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Monday, January 26

The Ting Tings
THE TROUBADOUR
At their best, The Ting Tings dispense pop confections that are colorfully slinky and playfully danceable. Even the British duo’s silly name is musical and bound to raise a smile. With disco beats and funky-clean Chic guitar chords, new tracks such as “Do It Again” are breezy blasts of early-’80s dance pop. Katie White comes off like a more relaxed, less mannered Madonna on “Wrong Club,” as her musical partner, Jules De Martino, lays down a rubbery groove. Even on a song with a title like “Super Critical,” The Ting Tings cheerfully refuse to be dragged down by anything heavy or negative. Instead, White prefers to dance away from the darkness and insinuate herself toward De Martino’s squiggling, flickering shards of glittery disco-ball reflections. — Falling James

Tuesday, January 27

Scrote and Friends
BLUEWHALE
A real forward-looking lineup assays Miles Davis’ electric-period stuff circa 1969-74, a stage in the late trumpeter-composer’s life that saw him bored with the too–time honored “modern” jazz sonics he’d helped to invent and popularize worldwide. Miles needed a sound that would make a more direct and kinda nastier impact, deciding to push his modalities via small, electrified combos probing spontaneous rock- and funk-savvy spheres on albums such as Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, On the Corner and Get Up With It. Tonight’s intrepid interpreters of this timeless art comprise an immaculately qualified bunch of progressive jazz players: Scrote, guitar; Deron Johnson, keys; Tim Lefebvre, bass; Gary Novak, drums; Danny Frankel, percussion; Troy Zeigler, electronics; and Dan Rosenboom and Jab on trumpets. Two sets: 9 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. — John Payne

Wednesday, January 28

Logistics
COMPLEX
Hot on the heels of its fourth consecutive win as best club night at the U.K.’s Drum&BassArena Awards, Hospital Records’ Hospitality returns for its second Los Angeles installment. The headliner is longtime Hospital artist Logistics, a worthy representative for the brand, which is on its second win for best label at the aforementioned awards. Logistics’ recent album Polyphony is an exercise in drum & bass subtlety with an instinctual feel for melody. Supporting Logistics are up-and-comers Blacklab from Las Vegas and Roanoke, Virginia’s Flite. Also promised are local, big-name special guests. — Lily Moayeri

Thursday, January 29

Sam Smith
THE FORUM
Since his breakthrough vocal performance on Disclosure’s single “Latch,” Sam Smith has emerged as the soulful crooner whose voice can light up a dance floor as much a romantic evening. On “Money on My Mind,” the lead track from his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, Smith’s tender, soaring voice is almost at odds with the quick snap of the beat, but the juxtaposition works beautifully. On the super smash hits “Stay With Me” and “I’m Not the Only One,” he weaves slow jams like the great musical kings of heartbreak. The latter, in particular, is the sort of tear-jerker that will make you want to hug the singer. If there’s a concert this weekend that will leave audiences shaking and blubbering, it’s this one. Also Friday, Jan. 30. — Liz Ohanesian

Patti Smith
THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL
Early in her career, Patti Smith saw herself as outside of society, changing the world not with weapons but through the sheer force of her rhapsodic poetry and a stubborn belief in the curative powers of rock & roll. And you know what? She was right. More than anything else, it was her starkly cutting, almost evangelically fervent New York City poetry readings, backed by guitarist Lenny Kaye, that cast a questioning and rebellious spirit over the very beginnings of punk rock. Of course, Smith is anything but an outsider these days, as she jams onstage with Johnny Depp and Flea or kisses up to the latest pope. But she’s not just an oldies act, either. Many of the cathartic elegies she’s written in the wake of the death of her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, retain a mournfully convulsive power. Also Friday, Jan. 30. — Falling James

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