Here’s 20 of our favorite events happening in L.A. this weekend. Check out our April Guide for other suggestions, too.
FRIDAY, APRIL 8
SAGE VAUGHN + JEREMY SHOCKLEY (Art)
Slow Culture Gallery presents the exhibition Just Tell Me You’re a Dream Chaser, featuring works by Sage Vaughn and Jeremy Shockley. It’s Vaughn’s first L.A. painting exhibition in more than a decade and the first for Jeremy Shockley. The opening reception is on Friday from 7-10 pm. The works will remain on view through May 7.
TAKE ME OUT TO THE MOVIES (Outdoor Movie Screenings)
The Skirball begins a new outdoor* film screening series on Friday night with The Sandlot at 8:30 pm. Take Me Out to the Movies is a baseball-themed series that coincides with the newly opened exhibitions, Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American and The Unauthorized History of Baseball in 100-Odd Paintings: The Art of Ben Sakoguchi. Hot dogs, Cracker Jack and other stadium snacks. Baseball attire is encouraged; and there will be games, photobooth, music and more. The museum opens at 6:30 pm. Tickets: $10, $8 Skirball Members, $6 students and children 2-12. The ticket purchase includes museum admission. *The festivities will be moved inside in case of rain.
REUNITED! (Comedy)
Reunited!is a live comedy show at The Hollywood Improv that brings together the casts of beloved sitcoms for in-depth panel discussions, Q & A sessions and table-reads of classic scenes. But there’s a catch: These shows are fictitious, completely fabricated by hosts/show-creators Josh Androsky and Bryan Cook. To make things even more fun for the panelists—none of them have a clue about the show on which they “starred.” The April show, held on Friday at 8 pm, features Baron Vaughn, Hampton Yount and James Urbaniak. Tickets: $5. 21+.
LA VOIX HUMAINE (Opera)
Long Beach Opera presents La Voix Humaine, an opera about unrequited love written in 1959 by Francis Poulenc and based on the play by Jean Cocteau. Performed in English—and staged this time at a Long Beach nightclub, The Federal Bar—Suzan Hanson sings the role of Elle “as she makes a final phone call to the man who kept her as a mistress, but who is now moving on, leaving her alone and distraught.” There are tickets left for Friday’s performance at 7 pm. Single tickets: $67 to $137.
TELL ME I’M PRETTY (Comedy + Performance)
On Friday night at 7:30 pm, Tell Me I’m Pretty, a comedy/music/spoken word show by Joshua Silverstein has its official world premiere at Bootleg Theatre. Directed by Diana Wyenn, Silverstein uses “beatboxing, spoken word and hip hop to tackle major issues like race, gender, and poverty in America.” Tell Me I’m Pretty runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm through May 7.
B)i(G FIRE (Comedy + camping)
B)i(G FIRE festival is LA's first overnight comedy festival that brings comedy, art, music, the outdoors and camping together. There are several stages featuring 63 acts doing improv, sketch comedy, and stand up with installations and performances happening around the festival, too. It all takes place at East Walker Ranch in Santa Clarita. Tickets: $20-$30 and parking is $5 per car.
DON’T TELL MY MOTHER (Storytelling)
The storytelling show Don't Tell My Mother presents its Spring Break Show on Friday at Busby’s East. The lineup includes Angela Kinsey (The Office); Carlease Burke (NBC’s new comedy, Crowded); Lori Alan (SpongeBob SquarePants); comic Jenna Brister (Stand Up Girls) and Nikki Levy (DreamworksTV) telling stories that mom should never hear. Music by Abby and The Myth. Bar, food menu and party begins at 7 pm and the storytelling begins at 8 pm. Tickets: $16-$20.
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
THE RESIDENTS (Film + Music)
The mysterious avant-garde art rock collective, The Residents, performs its latest live show Shadowland on Saturday at 9 pm at the Regent Theatre in DTLA. For more than four decades, the Residents have been performing multimedia experimental music under the cover of anonymity (eyeball masks and top hats are signature). Saturday’s concert is preceded by screening of the new documentary Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents, in which director Don Hardy and his crew got access to the group’s archives and world tour. Tickets: $28 for film and concert; $22 for concert only. 6 pm. 18+. [The film also opens at Arena Screen in Hollywood on Friday night at 10:55 pm with Hardy and “special guests” in tow. Tickets: $12.]
NERDIST ASSEMBLY (Comedy)
The Nerdist School’s 2nd Annual Assembly—a comedy fest/extravaganza—takes place on Saturday from noon to midnight featuring Nerdist sketch and improv house teams and other teams from around L.A.’s comedy scene. Performers on the schedule include the Harvard Sailing Team, Opening Night, Big Black Car, Ms. Jackson and Hamiltunes—the karaoke show dedicated to songs from the Broadway musical, Hamilton. Food trucks, including The Lobos Truck, Steamy Bun Truck and The Pudding Truck, will be around throughout the day and the Assembly includes an after-party. The event is $5 per hour at the door, but free for the entire day if you pre-register.
RE CREO SUPPER CLUB (Food)
Re Creo Supper Club, a private dining event hosted by Chef Jean Valcarcel (Mo-Chica) and Gabriel Cappelli (Saint Martha, The Dressing Room), presents an adventurous dinner at a secret DTLA location. The night's theme, The Foodture is Now, presents courses that are part gourmand’s delight and part gastronomical experiment. The evening explores technology’s influence on food. Seats at the dinner are available to the public for a suggested donation of $125.
