Almost Acoustic Christmas is a gauge of rock's past, future

Jane's Addiction is a parody of itself, while Black Keys and Mumford & Sons wipe out pretenses; Florence + the Machine and Foster the People are embraced.

Guys with guitars roamed freely Sunday night at the Gibson Amphitheatre, where bands including Jane's Addiction, the Black Keys and Death Cab for Cutie took part in KROQ-FM's annual Almost Acoustic Christmas concert. But throughout this sold-out six-hour marathon — the second of two presented by the influential modern-rock station, after Saturday's bill with Blink-182, Social Distortion and others — those durable guitar heroes were shadowed by another musical figure. Witness the rise of the resourceful tech-head, hunched over a keyboard or sampler, tapping out newfangled sounds with near-scientific precision.

Some groups at the show had room for guitar wizards and computer geeks in their lineups; others staged a production around one or the other. Taken as a whole, though, Almost Acoustic Christmas felt like an investigation of where rock is today, what it's made of and what it should do.

One firm conclusion among the many more half-answers: Jane's Addiction has finally turned into the parody act it's been threatening to become for years. Headlining Sunday's show (albeit to a significantly thinned-out crowd), this on-again/off-again L.A. outfit interspersed hits from its original late-'80s incarnation with material from this fall's “The Great Escape Artist,” Jane's Addiction's first studio album since 2003. Yet it all sounded equally terrible, Perry Farrell's adenoidal vocals meandering aimlessly atop Dave Navarro's bludgeoning power chords. Worse still were Farrell's clownish between-song ramblings about Christmas in the era of Occupy Wall Street, which made the presumably unintentional argument that the once-ubiquitous character of the preening rock god has lost all but his comedic value.

PHOTOS: KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas

Death Cab, Foster the People to close KROQ's Acoustic Christmas

Death Cab for Cutie, the Black Keys and Cage the Elephant will headline the second and final night of the yearly Almost Acoustic Christmas presented the weekend of Dec. 10 by KROQ-FM (106.7). Other acts on the bill for Sunday night include local breakout stars Foster the People, the rock theatrics of Florence + the Machine and veterans Jane's Addiction, among others. 

Also on the bill for Sunday is local pop act Grouplove, folk rockers Mumford & Sons, Noel Gallaher's High Flying Birds project and glossy New Zealanders the Naked and Famous. Saturday night's bill, as previously announced, will feature Blink-182, Bush, Chevelle, Incubus, New Found Glory, Social Distortion, 311 and Young the Giant. As has been typical for the station's annual holiday event, the second night represents more up-and-coming artists while the first night showcases acts that have, generally speaking, long been KROQ fixtures. 

Album review: Jane’s Addiction's 'The Great Escape Artist'

This post has been updated. See below for details.

“You know, we’ve become a big business,” Perry Farrell notes in his distinctive caterwaul on “Irresistible Force (Met the Immovable Object),” a song on the fourth full-length release from Jane’s Addiction. It’s a remarkable moment of candor: Jane’s Addiction commenced in the late ’80s as one of alternative rock’s most maverick progenitors, fomenting the American festival movement in founding Lollapalooza and inspiring legions with heavy yet genre-confounding grooves. However, as Jane’s coalesced into a mainstream headliner, the band’s recorded legacy grew so spotty and sporadic it made R.E.M.’s seem like a model of consistency by comparison.

“The Great Escape Artist,” however, represents both a return to form and an unsullied beginning. Epic opener “Underground” sets the tone, recasting the expanse of “Mountain Song” on Jane’s classic 1988 debut, “Nothing’s Shocking,” with new angularity: imagine the term “Zeppelinesque” given a Gang of Four makeover. Stephen Perkins' drums prove as tribal as ever, and guitarist Dave Navarro alternates guiltily pleasurable histrionic soloing with slashing minimalism; Farrell’s howl remains recognizable as well — if transformed somewhat from its feral origins into a more knowing, dissolute croon.

Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, Sting tapped for iHeartRadio Music Festival

Billed as "the biggest live music event in radio history," the two-day festival, set for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in September, also features Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj and Kelly Clarkson.

Though summer has already had its fair share of big-ticket, multiday festivals, Clear Channel is kicking off fall with what it's billing as "the biggest live music event in radio history."

The radio conglomerate on Monday announced the lineup for the inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival, and the roster for the two-day festival, set for Sept. 23 and 24 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, is quite the who’s who among Top 40.

