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Issue 287 |
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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
Aug 26-Sep 1, 2008
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As folks load up their tricked-out RVs and make the pilgrimage to Burning Man this week, you might think we Squaresville types are inheriting a ghost town. Not so! You've got plenty of non-drum-circle music festivals (covering myriad styles) to choose from, including blues in Long Beach, jazz up at Barnsdall, and F Yeah Fest's post-punk supernova at the Echo. And once you've lost interest in the Denver political circus, head over to the Getty Center for Flavorpill's own party, Fridays off the 405, starring uber-poppy rockers Monsters Are Waiting. Trying to cover this much cultural ground in a week is the kind of work that gives "Labor Day" a whole new meaning.
- Shana Nys Dambrot, Managing Editor
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Get Deputized!
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We're looking for an ace writer and culture connoisseur to take over the role of Flavorpill LA's Deputy Editor. If you're tapped into in the city's many scenes, have solid journalism experience, and are ready to help manage and grow our publication, let us know.
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Water Wars
Spain is suffering from its worst drought in decades.
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Earplug on Twitter
Follow Earplug and stay plugged into the electronic-music world.
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FILM: Animation
Cinefamily presents Cas'l and Other Unreleased Films by Bruce Bickford w/ the Gaslamp Killer
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Tuesday Aug 26 (8pm)
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| where: |
The Silent Movie Theatre (611 N Fairfax Ave, 323.655.2510)
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$14
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Frank Zappa, the godfather of out-there-ness, deemed clay animator Bruce Bickford a genius. (The two collaborated on several projects, including Baby Snakes, a documentary of one of Zappa's concerts.) Bickford's work is not for the faint of heart: his swirling figures change shape, balloon in size, and melt into each other amid richly textured backdrops reminiscent of a 'shroom trip. Cinefamily celebrates the work of this creative maverick — previously celebrated in the 2004 documentary, Monster Road — by screening several of his unreleased films, including experimental Super 8s from his teen years. Live musical accompaniment comes from soulful psych-noise yogi the Gaslamp Killer.
- Jessica Jardine
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Lucky Dragons w/ Casy and Brian, Hecuba, Bad Dudes, and Laco$te
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Tuesday Aug 26 (8pm)
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The Smell (247 S Main St)
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| price: |
$5
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It's little surprise that Lucky Dragons (aka Luke Fischbeck) earned a spot in this year's Whitney Biennial. His performances are immersive aesthetic experiences that combine gorgeous, surreal video art with embodied arrangements. Jerking his lanky frame on the floor and closely flanked by onlookers and a mess of cords and mics, Fischbeck uses pre-recorded and improvised loops, along with a custom-built rug instrument, to craft wild electronic improvisations. Reaching out for nearby hands, he tweaks his looped feedback, relying on the bodies of those around him to create lush, uniquely ephemeral pieces.
- Joe Blankholm
[Info Source]
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FILM: Shorts
The Best of the Druid Underground Film Festival
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Wednesday Aug 27 (8pm)
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7 Dudley Cinema at Sponto Gallery (7 Dudley Ave, 310.306.7330)
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FREE
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William Burgess collects short films and pieces of video art that don't so much defy convention as mow it down, douse it in kerosene, and flick a Zippo at it. Burgess culls a two-hour Druid Film Festival from his mammoth archive of international outré gems, personally introducing some 18 shorts. Of particular interest are JJ Villard's Son of Satan, an animated interpretation of an early Bukowski story made just before Villard went on to international art-world acclaim; and Damon Packard's Skatebang, a hilarious, spliced-together mock doc about skate-rat-hating urban snipers.
- Shana Nys Dambrot
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Shearwater w/ Wye Oak
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Wednesday Aug 27 (8:30pm)
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The Echo (1822 Sunset Blvd, 213.413.8200)
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| price: |
$12
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After opening for Coldplay on a few gargantuan West Coast dates, Austin's Shearwater settle in for a headlining slot at the more intimate Echo. Originally formed as an Okkervil River offshoot featuring both Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff, the group is now Meiburg's own — and that's a good thing. His impressionistic songwriting and swooning vocals easily compel a full album's worth of attention. Like a folkier Talk Talk or a classical-minded Mountain Goats, Meiburg's ornate, literate rock is richly deserving of its baroque arrangements.
- Max Goldberg
[Info Source]
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ART
Jenny Mollen-Biggs: Be Your Own Pet
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Thursday Aug 28 (7pm–midnight)
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Ghettogloss (2380 Glendale Blvd, 323.912.0008)
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| price: |
FREE
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When Jenny Mollen-Biggs isn't acting in films and television shows, she is exhibiting paintings that are simultaneously cute and sinister. The artist — who can be seen with her husband, Jason, in the upcoming Dane Cook vehicle, My Best Friend's Girl — has shown work that employs wood stolen from neighbors; favored subjects include females being shot from cannons and effigies of former romantic flames. Be Your Own Pet is one of two Mollen-Biggs shows at Silverlake's Ghettogloss this year. She and Jason also team up with the gallery to host Griffith Park Clubhouse's weekly cocktail hour.
