The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend

By LA Weekly Fri., Mar. 15 2013 at 3:45 AM

Categories: Los Angeles Concerts

Credit: Matt Oliver

Beyond Wonderland --- See Saturday

Friday, March 15

The Black Ryder
THE ECHO
The Black Ryder come from Australia but sound like they're from 13th Floor Elevators' own personal Texas, a land of endless desert where the guitars echo to eternity and where it's too hot to move fast. The Black Ryder concoct psychedelia that bleeds and boils at its own measured pace, and when the guitar solos come in, like on "Grass," a stand-out from their 2010 album Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride, it's like watching a rattlesnake slither across hot asphalt. Naturally, they've got both practical and psychic connections to the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and naturally they prefer to record out in Joshua Tree and play with world-class mind grinders at the yearly Austin Psych Fest. In between they'll do this too-rare L.A. show, so get ready to be melted. --Chris Ziegler

Klubfoot USA
THE FONDA THEATRE
British punk rock's miserable 1980 implosion spawned a post-apocalyptic landscape littered with skinheads, ska wannabes, neo-goths, new romantics, bogus mods and, in what seemed the most inevitable evolutionary post-punk permutation, psychobilly. That mad, murky Gene Vincent-meets-Rat Scabies sound festered most virulently at a long-since-demolished Hammersmith cesspool known as Klubfoot, and had, by the mid-'80s, infected an international army of hooliganized youth. With wild weekender Klubfoot USA, a three-day, six-bands-nightly demolition derby of sound, the whole ghastly scene is bursting from remission like a lethal big-beat virus. Showcasing live-wire U.K. guitar slinger Tim Polecat's stellar modern rockabilly trio The Whammy, along with such hog-wild, old-school Euro psycho freaks as Mad Sin and Frantic Flintstones, our homegrown, 21st-century faves Rezurex and an additional host of scum-smeared psychotics, this one is guaranteed to deliver a bale of blunt force thrills. Also March 16-17. --Jonny Whiteside

Volbeat
HOUSE OF BLUES Hollywood
If there were a rockabilly tribute to Metallica, it might sound something like Danish group Volbeat. Unlike its metal influencer, however, this Copenhagen quartet spikes up its bold hybrid with globs of punk and slicks it back with comforting, country-style motifs including harmonica and lap steel. Platinum sellers in Northern Europe, Volbeat, for all of their genre-mutating alchemy, never forget the seductive power of an epic melody or a festival-ready hook. "A Warrior's Call" is as heroically anthemic as its title implies, with a bombastic arrangement and vocal inflections that would make James Hetfield blush. "Heaven Nor Hell" is robust pop in rock clothing (and about as Southern-stained as a bunch of Scandos gets). Draped in the subculture-straddling imagery of cars, tats and low-slung axes, Volbeat could kill at Hootenanny or on any of metal's multiband juggernaut tours. --Paul Rogers

Saturday, March 16

The Adicts
HOUSE OF BLUES Hollywood
With this their 35th anniversary, The Adicts are celebrating a milestone that very few collaborations reach. What's more, the band is commemorating this achievement with its original lineup relatively intact. The British group has been bringing its punk-rock circus on the road since the 1970s, and they're truly legendary for the effort. Upbeat rhythms and sing-along vocals make songs like "Viva la Revolution" ultimate party anthems, and Adicts frontman Monkey paints his face so extravagantly that it makes KISS look tame. The group's stage show involves bubble machines, giant beach balls, streamers and as much confetti as there is fire at a Rammstein show. (Read: a lot.) Joining Monkey are Pete Dee, Kid Dee, Scruff and Shahen, all dressed in A Clockwork Orange, droog-style uniforms and all bounding around the stage while simultaneously thrashing on their instruments and hosting the best party you've ever been to. --Diamond Bodine-Fischer