The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Ludacris -- See Sunday

Fishbone, Quinto Sol
KEY CLUB
Fishbone have gone through a lot of changes since emerging from South Central L.A. in 1979, but the group can always be counted on for a funky good time. Lead singer/saxist Angelo Moore, bassist Norwood Fisher and crew have evolved from a ska-reggae combo into a wildly expansive outfit that hurls punk, funk, soul and hard rock into the mix. Pumped up by a brassy, sassy horn section, Fishbone keeps things lively and surreally ebullient, even when examining such heavy issues as war and racism; Moore sees no reason why saving the world can't also be a party. The band's Laurence Fishburne-narrated documentary, Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, recently was released on DVD, and they were still in righteously freaky form on their 2011 EP, Crazy Glue. The East L.A. reggae collective Quinto Sol sets the mood with their uplifting reggae grooves. --Falling James

The Growlers
HENRY FONDA THEATER
Legend has it that The Growlers' new record, Hung at Heart (out in January on the esteemed Everloving label), was at one point in danger of being sanded smooth by star producer Dan Auerbach of the world-famous white-blues combo Black Keys. But the collaboration didn't work out. Whew! That was close! The Long Beach hobo-rock surfadelicists are truest and realest when they're twanging out an echoed-out, warped cheapness, a sound they've developed all on their own. Why that crappy sound is so powerful is a mystery, but it is, and it's a core element in Growler greatness and the seemingly infinite catalog of excellent songs the band's writing team of Brooks Nielsen and Matt Taylor is capable of creating. Hung is twang all around, sinister/jokey rock tuneage soaked in reverbed guitars, Doors-y organs and a singer nasally warbling about women, tallboys, beach rats and baloney -- and the pursuit of happiness on the endless road to who knows where. --John Payne