- Ashley Tibbits
[Info Source]
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PERFORMING ARTS: Comedy
Human Giant & Friends
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Thursday Aug 28 (9pm)
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Largo at the Coronet Theater (366 N La Cienega Blvd, 310.855.0350)
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| price: |
$25
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The East Coast funnymen of Human Giant recently decamped to LA (Aziz must've been craving smoother Rollerblading routes); tonight's show is a perfect example of why we're stoked they made the move. Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, and Aziz Ansari storm the stage at Largo, joined by Mindy Kaling (The Office), Tom Lennon (Reno 911), and what the sketch stars promise are some "VERY special guests." If last season's cameo lineup on their hit MTV show is any indication, you could be in for some serious talent; guests included Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords), Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire), and SNL's Fred Armisen.
- Leah Taylor
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Rock/Pop
Fridays Off the 405 feat. Monsters Are Waiting and Justin Warfield & Adam 12
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Friday Aug 29 (6–9pm)
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The Getty Center (1200 Getty Center Dr, 310.440.7300)
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| price: |
FREE
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LA traffic might be bad enough to make you contemplate swapping your Mazda for a Metro pass, but tonight there's a good reason to take the long way home. Flavorpill's Fridays Off the 405 provides a salve for road rage in the form of Echo Park outfit Monsters Are Waiting. (Lead singer Annalee Fery's ethereal vocals, in particular, make everything seem right with the world.) Complementing MAW are dark DJ sets from Justin Warfield and Adam 12 of She Wants Revenge. If the music doesn't restore your faith in humanity, the Getty's portrait busts by Gian Lorenzo Bernini might; they're more beautiful than an uncongested LA freeway.
- Chris Diken
[Info Source]
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FILM
Humans Are Such Easy Prey Drive-In Series
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Friday Aug 29 (9pm)
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| where: |
The Steve Allen Theater (4773 Hollywood Blvd, 323.666.4268)
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| price: |
$5
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Grab your best buds — or just someone you can hide behind — as the Steve Allen Theater's homemade drive-in combines LA's twin obsessions with movies and cars. Every Friday for the next two months, the theater's parking lot becomes the place to witness ghastly scenes of B-movie horror, cult-classic gore-fests, and scantily clad damsels distressed by the undead. The series kicks off with the uncut version of From Beyond, with director Stuart Gordon in attendance. The dreadful acting and cheesy, low-tech special effects in rare, unintentionally hilarious gems such as Demon Seed and Village of the Damned may be scarier than the thrill-killing zombies.
- Yolanda Evans
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Festival
F Yeah Fest
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Saturday Aug 30 (3pm)
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Echoplex (1154 Glendale Blvd, 213.413.8200)
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| price: |
$18
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Echo Park is the scene of the fifth annual F Yeah Fest, which brings first-rate bands and comics to the Echo, Echoplex, Jensen Rec Center, and the shops, galleries, and watering holes dotting the neighborhood. This year's packed lineup includes Two Gallants, Trans Am, Matt and Kim, Crystal Antlers, Rumspringa, Abe Vigoda (currently supporting Vampire Weekend on tour), Fridays Off the 405 alum Dan Deacon, Philly punks Paint It Black, and other surprise guests. Half of the proceeds from the fest's fabled scavenger hunt benefit the Union Rescue Mission, one of the largest homeless shelters in LA.
- Jorge Barriere
[Info Source]
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ART
Mercedes Helnwein: Whistling Past the Graveyard
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Saturday Aug 30 (8–11pm)
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Merry Karnowsky Gallery (170 S La Brea Ave, 323.933.4408)
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| price: |
FREE
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Austrian artist Mercedes Helnwein's darkly beautiful pencil drawings are equal parts Tim Burton fairy tale, Cindy Sherman photograph, and girlish fantasy. The women in her offbeat vignettes are meticulously rendered and hopelessly engaging. For her latest show at Merry Karnowsky, Helnwein accessorizes her pretty protagonists with vintage kitchen utensils and plastic toys to create seemingly innocent narratives that quickly turn eerie thanks to anguished expressions and tense bodies. Anthem Magazine and actor/skateboarder Jason Lee host the exhibition's reception.
