NightBeat: Carcass
Liverpool’s greatest death metal export, Carcass treated the brutal musical form as its petri dish: All of its “tunes” dealt with diseases of and relating to the human body, with such albums as Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious and Heartwork finding singer-bassist Jeff Walker growling his way through lyrics that sounded more appropriate to a medical examiner’s notes than in a pop song. That the group’s guitarists, Bill Steer and Michael Amott, were considered among the most talented in the genre certainly didn’t hurt the group’s standing either. Now, after a break of nearly a decade, Carcass has re-formed to play to a generation that never saw them in the mid ’90s, and the group has brought along on this tour international support bands to challenge their hegemony: Finland’s furious Rotten Sound and Norway’s blisteringly-fast black-metal stars 1349 make this night the stuff fans’ dreams – or nightmares – are made of.
Thurs. at House of Blues Sunset Strip, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, hob.com. With Suffocation, 1349, Aborted, and Rotten Sound.
This Week’s Highlights
Thursday, September 18
C Money and the Players Inc., Delsoniq, Rocky Dawuni, Money Mark. Top-flight hip-hop stars rock the mic. Key Club, West Hollywood, keyclub.com.
Foals, Health. British newbies Foals play minimalist tunes; local phenoms Health combine weird synths and mesmerizing drone-rock. El Rey Theatre, Miracle Mile, theelrey.com.
Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls/Wayne Hussey. Former Wonder Stuff and Mission mainmen go solo. Knitting Factory, Hollywood, knittingfactory.com.
The Joneses, Prima Donna. Strutting punk rockers double-team Hollywood. Knitting Factory.
Lenka. Aussie pop singer/folkie continues her residency. Hotel Cafe, Hollywood, hotelcafe.com.
Mandi Perkins. Rising Canadian pop singer. The Troubadour, West Hollywood, troubadour.com.
The Ringers, The Knives. CD-release party for the dudes in the Ringers; Nick Oliveri and his Knives support. The Roxy, West Hollywood, theroxyonsunset.com.
These Arms Are Snakes, SBach. Art-metal to make ears ring. Spaceland, Silver Lake, clubspaceland.com.
Teddy Thompson. Teddy, son of Richard and Linda Thompson, goes the “plaintive singer” route. With Lucy Wainwright Roche, and the Grey Race. Largo, Los Angeles, largo-la.com.
Tokyo Police Club, The Whigs. Loud alt-rockers from Canada and Georgia. Music Box @ Fonda, Hollywood, henryfondatheatre.com.
Vampire Weekend. White Williams, Abe Vigoda. Afro-poppers with tuneful short songs, now overplayed. With White Williams, and Abe Vigoda. The Wiltern, Los Angeles, livenation.com.
Friday, September 19
The Bangles, Berlin featuring Terri Nunn, The Motels featuring Martha Davis. Ladies’ night, and the feelin’s right. L.A. County Fair, Pomona Fairplex, lacountyfair.com.
Children of Bodom, Between the Buried and Me, The Black Dahlia Murder. Rising metal Swedes Children of Bodom headline the second-best metal night of the week (see Carcass, above). The Wiltern.
Danielia Cotton. Early show from N.Y.-based rock ’n’ soul singer-guitarist with plenty o’ buzz. 7 p.m. Hotel Cafe, Hollywood, hotelcafe.com.
Digable Planets. Reformed jazzy hip-hoppers create organized fusion. El Rey Theatre.
A Flock of Seagulls. Finally, a band known for its songs and not its hairstyles. Oh, wait … . Knitting Factory.
Billy Idol. Will they still want “more, more, more”? House of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood, hob.com.
Man Man, Crystal Antlers. Eclectic, experimental rock from Philly’s Man Man; plus Crystal Antlers’s live show is the bomb-diggity. The Echoplex, Echo Park, attheecho.com.
Samantha Ronson. Lindsay Lohan’s fiancee spins tunes, sings? Plus Supersonic Jets. The Roxy.
The Wedding Present, Earlimart. Still going after 20+ years, the Wedding Present released El Rey this year. Plus alt-poppers Earlimart. The Troubadour.
