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Issue 278 |
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Your cultural event guide
Here's a snapshot of our favorite things to do in Los Angeles this week. |
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Los Angeles
Jun 24-30, 2008
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In a city where the past is usually seen as something to be outrun, it's especially refreshing to see people pause and reflect on LA's history. (Yes, we have one.) This week, the Sunset Strip Music Festival takes over a coterie of old-school venues and welcomes back bands from the good-old days in the first of what will hopefully become an annual throwdown; George Michael blows into town (mothers, lock up your sons); and Cheap Trick leads a Sgt. Pepper's tribute show that turns the Bowl into a melting pot of oldsters and the oldsters-at-heart.
- Shana Nys Dambrot, Managing Editor
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Carl Craig
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In his nearly 20-year career, Carl Craig's passion for music has run the gamut from melodic techno and drum 'n bass to funk, soul, and jazz. As he tells our sister publication Earplug, it was projects like the Innerzone Orchestra and the Detroit Experiment that fueled Craig's desire to helm the reunification of jazz collective Tribe.
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PERFORMING ARTS: Cabaret/Burlesque
Lucha Va Voom
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Tuesday June 24 (8pm)
More times»
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| where: |
Mayan Theater (1038 S Hill St, 213.746.4674)
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| price: |
$30 - 60
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Add your comment»
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For the uninitiated, Lucha Va Voom combines the treasured pastime of Mexican wrestling known as lucha libre with saucy burlesque performances, off-color standup comedy, and a few dancing little people thrown in for good measure. This summer's three-day event pits luchadores against each other for the title trophy in matches that may bring to mind the heart-wrenching, loin-girding battles of Nacho Libre. Added dramatics are provided by the trapeze-flying Wau Wau Sisters and lovely exotic mistress Michelle L'Amour, whose naughty Snow White impersonation comes complete with a glittering poison apple (and not much else).
- Jessica Jardine
[Info Source]
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FILM
The Magician (1959) feat. Ysanne Spevack
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Tuesday June 24 (8pm)
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| where: |
The Silent Movie Theatre (611 N Fairfax Ave, 323.655.2510)
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| price: |
$12
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Process Media presents Ingmar Bergman's 1959 supernatural film, The Magician, to celebrate the release of the new Manly P. Hall biography, Master of Mysteries. The film follows a mid-19th-century magician and his wandering crew of medical performers, as they travel across the country trying to dupe a skeptical public. Led by original string composer Ysanne Spevack, a live ensemble of improvising musicians accompanies the film on acoustic and electric violins, accordion, electric guitar, keyboards, and a saw.
- Steve Nalepa
[Info Source]
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FILM
High Noon Film Series
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Wednesday June 25 (noon)
More times»
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| where: |
Fowler Museum, UCLA (Westwood Plz & Sunset Blvd, 310.825.4361)
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| price: |
FREE
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Every Wednesday from now until the end of July, the Fowler hosts a noontime film series that complements its ongoing Mami Wata exhibition. Throughout the series, an astonishing range of animated and live-action features and shorts covers more than 100 years of mermaids in cinema. Highlights include haunting, romantic films like La Sirène (France, 1904); the 1964 Don Knotts nostalgia-fest, The Incredible Mr. Limpet; the synchronized-swimming spectacular Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), starring Esther Williams; and the comedic fairy tale Splash (1984). Even if you don't believe in fish-tailed maidens, it's a great incentive to take a long lunch.
- Shana Nys Dambrot
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
The Beautiful Girls
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Wednesday June 25 (8:30pm)
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| where: |
The Troubadour (9081 Santa Monica Blvd, 310.276.6168)
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| price: |
$12
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It's hard to come up with a fresh sound using the classic three-piece setup — guitar, bass, and drums. But Australia's Beautiful Girls somehow craft unique minimalist dub with only these three instruments. While the bass is heavy on many tracks, it's dynamic, always changing and moving forward. There's diversity, too; while the intro to "Under a Southern Sky" could be the soundtrack for an action movie starring a man on a mission, "Spanish Town" radiates a mariachi vibe, with shimmering church organ and lyrics that describe the simple life in Mexico. But no matter the style, the band stays true to its less-is-more mantra.
- Phil Kropoth
[Info Source]
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ART
Allan Kaprow: Wink
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Thursday June 26 (3–8pm)
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| where: |
Museum of Contemporary Art (250 S Grand Ave, 213.621.1741)
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| price: |
$10
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The final happening in MOCA's ambitious Allan Kaprow survey (which closes this weekend) is one of his most intimate and, by definition, personal. Wink depends entirely on audience participation — to a greater degree than usual, even from the man that pioneered the art of dragging people into his art. Once inside the museum, patrons attempt to communicate with each other using only winks and blinks. Wink lasts all afternoon and evening, with even the museum staffers silently fluttering their lashes. So try not to panic when all those strangers start staring at you.