- Ashley Tibbits
[Info Source]
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PERFORMING ARTS: Spoken Word
Tongue & Groove feat. Chiwan Choi and Les July
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Sunday Aug 31 (6–7:30pm)
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The Hotel Café (1623 1/2 N Cahuenga Blvd, 323.461.2040)
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| price: |
$6
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The Tongue & Groove monthly gets a jolt of mellow soul as it welcomes writer, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Les July, whose recent on-stage collaborations with several of the spoken-word artists at last month's Drums Inside Your Chest no doubt inspired tonight's appearance. Among the talented locals taking part in this evening's performance, look for Chiwan Choi, a literary impresario who cuts a striking figure in the LA scene by supporting other writers and sharing his own unflinching, warts-and-all view of the hardscrabble beauty of modern urban living.
- Shana Nys Dambrot
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Punk/Metal
Polvo w/ Trans Am and the Drones
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Sunday Aug 31 (8pm)
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Echoplex (1154 Glendale Blvd, 213.413.8200)
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$17 / $15 advance
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In the wake of a deluge of post-punk reunions (Gang of Four, Mission of Burma, etc.), descendant '80s and '90s acts are taking their turn: My Bloody Valentine are blowing out eardrums again; Built to Spill are performing Perfect From Now On in its entirety; and Chapel Hill's Polvo are back at it as well. The latter outfit never received the same level of adulation as the other two groups, but its serpentine, noisy tunes are one of indie rock's high-water marks. The band's interlocking riffs remain thrillingly jagged, but an affection for melody distinguishes Polvo from the math-rock pack.
- Max Goldberg
[Info Source]
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MUSIC: Jazz/Blues
Angel City Jazz Festival
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Monday Sep 1 (11am–10:30pm)
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Barnsdall Art Park (4800 Hollywood Blvd, 323.644.6269)
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| price: |
$35 / $25 advance
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Celebrating the changing face of this storied musical form, the inaugural Angel City Jazz Festival has a solid roster of established traditionalists and young, genre-defying talent. The Labor Day party features some of the coolest cats from LA's progressive jazz scene, including the Alan Pasqua Quartet, the Arthur Blythe Quintet, the Nick Mancini Collective, and New Yorker Ian Rapien. The Barnsdall Art Park also plays host to a slew of beer and wine gardens, gourmet-food vendors, and a live art show courtesy of Unification Theory.
- Julian Hooper
[Info Source]
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MORE FLAVOR: Party
Labor Day BBQ & the Five Minutes Game
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Monday Sep 1 (6–11pm)
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The Silent Movie Theatre (611 N Fairfax Ave, 323.655.2510)
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| price: |
$6
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The folks behind the Cinefamily film series at the Silent Movie Theatre put an ingenious spin on traditional Labor Day festivities. Along with the usual firing up of the grill, the central attraction here is a session of the Five Minutes Game, which is based on the notion that the first five minutes of most movies are the best — before expectations plummet and clichés tumble out. The organizers pick 20 mostly obscure movies for the audience, screen the first five minutes of each, and let a vote decide which one gets watched all the way through. Along with an undying love of cinema, attendees are encouraged to bring grub for the BBQ.
- Jessica Jardine
[Info Source]
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ART: Photography
In Focus: The Landscape
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Tuesday Aug 26 (10am–6pm)
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The Getty Center (1200 Getty Center Dr, 310.440.7300)
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| price: |
FREE
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Art's love affair with landscapes was captured with brush strokes until technology gave way to the click of the shutter. In Focus: The Landscape explores the work of more than 25 photographic pioneers who legitimized taking pictures of terrain as an art form. With strong roots in painting, French-born Gustave Le Gray took the Greek meaning of photography ("drawing with light") literally, with his surreal shots that often imitated paintings. Robert Adams, meanwhile, pushed genre boundaries by exploring the extremes of light and dark in his photos of Colorado's Rocky Mountain region. The Getty's latest exhibit shows how they and other trailblazers reinvented the way in which we look at the world.
- Phil Kropoth
[Info Source]
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ART
The Horror of Tradition
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Tuesday Aug 26 (11am–6pm)
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AndrewShire Gallery (3850 Wilshire Blvd, 213.389.2601)
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| price: |
FREE
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The five artists brought together for this end-of-summer group show have little in common — except perhaps episodes of childhood trauma involving home-ec class. They employ traditional craft materials and methods such as needlepoint, crochet, and embroidery, but the effects are subversive and even chilling. From caustic American-flag add-ons to mock-heroic luchador portraits to text-based irony, the exhibition expresses suspicion about the recent surge of homey craft mediums in fine-art practice; this skepticism is belied by the labor-intensiveness and conceptual depth of the works included.
- Shana Nys Dambrot
[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
Jake Lancaster
Doug Levy
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Allen Moon
Jorge Barriere
Julian Hooper
Steve Nalepa
Andrew Phillips
Lisa Rosman
Ashley Tibbits
Phil Kropoth
IMAGE EDITORS
Adda Birnir
Tom Starkweather
PUBLISHERS
Sascha Lewis
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