One Week in Loud Town
CityBeat's musical core sample
FRIDAY
Cute Is What We Aim For
(The Glass House)
Cute, indeed. But with its sophomore album, the New York-based band is moving in a more serious progression. With “Rotation,” they stick to their power choruses and satirical lyrics but also experiment with more classic power pop. (HP)
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
(The Wiltern)
Originally known as Four Pints of My Girlfriend’s Blood, this metalcore act from Brigend, Wales, has a solid following among U.S. monster kiddies. Of course, getting thrown off the 2006 Rob Zombie tour for sticking up for fans instead of Zombie’s merch-gougers banks one boo-koo cred among the crypt-kicker set. The undercard includes Bleeding Through and sludgefellows Cancer Bats. (RG)
Los Lonely Boys
(Greek Theatre)
It’s 2004 all over again, missing only a little Maroon 5 for that summer of soft-pop, melodic goodness. The Garza Brothers are pretty, and they make pretty music (a little blues, a lot of Tejano) that you are probably way too hip to listen to, because they won a Grammy and are sold in Wal-Mart, even if they did record their self-titled debut at Willie Nelson’s studio in Austin. Hear that? Willie Nelson! And Austin! The only place you’d rather be than Echo Park, right? Besides, they’re opening for Los Lobos. (RS)
Grant Lee Phillips
(Largo)
Largo continues its never-ending awesomeness with the sexy, breathy, sorta-funky/sorta-Jude-y/little-bit-disco/sometimes-sad swoopy fuck-music. Grant Lee Phillips, we are single! (RS)
The Republic Tigers
(Spaceland)
However well or badly Kansas City, Kansas, fares, Kansas City, Missouri, is undergoing a renaissance, sending her tune-bearing sons across this fat and favored land. The Tigers are less experimentalists than pop-rock traditionalists; a tuneful and sophisto quartet whose laid-back sound would not have been out-of-place on one of those Mellow Gold LP comps K-Tel hawked over the UHF airwaves back during the Ford administration. Love them for the transcendent beauties of “Fight Song” and “Buildings and Mountains,” as well as the brass balls it takes to play for Spaceland jades on a Silver Lake Saturday night. (RG)
Rupa and the April Fishes
(California Plaza)
Most musicians will tell you that music is a calling for them. They would be robbing banks if they weren’t playing music. Not songwriter and band leader Rupa – no, she splits her time between making music and being a doctor. This San Francisco native and the artists who make up the April Fishes have been compared to Pink Martini, Manu Chao, and Beirut – the band, not the Paris of the Middle East. (GP)
David Scott Stone
(Mr. T’s Bowl)
Sir DSS is a skronk polymath who’s played with the aesthetically advanced likes of Mike Patton, the Locust, Kenji Heino, and the Melvins (the last describe him as “the Brian Eno of our band”) and a longtime panjandrum of L.A. experimental rock. The multitalented Mr. Stone’s also invented instruments with names like “Gut Expresser” and “Electric Thundersheet.” His set is certain to cause jaws of bibulous locals at Mr. T’s crowded bar to clatter to the floorboards, emptied of Budweiser and conversation. (RG)
Teena Marie
(Gibson Amphitheatre).
Deathly boring blue-eyed soul that goes on for EVER. And not blue-eyed soul in a cool-kitten Dusty Springfield (or even Rick Springfield) way, but blue-eyed soul as ass-numbing extendo-jam schmaltzy-lite-R/B suicide-bait. Had a date to see her at Staples last year with a guy who was all Studio 54 back in the day, nearly chewed off my own leg. Also? By the time a woman hits her 50s, she should usually wear sleeves. (RS)
TOYKYO POLICE CLUB
(HAMMER MUSEUM)
Tokyo Police Club is this year’s unsurprising success story, with first full-length Elephant Shell debuting at the top of Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. In an era where indie is the new mainstream, any old garage band on an indie label can make it big now. Tokyo Police Club’s brand of garage pop won over the hearts of every 14-to-24-year-old female with bassist David Monks’ heart-on-his sleeve vocals, while their boyfriends secretly loved the uptempo hooks that reminded them of their favorite tracks from the Nuggets box sets. They’re out to take over the world with their modest stylings. (CT)
Wyclef
(House of Blues)
Frat boys and white suburban housewives agree: Wyclef Jean makes melodious, positive hip-hop you can shake your sweet little flat ass to, all about love and strippers and marijuana and NOT SHOOTING PEOPLE. Very pretty, very musical, whole lotta fun. Nice! Boy, I am old and have children (they prefer the Game). (RS)
Published: 07/23/2008
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You guys must be frickin' deaf by now.....