- Shana Nys Dambrot
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Sunset Strip Music Festival feat. Hot Hot Heat, Louis XIV, and Camper Van Beethoven
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Thursday June 26 (9pm)
More times»
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House of Blues Sunset Strip (8430 W Sunset Blvd, 323.848.5100)
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| price: |
Various prices
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The Sunset Strip has long been a mecca for mischief. Prohibition-era poker tourneys gave way to the '60s art rock of Frank Zappa, the Doors' mind-blowing performances at the Whisky a Go Go in the '70s, and the '80s-style havoc of glam-tastic hair bands Van Halen and Mötley Crüe. The first-annual Sunset Strip Music Festival commemorates the wild history of this still-lively piece of real estate. It all goes down at the Whisky, Cat Club, Key Club, and the House of Blues, featuring Hot Hot Heat, Louis XIV, and Camper Van Beethoven, plus a panel discussion with Larry King and a slew of surprise guests.
- Jorge Barriere
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Fridays Off the 405 feat. No Age w/ DJ King Shade
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Friday June 27 (6–9pm)
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| where: |
The Getty Center (1200 Getty Center Dr, 310.440.7300)
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| price: |
FREE
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Armed with little more than a massively fuzzed-up guitar and ferociously pounded drum kit, No Age's sloppy, restless sound is true art-punk bliss. Echoing the primitivist minimalism of Beat Happening and the rough-around-the-edges aesthetic of early '80s punk, guitarist Randy Randall and singer/drummer Dean Spunt submerge pretty melodies in layers of distortion, reverb, and pummeling tom-work, while the LA duo's much-blogged-about live performances (which even earned them an adoring nod in the New Yorker) crash and burn just as often as they achieve poignant pop perfection. In another high-culture nod, they hit the Getty tonight as a part of our Fridays Off the 405 series. Support comes from crate-digging mastermind King Shade, who takes a break from producing commercial music and running his Slabco label to share some of his rare, early Jamaican cuts.
- Suzanne Niemoth
[Info Source]
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ART
Party Favors
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Friday June 27 (11pm–1am)
More times»
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Bonelli Contemporary (943 N Hill St, 213.617.8180)
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| price: |
FREE
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An ambitious undertaking by art critic and curator Holly Myers, this month-long celebration of interactive visual and performance art promises to bring out the Factory Girl in all of us. In addition to a multimedia group show at Bonelli Contemporary, the festivities span venues in and around Chinatown. Highlights include edible and potable art, banana-daiquiri séances, and a salon led by Fucked Up Drawing Party, whereat participants are encouraged to imbibe in order to break down their creative inhibitions. At this intersection between art and play, all are welcome, and no rules apply.
- Heather Silva
[Info Source]
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MORE FLAVOR: Party
Bronx Zoo
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Saturday June 28 (3:30–8pm)
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| where: |
La Cita (336 S. Hill St, 213.687.7111)
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| price: |
$5
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Conceived as a Saturday afternoon cocktail party with art activities, Ghettogloss gallery launched its Bronx Zoo summer series in June at the delightfully dancy downtown La Cita bar. But with each successive Saturday, the hot spot's back patio has been steadily transformed into a bona fide art class, as aspiring students grab sketch pads and draw models sporting lingerie and ape masks. Flavorpill's own Shana Nys Dambrot curates a show at Ghettogloss in mid-November, composed of the finest zoological artworks.
- Jessica Jardine
[Info Source]
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ART
Carlos Ramos: Natural History Museum Part I
| when: |
Saturday June 28 (7–10pm)
More times»
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| where: |
Corey Helford (8522 Washington Blvd, 310.287.2340)
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| price: |
FREE
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In this collection of 24 large-scale paintings, Carlos Ramos recalls the deep impressions that realistic-looking dioramas had on him as a young boy, wandering through (as the title suggest) the Natural History Museum. Ramos takes those memories and translates them into his own stylized, Futurist-meets-cartoonist aesthetic, which he has perfected through years producing work for the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Rolling Stone, to name but a few of his previous employers.
- Ashley Tibbits
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Gilberto Gil and Devendra Banhart w/ The Album Leaf
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Sunday June 29 (7pm)
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| where: |
Hollywood Bowl (2301 N Highland Ave, 323.850.2000)
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| price: |
$10 - 96
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In a 2006 interview, Devendra Banhart suggested re-dubbing the awkwardly named freak-folk genre "naturalismo" — a combination of naturalism and what he cites as his musical roots in the Tropicalismo movement. So it should come as no surprise that, two years later, Banhart takes the stage with one of the leaders of the original movement: legendary musician, political activist, and current Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil. Banhart's guitar melodies, stripped-down arrangements, and emotive warble carry strong echoes of Gil's style, making the pair a less unlikely match than one might imagine. The Album Leaf, the post-rock project of San Diego's Jimmy LaValle, open.
