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Here are 21 of our favorite events happening in Los Angeles this week. We’ll be back on Thursday with our Weekend Planner column to help you plan—what else?— the weekend ahead. Don't forget to check out our July Guide for other event options, too.
MONDAY, JULY 6
MUSIC: The Nashville-by-way-of Birmingham, Ala., group Banditos brings its blues-infused, jangly boogie and punk overtones sound to Harvard & Stone on Monday at 9 pm.
MOVIES: The Mondrian continues its Monday Night Dive In Theater at 8 pm each Monday throughout the summer. The films are screened over the swimming pool, and this week’s flick is A League of Their Own. The Mondrian offers a nighttime menu along with $5 gourmet popcorn. Flavors include: Spicy Buffalo, Kettle Corn, Truffle and Morphine and Chocolate. Guests are encouraged to bring their swimsuits or blankets, but no outside food or beverages. The event is 21+.
FRIED CHICKEN: Monday’s National Fried Chicken Day, and a number of restaurants are offering poultry palate pleasers. Magnolia House has its signature Gus’s Fried Chicken Sandwich and Korean Fried Chicken Wings; Rascal offers Fried Chicken & Italian Sausage Gravy; Downtown Johnny’s in Sherman Oaks this National Fried Chicken Day! Crispy, golden and sandwiched between two slider buns, the Fried Chicken Sliders.
TUESDAY, JULY 7
MUSIC: Tucson based Calexico performs at The Regent on Tuesday to support their new album, Edge of the Sun. Villagers will open the show, which is 18+. 8 pm. Tickets: $25-$28.
MOVIES: The Americana at Brand begins its outdoor Movies on The Green series on Tuesdays in July, from 6-10 pm. They’re screening Maleficent this week, and tickets are $15 per person and include admission and food (specific items from Katsuya or Trattoria Amici). Reserve VIP advanced seating for $20 per person, which includes admission, food, popcorn, a Sprinkles cupcake and premiere seating. Bring blankets for seating on the grass, and no chairs allowed. Movie begins at sundown. Doors at 6 pm.
Thank You For Playing (2015) - Official Teaser from Thank You For Playing on Vimeo.
DOCUMENTARY FILM: ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood’s 2015 Summer Documentary Series presents four festival-favorite films that were either directed or co-directed by women. The lineup was curated by filmmaker and President of the International Documentary Association Marjan Safinia. The series runs on Tuesdays at 7:30pm at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood beginning this week with Thank You For Playing, directed by David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall. In the film, a video game developer Ryan creates an unusual and poetic video game to honor the life of his terminally ill 1-year-old son. There’s a post-screening Q&A with directors, followed by a reception in the ArcLight Upper Bar. Tickets: $14.
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 inside the venue. Doors are at 9 pm and the first hour is free. After 10 pm, cover is $5. The event is 21+. Proceeds will be donated to The Keep A Breast Foundation - a nonprofit working to educate youth about cancer prevention and to support those affected by the disease.
MUSIC: Novi Split (David J) has a residency from 7-9 pm every Tuesday night this month at Little Joy. He's bringing together his fav bands/musicians in L.A. to perform, and he's joined this week by Dan Bern and Jackson Tanner. Later this month, guests include: No Win, Merry Christmas, Todd C from 'Toys That Kill', Nate Denver, Julie Mintz and CMG. Free.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
MUSIC: The Grove opens its 2015 Summer Concert Series on Wednesday with a free show by The Mowgli's and Cayucas from 7:30-9:30 pm. The concerts continue every Wednesday in July. Upcoming performances later this month: Gloriana, Spin Doctors and All Time Low.
FILM + CONVERSATION: A Poem is a Naked Person is a 1974 documentary that followed blues rocker Leon Russell from his Oklahoma recording studio to places across America. Cameos by George Jones, a young Willie Nelson, Russell's alter-ego Hank Wilson and surrealist Jim Franklin's mouse-swallowing pet snake. There’s a screening at the Ace Hotel on Wednesday at 8 pm, and it’s followed by a conversation with Russell and T-Bone Burnett. Tickets: $18-$35.
BOOK TALK: The comedy duo Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim release their first book—a self-help guide, of sorts. They’ll be at the West Hollywood Public Library in conjunction with Book Soup on Thursday at 7 pm to discuss Tim and Eric’s Zone Theory: 7 Easy Steps to Achieve a Perfect Life. The two will guide individuals on how to attain happiness, wellness and absolute fulfillment in your life. Promise.
