The Five Must-See Shows in OC This Weekend

Friday, April 26

DJ Shadow
The Observatory
Boasting one of the most extensive vinyl record collections ever–at a whopping 60,000 LPs–DJ Shadow's range is overwhelmingly impressive and his influence well-known. The Davis, California native rose to the ranks of DJ notoriety with London-based record label Mo' Wax by experimenting with mixing classic funk, rock, '60s garage, ambient, and hip-hop together, creating one of the earliest forms of instrumental hip-hop. Beyond that, his collaborations with Little Dragon, Thom Yorke and Cut Chemist have further solidified his reputation as a master remixer and music producer (highly recommended: DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's Product Placement album–which features hundreds of retro radio commercials and television spots embedded into obscure funk, hip-hop and jazz singles–will have you throwing on an impromptu dance party before you can say “Side B”). DJ Shadow comes to Orange County tonight pulling multiple music styles out his sleeve (or record sleeves) at the Observatory. (Aimee Murillo)

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Free Moral Agents
Alex's Bar
One of the bright stars of Long Beach comes to play at, well, one of the bright stars of Long Beach: Free Moral Agents at Alex's Bar. Now in the tenth year of their existence, Free Moral Agents, anchored by keyboardist/producer extraordinaire Ikey Owens, are in steady stride with a permanent five-piece lineup, and a solid reputation as one of the most fascinating, progressive, cerebral bands in the area. This month, the band released their latest EP, Chaine Infinie, you can bet this band is ready to unleash the psychotropic jams they've been cooking up in the lab. This show is definitely not to be missed. (Brandon Ferguson)

Saturday, April 27

Danzig
Fox Theater Pomona
Do you wanna bang heads with him? Hell yes we do. This year marks Danzig's 25th, an epic milestone for the gothic heavy metal group. And to commemorate the occasion, Glenn Danzig plus his special guest, Misfits bandmate Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein take that dark, Satanic, theatrical Danzig appeal across Europe and the US–including a stop this week at the Fox Theater with opening sets from Corrosion of Conformity and The Agonist. It's been a long, twisted road for the singer/songwriter/metal icon–but even at 57 years old (wait, what?!), he can still totally kick your ass. Don't miss this show–dancing with the devil can't last forever. (Erin DeWitt)

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Sunday, April 28

Paris Combo
Soka Performing Arts Center
Hot club jazz, gypsy swing–en francais, “jazz manouche”–call it what you may, mon ami, you'll recognize the spiritual-musical grandchildren of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli in the jumping, bouncing, gliding elegance of hipster world music ensemble Paris Combo, the internationally-acclaimed quintet featuring chanteuse Belle du Berry. Behind her vocal stylings strum and bow and plunk four handsome and talented fellas of “gypsy” (Roma), African and French extraction and temperament. Instantly feel thinner, sexier and more sophisticated snapping your fingers to Paris Combo live, promoting their newest album, Attraction, at our local Buddhist university–BYOG (Bring your own Gauloises). (Andrew Tonkovich)

The Lonely Forest
Constellation Room
The Lonely Forest is sick! YouTube comments such as this might at first seem misleading, but “sick,” as a compliment, is apparently back in style (see 1997). It's fitting for the Recycle Generation (here to forever be anointed Gen-R), and The Lonely Forest flows perfectly into their unusual tapestry woven of supermodel vampires, over-privileged underemployed, and angst-driven rage that fuels apathy, hopelessness and the fierce determination to save what's left of the shithole we're leaving them. There's nothing unique about The Lonely Forest, of course, but at least they're trying to not play the game while playing the game–look at their name, after all. They're part of the army of pseudo-indie rockers with rather pedestrian compositions who're desperately trying not to fall into the mainstream corporate sinkhole sucking in artists left and right, and for that we say: you're wicked bad, dudes. (SR Davies)

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