And the spoiled get more spoiled. Here's this week's best bets on the local music tip, get in line:
The Weeknd, The Fillmore, Tuesday
The mystery surrounding this Toronto-based R&B sensation seems to be slowly unraveling. We know a few things now: the man behind that next-gen-Michael Jackson voice is Abel Tesfaye; he sourced his backing band online earlier this year; and his growing number of fans includes industry heavyweights such as P-Diddy, or whatever he calls himself these days. Tesfaye’s songs are bedroom jams of the highest order, but his lyrics are of a tortured protagonist. His bedroom is dark as night; turn the lights on at your own risk.
Death Cab For Cutie, Tuesday-Thursday, Fox Theatre
Three dates for Death Cab at the Fox seems a bit ambitious from a programming standpoint, but if Ben Gibbard and co. are up for it, so are we. This by-now veteran rock band has been touring for over a year now in support of the rather ho-hum Codes and Keys album. Good thing Death Cab makes a habit of exhaustively exploring their entire catalogue at every concert. They played a cool 26 songs at a show we caught at the Fillmore last year, and we’re guessing they’ll pay service to some deeper cuts in this three-night mini residency. Cross your fingers for Transatlanticism early and often.
Roger Waters, AT&T Park, Friday
Pink Floyd’s The Wall still stands today as one of modern society’s great examinations of the human condition. As the story goes, Roger Waters penned the album some 33 years ago in an attempt to capture his own disenchantment with Pink Floyd’s generally tepid audiences. He constructed this grandiose metaphorical "wall," but in the process also managed to touch on an essential truth about personal isolation and existential terror, that all in all we’re all just bricks in an unsturdy wall. Books were written, documentaries filmed, other bands inspired, and today, his words seem no less relevant. This Friday, Waters brings his latest re-production of the album to AT&T Park.
Savoy, Great American Music Hall, Friday
Savoy may indeed owe some of its notoriety to the recent surge of interest in fellow dubstep/brostep phenoms Skrillex and Deadmau5, but that doesn’t mean the two-DJ, one-drummer trio doesn’t do things its own way. Bringing the live drummer to the equation is just one way these guys operate on their own accord. They actually describe themselves as “Daft Punk meets Metallica,” which is a bit odd and misleading. This is really just eclectic electronic music with fun ideas and hooks at every turn. Fist. Pump.
The Drums, Saturday, Great American Music Hall, Saturday
Try to get this song out of your head. Just try. Go ahead, we’ll wait. … Right? You’ve by now noticed there’s something instantly timeless about The Drums, to the point where it’s easy to look past the idea that they’re appealing to our sense of nostalgia, and really just making lovely pop music. The rest of their catalogue is a bit more post-punkish, and it’s clear they’re influenced by Joy Division/New Order. If their upward trajectory continues as it has these past two/three years, they’ll be doing the influencing very soon.