DOG MIXER: The Downtown Center Business Improvement District and The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels presents the 9th annual Dog Day Afternoon at the Cathedral on Wednesday from 6-9 pm. More than 1,500 residents and canine companions (on-leash and well-socialized) are welcome for a night of mingling, music, local pet vendors and pet adoptions. The evening is free with registration. Parking: $8.
COMEDY: Maria Shehata hosts a brand new stand up comedy show, Public Shame, every other Wednesday night at the Red Lion Tavern in Silver Lake—beginning this Wednesday. Public Shame showcases some of the funniest up-and-coming and headlining comedians in L.A., all of whom are trying out new material. Scheduled to perform are: Maz Jobrani, Jimmy Dore, Kristen Carney, Jackie Kashian and Joe DeRosa.
STORYTELLING: Radio Picture Show is a storytelling show at The Virgil, in which participants base their tales on a particular song or image and then incorporate it into the performance. Hosted by Shauna McGarry and Lauren Cook, with DJ Marion Hodges (KCRW) spinning the tunes, the next show is on Wednesday at 8:30 pm and features performers Dave Koechner, Kurt Braunohler Rhea Butcher, Eliza Skinner and Jeffery Self. Tickets: $6 online or $8 at the door.
THURSDAY, JULY 9
FILM: On Thursday night at 7 pm, Los Angeles Filmforum at MOCA (Grand Avenue) screens Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures on 16mm. The film is “an excessive celluloid celebration of polymorphous perversity and a major achievement of the New American Cinema.” This evening also features Scotch Tape and the rarely screened, unruly assemblage I Was a Male Yvonne DeCarlo. Tickets: $7-$12.
BOOK TALK: On Thursday at 7:30 pm, Skylight Books welcomes two Drawn & Quarterly cartoonists Anders Nilsen and Marc Bell. Nilsen’s Poetry is Useless is a sketchbook-turned-graphic-memoir; Bell’s Stroppy is a narrative-driven comic that explores the divide between doodling, comics and fine art.
COMEDY: Comedy Palace is the free weekly live comedy show that takes place in the attic above The Palace Chinese Restaurant in Los Feliz on Thursdays at 9 pm. The evening features stand-up, storytelling, characters and celeb comedian drop-ins. This week’s guests include Mary Lynn Rajskub, Barry Rothbart, Eliot Glazer, a special residency by Alison Stevenson and others. The comedy is free, but get there early for a seat. Full bar available.MUSIC: The Hammer Museum begins its Summer of Soulseries this week with Breakestra and KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole on Thursday at 7:30 pm. Dance under the stars and enjoy a happy hour with cash bar and DJ sets (beginning at 6:30 pm) and live music at 7:30 pm. The L.A.-based Breakestra brings its gumbo of funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop to bring a guaranteed good time. Park under the museum, $3 flat rate after 6 pm (cash only).
PERFORMANCE: Author and radio host Sandra Tsing Loh presents The B**** is Back: An All-Too Intimate Conversation at Santa Monica’s The Edye black box theater at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica from July 9-Aug. 2. The solo comedy show is “infused with Loh’s trademark honesty, candid voice and hilarity and is inspired by her memoir The Madwoman in the Volvo: My Year of Raging Hormones” (aka menopause). During the run, the venue will be transformed into a comedy nightclub, complete with a beer and
wine bar and cabaret-style tables. Tickets: $35-55.
FILM: The Old Pasadena Film Festival features 21 free screenings between Thursday through Aug. 1. The festival begins with the documentary Aluna (2012) about the Kogi tribe of Columbia and the interconnectedness of all life. The screening takes place at the Conscientious Projector at Armory Center for the Arts at 7 pm. A community discussion follows the screening. Other films in the festival feature a diverse mix, from West Side Story to Juno and Creature from the Black Lagoon. It ends on Aug. 1 with an outdoor screening of Barbarella.
MUSIC + DANCE: Sizzling Summer Nights returns to the Autry continues its Thursday night run through Aug. 13. From 6-9 pm, visitors can enjoy L.A.’s best salsa and Latin fusion bands. The evenings include free dance lessons with award-winning salsa instructor Enio Cordoba, food, drinks and spirits, access to museum galleries, a separate children's dance floor and more. The taco and drink bar opens at 6 pm and the music begins at 6:30 pm. The museum remains open until 8 pm. Tickets are free for Autry Members, $10 for nonmembers, $6 students and seniors (60+) and $4 for children ages 3-12. This week’s band is Boogaloo Assassins.
Related: Your Ultimate Guide to July
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
