Kevin Bronson on June 8th, 2015

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Hanni El Khatib doesn’t look like the kind of guy you’d invite to a garden party. He professes to make “knife-fight” music, the kind of rough-and-tumble garage blues that’s seemingly only a phone call away from a personal injury attorney.

But that’s where you found the singer-guitarist and his quartet on Friday night, as they headlined 2015’s final, sold-out installment of First Fridays at the Natural History Museum. For the series finale, the music was moved to an outdoor stage erected in the Nature Gardens on the north side of the museum. The terraced, amphitheater-like setting and surrounding greenery created for a cozy experience and made you think that somebody ought to use the space for other shows in the neighborhood.

It ratcheted up the intensity for El Khatib, whose quartet sounded more muscular than ever as they played songs from their three-album catalog, including this year’s “Moonlight.”

Leading into the headliner, L.A. four-piece Chicano Batman played a set of their throwback, bossa nova- and cumbia-influenced psychedelic soul. Their album is titled “Cycles of Existential Rhyme,” and it was clear from the number of early arrivals who posted up near the front of the stage that it has resonated with their L.A. fan base.

Local guitar-pop quartet Avid Dancer kicked off the night with songs from their debut “1st Bath,” with DJs Captain Planet and Raul Campos (KCRW) maintaining the vibe between sets while guests hit the food trucks, explored the museum or wandered around the Nature Gardens learning about flower power and pollinators.

Photos by Carl Pocket, courtesy of Spaceland Presents