SIMPLY DIVINE (Food fest fundraiser)
Los Angeles LGBT Center presents its annual food event Simply diVine on Saturday at McCadden Place from 5-9 pm. Sample food and drinks from L.A.’s hot spots including Connie & Ted’s, POT, Sotto, Leona, Gracias Madre, Viviane, RAO’s, Terrine, Republic, Mud Hen Tavern and others, while supporting the Center’s programs and services, which provide more than 100,000 free meals to LGBT homeless youth and low-income seniors each year. Tickets: $125-$500.
TRAILER: The Complete Metropolis from Cinefamily on Vimeo.
METROPOLIS (Silent film)
Cinefamily screens a restored DCP version of Fritz Lang’s 1927 futurist classic Metropolis on Saturday at 1 pm. After the film’s Berlin premiere, the film was cut down for American audiences (14 reels to seven), which changed the story. From Cinefamily: “Lost bits and pieces surfaced over the years, but large portions of the film remained lost-until 2008, when curator Paula Felix-Didier and archivist Fernando Pena found a 16mm safety reduction negative of the uncut Metropolis in the archives of the Museo Del Cine, in Buenos Aires. Containing almost all of the missing material, this discovery -- the film historian's Dead Sea Scrolls or Rosetta Stone--served as a blueprint for a multinational restoration team. The result is a historic filmic event, and the closest you'll ever get to seeing the Metropolis, just as Lang intended.” There is no live accompaniment at this screening—just the film, and that’s more than enough for us. Tickets: $12.
LA REBELS (Art)
Project Gallery in Chinatown holds an opening reception for LA Rebels on Saturday night from 7-10 pm. The exhibition is a collection of photographs from L.A.’s street and music scene from music photographer Janette Beckman. The show also includes Beckman’s collaboration with graffiti artists Cey Adams, Revolt, Jules Muck, Jester, Zephyr, Morning Breath and others. The works will remain on view through May 21.
ADOPT A BUTTERFLY (Nature + shopping)
Adopt a Butterfly brings its live butterfly conservatory to the Westfield Santa Anita mall this weekend through May 1. Visitors will have a chance to interact with live butterflies, take a guided tour that teaches the science behind the anatomy of butterflies, their metamorphic life cycle and important role in ecosystems. General admission is $6 per adult and $5 per child (children under the age of 2 are free with an adult ticket).
HORRIBLE MOVIE NIGHT (Bad Movie + Comedy)
Horrible Movie Night returns to the NerdMelt showroom on Saturday night at 9 pm. Organizers screen the worst films ever made, and the audience is invited to roast the movie as it plays. The best one-liners will win prizes. Screening this time around is 2001's Seance, starring Corey Feldman and Adam West, which was never released commercially. Comedy from Kumail Nanjiani and Erin Darling with free popcorn, too. Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 at the door. 21+.
SUNDAY, APRIL 10
The Black Crystal Wolf Kids are holding their annual Coachella concert on Sunday night at Molly Malones. (Image: Courtesy of the BCWK)
BLACK CRYSTAL WOLF KIDS (Music)
The indie rock tribute band, the Black Crystal Wolf Kids, holds its annual “Tribute to Coachella” show at Molly Malone’s on Sunday night. The band will focus on songs from this year’s lineup as well as past festivals. Special Coachella guests may drop in with the band, so it’s guaranteed to be a great way to pump up for the next weekends. Also on the bill: Mars and the Massacre and openers Ugly Sweaters. Tickets: $10 at the door only.
MATTHEW BIANCANIELLO (Mixology)
Master mixologist Matthew Biancaniello holds a foraging and mixology event in Ojai on Sunday from 1:30-5:30 pm. Biancaniello and Ojai Herb Specialist Lanny Kaufer leads a group to forage the Cozy Dell Trailhead and Earthtrine Farm before touring Friend’s Ranch Pixie Orchard. The pixies and herbs will then be used in a mixology demo, followed by a cocktail and tapas reception at Azu Restaurant. Tickets: $75/person + processing fees.
REIGNING MEN (Fashion + Art)
LACMA opens the exhibition, Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015, on Sunday. The exhibit tries to dispel the corollary between “fashion” and “femininity” while tracing the cultural influences have shaped men’s fashion. The exhibition features 200 historical and contemporary pieces (shoes and hats included) drawn mostly from LACMA’s permanent collection. This is a specially ticketed exhibition. The show remains on view through Aug. 21.
THE BEST THING SINCE (Hip hop + spoken word)
#CultureFix and Mixed-Race Mixtape present The Best Thing Since…a new hip hop event series at Angel City Brewery. The first installment takes place on Sunday at 7 pm with the theme The Best Thing Since White Bread and Guacamole: Navigating Multiple Identities. The night begins with an open mic followed by performances by Omar Offendum, Medusa, Maya Jupiter and Dyalekt and ends with a dance party by DJ Ervin Arana. Suggested donation: $14 (but no one will be turned away for lack of funds).
LAUGHS FOR LIMBS (Comedy fundraiser)
The Steps of Faith Foundation helps provide prosthetic limbs for amputees in need and on Sunday, the organization is holding a Laughs for Limbs fundraiser at the Nerdist Showroom at 5 pm. Hosted by comedian Monique Madrid, performers include the improvised podcast group Superego, Kay Cannon (writer of the Pitch Perfect movies, Girl Boss), Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) and Danielle Perez (Jimmy Kimmel Live!). Tickets: $10.
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
