Kevin Bronson on July 30th, 2010

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[Happy birthday, Louise Wener. With all these girl groups cooing at me so many years later, I really miss Sleeper.]

Too much of a good thing this weekend – here are my picks:

Friday
‣ Catch Pepper Rabbit while you can. They headline Spaceland supported by Candy Claws.
‣ Manchester quintet the Answering Machine do Britpop right. They’re at Club Underground at the Echo supported by L.A.’s Atlantic Line.
‣ Old faves Dramarama play the Brixton in Redondo Beach and I will arm-wrestle anybody who says that after all these years John Easdale and company can’t bring it.
‣ And the Viper Room has a great lineup of straight-ahead rawk: the Stone Foxes, the Hundred Days, the Tender Box and Dirty Sweet.

Saturday
‣ Is it me, or does Dave Alvin [pictured] not get the credit he deserves? No matter, the man who put out a Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women album last year returns to an older formation, headlining the one-day Roots Roadhouse festival at the Echo and Echoplex as Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men. T Model Ford and Red Simpson also play, along with whippersnappers such as Leslie Stevens & the Badgers, the Chapin Sisters, Olin and the Moon, Old Californio and I See Hawks in LA. Oh, and did I mention barbecue? [At the end of this post, see the set times.]
‣ Free fun in Long Beach, where a 5 p.m. show at Rainbow Harbor is anchored by Delta Spirit, with the Fling, Tijuana Panthers and the Brook Lee Catastrophe.
‣ Joanna Newsom plays a sold-out show at the Orpheum.
‣ Wolf Parade plays the Wiltern.

Sunday
‣ Up-and-coming indie-rock quintent Young the Giant kicks off a five-Sunday residency at the Troubadour, and Eastern Conference Champions support on opening night.

Also Friday: Sergio Mendes and Morcheeba at the Hollywood Bowl; Swingin’ Utters at the Troubadour; Big Head Todd & the Monsters (with Truth & Salvage Co. at  the House of Blues); Tyrone Wells at the Hotel Cafe; Rademacher at Casey’s downtown; Pocahaunted at the Bootleg Theater; Sun Araw at the Show Cave in Eagle Rock; Hype Blast at the Smell; Loefah at the Echoplex; and Modern Time Machines at Pehrspace.

Also Saturday: Kinky Friedman (2 shows) at McCabe’s; Black Math Horseman and Crooked Cowboy at Spaceland; Scorpions at the Nokia Theatre; Pacha Massive and Nonstop Bhangra at Grand Performances at California Plaza; Layabout’s album-release show for “Wine Ain’t Water” at the Hotel Cafe; Pat Benatar, REO Speedwagon and Edwin McCain at the Greek; Sergio Mendes and  Morcheeba at the Hollywood Bowl; Moses Campbell and Manahattan Murder Mystery at Pehrspace; John Carpenter at the 6th St. Warehouse; the Nervous Wreckords at the Viper Room; Viza at the Troubadour; Gavin Turek at La Cita downtown; Teaneck at the Bootleg Theater; Level 42 at Club Nokia; As I Lay Dying at the Palladium; and Trevor Hall at the Mint.

Also Sunday: Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken at Club Nokia; Alex and Sam and Judson and Mary at the Bootleg Theater; Zola Jesus at the Echo; and Yellow Alex at Spaceland.

Saturday’s Roots Roadhouse set times
Echoplex
3 p.m. – Whispering Pines
4:50 – Pete Anderson
5:50 ”“ Chatham County Line
6:55 – Red Simpson
8:10 – I See Hawks in LA
9:05 – Chapin Sisters
10:35 – Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men

Echo
3:30 – Amanda jo Williams
4:15 – Frontier Ruckus
5:10 – Speedbuggy
6 – Old Californio
7 – Olin and the Moon
8 – Leslie Sgtevens & the Badgers
9 – T Model Ford

Outdoor stage
4:30 – RT & the 44s
5:15 – Philip Roebuck
6 – Killing Casanova
7 – Old Bull
8 – Last Round Down
9 – Triple Chicken Foot

Photo by Issa Sharp