Weekend Sound: A Sold-Out McCabe's, an Italian Guitar Wizard, and Free Soul on the Lawn (Aug 14–16)
This is a stacked one. From a hushed Pico Boulevard listening room to a Woodland Hills lawn, here's your Westside-and-Valley weekend.
Friday, Aug 14 — The Spazmatics at the Venice West (Venice). Ease in with pure fun: the '80s new-wave nerd-rock institution The Spazmatics, with Alta Avenue opening, 8 p.m. It's a tribute night done with real commitment, and the Venice West is the right size room to make skinny ties and synth-pop feel like a party rather than a bit.
Saturday, Aug 15 — Abby Posner & The Big Fall at McCabe's Guitar Shop (Santa Monica) — SOLD OUT. The marquee local event of the weekend, and you already can't get in. Roots multi-instrumentalist Abby Posner headlines McCabe's fabled back room — roughly 150 chairs, no bar, cathedral silence — with Paula Fong opening, 8 p.m. That a homegrown Americana act sells out the most prestigious listening room on the Westside tells you exactly how deep the local roots-music bench runs right now. If you didn't grab a ticket, learn from it.
Saturday, Aug 15 — Daniele Gottardo at the Baked Potato (Studio City). Over the hill, the Italian guitar phenom Daniele Gottardo brings jaw-dropping technique to the oldest jazz room in L.A. If your idea of a Saturday night is watching a left hand move faster than physics should allow, from three feet away, with a loaded potato in front of you, this is your church.
Saturday, Aug 15 — Smokestack Lightning at Harvelle's (Santa Monica). For the loud, sweaty option, Harvelle's serves raw blues at 9:30 p.m. in its brick shoebox. It pairs beautifully as a nightcap to almost anything else on this list.
Sunday, Aug 16 — "Super Soul Groove" at Warner Center Park (Woodland Hills). Close the weekend for free. The Valley Cultural Foundation's Sunday series delivers a disco-funk-soul-R&B set from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., paired with emerging artist The 90's BaBiez. Bring a blanket; bring the family.
Also worth your Sunday — The John Stewart Band at McCabe's (Santa Monica). If you struck out on Abby Posner, McCabe's rebounds Sunday, Aug 16 at 8 p.m. with The John Stewart Band. Same holy quiet, different night.
The weekend's lesson is embarrassment of riches. A sold-out roots show, a guitar clinic, a blues bar and a free soul concert — all inside our little coastal-and-Valley footprint, none of them requiring a downtown pilgrimage. The only real risk this weekend is trying to do too much of it. Pace yourself, buy ahead where you still can, and remember McCabe's asks for silence. Give it to them. You'll hear why.
Sources: McCabe's Guitar Shop — Concerts; The Baked Potato — Songkick; The Venice West — Calendar; Harvelle's Santa Monica — Calendar; Valley Cultural Foundation — Concerts & Events