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Here are 19 of our favorite events happening in Los Angeles this week. Don’t forget to check out our Outdoor Film Guide and Free Concert Guide for other ideas, too. We’ll be back on Thursday with our Weekend Planner column to help you plan—what else?— the weekend ahead.
MONDAY, AUG. 31
MUSIC: The Bulls, a new project of violinist and multi-instrumentalist Anna Bulbrook (The Airborne Toxic Event / Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) and guitarist Marc Sallis (The Duke Spirit), winds up its August all-female fronted residency at the Satellite on Monday. The final #GIRLSCHOOL show includes the White Sea (featuring Morgan Kibby of M83), Ana Rezende (CSS) DJ set and Alex Lilly (of Touché). The residency free and 21+. Show at 9 pm.
COMEDY: The Goddamn Comedy Jam (GDCJ) takes over The Lyric Theatre on Monday night. Almost every comic wants to be a rock star, and GDCJ lets guests perform a fav cover song in front of a live audience. Hosted by: Josh Adam Meyers and The Goddamn Band, this week’s guests include Jerrod Carmichael, David Alan Grier, LilRel Howery, Loretta Devine, Tiffany Haddish, Amber Stevens West. Doors at 8 pm, show at 9 pm. 21+. Tickets: $12.
STORYTELLING: Origin Story is a new monthly storytelling night at UCB Sunset hosted by Margot Leitman on Monday at 8:30 pm. The show focuses on stories about beginnings—about how TV shows were created, how two people fell in love or hate—and this week it features tales by Andree Vermeulen, Jennifer Semler, Jonathan Braedley Welch, Heather Sundell and Jacob Reed. Tickets: $5.
MUSIC: Eliot Sumner, Sting and Trudie Styler’s daughter, is embarking on her own music career and she has two gigs in L.A. this week. On Monday, she’s at Bardot for School Night with Rey Pila, Hawai and Korey Dane. (21+ free with RSVP). On Tuesday, she opens for On An On at The Echo. Tickets: $12-14 for the 18+ show.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 1
ROOFTOP FILM: The Rooftop Film Club has taken over the rooftop of The Montalbãn and continues screening blockbusters through Sept. 19. This week, the club screens Casablanca on Tuesday; The Breakfast Club on Wednesday and Cinema Paradiso on Thursday. Tickets are $15 (plus service charge). Doors at 6 pm and screening at 8 pm.
BOURBON: September is National Bourbon Heritage Month and the InterContinental Los Angeles has teamed up with Angel’s Envy to celebrate. The hotel has worked with the distillery to create its own ICLA blend, which is offered at the bar, along with bourbon flight and mixed drink options. In addition, Executive Chef Jonathan Wood has created several dishes that either pair well with bourbon or are made with bourbon, including Bourbon Glazed Crawfish & Dirty Rice ($16) and Maple Bacon Donuts ($6), both of which are awesome—trust us.
COMEDY: Comic and Emmy-award writer Beth Sherman hosts A Good Show on Tuesday night at Open Space LA on Fairfax. See four comics for only $5. This week’s lineup features: Shawn Pelofsky, Rob Gleeson, Petey Gibson and Erin Foley.
MUSIC: Singer-songwriter Angela Parrish plays a release show for her EP Faithful and Tall at The Hotel Cafe on Tuesday night at 9 pm. The show is 21+.
EMO NIGHT: Emo Night: Taking Back Tuesday returns to the Echoplex, bringing together people who share a love of emo music from the 90’s to today. (Think Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, New Found Glory to American Football and Death Cab For Cutie). There are surprise guest DJs spinning at the venue. Doors are at 9 pm and the first hour is free. After 10 pm, cover is $5. The event is 21+. Drink specials as well as Pabst Blue Ribbon will be available throughout the night. All proceeds from the door will be donated to the nonprofit The A21 Campaign, which works to prevent human trafficking. RSVP on DoLA.
FOOD FIGHT: Border Grill in DTLA closes out its Tuesday Night Street Food Fights with its championship round on Tuesday night. Spain goes up against Colombia and El Salvador takes on Peru. Taste street fare from each of the countries—$25 admission buys all-you-can-eat access ($5 a la carte). Themed cocktails ($7) complements the street fare, too. he event runs from 4-8 pm.
