Ever since her Fluxus days, Yoko Ono’s art has often revolved around the challenging of her audience’s assumptions, specifically about the nature of art, social mores, gender roles, and the nature of celebrity. The live show she brought to the Orpheum last weekend continued this tradition, bringing together a collective of first-rate musicians and famous guests for a show that held enormous emotional impact. It was a surprisingly diverse (where else are you gonna get RZA, Iggy, Vincent Gallo and Carrie Fisher on the same bill?) and even accessible package for a woman whose music is often thought of as difficult and anti-rock. But anyone expecting a Yoko show to be two hours of oi-yoi-yoi-yoi warbling hasn't heard her records, especially the new one, Between My Head And The Sky, which made up a good part of the set list. We heard a lot of different kinds of music, some of it simple, gentle and lovely. Some of it was tense and funky, some of it joyous and rocked-out. And, yes, some of it was dissonant, and she did break out the oi-yoi-yoi every so often. But the most discordant moments added texture, some of them loud and powerful, some quiet and fragile. more ›

This one has been making its rounds among the blogs. New York Times book reviewer Charles McGrath had this to say while talking about actor Carrie Fisher's new memoir: "What her Hollywood upbringing doesn’t account for is Ms. Fisher’s manifest intelligence and adroit way with words. She is one of the rare inhabitants of La-La land who can actually write and has published four novels, the best of which, the semi-autobiographical “Postcards From the Edge,” became a prize-winning movie with a script by Ms. Fisher herself." Really? La-La land? They're still using that? more ›

Salman Rushdie discusses The Enchantress of Florence with Carrie Fisher 7:30pm @ Writers Guilde Theater more ›

Sunday night was in a word, magical. Rufus Wainwright transformed the Hollywood Bowl into a beautiful tribute to Judy Garland. At one point he thought he felt a drop of rain, but unlike Judy's 1961 performance at the Bowl, the weather remained cool and cloudburst free. The audience showered Rufus and his guests, his mother Kate McGarrigle, his sister Martha Wainwright, and Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft with love and affection and a few standing... more ›

A Word or 76: Finale-fest tonight! Enjoy now because re-runs and other sub-par programming is all we have on the horizon. Tonight - Tuesday - May 22, 2007 Brewers @ Dodgers (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Angels @ Tigers (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) NCIS (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) The team's secrets unravel Dateline NBC (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Author John Grisham discusses wrongful murder case The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) The fiancee is chosen(!)... more ›

Instead of being looked at as the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, famous for being famous like so many other celebrity kin, Sean Lennon has taken his birthright and talent passed on to him, and has used them to his advantage. Eight years after releasing 1998's , he's written yet another album which allows you to enter the world of Sean Lennon, not the world of Sean Lennon, John and Yoko’s son. more ›

One week ago LAist went to the American Cinematheque to celebrate the 90th birthday of actor Glenn Ford. He starred with Bette Davis, Debbie Reynolds and Rita Hayworth; he played good guys in Westerns, bad guys in noirs, and Christopher Reeves' farmer dad in the 1978 Superman. The Cinematheque screened Gilda, one of Ford's best-remembered films (due in no small part to Rita Hayworth's stunning beauty). Those of us who had hopes of seeing Glenn Ford in person had to settle for watching him again on video; he wasn't quite well enough to travel so he sent a taped a birthday greeting. more ›

Max S. Gerber has captured janitors, scientists, porn stars, Willie Nelson, Carrie Fisher, Tim Hawkinson, Jim Jarmusch and many more. He's a photographer who does editorial portraiture, and his website features engaging editorializing of its own. His photos have appeared in Time, Newsweek, the UK's Sunday Telegraph Review, the LA Weekly, LA Magazine, LA Citybeat and more. Later this year, his photo series My Heart vs. the Real World will be published as a book. more ›

"We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark...and we're wearing sunglasses. more ›

We're happy that our admiration for Carrie remains intact, and we're sad because of what the tale says about Southern California. more ›

First, we celebrated her birthday then we wondered what really happened when a body ended up in her house the day after The Oscars. Sadly, now we know. The Washington Times reports that Republican Media Advisor R. Gregory Stevens died of a drug overdose in Carrie Fisher's home. more ›

But our current question concerns the mysterious death (and subsequent local media blackout) of Republican politico R. Gregory Stevens on or about February 26th. News of his untimely demise didn't really get into the LA newstream until March 4th in LA Observed. more ›

Tickets are $25 per event for MTR Members, Seniors and Students, and $29 for the general public. All showings begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Boulevard. There is a four-ticket limit per person, per event. All seating is general admission; seats cannot be reserved. For sold-out evenings, tickets may become available at the ticket table in the DGA lobby five minutes before starting time. more ›

Tuesday, 1/18 more ›

How can we choose between the following lit events all happening on the same night? more ›

She's simultaneously idolized and pitied by millions. How can you resist a gal who once quipped "(On merchandising for "Star Wars") I signed my likeness away. Every time I look in the mirror, I have to send Lucas a couple of bucks." more ›