The Best Things To Do In LA And SoCal This Week: Nov. 8 - 11

Listen to stories from the heady days of 1980s rock. Tune in to a celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Laugh along at a bunch of comedy shows, including appearances by Bianca Del Rio and David Sedaris. Commemorate veterans who’ve served our country in war or peacetime. 

With the COVID-19 Delta variant still out there, it's best to check ahead of time to make sure events are still happening as scheduled and for vaccine requirements.

Monday, Nov. 8; 3 p.m. PT

Gina Schock: Made In Hollywood: All Access with the Go-Go’s
Virtual Event
Book Soup presents an online conversation with Schock, the drummer for the all-female rock band the Go-Go’s, pegged to the release of her book. It includes personal photographs and memorabilia collected over her 40-year career. At the virtual event, Schock will be joined by Belinda Carlisle, the band’s lead singer, and James Duke Mason (Carlisle’s son).
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Monday, Nov. 8; 8 p.m.

Barely Making It LA
Bar Lubitsch
7702 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood
The comedy show returns after a 20-month pandemic hiatus. Hosted by Erick Hellwig, the lineup features Rich Ruiz, Rob Stern, Madison Davis, Ahmed Bharoocha, Subhah Agarwal and Moses Storm.
COST: $10; MORE INFO

Amazon Prime Video holds 'VOICES: An Entertainment Celebration for Native American Heritage Month,' a one-day virtual event celebrating Native American History Month and highlighting the many contributions to entertainment from the community.

(Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video)

Monday, Nov. 8; 11:30 a.m. PT

VOICES: An Entertainment Celebration for Native American Heritage Month
Virtual Event
Amazon Prime Video holds an event that honors Native American contributions to the entertainment industry and highlights the erasure and whitewashing of indigenous stories. The event features talks, panels and musical performances. Participants include Bird Runningwater (Executive Producer, Sovereign), Crystal Echo Hawk (founder and CEO, IllumiNative), Heather Rae (director and producer, Iron Circle Pictures), Jenna Clause (actress, The Wilds), Leah Salgado (Chief Impact Officer, IllumiNative), Mato Wayuhi (artist, producer) and Raye Zaragoza (singer-songwriter). The event streams on Amazon Live and Prime Video’s YouTube Channel.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Monday, Nov. 8; 7:30 p.m.

The Mermaid Comedy Hour Anniversary Show
The Improv - Lab
8162 Melrose Ave., Beverly Grove
The female-fronted comedy show celebrates its 5th or 6th anniversary (they lost count during the pandemic) with silly decor, snacks and giveaways. The lineup includes Kimberly Clark, Chloe Radcliffe, Dana Donnelly, Amber Preston, Savannah Manhattan and Liz Blanc. The show is produced and hosted by Valerie Tosi and Joleen Lunzer. Proof of vaccine required.
COST: $12 with two-item minimum; MORE INFO

Bianca Del Rio performs two shows at The Theatre at Ace Hotel this week.

(Matt Crockett)

Tuesday, Nov. 9 - Wednesday, Nov. 10; 8 p.m.

Bianca Del Rio: Unsanitized Comedy Tour
Theatre at Ace Hotel 
929 S. Broadway, downtown L.A. 
The drag queen and comedian ends the U.S. dates of her worldwide tour with two nights in L.A. The winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race made history on her last worldwide comedy tour as the first drag queen to headline Carnegie Hall and Wembley Arena. And she sold out both.
COST: $39.50; MORE INFO

Tuesday, Nov. 9; 7 p.m.

An Evening With … Denis Villeneuve
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills
Film Independent returns with live programming at the Wallis, beginning with a conversation with the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker behind Dune, Blade Runner 2049 and Maelström.
COST: $30 - $40; MORE INFO

Humorist David Sedaris reads from his new book at The Soraya.

(Ingrid Christie)

Wednesday, Nov. 10; 8 p.m.

An Evening with David Sedaris
The Soraya
18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge
The humorist returns to the Soraya to read from his latest book, The Best of Me, a collection of 42 previously published stories and essays. Books will be available for purchase, and Sedaris will sign them before and after the show.
COST: $41 - $109; MORE INFO

CAAM presents a screening of 'The Gaze,' by Barry Jenkis, followed by a talk back with Jenkins and film editor Joi McMillion.

(Courtesy of CAAM)

Wednesday, Nov. 10; 7 p.m.

The Gaze: Barry Jenkins and Joi McMillion in Conversation 
CAAM
600 State Dr., Exposition Park 
The Gaze (2021, 52 mins.) is Jenkins’ moving-image portraits of the actors from his adaption of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Underground Railroad. The California African American Museum screens the film then presents Jenkins discussing the movie, which was inspired by the work of artist Kerry James Marshall and is set to composer Nicholas Britell’s score, with film editor McMillion.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Wednesday, Nov. 10; 8 p.m.

RY X with the L.A. Phil
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.
The Australian singer-songwriter-producer brings his acoustic and electronic arrangements and ethereal vocals in a concert collab with the L.A. Phil. COST: $59 - $106; MORE INFO

Wednesday, Nov. 10; 7 p.m.

