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Here are 20 of our favorite events happening in L.A. this week.
MONDAY, APRIL 17
CAR SEAT HEADREST (Music)
Car Seat Headrest, the indie rock quartet led by Will Toledo, plays The Regent Theater on Monday night. (Check out the video above for Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales, performed on The Tonight Show with members of The Roots.) Preoccupations opens. 8 pm. Tickets (are scarce, but where there's a will...): $19.50-$23.50. Ages 18+.
QUEER WINDOW (Storytelling + comedy)
Queer Window is a night of storytelling on the iO West Mainstage on Monday at 8 pm. Tickets: $5. The show is a celebrations of queer community and culture. Hear stories, stand-up, music and performance on moments that shaped and inspired the storytellers. The evening features music by Micah James, drag from Kitty Meringue, stand-up from Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, HBO's Looking) and others. Hosted by Zack Colonna.
VARSITY WEEK / IRONTOM (Music)
Irontom’s residency at the Satellite continues on Monday with Nona (featuring members of The Moth and the Flame, Mondo Cozmo), Afrofunk band Soulfire Collective and Varsity Week. Free. 9 pm. Ages 21+.
TUESDAY, APRIL 18
REYKJAVÁK FESTIVAL: JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON (Music)
The LA Phil’s Reykjavík Festival continues on Tuesday at the Walt Disney Concert Hall at 8 pm with Iceland’s Jóhann Jóhannsson. The Oscar-nominated composer (for The Theory of Everything and Sicario) often crosses the pop boundaries. Tuesday’s show celebrates the release of a new record that explores the “dissonance between traditional instrumentation and electronics.” Opening the show is a 10th anniversary celebration of Reykjavík's Bedroom Community record label with label founders Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly and others. Tickets: $41-$105.
TAX DAY RELIEF (Drinks)
A number of restaurants/bars are offering Tax Day specials on Tuesday. Among them: Boneyard Bistro celebrates with half-off beer and wine from 4:30 pm onward and the Grill on the Alley serves up a Grey Goose Martini special ($10.40) all day.
GET DOWN FESTIVAL (Spoken word)
The first L.A. Get Down Festival: A Celebration of Hip Hop, Poetry & Spoken Word is a two-week festival that runs from Tuesday to April 30, featuring writers, poets, musicians performing and leading workshops. Things begin with Da Poetry Lounge Slam Finals hosted by Shihan on Tuesday at 9 pm at the Greenway Court Theater. Tickets: $10 or $70 for the all-access pass.
IMPROV DIARY SHOW (Storytelling + comedy)
M.i.'s Westside Comedy Theater presents the Improv Diary Show (storytelling/comedy along the same lines as Mortified) on Wednesday at 8 pm. Two artists read from their teen diaries and then a team of improvisers turns the entries into hilarious scenes. This week’s readers are Serafina Costanza and Ted Evans, with the improv cast: Kiki Aldonas, Carissa Diest, Jeff Feazell, Austin Green, Hannah Harper, Grace Harryman, Scott Hennelly, Jon Thompson and Ryan Timmreck. Tickets: $5. Doors at 7:45 pm.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19
NATIONAL CANADIAN FILM DAY (Music)
Celebrate film from our northern neighbors during National Canadian Film Day at Cinefamily on Wednesday beginning at 2:30 pm. Poutine and other Canadian foods and libations will be served for the movie marathon. Screenings include: The Saddest Music in the World (2003), Meatballs (1979), Incendies (2010) and Strange Brew (1983). Director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies, Arrival) does a Q&A after the screening of his film, moderated by USC’s Alex Ago. The event is free with RSVP, and admission will be rolling in/out throughout the day. Also, Cinefamily screens Villeneuve’s Polytechnique on Tuesday night for free as well. Details here.
PANIC ROOM (Comedy)
Brendan Scannell (Heathers) and Caroline Goldfarb (Officialseanpenn) team up to present Panic Room, a free comedy show at The Virgil on Wednesday night at 8 pm. The lineup includes Gabe Liedman (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Kroll Show), Marcella Arguello (@Midnight, Flophouse), Max Silvestri (The Divorce Party, The Good Place), Sabrina Jalees (Transparent, NBC's Powerless) and surprise guests.
ROCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! (Music)
Rock Your Socks OFF! presents iLLaFenT on Wednesday night at 11 pm at Now Boarding. Fans are encouraged to bring brand new socks that will be donated to the homeless through the Los Angeles Mission. The sock-bringers will be entered into a raffle for a gift card at the bar. iLLaFenT set time: 11-11:40pm.
