Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Rush, whose current lineup solidified in 1973 with the addition of drummer Neil Peart, are now # 2 in the running for longest-lasting famous rock band that never broke up or changed their lineup. That’s a four year gap from ZZ Top (formed Texas, 1969), who are also showing no signs of going anywhere - in fact they played the Pacific Amphitheater just a few days after this show. But they’d better keep eating right and exercising if they don’t want to be overtaken. more ›

For a band that’s been filling arenas for thirty years, a proper Rush documentary has been a long time coming. Blame it on the band’s supposed lack of “general appeal”. Adored by intellectual heshers and aspiring shredmeisters, reviled by professional journalists and ignored by the rock mainstream, you have to admit: they did it their way. Somehow, three brainy, unprepossessing, somewhat geeky Canadians with an intact sense of humor managed to become, as bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee puts it, “the most popular cult band in the world.” Even a non-fan like my friend Richard, who claims never to have heard one of their songs in its entirety, was still able to look at the cover of this DVD and say, “That guy has a lot of chorus on his guitar, that guy has a really high voice, and that guy’s a really good drummer.” They don’t lack mainstream awareness, just mainstream appreciation. But Beyond The Lighted Stage puts them into a context where hopefully even those left cold by 15/8 time signatures can appreciate them as artists, unconventional, unwavering in their conviction. more ›

Though its elliptical ending caused a bit of a backlash, I can't imagine any serious film fan not enjoying the hell out of finally ties up all the loose ends of the original that have been bedeviling viewers for nigh on two decades. more ›

Update 7:00 p.m.: Sepulveda is still shut down and now crews expect to open it around 9 p.m. tonight. more ›

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that '24' co-creator Joel Surnow is bailing from the show and the Fox network. Surnow is the "right-wing nutjob" who is a personal friend of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and President Bush - he's the one that had the brilliant idea to come up with a right wing "answer" to 'The Daily Show' for Fox, but the failure to produce one is evidence he never understood the question. more ›

Natalie Angier, New York Times reporter and author of Woman: An Intimate Geography, has written foreword to Full Body Project, the recently published book of photographs by Leonard Nimoy (yes Trekkies, Spock). The two will focus their Hammer Conversation on the concepts of beauty and sexuality. more ›

Tonight at 8pm: The Cinefamily Screening Series wraps up their stunt month with a rare screening of "The Stunt Man," and some special guests. From Cinefamily:

In filming The Stunt Man, the quintessential movie about Hollywood's invisible heroes, Richard Rush hired many of the top men in the field, making the set a virtual symposium of daredevil talents. We decided what better way to honor these daredevils than by reuniting as many of them as we can, to swap stories, answer questions, show clips of their greatest stunts, and generally have a good time. Then we're all gonna watch The Stunt Man together! Numerous stuntmen, including many who worked on the film will be in attendance. The list so far includes. but isn't limited to, Steve Railsback, Bobby Hoy, Tom Morga, Erick Cord, Walt Robles, Jim Winburn, Gary Kent; not to mention the director, Richard Rush. We dare you to come!

Last night, as steady rain drenched West Hollywood, Ingrid Michaelson rocked out to a sold-out Troubadour. The mood was light and the in-between-song bantering was charming and quite often hilarious. Ingrid sings with with her mellow innocence and fragile vulnerability in full effect and is backed up beautifully by Ms. Allie Moss, her backup singer and guitarist. The enthusiastic audience managed to tease her back out for a two song encore, a melodic version of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and a very moving "Fools Rush In." more ›

Hersheys announced Thursday that it will stop production of Ice Breakers Pacs in response to complaints by law enforcement that the nickel-sized bags resemble drug packets. Associated Press writer Peter Jackson reports on Hershey CEO David West's announcement: more ›

surged unexpectedly, bringing in an even $45M, also far above original projections. Come to think of it, that may be an even more depressing statement than the one above. more ›

For those of you who enjoyed The Golden Compass this weekend, it looks unlikely that you'll have the chance to see the second installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Compass only managed to take in 26.1 million dollars at the box-office, below what were already reduced expectations. Considering its budget was rumored to be above $200M, it's looking like Compass may rival Evan Almighty as the flop of the year. Shame. Since Compass... more ›

Enchanted joined the small circle of films that have topped the box office over consecutive weekends this year. It brought in 17 million dollars, raising its cume to a healthy $70.6M. This Christmas was second to Enchanted once again. It made an extra $8.4M and--considering its meager $13M budget--is now a bona fide hit with a gross of $36.9M. Beowulf was third in its third week, adding $7.9M to its $68.6M worth of treasure.... more ›

To no one's surprise, surprised somewhat with a strong $27.1M since its Wednesday opening. Are African-American churchgoers the new hot demo? more ›