- Joe Blankholm
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Fleet Foxes w/ the Dutchess & the Duke
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Sunday June 29 (9pm)
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| where: |
Spaceland (1717 Silver Lake Blvd, 323.661.4380)
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| price: |
$10
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Recent Sub Pop signees Fleet Foxes are raking in the adulation for their self-titled full-length debut — including a rare 9.0 Pitchfork review — but the band deserves the hubbub. The Seattle-based five-piece draw from a wide swath of influences, mostly in their parents' record collections, blending and bleeding together the jangly folk-rock sound of the Zombies, the Beach Boys, and Simon & Garfunkel. There's also more contemporary affects, like that of fellow Sub Poppers Rogue Wave and the Shins. But Fleet Foxes manage to carve out a sound that's all their own, crafting ethereal vocal harmonies over banjos, mandolins, and tambourines.
- Jessica Jardine
[Info Source]
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FILM
White Dog (1982)
| when: |
Monday June 30 (8pm)
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| where: |
The Silent Movie Theatre (611 N Fairfax Ave, 323.655.2510)
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| price: |
$12
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In Samuel Fuller's White Dog, Kristy McNichol plays an actress who rescues the titular stray canine only to learn that it's trained to attack people with dark skin. She hires a kind of dog whisperer to re-program the animal's racist aggression, but there's doubt as to whether it can be rehabilitated. The film tells a difficult and symbolic tale with very little dialog and straightforward, unromantic violence. Both these traits are already recognizable in the early work of screenwriter Curtis Hanson, who later penned LA Confidential. The movie was a career-killer for Fuller, though; Paramount caved to the controversy surrounding the film and pulled it from theaters, and Fuller never worked with an American studio again.
- Shana Nys Dambrot
Note:
Lisa Dombrowski, author of the new monograph The Films of Samuel Fuller: If You Die, I'll Kill You!, introduces the film, then takes questions and signs copies of the book afterward.
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Punk/Metal
The Death Set w/ Cheeseburger
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Monday June 30 (9pm)
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King King (6555 Hollywood Blvd, 323.960.5765)
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| price: |
FREE w/ RSVP
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In the grand tradition of misleading band names (the Pop Group, the Clean), the Death Set's handle suggests Satanic verses and Cookie Monster vocals. But this Baltimore duo actually makes good-time electro-punk. Fans of the Go! Team and Dan Deacon should love the group's Ninja Tune debut, Worldwide, an overstimulated collection of gang-shouted anthems, spazzy guitars, and loopy Bis-inspired synths. Onstage, the Death Set display the kind of energy associated with post-hardcore kids; but, as the pent-up signature cut "Negative Thinking" demonstrates, a caffeine-and-sugar diet usually works best with a healthy slice of twee.
- Stephen Gossett
[Info Source]
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ART
Irene Kai: What Do You See?
| when: |
Saturday June 28 (noon–5pm)
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Found Gallery (1903 Hyperion Ave, 323.669.1247)
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| price: |
FREE
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Somewhere between Edward Weston's nudes and Hermann Rorschach's ink blots lies the work of Irene Kai. The author/teacher/photographer plays with the power of suggestion in her evocative black-and-white images of the human form. The cleverly cropped photos of ambiguous body parts — hands, lips, legs, or something more risque? — leave viewers with nothing but their own subconcious to guide them. Whether or not her works actually depict pornographic parts is irrelevant; making viewers examine their inner desires is the real fun.
- Ashley Tibbits
Note:
There's a closing reception on Saturday, June 28th (7-10pm).
[Info Source]
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About Us |
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Cultural Partner
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Editors
MANAGING EDITOR
Shana Nys Dambrot
DEPUTY EDITOR
Jessica Jardine
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Nick Earhart
SENIOR EDITORS
Anna Balkrishna
Doug Levy
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Phil Kropoth
Jorge Barriere
Julian Hooper
Steve Nalepa
Andrew Phillips
Lisa Rosman
Ashley Tibbits
Allen Moon
IMAGE EDITORS
Adda Birnir
Sarah Steele
PUBLISHERS
Sascha Lewis
Mark Mangan
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Flavorpill Los Angeles
All events featured on Flavorpill LA are pure editorial — we never accept paid promotions or advertisements. If you know about an upcoming event that you think should be covered in Flavorpill LA, email us a press release at la_events at least two weeks prior to the event and we'll consider it.
To learn more about our staff and policies, see the credits and about us pages. If you'd like to respond to our editors about a listing published here, or have a general inquiry, please email la_feedback.
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