Arts & Events: July 2009 Archives

The TV Junkie Plan: "History Detectives", "Weeds", "Nurse Jackie", Letterman, Ferguson.

For his first grade science project, Oscar decided to make root beer. Turns out, the root beer was really good. All the parents and students at the school loved it. So Oscar, with the help from his family, saw an opportunity beyond just a science project, and began researching and taste testing all sorts of root beers. Clever little guy. The result? Margo's Bark Root Beer.

Here are our to-do picks for a post-Fourth Monday in LA: DIY DRUMMING* Tonight the On Ensemble, a contemporary taiko quartet, brings D.I.Y. Drumming to the Ford Amphitheater at 7 pm. Bring your drums, percussion instruments or even paint buckets to play along as the Ensemble coaxes Japanese taiko rhythms out of everyday household items. The J.A.M. session is free, so reserve your spot by calling the Ford Box Office: 323.461.3673. Don’t forget to bring a picnic for dinner.

Tonight Costa Mesa-based rockers Japanese Motors are poised to commence a month-long residency at the Echo with My Pet Saddle in tow. Local experimental rock trio 60-Watt Kid will be performing at Women. And, lastly, Ohioan DJ Pase Rock will be headlining the Roxy in Hollywood. But we strongly suggest heading over to Spaceland to catch LAist favorites Miniature Tigers (LAist Interview, Review).

       

Last week Universal Studios unveiled its newest attraction, The Creature from the Black Lagoon: A Raging Rocking Show". The show is a "Broadway-level contemporary musical adaptation" of the original Universal horror film. It features an original score and will be featured exclusively at the Hollywood Universal Studios.

“Did I dare to wear my tightest gown tonight?” Not having access to Aretha Franklin’s wardrobe closet, we can’t say for sure, though after checking out the figure-hugging rhinestone-studded black number she’d just changed into, it seemed likely. Why not, it was a night for bold moves. A short time later, she’d dare openly lust after our President (“Brother is fiiiine… mmmm!"). Judging from the rapturous response generated by her every word, Franklin could have dared to do just about anything. Who can complain when the singing’s this good?

This week Maine-based folk troubadour Ray LaMontagne will be performing with local ruddy-haired songstress Jenny Lewis (LAist Review, #2, #3, #4) and LAist favorites Blitzen Trapper (LAist Interview) in tow. Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird (LAist Review) is poised to headline the Greek Theatre with Syracuse-bred indie rockers Ra Ra Riot and yet another LAist favorite, Cincinnati's own garage rock outfit Heartless Bastards. Local alt-rockers Everest (LAist review, #2) will be performing with Red Cortez (LAist Review, #2) at UCLA's Hammer Museum for this week's edition of Also I Like To Rock. And, lastly, Brooklyn's crown jewel, the erratic experimental indie rock collective known as Dirty Projectors (LAist Review), will be gracing the Troubadour.

Music in film is one of the most important devices used in cinema today; this music has been ingrained in popular culture, to the point that most people could recognize the tunes. Also sprach Zarathustra, Ride of the Valkyries, Beethoven's 5th, are a few of the major works that come to mind. This week, you can hear a few of these tunes and more at several venues.

Tonight Bellingham-based indie rock outfit Death Cab For Cutie will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic bolstering their sound. Local indie rockers Avi Buffalo (LAist Interview, Review) are headlining Silver Factory Studios. And, lastly, Long Beach's own surf punk trio Tijuana Panthers will be performing at the Echo for this week's edition of Part Time Punks. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Bootleg Theatre to catch legendary experimental French pop chanteuse Émilie Simon.

Don't stop till you get enough, right? Head down to the Huntington Beach Pier for the third and final day of the Pier Plaza Festival and enjoy crafts, food and surf rock music, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On behalf of all of us at LAist, happy 4th of July! Here's an hour-long mix suited for cold beers and BBQ in the blazing hot sun. Amen.

