Anni Rossi MONDAY
>> The week kicks off with what promises to be a fantastic and unusual concert at Iota, where two solo multi-instrumentalists give you the opportunity for a break from anything approaching “standard.” Ben Sollee is the headliner, primarily a cellist who also incorporates banjo, guitar, and percussion into his repertoire, and blends folk and jazz in a way that made him a perfect match for a project a few years back with Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck. Opening up is Anni Rossi, a violist who I once saw open for Carla Bozulich at the old Warehouse Next Door, who delivered one of those opening performances so surprising and transfixing that I had to make a beeline for the merch table as soon as she left the stage. One caveat here: Rossi, who recently signed to 4AD and released her first record for the label, is frequently compared to Joanna Newsom, and while her voice has an entirely different timbre, she’s inclined towards the same sorts of odd vocal gymnastics, leaps, and yelps that that comparison might suggest. Which is to say that she might be an acquired taste for some, but if you’re into that sort of thing, you just might be blown away. 8:30 p.m., $12.
>> Those who don’t follow dance music might think of The Prodigy as nothing more than a flash in the pan that heralded the apex of the mid-90s electronic craze, but in nearly 20 years of being together, the group has cemented its position as the best selling electronic/dance act in history, garnering often glowing reviews for its albums up to and including last year’s Invaders Must Die. They’re a lot more than that “Smack My Bitch Up” band, but whether or not they sold out tonight’s 9:30 Club show based on that or on the breadth of their career is a question for those who go tonight. Tittsworth opens. 7 p.m., sold out.
>> A supergroup of sorts is hitting the backstage at the Black Cat tonight as former members of the Holy Rollers, the Meatmen, and Negative Approach bring some particularly hard edged rock to the venue with XMC. Pup Tent opens. 9 p.m., $8.
TUESDAY
>> Elvis Perkins’ debut album, Ash Wednesday, was a beautiful record of singer/songwriter heartbreak; following the success of that record, he decided to transition into a full band, and formed Elvis Perkins in Dearland in order to take a little of the focus off of himself and the perceived personal nature of his music. Our first piece of advice in accomplishing that might have been to not include your own name in the name of your band, but I suppose one still has to sell records. The band’s first, self-titled record came out last month, and they’ll be at Iota in support of it with The Woes. 8:30, $12.
>> It doesn’t seem like much time goes by between local shows from Edie Sedgwick and Olivia Mancini & The Mates, and both of them will be on the Black Cat’s backstage Tuesday night. We’ve profiled Sedgwick in a Three Stars feature, and Mancini is an Unbuckled vet and frequent interviewee. The Poison Arrows round out the threesome. 9 p.m., $10.
