> CONCERT SAMPLER
Live-music highlights for the week of Sept. 14-20. Death Valley Girls Naomi Punk As it hits its third year, the Night Owl Festival going around the clubs till Sunday looks like it’s worth staying up for, starting off with opening-night standouts Death Valley Girls, whose swaggering, distorted onstage storm in leather-and-lace trappings puts them down as sonic counterparts to fellow L.A. legends James Ellroy and Russ Meyer. Ramshackle punk trio Naomi Punk, out of Olympia, Wash., run a little bit less direct but fit equally well on this bill and among the weekend’s choice offerings ahead that include top-shelf psychedelicists and oddballs Besnard Lakes, Ty Segall, Walrus and Shannon & the Clams. (Thursday, Baby G, doors 7 p.m.)
Kali Uchis Uchis looks well-placed to thrive while surfing a post-“Despacito” wave — witness “Nuestro Planeta,” her reggaeton-touching, Spanishlanguage collab with Colombian compatriot Reykon from upcoming debut album Fool’s Paradise that ticks some of the same boxes as that inescapable summer soundtrack. The new material figures to be front and centre for this first show here for her since she warmed up the crowd for Leon Bridges nearly two years ago. That’s another illustration of her swift rise as this show has been moved from the original Mod Club, less than half the size of the Danforth palace — if the trajectory holds, she’s a candidate for a quick springtime return, and perhaps even further up the local concert food chain. (Thursday, Danforth Music Hall, doors 8 p.m.)
Pierre Kwenders Like Uchis, Kinshasa-born Montrealer Pierre Kwenders is a blender — in his case, Congolese rumba is usually the default starting point for inventive explorations all over the map in five different languages, in rap and song. It’s earned him critical praise and a trophy case that holds a Juno from 2015, and a new chapter begins here, at this T.O. release show for LP MAKANDA at The End of Space, the Beginning of Time — yes, it’s a mouthful, but also of a piece with Kwenders’ buffet approach. Rising Filipinx duo DATU, Somali producer OBUXUM and DJ Sean Sax help out on this pick-of-the-week bill. (Friday, Rivoli, 9 p.m.)
Alison Moyet “I am glad for open windows,” Moyet sings on her latest LP Other, and for sure her career going back to the early ’80s has included its share of escapes and returns while she’s remained a belter of the first order. Lead single “Reassuring Pinches,” with its arpeggiating synths and dynamics, offers a bit more familiar ground to fans with long memories, going back to her beginnings as half of early ’80s synth-pop nova Yaz. A torchy dramatist making her first landing here in nearly a decade, she’s smart enough to pepper the set list with a bit of that earlier stuff (Yaz’s “Only You” was among those getting new life via placement in The Americans), thereby keeping the faithful happy. (Sunday, Danforth Music Hall, doors 7 p.m.)
Tank and the Bangas New Orleans band has in six years gone from regional faves to, this spring, winning NPR’s third Tiny Desk Contest and now this first big tour. It’s easy to see why they’ve managed to grow beyond their borders: former slam poet Tarriona (Tank) Ball is a nimble and funny wordsmith who swaps fashion tips and verses with firecracker Anjelika (Jelly) Joseph, while the Bangas provide a thick hometown mix of funk with jazzy breaks on flute, sax and guitar to match the front pair’s freestyling. Having sold this 500-capacity space out quickly, Toronto appears ready to welcome them with open arms. Fellow Louisianans Sweet Crude are along on this tour and off debut LP Créatures, a good match leaning more to the parade-ground end of the Crescent City’s wide musical spectrum. (Tuesday, Adelaide Hall, doors 7 p.m.)
WHOOP-Szo One of last year’s most welcomed newcomers was RPM Live, the live series from Toronto-based music platform Revolutions Per Minute focusing on contemporary Indigenous artists. The Season 2 starter goes experimental rock-centric, including this trio of Plains Cree descent who are vets of various indie projects in Edmonton — they make their T.O. debut here off a three-song debut EP that pairs shoegaze guitars and synths with subtle sprinkles of percussion. Noh- wave noisemakers Yamantaka // Sonic Titan are the known quantity on the bill rounded out by Guelph psych five-piece WHOOP-Szo. The Sampler’s fall lookahead pointed to this evening’s Mount Eerie show as a highlight this week — here’s one more. (Wednesday, Smiling Buddha, doors 7:30 p.m.)