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Here are 23 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.
MONDAY, OCT. 20
ART TALK: On Monday at 7 pm, there’s an exhibition walk-through: Haunted Screens: German Cinema in the 1920s with the exhibition designers Amy Murphy and Michael Maltzan. They’ll discuss the installation design that was “inspired by the dramatic uses of space in films of the period.” At LACMA, Art of the Americas Building, Level 2. The program is free, but RSVP required.
TALK: Live Talks L.A. is at the Aero Theatre on Monday for An Evening with Alan Cumming at 7:30 pm. The Scottish actor will talk about his 30-year film, TV and stage career as well as his new memoir Not My Father's Son. He’s currently starring on Broadway as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret (a role for which he’s already earned a Tony) and just wrapped on the TV hit The Good Wife. Tickets: $20; $30 (reserved seats); $43 Alan Cumming’s memoir + reserved block of seats; and $95 Pre-event reception (6:30-7:30pm) + reserved seats + book.
BOOK TALK: On Monday at 7 pm, Book Soup presents Aerosmith’s Joe Perry who signs his autobiography Rocks: My Life In & Out of Aerosmith. Perry writes about various parts of his life, including how he idolized Jacques Cousteau and built his own diving rig to explore a local lake growing up in Massachusetts. But then he learned about guitars and rock and roll from some neighborhood kids, and the rest is history: “What happened over the next forty-five years has become the stuff of legend: the knockdown, drag-out, band-splintering fights; the drugs, the booze, the rehab; the packed arenas and timeless hits; the reconciliations and the comebacks.”
VEGAN EATS: Mohawk Bend continues its Authors Worth Celebrating series with the Thug Kitchen duo prepping a plant-based four-course meal. 6:30pm. $35. RSVPs / tickets required: authors@mohawk.la.
DESIGN LECTURE: Saul Bass, the great Oscar-winning graphic designer known for his motion picture title sequences and film posters (Psycho, Anatomy of a Murder and more) is the subject of an upcoming book by Academy Film Scholar Jan-Christopher Horak. On Monday at 7:30 pm at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood, Horak, the director of UCLA’s Film & Television Archive, presents a lecture on Bass’s influences,aesthetic and his ability to infuse his work with high art modernism raised the sophistication of Hollywood films and advertising.” Free, but reservations required.
TUESDAY, OCT. 21
[Slightly NSFW music video.]
MUSIC: Red Bull Sound Select Presents: Los Angeles is a series that presents a bill of established and local, up-and-coming acts. On Tuesday at the Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice Beach, Red Bull presents headliner Hanni El Khatib with rising local artists Hindu Pirates. Dan Wilcox of KCRW hosts and spins tunes throughout the night. The show is 21+ and tickets are $3 for those who RSVP by 6 pm on Tuesday (up to capacity), and $12 at the door without an RSVP. All proceeds going back to support the opening band.
BOOK TALK: McSweeney’s was founded by author Dave Eggers in 1998, and since then has become much more than a magazine and book publisher. It’s also a community organizer, a literacy center and finds ways to make education and reading fun. McSweeney’s executive editor Jordan Bass is at the Hammer for the Some Favorite Writers series on Tuesday and is joined by writer Kevin Moffett, 826LA executive director Joel Arquillos and author Mona Simpson (who curates the series). 7:30 pm. Free.
COMEDY:: Stand-up comedian Wyatt Cenac kicks off his U.S. comedy tour—Wyatt Cenac Live in Brooklyn in ___(insert city name here)___—in L.A. on Tuesday at Largo. He’s also celebrating the debut of his second comedy special Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn on Netflix as well as the release of 1,000 limited-edition vinyl LP of the same name (both of which are also released on Tuesday). Doors at Largo at 7 pm and the show is at 8:30 pm. Tickets: $30.
STORY: The Moth storytelling series is at Los Globos on Tuesday with storytellers spinning tales on “accident(s)." Anyone can toss their hat into the ring for a chance to be selected. All you have to do is prep a 5-minute story about unexpected mishaps and unplanned occurrences. No notes and no standup. Doors and storytelling signups at 7 p.m. and tales begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $8 at the door, $16 in advance (guaranteed admission). Hosted by Brian Finkelstein. The venue is 21+.
COMEDY: Comedian Mike Glazer’s books are full of short stories and social experiments that he performed around L.A. At the UCB Theatre on Tuesday at 9:30 pm, Glazer brings back his show Trueth, adapting some of those social experiments to a live comedy show and brings with him a cast that includes classical violinist Chris Woods (American Idol), break-dancer Chuck Maa (America’s Best Dance Crew), character actor Lisa Laureta (OWN) and director Adam McCabe (UCB’s Bangarang!). Tickets: $5.
BOOK TALK: On Tuesday at 7 pm at Book Soup, author Dan Jones discusses and signs The War of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors. He explores the history of the English crown, focusing on the two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty who fought to the death for the right to rule. The Plantagenets were finally replaced by the Tudors to rule England.
WRITING TALK: The Writer’s Guild Foundation presents its Genre Smash! program at NerdMelt on Tuesday at 7 pm, featuring X-Files creator Chris Carter. Carter will talk about one of our favorite shows of all time—the X-Files—which helped make sci-fi accessible to the masses. Tickets: $15.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22
BOOK LAUNCH: Nicole Miller in WeHo hosts a book launch for Natasha McCrea’s Evolution of a Love Addict: A Love Affair Between the Pages on Wednesday from 6-9 pm. The book is a compilation of poems that inspired the one-woman show Evolution of a Love Addict. Live readings by actor and director Ted Lange and singer/songwriter CJ Emmons and others. Light appetizers and champagne reception. To attend, please RSVP at info@evolutionofaloveaddict.com.
