For six consecutive Thursdays beginning July 21 through August 25, The Skirball Cultural Center will be presenting their FREE "Sunset Concert" World Music Series, now in its fifteenth year. No reservations are necessary and seating is limited on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking is $10 (cash!) per car, or take Metro Rapid 761 and add eco friendly to your cultured evening. Also, be advised, there is zero available street parking by the Skirball. more ›

Not much that needs to be added to this, but tonight is a rare opportunity to check out sixties icon Bob Dylan in Santa Monica. Tickets are scarce, but the performance is sure to be a memorable one. more ›

Jordan Peimer, program director at the Skirball Cultural Center, does a great job of bringing interesting non-mainstream dance talent to our city. In the recent past he brought Neil Greenberg, Liz Lerman, the Sitelines series and international companies and artists that don’t fill the seats in the large venues, but who, nonetheless, expand the art form beyond its traditions and conventions. Always interesting, if not mind-blowing. more ›

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In an e-mail early, early, early this morning, McCabe's announced something unexpected: The Swell Season will be playing tomorrow night in the guitar shop's intimate performance space. You may not recognize the band's name, but you know them as Irish singer Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Marketa Irglova from the movie Once. The gig got booked serendipitously yesterday when Glen brought his guitar into the shop for repair. Of course, the bad news here is that tickets sold out quickly, probably before the light of day hit. Tonight, McCabe's presents Jackshit, who we interviewed here on LAist last August. more ›

FILM more ›

WORDS more ›

MUSIC: Machine Project is back with an evening of experimental folk music mix. The evening features the sounds of Ryan Fuller, Julie Carpenter, Laura Steenberge, Ruthann Friedman, rickyricky, Pilar Diaz, Pawko and Marshweed. more ›

Red Hen Press poets read their work 8pm @ Boston Court Main Stage, Pasadena more ›

There’s something for everyone in LA theatre scene this week: love, families and a little blood sucking...and if you don't like paying for your tickets but want to see what LA theatre is all about, then check out the LA Stage Alliance's Free Night of Theatre 2007. The Last Schwartz In this poignant comedy, the Schwartz siblings have gathered in their childhood family home for the one-year anniversary of their father's death. Ya gotta love... more ›

Kenneth Turan presents Never Coming to a Theater Near You 7pm @ Studio City Branch Library more ›

Randall Robinson presents An Unbroken Agony 7pm @ EsoWon Books more ›

Susan Diamond signs What Goes Around 7pm @ Dutton’s more ›

Dave Winfield signs Dropping the Ball 7pm @ Vroman’s more ›

Monday P.J. O’Rourke signs On the Wealth of Nations 7pm @ Book Soup Adam Gopnick reads Through the Children's Gate 7:30pm @ Skirball Cultural Center Tuesday David Mamet signs Bambi vs. Godzilla 7pm @ Book Soup Edward Humes signs Monkey Girl 7pm @ Vroman’s Norman Mailer discusses Castle in the Forest with David Ulin 7:30pm @ Writers Guild Theater Daveed Gartenstein-Ross presents My Year in Radical Islam 7:30pm @ Barnes & Noble Santa Monica... more ›

"They're giving it away free? It must be good!" Put on your best pair of ripped jeans and a collared shirt (floss it, of course). It’s time for all the broke posers of LA to pretend they’re cultured! You can’t miss with the second annual "Museums Free-For-All" day on Sunday, October 1. Of course, those broke non-posers will probably realize that most of the 20 participating museums are normally completely free (Getty Center, California... more ›

Last night I had a dream I was walking on an empty freeway with a martini in one hand and a beedog in the other. Bathrobe clad with a cigarette dangling from my mouth like Valley of the Dolls meets The Color of Money, I flag down Mr. T, who is speeding by on a tractor while singing “Private Eyes,” by Hall and Oates. We exchange knock-knock jokes and arrive at an oceanfront condo... more ›

Two Months. Two Comedies. One Hillside Location. We are excited for Say The Word and Says You! to come to the Skirball Cultural Center: more ›

When it comes right down to it, UCLA professor, Pulitzer prizewinner, evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond is all that. Guns, Germs and Steel is about how societies evolved; Collapse is about how they disappeared. Tonight he'll be speaking about one, or the other, or perhaps what happens in-between at the Skirball Cultural Center. Tickets are still available; they're not cheap, but $20 is still less than you'd pay to register at UCLA. more ›

Writer Janet Dulin Jones has been working on a screenplay, now a play, about the life of Charles Dickens since 1990. Director and co-writer Paul Lazarus has worked with her for the past 3 years. Now they've collaborated with the Antaeus Company, Los Angeles's classical theatre ensemble () to bring Dickens to the stage. This weekend, for five performances only, Los Angeles audiences finally get a chance to sneak a look at this mysterious story - an tale of Dickens' own life and his investigations of murder, treachery, and skullduggery in 1830s London. more ›

Grab a jacket, some friends and get out of the house. There are plenty of
free gigs to keep you occupied.

SATURDAY, 10/8

• Catch Hot Club Quartette at Cafe
  Z in the Skirball Cultural Center followed
  by a free screening of Algeria in a Smile. The
  show starts at noon. Call (310) 440-4500.


• DJs Michael Stock and Benjamin White of Part
  Time Punks continue
  their residency at MOCA.
  The show starts at 6pm. It's free with general museum admission. Call (213)
  621-1734.


• The Afro-Brazilian Drumming and Potluck features world percussion
  jams and food at Bang
  a Drum starting at 7:30pm. Admission is free, but this is a potluck,
  so bring food. For info, call (323) 936-3274.

SUNDAY, 10/9

• Mezzo-soprano Hermine Haselböck and pianist Florian Henschel perform
  songs by Alexander Zemlinsky for the LACMA Sundays
  Live Series. The show starts
  at 6pm. Call (323) 857-6234.


• Part-Time Punks present Ariel
  Pink, Indian Jewelry and Blood
  On The Wall
  at the echo at 10pm.
  For more info, call (213) 413-8200.
  

MONDAY, 10/10

• Colored Shadows continue their
  residency at Spaceland.
  The doors open at 8pm and the show begins at 9pm. Call (323) 661-4380.
  
  
• Lavender Diamond continue
  their October residency at the
  echo. The show starts at 8:30pm. For
  details, call (213) 413-8200.
  
• The Words take
  the stage at the
  Silverlake Lounge at 11pm. Call (323) 666-2407.
  

Tonight, we could've been going to see Liz Phair at the Troub but we'll be bar crawling in Santa Monica and Venice instead. We thought we were too old for the crawl but someone else's birthday wishes suggest we're not. more ›

Writers Bloc presents prolific author Joyce Carol Oates in conversation with David Ulin at the Skirball Cultural Center tonight, June 21st, at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $20. Reservations suggested. You can call Writers Bloc at (310) 335-0917. more ›

Advance tickets: (866) 468-3399 or TicketWeb Logo (service charges apply) more ›