Saturday, September 20
Beck, Spoon, MGMT. Off-kilter bands rocking the Hollywood hills. Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, hollywoodbowl.com.
The Briggs. Punks play an acoustic set. Knitting Factory.
Liam Finn, The Veils. Liam Finn (son of Neil) joins forces with London art-rockers the Veils. The Echoplex.
Al Green, Gladys Knight. Sweet soul music under the stars. Greek Theatre, Griffith Park, greektheatrela.com.
Kidneythieves, The Dreaming. Dark-rocking bands with angst to spare. The Roxy.
The Neville Brothers. More sweet soul, New Orleans-style. House of Blues Sunset Strip.
Jessica Simpson. She’s a little bit country these days. A little bit. L.A. County Fair.
Throw Rag, Lower Class Brats, Roger Miret & the Disasters, Static Thought, Viva Hate. Ragged punk and rock all-dayer. Doors: 2 p.m. Crash Mansion, downtown L.A., crashmansionla.com.
Vains of Jenna, Confederacy of Horsepower. Tattooed love boys hold court. Whisky a Go-Go, West Hollywood, whiskyagogo.com.
Sunday, September 21
Del tha Funkee Homosapien. Hip-hop’s most multifaceted. Key Club.
DJ Muggs. Cypress Hill man showcases new solo work. Whisky a Go-Go.
Goldfrapp. Sexy British electronica. (The best kind.) Orpheum Theatre, downtown L.A., laorpheum.com.
Grand Ol’ Echo. The hoedown begins at 5 p.m. with guests I See Hawks in L.A., and more. The Echo, Echo Park, attheecho.com.
Hot Chip, IO Echo. British electro-pop, but not so sexy, really. The Wiltern. Also Mon.
My Morning Jacket. Jim James and his Kentucky dudes showcase songs from their outstanding Evil Urges album. Greek Theatre.
Ozomatli, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Lila Downs, Nortec Collective presents Bostich + Fussible. World and hip-hop beats from outstanding artists. Hollywood Bowl.
Monday, September 22
CSS, Tilly and the Wall, SSION. Brazilians CSS electroclash most awesomely; Tilly and the Wall tap dance to the rock; plus glam-punkers SSION. Mayan Theatre, downtown L.A., clubmayan.com. Also Tues.
Does It Offend You, Yeah? Sometimes, to be completely honest with you. The Troubadour.
Fleet Foxes, Frank Fairfield. Gentle rock from beige Northwesterners. El Rey Theatre. Also Tues.
The Raconteurs. Jack White, Brendan Benson and the others rock most melodically. Plus the Kills. Greek Theatre. Also Tues.
Tuesday, September 23
The Bird and the Bee, The Lady Tigra, Willoughby, Electrocute, The Hard Place, Polyamorous Affair, Wolfkin. Local stars hold a political rally/benefit for some Obama guy. Spaceland.
Brant Bjork. That no-count, low desert punk plays low-riding, stoner jams. The Echoplex.
Amy Macdonald. 19-year-old Scottish singer influenced by Travis, and the Libertines. The Troubadour.
Okkervil River, Sea Wolf. The alt-country band’s new one is called The Stand Ins. Music Box @ Fonda.
Wednesday, September 24
Brazilian Girls, The Submarines. Luscious Sabina Sciubba leads N.Y. electro-pop crew Brazilian Girls; L.A. duo the Submarines are swimming nicely thanks to hit song “You, Me, and the Bourgoisie.” The Wiltern.
Carney. Classic-rock-honoring L.A. bunch. The Troubadour.
Cold War Kids. Fullerton rockers are back to prove their hit debut album was no fluke. Music Box @ Fonda.
The Hives, Eagles of Death Metal. Who’s more rock? Howlin’ Pelle of the Hives or Eagles’ mainman Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes? Oh, it’s on. The Mayan. Also Thur.
Obituary, Unleashed, Carnifex. Death metal a go-go. House of Blues Sunset Strip.
Solas. Irish/Celtic music traditionalists. El Rey Theatre.
Dave Stewart and his 30-Piece Rock Fabulous Orchestra. The former Eurythmic tries out a new suit. The Roxy.
Published: 09/17/2008
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