FILM FESTIVAL: The Pasadena Chapter of United Nations Association holds its 4th Annual UNA Pasadena Film Festival on Oct. 22-23 in celebration of October 24th: UN Day & World Polio Day. The festival includes an opening night prescreening reception, with filmmakers at Red White+ Bluezz and screenings at Laemmle Playhouse 7 Theatre in Pasadena. The “moving and uplifting” films include both long and short documentaries from California, Haiti, India, Israel, southern Africa and others. Panel discussions throughout the festival, too. Festival screening tickets: $12.50. Filmmaker reception at 5:30 pm on Wednesday: $25.
ART: Regen Projects presents the first solo exhibition featuring the collaborative work of Lizzie Fitch / Ryan Trecartin. The reception on Wednesday from 6-8 pm opens the duo’s latest work, which is built around a multichannel movie, highlighting “the current evolution of the artists' signature sculptural theaters and their continuing manipulation of the possible forms of the movie viewing experience.” The majority of the work was filmed at the former Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard. The installation will remain on view through Nov. 26.
LIT CRAWL: Literature hits the streets on Wednesday duringLit Crawl L.A., traversing the North Hollywood Arts District with three rounds of events throughout the district at 7 pm, 8 pm and 9 pm. The night gives us a chance to eat, explore and listen to readings and performances by of L.A.’s diverse writing community. More than 170 writers/organizations— including the Shades & Shadows, Tongue & Groove, Wicked Lit, 826 LA, Dirty Laundry Lit, Red Hen Press, Black Clock—present work at more than 30 venues in NoHo. The closing party begins at 10 pm at the Federal Bar. And don’t forget, the whole event is easy to get to from the Metro's NoHo stop. Free.
THURSDAY, OCT. 23
MUSIC: Viceroy Santa Monica launches House Sessions, a free music discovery series on Thursday night (curated by BalconyTV Los Angeles and House Brewing Co.). Sit poolside while listening to a new showcase of indie music talent. Kicking off the series is headliner Maudlin Strangers, the solo project of Jake Hays. Opening for Maudlin Strangers is Canadian singer Geneviève Bellemare. $10 cocktail specials. Doors at 7:30 pm, music at 8 pm.
MUSIC TALK: Musician, producer and engineer, Daniel Lanois is at The Grammy Museum on Thursday for The Drop at 8 pm. Lanois will talk about his career as Brian Eno’s well-known protégé and recording landmark albums for U2 and Peter Gabriel. He’ll also discuss his new album Flesh And Machine, due out next week. In addition to the talk, there will be a Q&A and performance. Tickets: $25.
ART: The Skirball opens the new exhibition Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933-1950. The works explore how the “experiences of German-speaking exiles and émigrés who fled Nazi Europe—many of them Jews—influenced the classic films of Hollywood’s Golden Age,” including Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, Casablanca and Ninotchka. The show remains on view through March 1, 2015. General admission: $10, $7 seniors and full-time students. The center offers free admission on Thursdays.
COMEDY+MOVIES: Celebrate movie monsters at Bigfoot Lodge East on Thursday with theSupercut Show. Riff on clips from some of the most out-there B movies for fun and prizes. There’s also a B Movie Maniac costume contest, and DJ Headshot spins the tunes. 9 pm. No cover. 21+.
PINK PONG + MUSIC: The Standard in DTLA has a pair of cool events on Thursday night, beginning with Pink Pong at SPiN, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. The evening, held in collaboration with Barbells for Boobs and Keep A Breast, offers unlimited ping pong for $10 and drink specials. At 9 pm, Standard Soundsbegins on the Rooftop with the UK-based duo Psychemagik. Please RSVP for the rooftop event at DowntownLARSVP@StandardHotels.com.
Studio Bancs opens Culture Pop III on Thursday.
ART: Studio Bancs in Culver City continues its Culture Pop series, a mixed media collaborative art and installation event, on Thursday at 8-11:30 pm. Limited-edition works by Coli, DonkeeBoy, Anaïs Barajas and Blake Byers. Culture Pop is free to the Public with an RSVP: rsvp@studiobancs.com.
ART: Daniel Rolnik Gallery in Santa Monica opens its second exhibition on Thursday night with a reception from 7-midnight. The group show Pumpkin Pie features dozens of artists including Albert Reyes, Alden Marin, Alisa Yang, Bradford J. Salamon, Chelsea Bayouth, Daniel Rolnik, Darcy Yates, David Carlson, Diane Silver, Erik Flores, Hollis Hart, Isabelle Alford-Lago, James Van Arsdale, Jason Hill, Kevin Russ, Kimberly Hahn, Mark Hanauer, Megan LeMaster, Miles Lewis, Miles Regis, Nancy Barry, Nancy LeMay, Orson Oblowitz, Peter Opheim, Poppy Lawman, Rainer Hosch, Robin VanValkenburgh, Ryan McIntosh, Susan Feldman, Tim Kerr, Tony Clough, Trace Mendoza, Walt Gorecki, XVALA, and more...
Related: October Events Guide: 20 of Our Favorite Events in L.A.
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