Back in 2002 or so, a guy friend of mine introduced me to a band he had discovered, whose lyrics were all about two fictional characters in a sci-fi world, and whose artwork had no band photos, only a drawing of the fictional guy and girl. The music was like a cross between pop/rock, metal, and prog-rock, with high-pitched vocals that immediately called to mind the band Rush. There were some amazing melodies in there, punctuated with a lot of fun "oh oh's". They were called Coheed and Cambria, they were very mysterious, and we were positive the singer was a girl. more ›

The day after Neil Young’s first show at the Nokia Theater, I was having trouble believing I hadn’t dreamed the whole thing. I got pictures, but they’re kind of blurry. My friends seem to remember the same things happening, but I could have dreamed them up too. It just seemed like too much. As you may have guessed if you read my earlier review of Chrome Dreams 2, I’m a big fan. Long time... more ›

If the name Chris Palko doesn't mean anything to you, follow these steps: Step 1) Get a fucking time capsule or something close to it --hell, go to the bank drive-thru teller if you have to and steal the bank drive-thru's tube-capsule. Step 2) Write down the name Chris Palko on some deposit slips you prolly stole as well in the process. Step 3) Rush home and prepare to bury this capsule --to be... more ›

Photo found in the "suburban" section of the Warner Bros back lot by Eye Captain via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

Jodie Foster's rather inexplicable box-office appeal was on half-display this weekend as held strong in its second weekend, stealing an additional 9.15M and raising its treasure chest to 28.5M. more ›

In the slowest weekend since the early spring, suffered a precipitous decline in its second weekend, tumbling 62% and bringing in an additional 10 million bucks (44.2M). more ›

I'm not sure which is more confusing: that (11.6M). more ›

I know this is hardly a controversial opinion. A few years ago, I had the “pleasure” of seeing Ted Nugent open for Kiss. The show was raw, sweaty, and blissfully loud. As the Motor City Madman powered through hit after hit, I was amazed at how much I was enjoying his brand of gloriously primitive bonehead rock. The massive crowd cheered, pumped their fists, and banged their collective heads to the seemingly endless stream... more ›

became the first movie since late May to win back-to-back weekends, owing as much to a weak slate of openers as to its own relative strength. The Judd Apatow-produced dick montage hauled in 18 million bucks and helped push the summer box office to a record 4.003 billion dollars. It's the first 4 billion dollar summer ever, though higher ticket prices (and not increased admissions) account for that big, shiny number. more ›

Exceeding even the most optimistic of expectations, continued to hang on with 6.6 million and a new cume of 165.1M. more ›

Even though finished third, totalling 11.1 million and now sitting at an unexpectedly robust 152.2 million. more ›

Before catching The Simpsons this past weekend, this LAist poster had to sit through -- not just one -- but four lame ass trailers. Usually, you get a 50-50 chance of seeing at least one good trailer...because, now call us crazy, but isn't the purpose of a movie trailer to entice people to actually go see the film? At the very least, aren't we supposed to say, "Yeah, the trailer's the best part of that movie..." more ›

And I was forced to rob the bank because LA has no money growing on trees. Dumb Natasha Bedingfield:Don't blame Lindsay Lohan for her latest drunken-driving arrest. British pop starlet Natasha Bedingfield says Linds was forced behind the wheel of that Denali because "L.A. has no public transport system." Well, aside from a thousand or so buses. But it's hard to chase down your assistant in one of those [Rush & Molloy - NY Daily... more ›

Tokyo Police Club - "Nature of the Experiment" Nine Inch Chili Peppers @ The Joint Dub Club @ The Echo The Nedra Wheeler Quintet @ Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel Merchants of Moonshine @ Harper's Bar & Grille Rush @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Tokyo Police Club, Dappled Cities Fly, Minipop @ The Troubadour Snowdrift, The Comforters, Cosio, The Jackal Headed Front @ The Mint Conjunto Guama @ El Floridita Jazz at the Movies @... more ›

Rush @ Hollywood Bowl Slint @ Henry Fonda Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Lakisha Jones, Jordin Sparks @ Staples Center Division Day, Saint Motel, The Health Club, Moving to France @ Viper Room Buckwheat Zydeco, Doug Legacy & the Zydeco Party Band @ Safari Sam's Patton Oswalt @ Largo Snow Patrol, Hot Hot Heat @ Greek Johnny Polanco @ El Floridita Metal Skool, D’Amato, The Hammer, AL-CE-MI @ Key Club Plasticsoul, Brandon Schott, The Breakups,... more ›

Unless you like sitting in your car for a half hour, enjoy doing the Austin Powers 100-point turn or subscribe and donate $2000 or more for the Donor Valet, parking at the Hollywood Bowl is lame. So as you prepare yourself for the June 22nd opening of the Hollywood Bowl (date relevant to the official opening and not lease events), here are some tips: 1. There's always confusion between the Park & Ride and... more ›