Monday, October 1
The Two Foscari
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
The LA
Opera makes a one-night-only appearance at the Segerstrom Center for the
Arts to perform Giuseppe Verdi's The Two Foscari. Verdi based his
three-act opera on the historical play of the same name written by Lord
Byron in 1821. Conductor James Conlon and actor Plácido Domingo recreate
a masterpiece that also features the LA Opera Orchestra and Chorus as
well as a cast of acclaimed international singers. The Two Foscari
relives 15th-century Venice, Italy, with a tale filled with extreme
rivalries and potentially deadly secret plots. Head of State Francesco
Foscari, played by Domingo, struggles to protect himself and his son
from the ruthless enemies that litter their city. Watch as this
father-son duo fight to “reclaim honor in a city that knows no mercy.” –Jessica Ford
]
Tuesday, October 2
Catz 'N Dogs
Focus OC (Tapas in Newport Beach)
Club Focus
is invariably on our list of things to make your Tuesday night 10 times
better than it normally is– especially for househeads, members of the
trance family and other beat freak pedigrees. But next week's event on
Oct. 2 definitely deserves a big red circle on your calendar thanks to
Berlin duo Catz 'N Dogz. In the last 12 months, few house duos have experienced the kind of profile boost that comes with being remixed by stars like Carl Craig and Tanner Ross. When it comes to their own tracks from their 2011 sophomore album Escape From the Zoo, their left-field approach to dance music invokes cinematic film scores, raw instrumentation, deep house roots, crunk Lil' Jon samples and whole lot in between. —Nate Jackson
Wednesday, October 3
Conor Oberst and Jenny Lewis
Fox Theater Pomona
Back in 2002, Conor Oberst and Jenny Lewis
were like the king and queen of our heart-broken little car
stereo–“Lifted” or “The Story is in the Soil,” “Keep Your Ear to the Ground”
and “The Execution of All Things” unabashedly owned that repeat button. On
Oberst's current solo tour, he invites an array of special guests to
join him in varying cities–Daniel Johnston in Austin, Ian Felice in New
York–but for this show at the Fox Theater in Pomona, the singular Jenny
Lewis graces us with her indie-goddess presence (though we see her daily
as the screensaver for one OC Weekly employee who shall go unnamed).
It's a night of icy cool, whimsical folk music–come hear the songs of
dreamy youth and relive those wondrous few years when the world was
introduced to these two who are, and always will be, so much hipper than
us. –Erin DeWitt
[
Thursday, October 4
Dr. Dog
The Observatory
They got a
song called “Warrior Man,” but Philadelphia band Dr. Dog is really more
like an unfrozen caveman, frosted up in the mid-'70s and entombed with
every good record released between Monterey Pop and Watergate. Their
recent and happily out-of-time 2012 release Be the Void is powered by
people like Paul Simon, Ray Davies, the Band, the Beatles on the songs
where John and Paul were really getting riled up–what we got here is
both an album and a valentine to the days of municipal auditorium shows
and moonshine in the barn before the big recording session. If you ever
wondered why they don't make 'em like they used to, well, these are the
guys who make 'em like they used to. –Chris Ziegler
Friday, October 5
Strung Out
House of Blues Anaheim
For those
of us who grew up listening to music in the '90s, punk rock's second
wave is an indelible part of our story. Among the more central bands to
the west coast scene was Strung Out. Signed to Fat Wreck Chords since
'93, this band has churned out 10 albums of solid material and managed
to grow in the process. Known for their rapid-fire style and technical
prowess, these guys took punk in directions unheard of in the genre's
early days.–Brandon Ferguson
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