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Not going to Coachella? No worries. Here are 20 of our favorite events happening right here in L.A. this weekend.
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
ALEX SOLIS: ICONS UNMASKED (Art)
Gallery1988 (West) holds an opening night reception for Alex Solis Icons Unmasked on Friday from 7-10 pm. The show features more than 100 pieces each portraying pop culture icons revealing the real characters behind the masks.
STAND UP FOR GIRLS (Comedy)
On Friday at 8 pm, there’s a Stand Up for Girls comedy show at the Hollywood Improv, featuring the stand-up comedy of Jamie Lee, Joe Sib, Bridget Phetasy, Pete Holmes, Mary Lynn Rajskub and John Mulaney, among others. All proceeds go toward the REALgirl Foundation (tax deductible), an organization that helps girls reach their highest potential.
¡ÓRALE! (Music + art)
Counter Culture Group, an SF-based music agency, presents a Chican@ event, ¡Órale! at Art Share LA on Friday at 8 pm. The night features live music and art. The music lineup includes: Lint Vaccine, Sin Color, The Golden Tongues and Alchemy. The featured visual artists are Art “Chicano Soul” Meza, June Alvarez and David Ramirez. Tickets: $7. All ages.
CHESTER BROWN (Graphic novel)
Chester Brown, who wrote Paying for It: A comic-strip memoir of being a john, is at Skylight Books on Friday night at 7:30 pm to discuss his new book, Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus (Drawn + Quarterly). The graphic novel continues Brown’s exploration of sex work by retelling nine stories from Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. “Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus forms a fascinating and startling thesis about biblical representations of prostitution.” Brown will read from and then discuss his work with Fiona Duncan, journalist and "Sex & Lives" columnist for Adult Magazine. NOIR CITY (Film noir fest)
L.A.’s longest-running film noir festival, now in its 18th year, returns to the Egyptian Theatre beginning on Friday for 10 days. Noir City: Hollywood features 21 films (all 35mm prints) with 11 of the titles not on DVD. The 1956 Argentine film The Bitter Stems (Los Tallos Amargos) opens the festival at 7:30 pm, followed by Ted Tetzlaff’s 1947 film Riffraff. An Argentine-themed reception will take place between the films. Tickets: $15 for opening night only.
PARTICULAR SHOW (Comedy)
On Friday at 9 pm, Andy Kindler's Particular Show returns to Nerdmelt with a spectacular lineup of comics: Thomas Middleditch, Jerrod Carmichael, Neil Hamburger, Puddles the Clown and others. Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 at the door.
THE ODD MARKET (Bazaar)
The Odd Market, an independent bazaar with more than 100 vendor booths, returns to the South Lawn of The Autry in Griffith Park on Friday night from 6-11 pm. There’s music to entertain and food available for purchase while you shop. Free admission. (It’ll be a perfect place to stop and chill while the 5 Freeway is jammed up for weekend.) Select museum galleries will be open from 6-9 pm.
SATURDAY, APRIL 16
HARRY POTTER ROLLER SKATING NIGHT (Roller skating)
The 5th Annual Harry Potter Roller Skating Night at Moonlight Rollerway Skating Rink in Glendale takes place from 8-11 pm on Saturday night. Presented by The Los Angeles Dumbledore’s Army, the family-friendly party includes music from the films, a costume contest, merchandise for sale and raffle prizes. Tickets $9.75 (no skating or bring your own) to $14.75.
BATES (Graffiti art)
Hobnob's Artist Series stops at Buckshot Gallery in Santa Monica to feature the work of renowned European street/graffiti artist Bates on Saturday from 7-10 pm. California Dreaming is his first U.S. solo show. RSVP for the show by texting #bates to 462662. ATLAS OBSCURA (Adventure)
Atlas Obscura—a field guide to odd and off-the-beaten path places—presents Obscura Day on April 16, with 15 “awe-inspiring events.” These guided adventures take place around L.A. and include: Behold the Art of Black Velvet Paintings: Experience the black velvet craze of the mid-1970s during an exclusive tour of Velveteria; Ruins of the White City and Inspiration Point: Hike to the ruins of the 'White City' on Echo Mountain with Modern Hiker’s Casey Schreiner; Retreat to Rockhaven Sanitarium: Stroll through a vacant sanitarium that was once home to Hollywood elite; and Murals of the Gabba Arts District: Zigzag through a labyrinth of vibrant murals in Historic Filipinotown with Cartwheel Art Tours' Cindy Schwarzstein. Most events are $20-$40. Registration required.