Night 1 features performances by Coldplay, Alicia Keys, the Black Eyed Peas, John Mayer, Carrie Underwood, Bruno Mars and Jane's Addiction. While Night 2 has Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, Kenny Chesney, Nicki Minaj, Rascal Flatts, Kelly Clarkson, David Guetta, Sublime with Rome and special guest performances by Sting and Usher.

Eminem, Usher and others play Activision's star-studded event at Staples

Of the half-dozen acts that played during Monday night's mega event at Staples Center, perhaps any one of them alone could have filled the arena. But together, those genre-spanning superstars produced a fantastic and unforgettable stage show for the fairly intimate crowd.

Also, there might have been something about a video game.

The invite-only event was put on by Activision Blizzard, the Santa Monica outfit that makes such hit games as Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft. Among the first nighttime events for the kickoff of this year's E3 video game expo in Los Angeles, Activision somehow managed to top Microsoft's Project Natal spectacle from the night before, which called upon the ever-mystifying Cirque du Soleil.

How a video game publisher managed to book Staples Center on the eve of the Lakers' crucial Game 6 in the NBA finals was a mystery soon forgotten after things got rolling. Eminem was the apparent headliner of the night, nabbing the longest playtime and the last punch and kick onstage, but it wouldn't be at all fair to call those who preceded him opening acts.

Cinco de Secret Shows: Wavves at Origami Vinyl, Jane's Addiction at Bardot

 “This song is called ‘Facebook’,” Wavves frontman Nathan Williams said before tossing off another volley of scrim-soaked surf punk at Origami Vinyl last night. Like most things concerning Wavves, it was tough to tell if Williams was just having a lark.

But on Cinco de Mayo, Wavves’ endearingly bratty turn was one of two different, goofy and ostensibly secret sets across town, the other being a low-capacity turn at Bardot from Jane’s Addiction, who have become L.A.’s house band for these sorts of things.

At 7 p.m., word had thoroughly spread that Wavves, SoCal’s best test case for making compelling rock music by barely deigning to try in the slightest, was up to something. Having recently commandeered the late Jay Reatard’s rhythm section, Williams is making a noble go at taking his band more seriously than he has in recent months. But his Origami set had a welcome faint hint of that old sense that the whole thing might go off the rails. Microphones shorted, songs half-started, many jokes were made at the expense of drummer Billy Hayes’ bleached emo haircut.

To say Wavves’ debut album “Wavvves” sounds like it was recorded in a trash can wouldn’t do justice to the structural integrity of trash cans, but the strong new tunes he unveiled at Origami peeled off the scuzz in favor of a bit more rhythmic swagger and directness. “King of the Beach,” the title track from his forthcoming record, showed an affection for classic California skate-punk, as run through Williams' typical filter of hooky smarm.  Working with producer Dennis Herring seems to have affected his goals even for his live sets – the new tunes have a clarity that “Wavvves” so self-consciously shunned. Whatever you make of Williams giddily abrasive stage presence, it’s getting harder and harder to say his success was an accident.

Slash brings his considerable Rolodex to LAYN benefit at Avalon

Onstage at the Avalon during Sunday night's benefit for the Los Angeles Youth Network, comedian George Lopez assured the audience that donations to the homeless-services organization worked promptly. "If you donate tonight, you can save Paula Abdul," Lopez said, to general snickering. "She was sleeping under the 101 last night."

The ex-"American Idol" host might be looking for work these days, but the real goal of the benefit -- a round-robin concert hosted by Slash with a bevy of classic-alt guests including Dave Navarro, Tom Morello, Chester Bennington and Billy Idol -- was to keep the organization's doors open in light of both tough financial straits and a big uptick in the need for its services.

The mix of a purposefully rowdy rock crowd (and open bar) with charitable impulses made for some unexpected moments of earnestness. At a rock-memorabilia auction in the adjoining Bardot nightclub, a young graduate of the program relayed how her life could have been derailed by drugs, prostitution or suicide, but that LAYN helped her pull though. A very blond woman in a clingy white ensemble adjacent to the stage offered encouragement- "But you did not commit suicide, and you are here tonight!"

A man donating $15,000 to fix the organization's roof earned respectful cheers, before he felt a need to clarify his bid to the crowd. "I'll fix the roof. I mean, not personally with a hammer," he said. "But I will pay for someone else to fix it."