No Man's Land: An evening of comedy, magic, and variety
The Yard Theater
4319 Melrose Ave., East Hollywood 
The female comedy and variety show features magic, a juggling duo and several stand-up comedians from Comedy Central. The lineup includes Virginia Jones, Krystyn Lambert, Tristan Cunningham, Hannah Leskosky, Cara Connors and Pam Severns.
COST: $15; MORE INFO

Thursday, Nov. 11; 11 a.m.

Forest Lawn’s 62nd Annual Veterans Day Celebration 
Virtual Event
This event honoring members of the U.S. military at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills will be streamed via Facebook Live. Watch a flyover, a color guard and wreath-laying, then listen to patriotic music, an invocation and benediction.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Michelle Kholos Brooks is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play 'War Words.'

(Courtesy of the artist)

Thursday, Nov. 11; 7:30 p.m.

War Words
The Actors’ Gang Theater
9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City 
The Atlantic Council, NewYorkRep and the United States Veterans’ Artists Alliance present the Pulitzer Prize-nominated docu-play by Michelle Kholos Brooks. Watch and listen to the words of people who served in the U.S. military during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. A reception follows.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO

Commemorate the service of U.S. service members on Veterans Day.

(Photographer: Joshua Nathanson, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Thursday, Nov. 11; 11 a.m.

Veterans Day Celebration and Concert
The Richard Nixon Library & Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda
The Huntington Beach Concert Band plays the famed East Room of the Nixon Library. Veterans will receive free admission to the museum all day. Admission to the museum galleries for the general public is not included with concert registration.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO

Through Sunday, April 17, 2022

Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall
Natural History Museum
900 Exposition Blvd., Exposition Park
The work of the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a UN Messenger of Peace is celebrated in an exhibition featuring information and installations that span her early life working with animals to becoming a renowned scientist in Gombe, Tanzania.
COST: $12 - $25; MORE INFO

Portrait of a Sailor (Paul Cuffe?) (detail) is one of the works on view at LACMA's 'Black American Portraits' exhibition.

(photo © Museum Associates /LACMA)

Through Sunday, April 17, 2022

Black American Portraits
LACMA 
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire
As a companion exhibit to the Obama Portraits Tour, the museum also features 200 years of Black American subjects, sitters and spaces, “centering Black love, abundance, family, community, and exuberance.” Related programming includes the virtual Black Joy and Resilience Film Series, as well as the Zoom discussion series, 5 Questions, 5 Artists: Reframing Portraiture.
COST: Varies; MORE INFO

TV/Streaming Pick

Ragdoll
This Canadian crime thriller stars Lucy Hale and Ali Cook as detectives on the hunt for the Ragdoll Killer. The murderer has gone all human centipede and sewn six people's bodies into one grotesque shape. From the producers of Killing Eve, Ragdoll streams on AMC+ on Thursday.

Wise Sons in Culver City has now added dinner service until 9 p.m. daily.

(Courtesy of Dylan + Jeni)

Dine and Drink Deals

Check out the 411 on other restaurant happenings in SoCal.

• Wise Sons in Culver City has added dinner service until 9 p.m. daily. Nosh on the Diner Tuna Melt, the Kimchi Reuben, schnitzel and latkes. Also, the restaurant now has a beer and wine license.
• On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Farmer Boys offers any active, former or retired military a Big Cheese for free. There’s a limit of one per service member with proof of service. 
• Denny’s invites all active and inactive military personnel to participate in Build Your Own Grand Slam from 5 a.m. to noon. Vets can choose from buttermilk pancakes, eggs cooked to order, bacon strips, buttermilk biscuits and hash browns for a hearty breakfast. The offer is for dine-in only at participating locations. Guests must show proof of military ID or DD 214.
• Amorcito, Thomas Ortega's modern Mexican taco joint, recently opened a new location at Metro Pointe at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The menu includes chimichanga bowls, mole tots and Sonora tacos. (h/t LA Taco)
• The Black woman-owned Inglewood coffee shop, Sip & Sonder, has opened a new location at the Music Center in downtown L.A., in front of Walt Disney Concert Hall. It operates Tuesday - Sunday, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Check out specialty drinks such as the cardamom latte and the Refresh line of tonics and spritzers, including a Lavender Espresso Tonic.  
• The private co-working space and social club NeueHouse has opened a new location — and bar — inside the Bradbury Building in DTLA. The Wyman Bar offers all-day drink service, starting with coffee and then cocktails, beer and wine at night. The bar is open to nonmembers with reservations. (h/t Eater LA) 
• Grain, the whiskey bar/speakeasy tucked inside Playa Provisions in Playa del Rey, has reopened. It boasts more than 100 domestic and international whiskeys, build-your-own liquor flights and signature cocktails.
• Historic Boyle Heights music venue The Paramount reopened last week with new bar food and cocktail options from chef and pizzaiolo Jorge Sandoval of the Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. (the Paramount’s ground floor restaurant). They include pretzel bites with smoked gouda, chicken quinoa meatballs and jalapeño mac 'n cheese.
• National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day is Tuesday and Poppy + Rose in downtown L.A. offers two special dishes: the fried chicken sandwich ($15.50) and the buttermilk fried chicken + waffle ($17).