The Five Best Concerts in OC This Week

Ramona Falls
Constellation Room

Brent Knopf was the polymath co-founder of Portland's Menomena, the impressively (or was that intimidatingly?) creative band that would reverse-engineer their live songs from an insane collection of custom loops--kind of like an indie rock band deciding to reproduce every detail of Paul's Boutique live, except even more daring. But in 2011, Knopf left Menomena (amiably!) for his own Ramona Falls, a band that's been taking indie-pop apart and reassembling it pixel by pixel for two full albums now. Does anyone reading this like Nick Nicely? Because he did what Knopf does--match imagination and home-brewed technology to make songs that know no limits. -- Chris Ziegler

Tuesday, February 26

James Clay Garrison
Harvelle's Long Beach

Carrying on in their tradition of booking top shelf blue-hued musicians, Harvelle's presents James Clay Garrison. This songster excels in a smooth style of R&B, which features some soulful crooning. According to a recent Long Beach Post article, Garrison is no stranger to the music biz and has worked with such luminaries as Ray Charles, Stephen Stills and Eddie Van Halen. He reportedly even had a cameo on 21 Jump Street, which practically makes him a national treasure. Check him out. --Brandon Ferguson

Wednesday, February 27

Anberlin
The Observatory

Fans of the KROQ sound listen up. Anberlin, the Orlando Florida Quintet whose hard rock style straddles the fine line between Thirty Seconds to Mars and any number of emo bands, is playing the House of Blues. Known for their emphatic, thrusting guitars and the soaring vocals of singer Stephen Christian, Anberlin was signed to Christian record label Tooth and Nail in 2002. They have six albums to their credit. --Brandon Ferguson