Concert Picks: Swahili Blonde, He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister, Restavrant…

Don’t let Friday the 13th get you into a slump or a funk today. Instead, how about treating it like any other Friday and allowing yourself to get into a good funk and a groove – of the “it’s the weekend!” sort, perhaps? Besides, nothing screams of luck more than the possibility of having Monday off from work. Black cats, mirrors, and cracks in the pavement have nothing on what the weekend’s got in store – and by that we mean new-ish acts with new records and stand-out tracks – the better to start 2012. Check out our picks below…

• Swahili Blonde | Friday, January 13 | 9:00 pm | 21+ | $8 | Central Social Aid and Pleasure Club, Santa Monica, CA – Map | The most fantastic quality about Swahili Blonde is that we swear that they’ve been in the music circuit much longer than two years. But it seems that two albums and two orbits of the earth around the sun later, and they’re just as new as… uh, something that’s pretty new. Except if you count that the experimental outfit is comprised in part of John Taylor (bassist of Duran Duran) and has worked with John Frusciante (guitarist of the one and only Red Hot Chili Peppers), then you’ve got some relevant goodies rounding out the atypical strings, rhythms, and vocals provided by the amazing Nicole Turley.We are leaving out a couple of great names here, but you read it here first – awesome ensembles are the new black. With Free Moral Agents, Raw Geronimo, Ross Sea Party – Buy Tickets
• Porches | Friday, January 13 | 9:00 pm | All Ages | $7 | Big Snow Buffalo Lounge, Brooklyn, NY – Map | Porches is one of those bands that we would have the pleasure to know, other than the fact that there’s very little information for us to come by other than their album, Scrap and Love Songs Revisited (which was released this past November), that they’re in it for the music and not necessarily the hard and fast price-per-EP, and that they’re about as indie as we like ‘em. Not only have they been working on a tour documentary with one Heather Craig to the tune of one of their tracks, but they are set to put out a DVD, as well as play another Brooklyn venue – Death By Audio – this coming Wednesday the 18th. No idle hands or minds for these rockers, which means more music for us. With Dreamshow, DJ Hannah LaCava and Peter Fonda.
• Cooper | Saturday, January 14 | 7:30 pm | 21+ | $10 in advance; 12 day of show | Mercury Lounge, New York, NY – Map | Sometimes the New York-based band sounds a little like a long-lost cousin of Raine Maida, or perhaps The Postal Service (not like Owl City… spare us), but at the same time there is a definite sweet pop character within their rock surface. Again, not much that we know about the indie rockers other than they’ve  a way with harmony and falsetto that is one part adorable, two parts heart-wrenching, and five parts rockin’. With Pet Lions - Buy Tickets
• He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister | Saturday, January 14 | 10:00 pm | 21+ |  Free with RSVP, or $8 | Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL – Map | It’s nice when a track gets stuck in our heads and it’s actually worthy of being stuck in there. It’s of the “I’ve played it 54 times already and there’s no way it’s getting old” variety. Not only does the track “Tales That I Tell” fulfill that coveted role, but so does nearly every song on the LA-based, unsigned, highly polished but seeking donations for a tour van (!) folk band that will have our attention for a good while. We’re pretty positive about the notion about as much as breathing at this point. With Rivals of the Peacemaker, Esta Vivo – Buy Tickets
• Restavrant | Sunday, January 15 | 8:30 pm | 8:30 pm | 21+ | $8 | The Satellite, Los Angeles, CA – Map | Restavrant is a veritable genre smorgasboard – we’re detecting bluegrass, electronic, country, and as a result, all sorts of experimental. The Los Angeles-based outfit is about as nonchalant and non-traditional as you can get in the most unassuming way possible. Frankly it’s a style and execution most everyone should listen to, and what better way than tonight at the release party for their latest record, Yeah, I Carve Cheetahs. With The Dirt Daubers, Two Gentleman Band – Buy Tickets