Tonight Berkeley-bred rock singer-songwriter John Fogerty, best known for his time with Creedence Clearwater Revival, will be closing out a three-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl. Rhode Island-based rockers Deer Tick are poised to grace Spaceland with locals Dawes. And, lastly, the Hootenanny Festival, which features none other than Los Lobos, Reverend Horton Heat, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, among many others, will be commencing in Orange County. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Nomad Collective Art Compound to catch the New Weird America Festival. LAist favorites Imaad Wasif, Spindrift and Night Horse are all slated to perform.

What's that saying? You can't swing a dead cat without (in today's case) hitting some sort of 4th of July celebration. Yeah, that's pretty much how it is. If you are looking for something to do, there are a few events you might want to look into, or, grab your loved ones and head out to where the fireworks are legit.

View 4th of July 2009: Fireworks in a larger map

Like to sing? An aspiring musician? Maybe a hack at both? Then Machine Project in Downtown LA has an alternative 4th option for you: “The Porch of July: Folk Americana Groupsing with an Open Porchestra” at 6 pm.

On the heels of the Grammy Museum's attendance spike--thanks to their Michael Jackson exhibit--today its operators and curators celebrated, along with City Councilmembers Richard Alarcon, Tom LaBonge and Jan Perry, the declaration of the first Ritchie Valens Day.

This Saturday at 6:30am the US broadcast of the 96th Tour de France begins on Versus. Will Lance Armstrong reign supreme again or will he race to support another up-and-coming team member? Will there be a drug scandal or other legal shenanigans? Whatever happens, we'll see athletes put themselves through the most grueling race in the most grueling sport on the planet.

Now here's something you don't get a chance to see everyday: “Mild Light: An evening of Cantastoria from the Performance Department of the Museum of Everyday Life” comes to the Manual Archives tonight. "Cantastoria" involves the display of representational paintings accompanied by sung narration. Clare Dolan, Chief Operating Philosopher of the Museum of Everyday Life (Vermont), will demonstrate the "versatility and saucy immediacy of this performance form, with stories ranging from accounts of bloody crime in the 1930's written by Bertolt Brecht, to the dilemmas of a modern-day heroine trying to make a living and achieve total happiness." There are two shows tonight at 8 and 10 pm. Tickets are $12/$8.

Tonight Berkeley-bred rock singer-songwriter John Fogerty, best known for his time with Creedence Clearwater Revival, will be taking on a three-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl. Local roving marching band Killsonic (LAist Review, #2) are poised to grace the Troubadour. And, lastly, LA-based garage rock outfit Dirt Dress will be performing at Silver Factory Studios. But we strongly suggest heading over to Mr. T's Bowl to catch local indie rockers One Trick Pony.

      

Before the Smog Cutter was East Hollywood’s most infamously decrepit karaoke joint, it was reportedly one of Charles Bukowski’s dives of choice. While this has yet to be corroborated by the ninety-year-old hunchbacked regular who apparently takes a vow of silence between spirited performances of Clarence Carter’s “Stroke It,” one look at the dingy, faux-wood paneled interior and world-weary patrons seems like evidence enough. You may not be as lucky as I am and live spitting distance from the place, but if you share old Hank’s penchant for stiff drinks, small time hustlers and hard women, you just may have found yourself a home away from home.

                     

The LA Zoo's annual Beastly Ball is known to be one of the hottest tickets in town. The benefit held this year on Saturday, June 20th raised $1,226,000 for the zoo. This year, the 39th Beastly Ball, honored philanthropist and GLAZA Trustee Laura Z. Wasserman.

                     

As the summer emerges from June Gloom, sure, the clubs were still hopping. But above that, June saw the largest electronic dance music event in LA's history, the Electric Daisy Carnival. The 13th annual megamegarave featured 135,000 revelers over two days (daze?) If were weren't in a recession there might have been 135,007 attendees. It was Coachella meets Burning Man meets a sweaty warehouse meets a USC football game. That's a good thing.

