Arts & Entertainment

Via dbking on Flickr This summer marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and across the nation, museums will be opening exhibits about the famous event. The Grammy Museum downtown is taking a new twist and when their exhibit opens this August, it will be through the eyes of festival goers--the people's history of Woodstock, in a sense. "We’re asking people who attended Woodstock or were involved in any way to help us put the...

With the recent megasuspension of Dodgers superslugger Manny Ramirez, every American has been wondering: "is Manny Ramirez a murdering rapist?" Speaking publicly yesterday, for the first time in over a month, Ramirez put that to bed, reports MLB.com. "I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody," said the man with the surprise vacation. "That's it." That really must be it, as Ramirez didn't address his 50 game suspension in a way that got anyone...

Long known as a beach volleyball Mecca, Manhattan Beach has, over the last several years, also been cultivating itself as a destination for boutique shopping akin to trendy locales like Robertson Blvd. and Sunset Junction further north, but with the laid back feel of the beach. We stopped in at Cami on Highland Ave. this weekend and found a treasure trove of jeans (marked down to $70), maxi dresses ($175-390) & gauzy summer shirts ($69-125) on offer, as well as eye-catching jewelry and accessories, including a wall of handbags worth making the trip down to the South Bay for.

LA Winefest will be taking place at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood this weekend. Along with countless wines, sakes, beers and spirits available for tasting, there will be a number of presentations with speakers including Anthony Riboli and Ken Volk. The Winefest is pouring a wide variety of imported wines as well as the kosher wine Hagafen. Microbrews from Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Karl Strauss Brewing Company will be featured. The event will offer the high end ginjo and daiginjo sakes. All tequilas will be 100% agave.

In an instance of fitting justice, Pixar's Up, uh, ballooned past expectations to pull in a mammoth $68.2M and easily top the weekend box office chart. Night at the Museum 2: Needless Sequel lost more than half its audience from last week's debut, but still managed to earn $25.5M ($105.2M). The week's other newcomer Drag Me To Hell scared up $16.6M worth of business to edge a plummeting Terminator Salvation ($16.1M/$90.6M). Meantime, the reliable Star Trek continued to plug along at a good pace ($12.8M/$209.5M).

As if Joe Cocker, Erykah Badu, Peaches and the Field weren't enough to make you salivate, LAist just got word that local Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fiona Apple—everyone's favorite lil' brooding princess—will be making a surprise appearance this Wednesday at Largo at the Coronet for Watkins Family Hour (LAist Review). The fairly regular, familial occasion, which is hosted by former Nickel Creek fiddler Sara Watkins (LAist Interview) and her guitar-toting brother Sean (LAist Interview), will also feature prominent guest musicians like Tom Brosseau and actor John C. Reilly. To put it simply: You'll want to be there just for bragging rights, if not the music. This is not a night to be missed, so make sure you plan accordingly!

Following the fanfare of a star-studded Thursday red carpet opening, the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club is officially here. And while the Lovitz club likes to throw around the idea that Los Angeles hasn’t had a new comedy club in 30 years, that PR spin really discounts the amount of stand up that goes on at the less-than-5-year-old UCB, or the revamped and reopened Downtown Comedy Club. But be that as it may, it certainly is exciting to see new comedy come out of the woodwork, when places all around us are closing up shop.

Photo by shazammy via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Video Games Live is a popular concert that features music from some of the greatest video games of all time. It's perfect for the whole family, you can bring out the inner nerd in you (or your child) at a concert featuring live music, videos, synchronized lighting, and some live action. With tunes from Mario, Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy, Warcraft, Tron, Donkey Kong,...

Brooklyn’s School of Seven Bells returned to L.A. last night with their tribaldelic dream-pop. If you haven’t been initiated into this cultish trio, School of Seven Bells is guitarist Ben Curtis (formerly of Secret Machines) and identical twin vocalists Claudia and Alejandra Dehaza (formerly of artsy vocal group On! Air! Library!). The sisters intertwine harmonies in styles tough to pigeonhole, except to say they are exactingly crafted (with hints of everything from The Roches to the Bulgarian Women’s Choir). Curtis jabs heavily processed chords and splashes bright colors. And everything rests on electronic beats that feel one step ahead of trends.

Pods photo by Alan Heitz via LAist's flickr pool. THEATRE Tonight’s the opening night for Cole Porter’s Red, Hot and Blue! at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. This Depression era screwball comedy deals with a National Lottery offering a first prize to anyone who finds a long-lost love with a rare identification mark. Included are the Cole Porter classics "It's De-Lovely," "Down in the Depths (On the 90th Floor)," "Ridin' High" and "Red,...