Concert Picks: Pepper Rabbit, La Big Vic, Joanna Newsom…

What better way to say farewell to July and give a big, sloppy welcome back kiss to August than with a weekend full of shows? Take your pick from our carefully selected picks below.

• Pepper Rabbit | Friday, July 30 | 8:30 pm | 21+ | $8 | Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA – Map | With a slight musical disposition that in part would go well in the background of a Charlie Chaplin flick, the Los Angeles-based (Silver Lake, specifically) “wing it ’til it rocks” trio takes the basics of indie and old school and makes it flippin’ fabulous. Almost re-defining experimental music with a pliable, multi-applicable twist, this will be the last of two shows until the autumn months – when they’ll resume shows for apparently no better reason than to delight us to the core. We can so live with that. With Candy Claws and Lonely Trees – Buy Tickets

• Midnight Magic | Friday, July 30 | 9:00 pm | 21+ | $5 | Brooklyn Bowl, New York, NY – Map | A little bit of disco, a little bit of techno, and tried-and-trued dual voice quality = a workable modern groove and funk that will get the toes tapping. Wanna dance the night away? The native to New York group does not mess around. We can’t stress this more: wear comfortable shoes! Buy Tickets

• La Big Vic | Saturday, July 31 | 8:00 pm | $10 | Old American Can Factory, New York, NY – Map | Ambient. Experimental. Decidedly off-kilter. All of the above?  We’ll go with all of the above on this one. Little is known about the Brooklyn, New York-based trio, except the fact that they make us feel like we’re rocking in some advanced civilization in outside space. When we close our eyes we see lots of silver and laser beams. Oh yeah. Catch a screening of Jaak Kilmi and Kiur Aarma’s documentary Disco and Atomic War while you’re at it. Buy Tickets

• Joanna Newsom | Saturday, July 31 | 9:00 pm | $25 | Orpheum Theater, Los Angeles, CA – Map | If Joanna Newsom’s musical selling point isn’t her beyond-her-years folk-inspired vocals, it’s her use of a harp as a primary instrument. Just the switching up from traditional string instruments to something slightly different provides a welcome enough twist that makes for an even more intriguing onstage presence. Her sound can at times be an acquired taste, but she’s more than master of her domain, eight years in the making. Her sound is both intelligent and heartfelt – a hard-hitting one-two punch if we’ve ever heard of one.  With Robin Pecknold – for more information, call (877) 677-4386.

• Baroness | Sunday, August 1 | 9:00 pm | 17+ | $15 |  Subterranean, Chicago, IL – Map | With wailing guitars and swirling interludes, this hard rocking, post-grunge-slinging band means business. Currently on tour with the Deftones, and soon slated to join rock heavy weights Metallic on their upcoming Australian tour – which is only fitting considering their audible likeness – they’re busy promoting their latest album, Blue Record. With Torche, Valkyrie and Earthride – Buy Tickets

Those are our picks and we’re sticking to ‘em, folks. Who’s on your To-See List this weekend?