SUICIDEGIRLS (Burlesque)
SuicideGirls: Blackheart Burlesque Tour stops at the Teragram Ballroom on Saturday night, featuring an evening of alternative performance and music. “With striptease performances poking fun at Star Wars, Orange is the New Black, Donnie Darko, Clockwork Orange and more, this will be unlike and other Burlesque show on the planet.” 8 pm. General admission tickets: $26.
GREAT LA RIVER CLEANUP: LA GRAN LIMPIEZA (Community)
April is Earth Month, so what better way to contribute by signing up to help the Friends of the Los Angeles River’s 27th annual event, the Great LA River Cleanup. Storms washed a lot of trash into the channel, which all needs to be removed. Volunteer for this Saturday—or April 23 or 30—and choose from 15 sites along the course of the entire river.
DIM MAK TAKEOVER (Music + dance)
Dim Mak records presents an eclectic lineup of artists from their label for the Dim Mak Takeover at Exchange in DTLA from 10 pm on Saturday to 4 am Sunday. The night is headlined by a surprise special guest and includes performances by Henry Fong, Autoerotique, Max Styler, Reid Stefan, Panic City, Gitchii and other guests. In the downstairs room, dance to sounds from Dim Mak Tuesdays' throwback nights. The event is 21+ and dress code is strictly enforced. Tickets: $23.80.
RECORD STORE DAY (Shopping)
Get out and celebrate the indie record stores and vinyl culture on Saturday for the annual Record Store Day. There are a number of special releases, promotions, live music and events at various stores, including Eothen Alapatt (from Now Again and the creative director of J Dilla’s estate) doing a pop up at Rappcats (5636 York Blvd).
YEETHOVEN (Music)
Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, conducted by Yuga Cohler, is one of the oldest pre-professional training orchestras in the country. It features approximately 70 musicians, ages 15-25. On Saturday at the Aratani Theatre in DTLA, Cohler and the orchestra performs the concert The Great Music Series: Yeethoven that pairs music from Kanye West’s Yeezus with works by Beethoven, including the Egmont Overture, Symphony No. 5 (op. 67) and String Quartet No. 14 (op. 131). Free, but tickets are required. The tickets are first-come, first-serve at the box office starting at 6 pm.
HEAL THE BAY (Nature)
Heal the Bay hosts a Saturday of eco- and family-friendly activities at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, including a professional architecture sandcastle competition, beach cleanup, yoga (8:30-9:30 am) and surf lessons (9:30 am-noon), north of the pier. If you volunteer for the beach cleanup, you’ll get free admission to Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. The festivities end at 5 pm.
THE WHALING CLUB (Cocktail workshop)
The Whaling Club holds a Farmers Market Cocktail workshop in Mid-City (address given out at registration) on Saturday from 2-4 pm. The workshop teaches attendees to make three farmers market-inspired cocktails using a variety of seasonal fruits, herbs and spices. Tickets: $52.10.
SUNDAY, APRIL 17
PUPPET FESTIVAL (Family fest)
The Skirball’s fifth annual Puppet Festival takes place on Sunday from 10 am to 4:30 pm to celebrate the art of puppetry. There will be live music, art-making activities, and new and classic tales told through marionettes, shadow and full-body puppets and more. The puppeteers are coming from all over the country and the day will culminate in a grand procession of puppets. Advance tickets are sold-out, but tickets $7-10 may be available at the door on Sunday.
EROTIC FAN FICTION (Storytelling)
Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction, a comedy/storytelling show and podcast created and hosted by Bryan Cook, returns to The Virgil on Sunday night at 8 pm. The show’s being taped live for the Seeso program, ‘The Comedy Show Show.’ Listen as 10 comics write and perform erotic fan fiction pieces, based on their imagination or from audience suggestions. Guests/competitors include Moshe Kasher, Eliza Skinner, Ben Roy, Dave Hill, Ian Karmel, Guy Branum, Andres Dubouchet, Jackie Kashian and Solomon Georgio. Free. 21+.
AFTER DARK AT THE SECOND CITY (Talk Show + Comedy)
After Dark with Julian Clark at The Second City Hollywood is the next generation late night talk show. The show features jokes, sketches, digital shorts, a live band, celeb guests and conversation that touches on hot-button issues. After Dark is taped live in front of a studio audience and then broadcast online. Guests this week are Eliza Taylor (The 100) and Curtis Armstrong (Revenge of the Nerds). Tickets: $10 and include the show's after party, sponsored by Golden Road Brewing.
Want the 411 on additional events and happenings in LA? Follow @LAist or me (@christineziemba) on Twitter.
