NICOLE RECOMMENDS:
THUNDERCAT -- (Funk, acid jazz, R&B, electronica, existential bass-space brother and L.A. native Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner is lighting up the stage this weekend. An outstanding musician and creative visionary, I have seen him live before and I can tell you he does not disappoint.) -- Saturday 8 p.m., The Wiltern, Koreatown, $28-$38.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! -- HOT CLUB OF L.A. (yes I know you can catch them every Monday night for literally years now at the cool cramped but cool Culver City dive Cinema Bar, for no cover, but this is special, it’s at our own Ruskin Group Theater at the airport, comfortable seats, no one standing between you and the band, no one getting loud sloppy drunk, a 90-minute show in four or five languages, it’s their album release party for Cinema Swing, signed CDs for sale afterwards, so come support one of LA’s music treasures says Jackson Browne and me, these guys just whale on Django-style jazz at breakneck speed but virtuosic precision and a whole lot of gypsy soul) -- Thurs 8 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, SM Airport, $15.
RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! -- LA OPERA - ROBERTO DEVEREUX by Gaetano DONIZETTI (I was there opening night when they had monumental challenges to contend with, missing two divas for illness and family issues, but still it was a treat for the challenging parts written by Donizetti and performed so superbly by spectacular soprano Alicia Meade, called upon last minute with no time to learn both the singing parts and the blocking so she thrilled us from stage left in the shadows, with Meade now center stage it must be a tour de force) -- Thurs 7:30 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, DTLA, $24-$329.
TONIGHT! -- POWER TO THE PEOPLE! - HERBIE HANCOCK, DUDAMEL, LA PHIL (I’ve been grousing that our musicians are not stepping up in these perilous times with protest and resistance songs the way they did in the ‘50s and ‘60s but the more I poke around the more I find, tucked away but significant, and maestro Dudamel here begins his presentation of a wonderfully varied contemporary assortment, Power to the People, a program of concerts, discussions and events through April 11 celebrating the role artists have played in advancing social change, civil rights and humanitarian causes, beginning tonight with the legendary Herbie Hancock performing his tributes to Dr. Angela Davis, “Ostinato - Suite for Angela” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream,” both from 50 years ago, also Wayne Shorter’s “Aurora,” text by Maya Angelou, contemporary but begun nearly 70 years ago) -- Thurs 8 p.m., Disney Hall, DTLA.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE! - PATTI SMITH and Her Band (Rolling Stone named her 1975 debut album “Horses” one of the best 50 of all time, her ‘88 hit “People Have the Power,” a celebration of our collective ability to “redeem the work of fools” and pursue righteousness, has become an international protest anthem, her work as a songwriter, poet, photographer, author and visual artist is united by her relentlessly humanist perspective and she remains restlessly creative into her 70s) -- Fri 8 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE! - RESIDENTE, DUDAMEL, LA PHIL (“Artists have the responsibility to speak out through their work,” says Puerto Rican rapper, writer, producer, winner of 25 Latin Grammys, his dedication to education and native rights in Latin America led to the 2015 Nobel Peace Summit Award, he incorporates traditional Latin American instrumentation and textures into high-powered hip-hop) -- Sat 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA, $40-$85.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE! - IMANI UZURI: Revolutionary Choir -- (join vocalist and composer Uzuri’s Revolutionary Choir salon, a freedom and protest song teach-in of historical and new songs of resistance and resilience, all voices welcome!) -- Sat 2 p.m., California African American Museum, Exposition Park, LA, free; Sun 1 p.m., BP Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA, free to March 8 Yolanda Adams concert ticket holders.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE! - YOLANDA ADAMS, DUDAMEL, LA PHIL, West Angeles Church of God in Christ Choir (the “Queen of contemporary Gospel Music,” who has an astounding voice, pays homage to the role of the church in helping young artists find their voices, organizing and supporting social justice movements and offering hope through music) -- Sun 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA, $80-$237.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE! - CONRAD TAO -- (the standard and experimental pianist plays Copland, Rzewski’s epic “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!”) -- Tues 8 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA, $20-$120.
ROSANNE CASH -- (what would you do if your daddy handed you a list of what he thought were the 100 greatest songs ever, would you hold onto it for 35 years before decide to pick 12 and record them, because your daddy was Johnny and you’d call it The List and if you asked them to duet, well, Bruce, Tweedy, Elvis C, Neko Case and Rufus Wainwright might say yes and it might be named album of the Year in 2010 but don’t think the lady’s riding on her family name because she has been lauded all her adult life for her singing and songwriting and her other writing so, Cash in tomorrow night) -- Fri 8 p.m., Smothers Theater, Pepperdine, Malibu, $40-$65.
FARTBARF, Tijuana Knife Fight -- (post-neanderthal analogue synthesists, they are calling themselves these days, I call them the most fun you can have without a guitar or maybe even with one) -- Fri 8 p.m., The Sardine, San Pedro, $12.
LIQUID KITTY'S PUNK ROCK BBQ -- (the Spring Forward edition, but as usual, FREE ADMISSION! FIVE BANDS! CHEAP BOOZE! FREE HOT DOGS! all you have to do is roll out of bed on time, say half past noonish, to catch "All-American Jewish Lesbian Folksinger" Phranc, Lawndale, Savage Republic, Nightmare Enterprise, Rowdy P) -- Sun 1 - 6 p.m., Harvelle’s, SM, free.
LIBRARY GIRL, Punk Hostage Press (Life's A Gas, celebrating eight years of PHP, guest curated by Iris Berry, also with Jack Grisham, S.A. Griffin, Annette Zilinskas, Pleasant Gehman, Annette Cruz, Dennis Cruz, Michael Marcus, Razor, Rich Ferguson, Richard Modiano, William S. Hayes, Bianca Smith, Blaise Smith + Mason Summit sings and plays, party @6) -- Sun 7 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, SM Airport, $15.
BUDDY GUY -- (do I have to say more than that?, OK I will, Chicago blues pioneer influenced Jimi, Stevie Ray, Clapton, Page, Beck, is dedicated to carrying on blues traditions of his compadres Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf , Junior Wells, he’s 83 and still puts on a show, what are you waiting for?) -- Sun 9 p.m., The Saban, Beverly Hills; Wed 8 p.m., The Canyon Montclair, $68-$158
COMING ATTRACTIONS: AARON NEVILLE 3/13, The Rose, Pasadena, 3/14 The Canyon Agoura Hills; KINKY FRIEDMAN 3/13, McCabe’s, SM; SOUNDWAVES - COLD BLUE MUSIC 3/18, MICHAEL ROTH 4/2, Main Library, SM; GRACE POTTER 3/19, El Rey Theatre, LA: TAJ MAHAL QUARTET 3/20, The Canyon Agoura Hills. 3/21 The Canyon Montclair, 3/22 The Canyon Santa Clarita; JESSE DAYTON 3/21, McCabe’s, SM; MONTY ALEXANDER TRIO 3/21, Jazz Bakery, SM; SARAH SILVERMAN & ALL STARS 3/22, Largo, LA; BILL HOLMAN’S BIG BAND 3/28, PETER ERSKINE TRIO 3/29, Jazz Bakery, SM; SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS 3/28, Teragram Ballroom, DTLA.
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 2,000 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 34 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