Starting today, the Paley Center will be showing rare and vintage footage of Michael Jackson from TV shows dating back to 1971. We're talking episodes of "The Tonight Show", "The Flip Wilson Show", and the Jackson Five's own show "The Jacksons". Check out the Paley website for dates and times.

Art collective OJO brings a new kind of social networking to MOCA tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. with their interactive "Flesh Car Crash," where the audience will be encouraged to take part in a communal music session. Musicians will pack themselves into two small cars, and each vehicle powers a variety of instruments and noise-making objects. Sound chaotic yet? The cars will also be moving during a "choreographed game of chicken." The FREE event is part of the downtown museum's Engagement Party series in which artists are given a three-month residency for the first Thursday of the month.

The Santa Monica Pier Twilight Dance Series kicks off tonight at 7 pm at the pier. Tonight’s free concert features the Playing for Change Band -- an Internet project that enlisted musicians from all over the world in a viral video and led to the creation of a CD that benefits street musicians and homeless populations. Also on the bill: Bushman (Jamaican Roots Reggae). So bring a picnic and your dancing shoes.

Tonight Berkeley-bred rock singer-songwriter John Fogerty, best known for his time with Creedence Clearwater Revival, will be taking on a three-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl. The Echo & Echoplex will be hosting a benefit for booker extraordinaire Jennifer Tefft, which features She Wants Revenge, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Canceled!), Great Northern, Dead Meadow, LA Ladies Choir, Rocco Deluca, Nico Stai, Useless Keys and Living Things. And, lastly, San Franciscan psych rockers Citay are poised to grace the Silver Lake Lounge. But we strongly suggest heading over to the UCLA Hammer Museum to catch the first night of the summer concert series 'Also I Like To Rock.' LAist favorites Amazing Baby are slated to rock, as well as Band of Skulls.

                           

100,000 electronica fans dance for two days at the L.A. Coliseum.

                     

On Sunday May 31st, 5am would become the new rush hour for the 2,150 riders and 500 volunteer-roadies as they filtered into San Francisco's Cow Palace, waiting with anticipation and excitement for the kickoff of the 2009 AIDS/LifeCycle.

We're saddened to hear of the passing of Karl Malden who made it to the ripe old age of 97. While many people will remember him for his roles in Streetcar Named Desire and "The Streets of San Francisco" we urge you to check out his work in Baby Doll, Patton, Fear Strikes Out, and The Cincinnati Kid. Turner Classic Movies will have a tribute evening of films on Friday, July 10th, starting at 5:00pm Pacific.

Tonight at Family, Jacob Ciocci (of the Paper Rad art collective) presents a new 20-mix of original videos and animations, and will perform 'I Let My Nightmares Go' featuring video and dance moves that “grapple with mental demons, web 2.0, G.O.D., 21st-century breakdown, real lies and fake truths, cartoon violence, and awareness bracelets.” Music will be provided by David Wightman/Fortress of Amplitude. The free screening/performance starts at 7 pm.

Tonight San Diego-based alternative rockers Stone Temple Pilots will be performing for a sold-out crowd the House of Blues Sunset. Maryland-based singer-songwriter Bill Callahan is poised to headline the Troubadour with Bachelorette in tow. And, lastly, local retro 60s soul act Fitz and the Tantrums will be gracing Spaceland for this week's edition of Club NME. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Echo to partake in a Benefit for the Pablove Foundation, established earlier this year to help fight childhood cancer. Pablo Castelaz, the son of Dangerbird Records' co-founder Jeff Castelaz, was a beautiful 6-year-old boy—wise beyond his years—who passed from this life last Saturday. He was battling with Wilm's Tumor, a form of cancer that most often strikes children. Local indie rockers Eulogies (LAist Interview, Review, #2, #3), Bad Veins and Avi Buffalo (LAist Interview) are all slated to take stage in his honor.