyly charming remake of The Stooges’ feral “Loose” — the Massachusetts singer has also specialized in uniquely personal covers of material by other musicians. In 2018, Hatfield defied expectations of punk-rock coolness when she released Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, and late last year she similarly reexamined the work of Sting and company with Juliana Hatfield Sings the Police. Rather than just mimic the overplayed originals, she imbued them with her own wit and arrangements, especially a punked-out revitalization of the dozy “Murder by Numbers.” Despite such digressions, Hatfield is at her best on 2019’s Weird, a set of glowing original indie-rock anthems. —Falling James
Love Ghost (Morrison)
Love Ghost
RESIDENT
Starting a band, rehearsing, booking gigs, making the whole damn thing work — these are genuine challenges for grown adults with day jobs and reasonable cash flow. But for a group of musicians who are still in school, the task can be monumental. Such is the case with Love Ghost, an L.A. alt-rock band that formed a couple of years ago when founding member Finnegan “Fin” Bell was in eighth grade and 14 years old. Now he’s in his late teens, but the alt-rock sound remains. Bell told us a couple of years ago that, “When we first started, it was actually pretty much all acoustic — I’d just play acoustic guitar. But progressively, the guitar tones got more aggressive. Now it’s more electric guitar and pedals. Even our string player uses pedals. I’d say it’s like modern ’90s rock with strings.” Hear that at the Resident, along with Blvk Svnd, Hvnted and The Faint Endless. —Brett Callwood
wed 1/29
Wale
THE FONDA THEATRE
D.C. rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known by his stage name Wale, released his sixth studio album, Wow… That’s Crazy, via Warner in October. Overflowing with guest appearances by the likes of Meek Mill, Rick Ross, Bryson Tiller, Ari Lennox, Boogie, 6lack and Lil Durk, the album reached number seven on the Billboard 200, cementing his standing at one of the hottest names in hip-hop. It’s the raw percussion elements, the influences of his Nigerian roots, that help make his music so thrilling. We’ll get to enjoy all of that as he showcases new material and reaches back into his past. —Brett Callwood
(Courtesy of Ian Sweet)
Ian Sweet
THE ECHO
Non-binary indie rocker Ian Sweet plays The Echo after hosting a residency at the same venue back in July, and that’s wonderful because more people need to hear their beautifully awkward sound. During a recent interview, Sweet told us that, “My sound is constantly evolving depending on the people I’m surrounded by or meeting/the environment I’m immersed in. This has a lot to do with being on tour often, that is where I do most of my writing — in new environments. I always want my songs to bring me to a place of understanding what I’m going through or trying to make sense of situations by framing them in time.” All of that will be clear here. Rose Dorn and Young Jesus also play. —Brett Callwood
thu 1/30
Martin Rev (Divine Enfant)
Martin Rev
ZEBULON
Martin Rev is best known as half of the experimental electronic/punk duo Suicide, which he co-founded with Alan Vega in New York in the early 1970s. Notorious for their confrontational live shows, Suicide’s abrasive, minimalist sound featured Vega’s half-sung, half-spoken lyrics that evoked dark subject matter over Rev’s dissonant keyboards, synthesizers and drum machines. Suicide released a pair of near-classic albums in 1977 and 1980 (titled Suicide and Suicide: Alan Vega/Martin Rev) that left a lasting mark on post-punk, synth pop, industrial and electronic music. As a solo artist, Rev has released nine albums; his latest full-length is 2017’s Demolition 9. —Matt Miner
Kingdom Come
WHISKY A GO GO
Back in the ’80s, American/German band Kingdom Come were often dismissed as a Led Zeppelin rip-off band but that was generally unfair (see Greta Van Fleet). Led by powerhouse vocalist Lenny Wolf, the band’s first three albums in particular were melodic, progressive, hard rocking beasts, and even during the ’90s and ’00s, when they were completely unfashionable, the material was worth hearing. Wolf was all set to reform the original lineup for a 30th anniversary tour, but when the time came he just wasn’t up to it so former Montrose/current Burning Rain singer Keith St. John stepped in and Kingdom Come are touring again. To be fair, St. John is no slouch. Garden of Eden, Stepchild and Split Persona also play. —Brett Callwood
Elizabeth Moen
THE HOTEL CAFÉ
Elizabeth Moen possesses a big, soulful voice that can take you places. But unlike other divas who are all about technique, the Iowa native also has big things on her mind and can write music and lyrics that match her impressive set of pipes. On her 2018 album, A Million Miles Away, Moen demonstrates her mastery of raw-throated, powerful soul (“Red”), bluesy balladry (“Best I Can Do,” “Planetarium”), breezy folk-pop (“Matilda”) and countrified roots-rock (“Triple Scoop”). “Time hasn’t beenmuchhelp … Time, she isn’t always right and doesn’t seem to have your back,” she laments on “Time Is a Shitty Friend,” a subdued and beguiling ballad that gives way to a compelling, harder-rocking chorus in which Moen breaks free from it all. —Falling James
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