April 17-23, 2008
IN THE STACKS
By Alfred Lee
The Richard J. Riordan Central Library is the center of information for Los Angeles, situated proudly amid skyscrapers downtown. On a given Sunday afternoon, it’s a quiet place to study, thumb through Flaubert, and listen to the loud, thumping sounds of punk rock at the Mark Taper Auditorium.
Wait – wha? Punk at the library? The auditorium has been host to moderated talks by authors and Nobel Prize winners, but this Sunday, two local bands – experimental/punk/noise compadres No Age and Mika Miko – will take the stage.
“[The auditorium] is far away from the study areas or the subject rooms,” says Olivian Cha, Arts/Music/Recreation/Rare Books librarian at the Central Library. Despite concerns, she assures CityBeat that people studying will be safe from the thrashing noises and doesn’t expect the fans in the auditorium to be too rowdy. “I’m not anticipating any noise complaints.”
Cha says that the concert at the 230-seat Mark Taper is the first time the LAPL has held a rock concert in any of its branches. It could hardly have picked a more fitting pair of bands to start with: As staples of nearby venue and DIY-epicenter the Smell, both Mika Miko and hipster crossover No Age are the faces of downtown’s resurgence as a rock music force.
“They are local L.A. bands that are willing to play at really eclectic venues for free,” Cha says admiringly. “They’re great and have a lot of energy.”
Cha hopes that the concert will lead not only to more such events, but will also
encourage people to come into the Central Library, especially its large music and arts department.
“The library has so much space, not just in the auditorium, but also in the rotunda where more low-key, acoustic bands would perform,” she says. “It’s a good opportunity for the Los Angeles Public Library to get a lot of younger people to be part of this culture, into the library, because we have a lot of great resources here.”
–Ed Carrasco
No Age and Mika Miko. Sun., 2 p.m. Free. Los Angeles Public Library, 630 W. Fifth St., downtown L.A. Info: (213) 228-7246.
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THIS WEEK IN THE CITY
THURSDAY 17
JUILLIARD TO SKID ROW
The only mental image most of us have of Steve Lopez is that ornery headshot for his L.A. Times column. He’ll likely be more personable at his Writers Bloc talk with Eva Marie Saint. The talk is in support of his latest book The Soloist, about a promising violinist who ended up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles – and hopefully a better read than Birds of Paradise,”the serialized collaborative novel he’s currently working on with participating readers of the Times (7:30 p.m.; $20; Writer’s Guild Theatre, 135 S. Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills; Townhall-la.org). If you don’t feel like shelling out 20 bucks, see him for free at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena tomorrow.
FRIDAY 18
REVOLUTIONARY MAPS
Alexis Bhagat makes the world of maps scintillating. Bhagat is one of the editors of An Atlas of Radical Cartography – having to do with activism via mapmaking – and the Atlas collects 10 maps and essays about social issues from globalization to the L.A. water cycle. Bhagat will examine some of the projects and discuss the politics of cartography in a presentation at the land-use-dedicated Farmlab. Noon. Free. Farmlab Public Salon, 1745 N. Spring St. #4, downtown L.A., (323) 226-1158. Farmlab.org.
SATURDAY 19
JUNGLE RUMBLE
(Sweet) science meets art at M + B Gallery’s opening reception tonight for The Rumble in the Jungle, an exhibit of photographs by Howard L. Bingham. Bingham chronicled the eight-week cultural event that was Muhammad Ali’s 1974 trip to Zaire, where he fought George Foreman for the heavyweight title. Ali would go on to visit ailing villages, kiss babies, and triumph as the only fighter to ever win by knockout against the favored and ferocious Foreman. 7-9 p.m. Free. M + B Gallery, 612 N. Almont Dr., West Hollywood, (310) 550-0050. Mbfala.com.
SUNDAY 20
FEEL GOOD DANCE
The L.A. Contemporary Dance Company is a homegrown success story, hatched in the halls of USC just a few years ago and now a full-fledged nonprofit dance company serving L.A. Latest production Modern Myths and Monsters will even feature two extra performances (April 17 and 24) exclusively for education and outreach groups. As for the general public, this is the first of two weekends of performances, with works by three area choreographers and a focus on the fantastic and mythological. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m. $20. Diavolo Dance Space, 616 N. Moulton Ave., downtown L.A. Info: (800) 838-3006 or Lacontemporarydance.org.
MONDAY 21
WHEN ELEPHANTS FLY
Dumbo, like Bambi, is one of those old-school Disneys where you go back and realize the message is a little more complicated than you remembered – sure, all the characters end up loving the little elephant who can fly, but only because the trick can be exploited by those cruel circus masters. Perhaps animation giant John Lasseter, of Pixar and the Toy Story franchise, can shed some light. He screens and talks about the film with Curtis Hanson, as part of the UCLA Archive’s “The Movie That Inspired Me” series, along with a selection of animated shorts. 7:30 p.m. $9. Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, (310) 206-8013. Cinema.ucla.edu.
TUESDAY 22
FLASHING LIGHTS
A week after big brother Jay-Z came through and filled the Hollywood Bowl, Kanye West is in town for two appearances at L.A. Live. Jay may be the better rapper, but this figures to be the show to go to. Part of the reason is that Kanye’s last album – the synth-crammed, Daft Punk-sampling, grand-gesturing Graduation – was his most arena-ready yet. The other is his supporting cast of Lupe Fiasco and the Pharrell Williams-led N.E.R.D. Oh, and Rihanna will be there, if that’s your kind of thing. Mon.-Tues., 7:30 p.m. $59.50 and up. Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 777 Chick Hearn Ct., downtown L.A., (213) 463-6030. Nokiatheatrelalive.com.
WEDNESDAY 23
HE’S NOT THERE
The first half of this year at the Skirball has been all Bob Dylan, from its 160-artifact “Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966” exhibit to its hosting of countless panel discussions and lectures that parse and poke at the wild-haired one’s legacy yet again. Oh yes, the songs: Tonight’s “Like a Complete Unknown” concert finds Zack de la Rocha, John Doe (of X), Lucinda Williams, Michael Franti and other musicians taking their turns to reinterpret the Dylan songbook. 8 p.m. $45. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A., (310) 440-4500. Skirball.org.
Published: 04/16/2008
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