Kevin Bronson on November 20th, 2009

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[It’s Bjork’s birthday on Saturday, celebrate appropriately. Here’s my late-arriving weekend rundown:]

Tonight: Alan Palomo’s Neon Indian [pictured; download below] brings its multimedia synthscapes to the Echoplex for a night of cool electro that includes Keenhouse, Tigercity and Little Red Radio. … Julian Casablancas hits downtown’s Palace Theatre for Week 3 of his residency. … Party guys Iglu & Hartly try to build on their U.K. buzz with a show in their home city at the Troubadour – Pop Noir and Jaguar Love support. … There’s When You Awake’s Neil Young Tribute at the Bootleg; plenty of excellent talent, including Delta Spirit, Ferraby Lionheart, the Parson Red Heads and the Chapin Sisters, and it’s a benefit. … Also: Spacehog at Spaceland; Moonrats at the Smell; Thao with the Get Down Stay Down at the Glass House; the Minor Canon at LaBrie’s in Glendale (formerly the Scene); the Big Pink at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa; Ray Lamontagne at the Orpheum; Raphael Saadiq at the Wiltern; Dir En Gray at the House of Blues; Jill Sobule at McCabe’s; Pollyn at the Echo; Manhattan Murder Mystery at Mr. T’s Bowl; Shaimus at Cinespace; and Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers at the Key Club.

Saturday: The Pablove Foundation Benefit at the Avalon should draw all-stars onstage and off – Band of Horses, Tom Morello, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Shirly Manson and Butch Walker are among the performers. … The U.K.’s Friendly Fires are a known quantity here – fantastic every time I’ve seen them – and for this sold-out show at the Fonda, they have newbies the XX [pictured] opening. The XX have gotten a lot of buzz for their minimalist R&B-flavored indie-pop, which reminds me of a woozier, boy-girl Junior Boys with fewer electronics. … At Disney Hall, it’s the first night of West Coast, Left Coast, and the heavyweight lineup features the Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, Matmos and Incubus’ Mike Einziger @ Walt Disney Concert Hall. … Also: Peter Bjorn and John at Club Nokia; the Juan Maclean at the Echoplex; the Fiery Furnaces at the El Rey; Elefant and the One AM Radio at the Troubadour; Ray Lamontagne at the Orpheum; Malbec at Spaceland; X86 at the Bootleg Theater; and Letting Up Despite Great Faults at Mr. T’s Bowl.

Sunday: Say Anything winds up a monthlong tour in support of its very good third album, the recently released “Say Anything,” with a sold-out hometown show at the Troubadour. … Also: Lilys and the Minor Canon at Spaceland; War Tapes at the Smell; Ray Lamontagne‘s final night athte Orpheum; and Elefant at Vertigo’s.

||| Download: Neon Indian’s “Terminally Chill”

Photos: Neon Indian by Dagny Piasecki; The XX by by Owen Richards