Kevin Bronson on March 22nd, 2009

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[Utter exhaustion vs. Saturday night at SXSW: Which will prevail?]

Telekinesis (at the Parish) – Merge Records newbies Telekinesis seem to abide every diagram in the indie rock manual – its pop practices the loud/soft dynamic, a reverence for melody and a reliance on caffeinated percussion for propulsion. And as un-revolutionary as that is, the music created by one-man tornado Michael Lerner (who tours as part of a quartet) is not unremarkable. It’s optimistic and sharply observational, and, live, it’s striking because Lerner, the drummer, fronts the band. The debut album, “Telekinesis!” (produced by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla), is due April 7.

We Should Be Dead (at Soho Lounge) – On a total stranger’s recommendation, I ventured upstairs to see this quartet from Limerick, Ireland, that trades in synth-heavy glam-pop the likes of which you might not have heard since the Sunset Strip a couple decades ago. (Upon Googling, I see that they are signed to an upstart label in Burbank.) The female half of the coed quartet are … how would one say … wee lasses. Which suited lead singer Tara quite well when she galloped into the crowd and then cavorted across a ledge shouting out her lyrics. Quite a spectacle.

Cage the Elephant, the Duke Spirit, Silversun Pickups (at Antone’s) – I repeatedly told folks this week I would not see any Los Angeles bands (you can always catch their fine wares at home), but after a grueling six days of hoofing it and paying a heavy price, I was in the mood for some home cooking. Not to mention curious about Silversun Pickups’ new material, to which I have had only a brief, cursory listen.

Cage the Elephant, a quintet from Bowling Green, Ky., lived up to its hype as a wild live act. Singer Matt Shultz ended up climbing to the upstairs sound loft and singing from the railing. Fun stuff. And the Duke Spirit was in fine form, as usual, with singer Liela Moss dominating physically and vocally.

Less than a month away from the release of their sophomore album, “Swoon,” SSPU performed like a well-oiled machine – even when the wheels are falling off. Keyboardist Joe Lester had a nightmare of a set; his electronic boxes seemed to be operating on some other current, or not at all. Singer-guitarist Brian Aubert had what looked a pedal hiccup, forcing a restart on one song. But they smiled and shredded and crashed and persevered, and, with the two new songs fitting into the set fairly seamlessly, you had the impression the Silver Lakers could walk onstage with ballpoint pens, trashcan lids and kazoos and win a crowd. Somebody tossed a rose at at Aubert’s feet; he filed it over his ear. By the time “Lazy Eye” kicked in, the capacity crowd seemed pulse with every note bassist Nikki Monninger hit.

Nice to see, especially with so many other L.A. artists in the house – Afternoons, Happy Hollows and the Pity Party (who were also on the bill) among them. Even on weary legs, it’s not a bad stroll home with “Little Lover’s So Polite” in your head.