HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
CELSO SALIM & DARRYL CARRIERE — Remember that blues duo I raved about for months that you could have enjoyed every Sunday afternoon, outdoors, in the warm sun with ocean breezes on Main Street, free concerts? Well, you get one more chance but you will be indoors, at night, and there is a modest cover charge. Go, whether you caught them or missed them before.. Fri 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, DTSM, $10.
JOHN MAYALL, WALTER TROUT — A dream double bill of blues masters. Mayall’s history is the history of British blues. Everybody passed through his bands. And went on to form Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Blind Faith, Mark-Almond (the duo), Colosseum, join the Rolling Stones (a teen Mick Taylor). Clapton left The Yardbirds and went straight to Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Harvey Mandel followed Peter Green in a long line of superb guitarists. Walter Trout may not be a name you know but he is on my short bucket list of musicians to see, because he is a simply phenomenal guitar player, a powerful vocalist, and always carries a great band. Yeah, long dang drive to Montclair but musically worth it. Sun 8 p.m., Saban Montclair, $25-78.
LA OPERA presents ROSSINI’s “CINDERELLA” — Did you go last night? No?! Hmpf. Well, you have one last chance to take in this big production, often with 20 singers on stage, magnificent costumes, from the perspective of otherwise minor characters, like the prince’s unctuous valet, pulling all the strings. I love it! This is a deeper tale, but with lots of comic opera levity and shenanigans. But it’s not Rossini’s tale: he lifted the book from another Italian “Cinderella” opera — he had to! The French story he wanted to use was deemed too “naughty” by the papal censor. That still left him only three weeks to write an entirely new score, and he knocked it out of the piazza. Full of the great melodies and staccato vocal gymnastics he’s known for. Make this your early Christmas present. Sun 2 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, DTLA, $18-282.
EM THE MASTER — I’ve been giving EM’s show a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for months now and still do. She sings, dances, has dancers. She crawls across the floor like a reptile, gripping the mic and never missing a beat. She doesn’t play the piano, she attacks it. Uses her voice as an instrument in creative ways. Her energy is nonstop and seemingly limitless. Writes terrific songs perfect for her act. More talent than anyone has a right to. Every Tues 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, DTSM, $10.
TAKE 6 CHRISTMAS — I’m not big on “holiday concerts” but this is my idea of a perfect one. Take 6 is one jaw-droppingly great a cappella sextet who met at Oakwood College in Huntsville, AL but really came straight out of church. A quartet was formed in 1980, expanded to a sextet, they started working in R&B, jazz and doo-wop, and now 33 years after their first album, they will be making many Christmases merry out in Malibu. Amazingly, they have changed only two singers over the decades. Wed 8 p.m., Lisa Wengler Center,, Pepperdine, $25-50.
BILLY GIBBONS Birthday Jam with Robby Kreiger, Joe Bonamassa, others — I have to report they say it is sold out because who worth their rock and toll salt wouldn’t stand one more time in front of the beyond-legendary ZZ Top guitar slinger to hear whatever explodes out of his axe, especially now that Dusty Hill has passed over that hill and the Z is no more, so this is for those determined souls who view “sold out!” as a sign to bring cash, cunning, charisma and charm. Next Thurs 9 p.m., Troubadour, W Hollywood, $$$?
RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! - “HAMILTON” — ‘Nuff said. Tonight - Thurs, Fri, Sat, Tues, Wed, next Thurs 8 p.m., Sun 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m., also Sat 2 p.m., Pantages Theater, Hollywood, $49-3000+, depending on date/time.
...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD — Founders Keely and Reece are guiding new members through an artistic minefield, as this 26-year-old Austin band, just back from six years of soul searching in Cambodia, with a new album out, “X: The Godless Void and Other Stories” (their first release in seven years), seem charged up. But what will we get? Dreamy synth? Screaming punk? Guitar wizardry? Industrial noise? Lyrical melody?The uncertainty is worth the gamble for this most interesting group. Sat 9 p.m., Lodge Room, Highland Park, $22.
LED ZEPAGAIN — close your eyes, down another shot, and you just might think you’ve time travelled. Sat 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, DTSM, $20.
SANTA MONICA SYMPHONY — What a sad and meaningful loss when SMSO music director and conductor Guido Lamell died unexpectedly of a heart attack July 13. His warmth, enthusiasm and passion for music are painfully missed. But you know he would want the Symphony to carry on and they are, with a full schedule, each concert helmed by a different guest conductor. The winter concert, featuring Mendelssohn’s lyrical Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s magnificent Symphony No. 5, will come to life under the baton of a remarkable local third-generation classical conductor and composer. David Avshalomov has lived in Ocean Park for many years now. In 1980 he founded the Santa Monica Chamber Orchestra. He studied conducting at the Peabody and Tanglewood, and has guest conducted more than 50 ensembles, worldwide. Among his long list of distinguished teachers are Herbert Blomstedt, Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein. He is very involved in social issues, and has an opera he wrote debuting in the spring. I don’t know if he is interested in taking this position permanently, but it would be great to have another local light leading our fabled symphony. Sat 7:30 p.m., JAMS Performing Arts Center, SM, free (bu a ticket must be reserved online).
THE YOUNG DUBLINERS — Don’t expect those charmin’ Irish folk tunes, no, expect a near punk explosion from a long lived, most hard rockin’ band. Sat 9 p.m., Venice West, $20.
TOLEDO DIAMOND — Have you gone to catch his unique show yet, every Sunday night at Harvelle’s, here in SM? I’ve been recommending him for… decades. Trust me. Sun 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, DTM, $12.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: JOSE FELICIANO, Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills, 12/17; LA SANTA CECILIA, Novo, 12/17; DON CARLOS, Dub Club/Echo, 12/17; ONCE UPON A TIME N LA with Snoop Dogg, Al Green, YG, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Isley Brothers, The Game, War and on and on, Banc of CA stadium, 12/18; STEVIE WONDER’S 23rd HOUSE FULL OF TOYS BENEFIT CONCERT, Microsoft Theater, 12/18; SARAH SILVERMAN & Friends, Largo, 12/22; FISHBONE, Venice West, 12/31; ORIANTHI, Venice West, 1/7; RACHAEL & VILRAY, Troubadour, 1/16; RAUL MALO, The Canyon Agoura Hills 1/28, The Canyon Santa Clarita 1/30; MUSICARES honors JONI MITCHELL, LA Convention Center, 1/29; FEE WAYBILL, Troubadour, 1/29.
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