VARIETY: On Tuesday at 7:30 pm, the Tuesday Night Project presents the next installment of the Tuesday Night Cafe—the longest running Asian American mic series in the country—at the Aratani Courtyard/Union Center for the Arts. The free series is dedicated to highlighting the work of visual and performing artists from the LA and Asian American community. The lineup this week features: Alina Nguyen, Christopher Del Rosario, Mike The PoeT, Priska Neely and Peter Su. There are 5-minute open mic slots available with signups and lottery begins at 7 pm.
The House Burger at The Magnolia House in Pasadena. (Image: Courtesy of The Magnolia House)
BOURBON & BURGERS: Magnolia House in Pasadena offers Bourbon & Burgers every Tuesday Night at its cozy craftsman bungalow from 4 pm to midnight. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2
POG: The North Hollywood tiki bar, Tiki No, launches a weekly Wednesday night Pog competition series called the “Scorpion Bowl.” Teams of two or more will compete, at random, through a knockout style tournament of the Polynesian game that originally hails from Hawaii. Each week, the final squad left standing will be awarded $100, a photo on the winners’ wall, and free admission to the next week’s tournament. The second place team gets a Scorpion Bowl cocktail to drown their sorrows. Tournament entry is $10 and is limited to 12 teams each week.
MUSIC: Jazz nights continue at The Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday night with Pink Martini featuring China Forbes & Storm Large with Ari Shapiro. The Portland-based ensemble brings standards, samba and swing to the Bowl’s stage. The 87-year-old former Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen and His Big Band opens the night at 8 pm. Tickets: $1-$146.
DANCE: Myke Terry—the former lead singer for the metalcore band Bury Your Dead—is now preparing to release his debut solo EP Red Handed in October. In the meantime, he’s hosting another one of his monthly Caught Red Handed DJ Nights on Wednesday at Honeycut. The event features various LA DJs and artists, including Terry himself, and fosters a collaborative and creative spirit. RSVP: info@breakent.com.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 3
FILM: SpectreFest is a screening series of “progressive genre films and forward-thinking music from around the world that challenge our grip on reality.” Presented by Cinefamily, Shudder and SpectreVision (Elijah Wood’s film production company), the two-month fest opens on Thursday with a free screening of Wood’s latest film, Cooties. RSVP needed, but does not guarantee admission.
MUSIC: The Twilight Concert Series continues at the Santa Monica Pier on Thursday from 7-10 pm with a free evening of music with the New Orleans sounds of theRebirth Brass Band with Miles Mosley and the West Coast Get Down. Free.
BOOKS: Miranda July (writer/director of The Future, Me and You and Everyone We Know et al) discusses and signs the paperback edition of her novel, The First Bad Man at Book Soup on Thursday night at 7 pm. The novel focuses on Cheryl, “a vulnerable, uptight woman in her early forties who lives alone” and how love upends her eccentric, but ordered life.
BBQ + BREW PARTY: Think Tank Gallery in DTLA holds Summer Send-off BBQ & Brew Thursday Nights in September from 7 to 11pm. Starting this Thursday, the gallery presents a different headlining artist who’ll bring a group of friends to program each evening’s festivities. Buy veggies and meats grilled up by local Deaf Man’s BBQ Sauce and drinks served up by Good-BAR. An art panel kicks off the night—this week it’s Baker’s Son ft. “The Art of the Party: Throwing Events in LA” panel—from 7-8:30, followed by an art reception and music show. Tickets for the panel are: $5-$10.
FILM FEST: The 51st annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival and memorabilia show takes over Hollywood over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-7). Cinecon showcases old and unusual short and feature films that are rarely given public screenings. Screenings take place the Egyptian Theatre with the memorabilia show at the Loews Hollywood Hotel. The features opening the festival on Thursday night are: Two-Fisted (Universal, 1935); Wild and Woolly (1917) and Go West, Young Lady (1941). Cinecon does not sell tickets to individual films, but they do offer full-day passes ($30) at the door for the five days of the festival. Memorabilia Room entrance is $10.
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
