Notable Shows

Wednesday, November 22

Sean Lennon

Imagine there's no loyalty. It's easy if you try, especially if you're Sean Lennon, who didn't have to imagine his one-time girlfriend, model-cum-actress (and fellow rock royalty) Bijou Phillips and best friend Max Leroy gettin' busy behind his unsuspecting back, because it actually happened. The painful, backstabbing betrayal helped spawn material for the singer-songwriter's sophomore release Friendly Fire—his first in eight years after Into the Sun (1998). Venomous lyrics like, "Dead meat/Don't you know you're dead meat/ You just messed with the wrong team/Better not try and fall asleep now," on the record's initial track contrast with their hushed execution, sung softly over the rhythmic strumming of an acoustic guitar interspersed with swelling strings and the piano's melodic tinkle. Its chorus of "You're gonna get what you deserve/ In the end, you're gonna learn/Oh, you'll get what you deserve" takes on new meaning after the revelation that Leroy died in a motorcycle accident before he and Lennon were able to reconcile. The heartbreaking works are brought to the screen with an accompanying DVD of corresponding short films. Seize the chance to see them brought to life—you never know, it may be 2014 before you'll have another chance. AJA PECKNOLD Neumo's, 6 p.m. $17 All ages

The Slits + Dmonstrations + Tall Birds + Heavy Hearts

SEE FEATURE [The Slits] P. 67. El Corazon, 8 p.m. $12

Friday, November 24

The Pharmacy + Wet Confetti + TV Coahran + Pleasureboaters

Portland arty post-punkers Wet Confetti make music that's sort of akin to a brainy, synth-soaked version of Blonde Redhead. Like their compatriots the Thermals, there is something bookish about them, but often their songs grow more and more urgent and paranoid, resulting in explosive ecstatic climaxes. Singer Alberta Poon has the ability to split her vocals between delicate and gasping. It often sounds as if the emotion behind the words is so heavy it forces them out of her mouth faster than she can sing them. But the real treat here is guitarist Daniel Grazzini's keytar, which makes surprise synthy appearances here and there. Like Gang of Four before them, they are jerky-yet-danceable punk rock, which makes it all the more intriguing that their new disc, Laughing, Gasping, is being released by none other than fellow Oregonian Dave Allen (GoF's bassist) and his label Pamplemoose. Cheers to Allen for pimping the Portland weirdos. BRIAN J. BARR Comet Tavern, 9 p.m.

Saturday, November 25

The Coup + Mr. Lif

Def Jux darling Mr. Lif's lyrical genius, political leanings, and compelling live show put him smack at the forefront of underground hip-hop innovators. A Chop Suey appearance a while back was interspersed with hilarious theatrics—Lif's tour manager, Scooter, played the part of an overbearing boss he dreams of taking out on "Live From the Plantation," a track from I Phantom (2002) that explores the conflict of being overqualified for mundane minimum-wage jobs, yet forced to work them in order to make rent: "I'm doing this remedial work for second-graders/I'm an educator with megaflavor, so/Maybe I should just jump up and get ill/Maybe I should let these people know they're being killed/Maybe I should try my very best to chill, and get paid/Cuz I gotta pay bills, raa!" Lucky for us, Lif's talent—most recently displayed on sophomore full-length Mo' Mega (2006)—should keep him spreading his message to the masses and far from the clutches of the 9-to-5 grind. AJA PECKNOLD Neumo's, 8 p.m. $15 All ages

Neurosis + Grails + Grey Daturas

Bleak, gray, oppressive . . . sure, that's Steve Pool's weather outlook this week (and every week until May, probably), but it's also the forecast for the inside of El Corazon tonight, when Bay Area sextet Neurosis takes the stage. Yet, just as some people find a sort of loveliness, even a strange sense of comfort, in our somber skies, there's those (like myself) who spy a great deal of beauty in the band's heavy, doomy, epic art-metal, which they've been steadily honing for 21 years. At times, Neurosis can crush your will to live—and your eardrums—with hulking, forbidding riffs and Steve Von Till's baneful baritone; in other spots, they'll pull back into a comparably muted, spectral, experimental space that's still brimming with tension—like the excruciatingly slow and terrifying walk down the dark corridor in some horror movie, you know what's coming eventually. Neurosis should provide thrills aplenty, and maybe they'll even preview new tracks from the follow-up to 2004's The Eye of Every Storm, which they're about to start recording with longtime engineer Steve Albini. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG El Corazon, 8 p.m. $15 adv./$18

Ozomatli + One Be Lo + Kid Hops

Think about South Florida's intimate relationship with Cuba and the Caribbean, and the influence it's had on that region's music scene. That same sort of cross-cultural, stylistic leg-humping goes on in Southern California across the Mexican-American border, and there's no better example than L.A.'s Ozomatli. The bilingual, genre-smashing, Latin-funk-rock-rap outfit came together more than a decade ago as the original L.A. party band, but it wasn't until its defining role as agent provocateur at the 2000 Democratic National Convention that Ozomatli found a theme for its party. The group has withstood a rotating lineup of drummers, horn men, DJs, and MCs, yet has stayed consistently anchored by bassist Wil-Dog Abers' upbeat, politically charged songwriting. With a live show that's as full-blown ecstatic as any you've ever seen (that's a guarantee), Ozo is a no-world-border phenomenon that will reaffirm your belief in the power of music. JONATHAN ZWICKEL Showbox, 7 p.m. $18 adv./$20 All ages