Friday, February 8
Gucci Mane
Things are about to get really ratchet in Santa Ana. If there's one thing to know about the current trap music phenomenon, it's that Gucci Mane is the coldest motherfucker in the game. Or, at least the craziest. Dude got an ice cream cone tattooed on his face. So when we heard he was making the trip out to the Observatory this Friday, we wondered whether the building could withstand the ungodly amount of ass-twerking, 808 clapping insanity he's about to bring with him. On stage, he might not move around too much, but songs like “Icy” and “Supa Cocky” have a sole purpose of causing bonfide freakouts in the crowd. But there's much more to Atlanta's insane, ice-wearing enigma than meets the eye. This tortured genius combines the old school gangsta mentality of Rick Ross, the Internet saturation of Lil B and the lyrical lunacy of 2Chainz. –-Nate Jackson
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B-52s
City National Grove of Anaheim
Tonight the Grove features a band whose hippy dippy songs about freedom and love served as the soundtrack for an entire generation. The decade was a turbulent time known as the 80s, and the kids bopping along to such hits as “Love Shack” and “Rock Lobster” were part of Generation X. For some reason, the rank conservatism of the early decade led to some serious granola style as the '90s approached and the B-52s were there infusing their sound with elements of pop and punk. Dig the beehive hairdos. –Brandon Ferguson
Saturday, February 9
Ryan's Epic Benefit Show
Detroit Bar
Head down to the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa to listen to some
good music and support a worthy cause. Proceeds from tonight's show will
benefit Ryan Coffelt who's suffering from an aggressive form of brain
cancer. While the gig features a solid lineup of indie performers,
Weekly readers may remember our recent coverage of local garage rock
band the Abigails who are friends with another local band, the Growlers.
Whether a practical joke or publicity stunt, during the Growler's set
at last summer's FYF Fest, lead singer Brooks Nielsen announced that the
Abigails' frontman Warren Thomas had gone on a bender and died. We got a
call from Thomas a couple days later and that rumor was laid to rest.
Still it got our attention. It's good to see them putting their efforts
toward a good cause –Brandon Ferguson
Micah Brown
Guitarist and singer Micah Brown does have a bit of Jack Johnson's
surfer-friendly, laid-back, roots-y style, but he can also fire off a
wildly intimidating blast of dexterous finger-picking that could fit
right in at a Stoneman family bluegrass picnic. Securing last year's
Best Live Acoustic performer at the Orange County Music Awards was
acknowledgement of Brown's technique and charisma both, and his Down Like Hail EP
(released around the same time) presents Brown's musical winningness in
depth and detail. Having recently released his latest full length, The Isle of Her, Brown makes his next appearance at the Constellation Room. –Chris Ziegler
Sunday, February10
Spades and Blades
Slidebar
Tonight the Slidebar's departing from its normal punk/indie offering with some good ol' fashioned metal. Spades and Blades will expertly bust out rapid fire drumming and chugging guitar riffage. Though their style makes use of modern elements of metal, Spades and Blades doesn't overuse screaming and guttural grunts yet they manage to come across as nightmarishly heavy, and totally bad ass. — By Brandon Ferguson
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