Dark, sonic spasms -- with PJ Harvey’s assist

It was hard to take your eyes off singer-guitarist Moris Tepper as he hulked around the small stage and conjured a mighty noise with his two backing musicians at the El Cid club in Silver Lake on Saturday. But the audience’s attention was also fixed on Tepper’s bass player -- Polly Jean Harvey, a.k.a. PJ Harvey.

It’s an unusual role for one of rock’s most acclaimed and popular cult figures, standing modestly in the background and churning out the heavy, driving foundation for the jarring music of the L.A.-based Tepper.

But you can see why the Englishwoman would be drawn to this artist, whose background includes stints with such Harvey heroes as Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits, and whose spasmodic, cathartic, boundary-pushing music shares qualities with her own rock psychodrama.

“It’s fun, but I wouldn’t go out like this with just anybody,” Harvey said after the show. “I’m a great admirer of his music and I wanted to support it.... It’s very dark.”

Tepper, who is also scheduled to play this Sunday at the Echo as part of the ArthurBall festival, has his own, smaller cult after his prestigious associations and three independent albums. His more conventional moments Saturday sometimes suggested Frank Black (another frequent beneficiary of Tepper’s playing), and sometimes the Stooges. The set included “Ricochet Man,” a rare recent writing collaboration with the retired and reclusive Beefheart.

Harvey, her strapless black dress making her a glamorous contrast to the severe-looking Tepper, flat-picked simple, solid, aggressive patterns as she teamed with drummer Scott Mathers to anchor the leader’s impulsive, unpredictable sonic spasms. Dark it was, but a good kind of dark.

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Moris Tepper at ArthurBall

Where: The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Price: $22

Contact: (213) 413-8200