Backstage, Slash held court among his assembled band mates, including former Guns N Roses players Duff McKagan and Steven Adler. Together, they know from the trials of youth homelessness -- Slash's self-titled biography offers plenty of firsthand detail on early GNR's world of squats, the temptations of drugs and alcohol, and the band befriending strippers to get cash for meals.

"When I was a kid, no adults knew how bad life was on the streets of Hollywood. Since I've gotten involved with LAYN, I've really related to the kids," Slash said. "They want to write and make music and be trapeze artists. Who else is going to give them a chance to do that?"

Slash came into the program through his wife, Perla, who is on LAYN's board. Introducing the show at the Avalon with her son Cash, she was far afield of a typically austere non-profit director, peppering her pleas for donations with endearingly salty language. She didn't so much as blush when her son chastised the audience -- "If you took a picture of my mom tonight, frickin' delete it!" 

The show opened with an appropriate cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," with Slash backed by, among others, Navarro and Travis Barker. Throughout the cover-centric night, singers and instrumentalists rotated on and off stage -- one minute, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother was plowing through "Woman," then Idol would earn an unexpectedly rapturous response to "Rebel Yell." Bennington served as the de facto Axl for a take on "Paradise City," and by the time Ozzy Osbourne came out for the set's close, the show had become a perpetually giddy tour through the classic rock heyday by artists who, in the eyes many of the kids they were helping that night, might have to soon claim that genre for themselves. 

-- August Brown

Photo of Slash and host George Lopez, albeit at a recent Lakers game, by Lori Shepler / Associated Press

Lollapalooza in danger of losing another headliner? Jane's Addiction calls off Australian tour

Los Angeles quartet Jane's Addiction has canceled its upcoming reunion tour in Australia after drummer Stephen Perkins was admitted to Cedar's-Sinai Hospital's Infectious Disease Ward for treatment of an infected elbow.  While the extent of Perkins' ailment is unclear, the band's publicist released this statement:

Jane’s Addiction’s management has confirmed that percussionist Stephen Perkins has been admitted to the Infectious Disease Ward at Cedar’s-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles for treatment of an infection in his elbow. Doctors expect to keep him there for the next few days for further diagnosis and observation while anti-biotic treatment continues.

Fans are being asked not to worry as a full recovery is expected over the next few weeks.

The Australian tour was set to kick off on July 25, culminating in a final performance on Aug. 1 in Perth. 

The band's announcement comes soon after the Beastie Boys called off their summer tour and pulled out of its performance at Lollapalooza. Bassist Adam "MCA" Yauch was diagnosed with cancer.

A spokesperson for Jane's Addiction said that the band has no plans to cancel its performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago, which is scheduled Aug. 7-9. A statement from the band quotes Perry Farrell as saying the group will return to Australia "as soon as we can."

-- Brendan Bigelow

Photo credit: Tony Pierce / Los Angeles Times

Live: Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Jane's Addiction sounded like classic rock that had lost its edge; Nine Inch Nails were as sharp and relevant as ever.

While tens of millions of television viewers watched Kris Allen and Adam Lambert battle for the title of American Idol on Wednesday night, a different kind of showdown was taking place at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, where Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction -- two veterans of the late-'80s/early-'90s alternative-rock boom -- played to a packed house nostalgic for an era when guyliner wasn't quite ready for prime time.

Both acts on the so-called NIN/JA 2009 tour won huge cheers from the audience Wednesday -- not surprising, given Jane's Addiction's Los Angeles home base and the fact that Nine Inch Nails maestro Trent Reznor has said that this will be the band's final run of shows for the foreseeable future.

As on "American Idol," though, only one had anything interesting to say, and it wasn't the group with the headlining slot.

SXSW: Jane's Addiction rock an abandoned Safeway for Playboy

There are a lot of odd places to rock here in Austin, Texas. Last night, Grizzly Bear played in a church, many have been playing on rooftops or in alleyways, but Jane's Addiction may have found the most unique venue: a gutted former Safeway off Interstate 35 as headliners for the Playboy/C3 party.

The 10th annual Late Night Party lived up to its name -- the original members of Jane's Addiction didn't hit the stage (what would have been aisles 6-13) until 1:45 a.m., but once they did it was a trippy, hard rockin' excursion through the quartet's greatest hits.