NEON SILENT DISCO (Dancing)
Neon Silent Disco brings four DJs and one neon dance floor to The Bloc in DTLA on Wednesday night from 7-10 pm. Three DJs will spin a combination of Hip-Hop, Dance, Top 40 and EDM and dancers can choose their own stage. Attendees choose which stage/DJ they want through a flick of a switch through headphones. Full bar drink specials start at $5. While admission is free, you must have a credit/debit cards to charge for the headphone deposit. 21+. RSVP to blocparty@ratkovich.com
THE COOKOUT (Music + food)
On Wednesday from 3:30-10 pm, The Cookout (Electric Area / Sirius FM) launches its first LA live event at Resident with free drink specials for the first two hours, and tasty cheap Cookout eats. Music by Bipolar Sunshine, Bixel Boys, B2B, Hotel Garuda, grandson, Justin Jay, TeamSupreme and others. Free with RSVP. Ages 21+.
THURSDAY, APRIL 20
PETE HOLMES (Comedy)
Leafly, the go-to cannabis resource, revives its 2016 comedy tour for one night only at the Regent on Thursday to celebrate 4/20. Comedian Pete Holmes headlines with Brandon Wardell and Jade Catta Preta performing in support. Tickets are only $4.20 and proceeds will benefit Rise Up, a “social impact initiative created by the cannabis brand Marley Natural that promotes Bob Marley's vision of positive social change, environmental sustainability, and social justice.” 7 pm. Ages 21+.
SHINE: MEMORABLE WORDS (Storytelling)
SHINE, a storytelling event, takes place on Thursday at 7 pm at the Santa Monica Playhouse. With the prompt, “memorable words,” storytellers share true tales about words that changed the course of their lives. On the program hosted by Terrie Silverman are: Peter Arpesella, Steven Briggs, Sarah Kelly, Rasika Mathur, Italome Ohikhuare and Laurel Ollstein. Robbie McDonald provides the live music. Tickets are $12, with student/senior discount available.
JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS: LARCHMONT (Food)
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams holds a grand opening celebration for its new Larchmont location on Thursday from 7-11 pm. Everyone gets a free scoop, and the first 50 people in line get a swag bag.
THE FAMILY ACID: JAMAICA (Book launch party)
The Standard, Hollywood holds a book launch party for Jamaica, The Family Acid’s photographic love letter to the island country on Thursday night at 7 pm. Roger Steffens will be in attendance to sign with The Lions doing a live music set. The Standard will also present a Jamaican Dancehall Night with DJ set by Changes with Wolves, and there will be cannabis-infused confections by Lord Jones. 7 pm. 21+. RSVPs needed. Check out the other activities The Standard hotels in DTLA and Hollywood are holding between Coachella weekends.
THE STEPFORD WIVES (Film + Q&A)
Velaslavasay Panorama & Veggie Cloud present a screening of The Stepford Wives (1975) on Thursday at 7:30 pm, with actor Paula Prentiss (The Stepford Wives, The Parallax View) in person. Prentiss and filmmaker/professor Dr. Allison de Fren discuss the “legacy and many readings of The Stepford Wives as part of Replacement Parts, a series of screenings and conversations about face replacements, fembots, and those who build artificial companions.” The conversation precedes the screening. 7:30 pm. Tickets $15 ($12 VPES members).
ARTEMIS WOMEN IN ACTION FILM FESTIVAL (Film)
The Artemis Women in Action Film Festival (April 20-23), dedicated to honoring female action and empowerment in film, opens on Thursday with a red carpet gala at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills. The rest of the festival takes place at the Laemmle Monica Center in Santa Monica. Screening tickets: $12-$15.
KEEP IT CLEAN® A LIVE COMEDY BENEFIT (Comedy + fundraising)
The Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization that fights for clean water worldwide, holds a comedy benefit show on Thursday at the Avalon in Hollywood. The great lineup includes: Tig Notaro, Nick Kroll, Bill Burr, Cheryl Hines, Keegan-Michael Key, Rachael Harris, Garfunkel & Oates’ Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, and other guests. Proceeds will go to the organization to help defend our local rivers, bays, streams and coastlines from pollution as they fight for the right to swimmable, drinkable and fishable water. Tickets from $125 for the live show; $250+ for cocktails, show and VIP after-party. 7:30 pm.
MUSIC CONNECTS US (Art Crawl Fundraiser)
The Venice Art Crawl (VAC) presents its 7th annual Anniversary fundraiser event, Music Connects Us: Photography & Art Show, on Thursday from 6-10 pm at The Runway in Playa Vista. More than 75 local and international artists/musicians will be featured, including Arabian Prince of NWA , Miles Regis, Spaik, Plastic Jesus, Guy Webster, Balloonski and others. General admission tickets include entrance, food nites and two beverages. There’s also a VIP ticket dinner option at Hal’s Bar and Grill. Tickets: $35-$200.
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
