LA concert calendar: Live music in LA in March 2015

Other artists may come and go, but the prolific Ani DiFranco goes right on spinning her staccato, stream-of-consciousness songs. The feminist icon, social activist and fiercely independent songwriter is beloved for the songs that made her a cult star in the '90s, but she continues to churn out excellent new material, as evidenced on her new album, Allergic to Water. Hear her smart spin on American folk and alt-rock at the Orpheum.

Sacramento hardcore band Trash Talk bring their Cookie-Monster vocals and thrashing guitars to the Echoplex. Playing behind its latest album, No Peace, the band will headline the monthly open-format party Check Yo Ponytail, with Ratking and Lee Bannon rounding out the bill. Grab your skateboard, take off your shirt, and get ready for some bruises and ear damage—in the best way possible.

At 73, Parliament/Funkadelic frontman Clinton is still rocking out. Expect outlandish costumes and plenty of politico-funk from the one and only Uncle Jam as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer plays from Funkadelic's brand-new First Ya Gotta Shake the Gate, as well as his extensive back catalog, with support from his legendary funk music collective. Free your mind at this Saturday-night showdown, and your ass will most certainly follow.

Master tunesmith and Grammy-winning Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy has finally found a way to fight loneliness—by teaming up with his 18-year-old son, Spencer, for his most recent album, Sukierae. The album plays like a lovely distillation of everything the Wilco bandleader does well, from spare folk to alt-country to krautrock. The father-son duo—the younger Tweedy plays drums—stop at the Theatre at Ace Hotel for two nights, playing with a full band. The elder Tweedy will also perform an acoustic set of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo tunes, for good measure.

For folks who feel invested in what the zany Athens, GA, outfit has been doing for the past decade and a half, of Montreal’s disorderliness seems inseparable from its off-kilter charm. You get into it precisely because you think music needs more sprawl, more complexity, more "more." Luckily, Kevin Barnes and company have a new album, Aureate Gloom, due out this March, which recalls the mid-to-late '70s music scene in New York, a la Talking Heads. The band hits the road again with a trippy multimedia spectacle; catch them at this Spaceland- and KCRW-presented show at the newly revived Regent Theater.

You’ll remember them for their spiky earworm hits "Shut Up and Let Me Go" and the once-ubiquitous "That’s Not My Name." Now Manchester's the Ting Tings are back with a third album, Super Critical, full of their trademark dance-y indie pop with attitude. Hear the guy-girl duo's irresistibly—sometimes infuriatingly so—catchy tunes at the Fonda when they return to LA after a January Troubadour gig.

Years & Years are bringing their electro pop across the pond, from London to the Troubadour. Led by actor-singer Olly Alexander, this trendy-looking trio are dead set for big success in 2015; a month ago, the BBC announced them as the winners of its Sound of 2015 award (a distinction earned the previous two years by Sam Smith and Haim). Though the Radiohead- and Flying Lotus-influenced band has yet to release a full-length album, a remix of breakout single "King" is due out in the beginning of March. This show is the perfect time to catch an up-and-coming band with a lot of buzz—if only everyone else hadn't already caught on: The gig is sold out.

Oklahoma trio Broncho make infectious, fuzzy, guitar-driven rock that sounds effortless — you may have heard their song "It's On" in the third season premiere of the music-forward Girls. The band just released its sleeker, more new-wave second album, the cleverly named Just Enough Hip To Be Woman. Its pop rock tunes like "Stay Loose" and "NC-17" play like a looser version of the Strokes. Here, they play an intimate gig at the Echo, with Wyatt Blair, Girl Band and the Morons filling out the lineup.

Revered for his work with seminal '60s psychedelic rock pioneers the 13th Floor Elevators, Roky Erickson has had a near-miraculous comeback. Long written off as a casualty of drug abuse and mental illness, the Texas cult hero has returned to deliver fierce live performances that have lived up to his formidable legend. The remarkable resurrection continued with the impressive album True Love Cast Out All Evil, a collaboration with Okkervil River in 2010. He'll blow into town to play the Roxy, joined by Austin duo the Hounds of Baskerville.

Given that the Beach Boys essentially provided a theme song for beach-going Angelenos everywhere, throwing a rock-filled homage to the great Brian Wilson only seems natural. Head down to Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre and lend your ears to an epic line up (including Norah Jones, Local Natives, Brandon Flowers, and more) in honor of this beloved singer songwriter. Proceeds go to the Jameson Neighborhood Fund, providing both education and resources to keep music alive in local neighborhoods.