The acoustics of Walt Disney Concert Hall should provide a wonderful setting for Ryan Adams, whose album last year Ashes & Fire was a quiet affair and one of last year’s best, imho.
This week also features some real characters coming to town. On the 16th-17th, the Bootleg welcomes Nico. Well, not exactly the real Nico, who died in 1988, but Tammy Faye Starlite, the NYC-based performer/performance artist. She has created a show, Chelsea Mädchen, which features songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie and, of course, the Velvet Underground. I remember Tammy Faye from her country satire On My Knees some years back.
Scott H. Biram has a wild roots rockin’ one-man band and he’ll be opening the G. Love & Special Sauce show at the House of Blues on the 16th. Also that night, Shara Worden be lighting up the Troubadour with her cabaret rock band My Brightest Diamond.
On the 17th, Neutral Uke Hotel will be performing Neutral Milk Hotel’s Aeroplane Over The Sea with a twist – their main instrument is the ukulele. Also on the bill will be Miracle Parade, Golden Bloom and Michael J. Epstein. Over at the El Rey, the crowd will be decked out in their Hogwartsian finery for the Wizard Rock Festival, sponsored by the Harry Potter-loving folks at Whimsic Alley.
McCabe’s welcomes a pair of Americana icons this weekend. On Friday, Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks will be serving up their crazy mixed up music. “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away” is one of those songs that I heard as a kid and it’s still stuck in my head. Hicks has been making music for over 40 years and still putting out inventive stuff, as his 2009 Tangled Tales revealed.
David Lindley takes over McCabe’s on Saturday and Sunday. Best known as the go-to man for string instruments in the Southern California since the 70s, Lindley also was part of the innovative psychedelic/roots band, Kaleidoscope as well as some solo albums, including the excellent El Rayo-X.
Also noting is the Valentine’s Day show from the stylish Islands at the Bootleg while the Echo has a free show featuring Grant Langston and also the Driftwood Singers. David Nail brings his rugged country tunes to the Troubadour on the 15th. You can find Neal Casal at the Echoplex (he has a really cool album coming out) on a bill headlined by Howlin’ Rain and Emily Wells will fill the Echo with her unique “symphonies” on Saturday the 18th.
