Fri. June 24 -- I know, I know: I feel the same way about oldtime rock bands playing with symphony orchestras; most nobody aside from Procol Harum has any excuse for it. So why make an exception for Deep Purple? Well, their "Concerto for Band and Orchestra," from 1969, was one of the first and best such efforts, and was also the first D.P. record featuring singer Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover and original drummer Ian Paice, all three of whom are present here along with long-running guitarist Steve Morse and ubiquitous keyboardist Don Airey (early Ozzy and Rainbow, late Judas Priest). I only wish original keyboardist Jon Lord were still in the lineup so the Purploids would be motivated to perform some of the "Concerto" material (which he wrote) instead of just "The Songs That Built Rock" such as "Smoke on the Water," "Highway Star" and "Hush," which I have a hard time imagining with a ton o' strings. But this band, even without founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, always delivers quality, so I guess I'll find out. Plus goodtime rock and boojie-woojie from Ernie & the Automatics. At the Greek Theater, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz 90027; 7:30pm; $30-$110; www.greektheatrela.com.
Fri. June 24 -- Finnish shredder Alexi Laiho and Children of Bodom hit the perfect balance of modern rasping doublekicking metal and intense melodic keyboard interplay. Just dropped a new album in March. Nothing on the site about openers. At House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; doors 7:30pm; $29.50; (323) 848-5800; www.livenation.com.
Sat. June 25 -- Bassist Tim Lefebvre (Rudder, Chris Potter) likes to play anything from heavy fusion to gentle melody to weird electronics, so gawd knows what his trio will do here, but it's likely to be good. At the Blue Whale on the third floor of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10; validated parking underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Sat. June 25 -- David Ornette Cherry's Organic Groove continues in the wide-ranging world-music tradition of the multi-instrumentalist's dad, Don, but even more ambitious. With flutist Dawn Norfleet, drummer John L. Price, electroman Steven "Breeze" Smith and bassist Ollie Elder Jr. At the World Stage, 4344 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park 90008; 8 & 9:30pm; $15; www.theworldstage.org.
Sat. June 25 -- SASSAS, the toppermost org of the unpoppermost, holds its annual Blast! fund-raiser with dronemaster Devin Sarno plus Dubbumba, Monstro, DJs Karyn Kohl, Bennett Simpson & Ofunne Obiamiwe, and guest artist Jim Shaw. With silent auction, and food/drink included with your donation of $50 or more ($70 at the door). On the lawn of a beautiful private home in Malibu; 6-10pm; reserve at www.sassas.org.
Sun. June 26 -- Wanna hear some 30 vibraphone players work out on the same night (mostly in sequence, I guess, rather than simultaneously)? Good excuse here, as the L.A. Jazz Society holds its annual Vibe Summit, with drummer Paul Kreibich, bassist Richard Simon and pianist Dave Mackay backing the likes of Terry Gibbs, Joe Locke and Joe Locatelli. And this year's honoree is the phenomenal Nick Mancini! With food, raffle and marketplace. Drink? I dunno. At Remo Recreational Music Center, 7308 Coldwater Canyon Blvd., North Hollywood 91605; 2pm; $20; (818) 994-5299; www.lajazz.org.
Sun. June 26 -- Kaiborg is the duo of trumpeter Jeff Kaiser and saxist David Borgo, two extremely talented SoCal abstractionists who like to plug in and throw a lot of electronics into the mix. Also with the instant-improv electro-acoustic reeds-piano-vibes trio of Frank Gratkowski, Chris Brown & William Winant. At Royal-T, 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City 90232; 7pm; $10, $5 students; (310) 559-6300; www.royal-t.org.
Sun. June 26 -- Before cracking metal skulls with High on Fire, guitarist-throatscorcher Matt Pike had Sleep, the slowest band in the land, whose monolithic masterpiece "Jerusalem" remains the stoner standard. They're back by popular demand, along with Harvey Milk, plus doom ruler Wino Weinrich's new band, Premonition 13. At the Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90010; 7pm; $34; (213) 388-1400; www.livenation.com.
Tues. June 28 -- You ain't heard third-millennium outness till you've grokked the edgy sensitivity of pianist Satoko Fujii's Ma-Do Quartet with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, bassist Norikatus Koreyasu and drummer Akira Horikoshi, straight from Japan. At the Blue Whale on the third floor of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10 (cheap); validated parking underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Thurs. June 30 -- Cold Blue artists tremble before timbre, which is what composer Christopher Roberts' "Trios for Deep Voices" is all about. Roberts is one of the master bassists performing; the other two are David Young and Jim Bergman. At Royal-T, 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City 90232; 8pm; $10, $5 students; (310) 559-6300; www.royal-t.org.
Thurs. June 30 -- Crisp pianist Eric Reed (Black Note, Wynton Marsalis) updates the post-bop tradition better than most. With bassist Hamilton Price and drummer Kevin Kanner. At Vitello's Restaurant, 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City 91604; 8 &10 pm; $15 cover plus $13 minimum; (818) 769-0905; www.vitellosrestaurant.com.
Read Brick Wahl’s jazz picks in LA Weekly here (he's got great mainstream and Latin club selections), Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.