July 3, 2008
By Ron Garmon
Thursday 3
Lovely and outrageous
Our sister paper, IE Weekly, says the warbler/chanteuse mixes Billie Holiday with Olive Oyl, and we can’t decide which of those two things we like better. She’s spent her life curating and excavating, in her words, “naughty, lovely, and obscure musical gems from the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s,” not out of a sense of kitsch – not because they’re “funny” – but because they’re wonderful. Accompanied by vintage short films curated by Jerry Beck, Janet Klein & Her Parlor Boys fulfill their monthly destiny at 8 p.m. at the Steve Allen Theater, in the Center for Inquiry-Los Angeles, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. $17. steveallentheater.com.
Friday 4
Reel Life
From Cinefamily’s press release, condensed:
1 p.m.: We light the grill. We begin the festivities. Early arrivers stake out good seats.
4 p.m.: Fourth of July Music Mystery Movie! From our own personal collection, a 35mm print of this rare ’70s Fourth of July musical celebration featuring tons of great country stars!
8:09 p.m.: Virtual Fireworks Show! According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the sun will set at 8:09 p.m. We wouldn’t want you to miss the fireworks, so we’ll be screening best-of videos from international fireworks competitions, experimental films, and enough jingoistic eye candy to make you oooh and aaah – in your BRAIN. Welcome to the future! Bring a picnic basket – we recommend a real one.
10 p.m.: Jabberwalk! The climax of the night is an incredibly rare full-length actual Mondo movie (a.k.a. Italian shockumentary), Jabberwalk a.k.a. This Is America a.k.a. Crazy Ridiculous American People, a skewered funhouse-mirror view of our culture through foreign eyes. “Ceremony for the awards in big-a bellisimo porno, factories for make-a the dildoes, cocaina churches, a wonderful family eating meal together of worm spaghetti. Abbodanza!” 1 p.m.-midnight. $12/$8 for members. Cinefamily at Silent Movie Theatre, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A. cinefamily.org.
Saturday 5
You Could Be dancing
Eight dancers, a composer who’s worked or recorded with a posse that ranges from John Cale to Yo-Yo Ma to Todd Rundgren, and a site-specific artist converge on L.A.’s waters with TaskForce. Multiple locations include the water court at California Plaza (an exquisite place to see dance), the Port of L.A., and Malibu’s shore, but today’s Liquid Landscapes site is under the Spring Street Bridge, at the Studio for Social Sculpture and at the neighboring Cornfield.
Stephan Koplowitz’s landscape-inspired pieces erupt all over town from June 29 to July 6. 3 p.m. 1745 North Spring St., L.A. Park behind the Farmlab building on Baker Street. www.taskforceproject.com.
Sunday 6
Radio, free concert
Get a whole fix of America the way it never was; start your morning with CityBeat columnist Chris Morris’s Watusi Rodeo on Indie 103.1 at 9 a.m., and then amble on over to Safari Sam’s for a long, lazy, sit-yer-ass-down Brunch Americana. Not only do you get all the buttermilk pancakes you can tuck inside your belly, but the Dust Devils and the incongruously angel-voiced Russell Scott (and His Red Hots) will croon away your hangover. Actually, they probably won’t. They’ll probably be really loud. You should have another drink instead. Noon-4 p.m. All ages. Free. Safari Sam’s, 5214 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 666-7267.
Monday 7
I can't help falling in loathe w/you
Claire and Josh Hate Themselves But Love Each Other. A tea-party/love comedy show where the bizarre and the mundane intertwine as two young people struggle to connect. But fear not, this is no What Happens in Vegas – the nature of self-worth, introspective deprecation, and philosophical musings all crash headlong into the goofy yet touching mores of traditional dating, and that gooey, sticky business often referred to as “love.” An existential roll in the hay for the accidental self-loather, with the distinct possibility of a culminating moment involving a metaphysical orgasm. 8 p.m. $10. Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., L.A., (323) 666-4268. –Daniel Stainkamp
Tuesday 8
Tovey to blaze bowl
In his debut as principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Bramwell Tovey kicks off the L.A. Phil’s 2008 Classical Tuesdays series with his own new work, Urban Runway (co-commissioned by the L.A. Phil and the New York Philharmonic), Strauss’s Don Juan, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Tovey, also a composer and tubaist, will mix the pigeon-shit grit and icy bustle of his New York roots with the warm freneticism and plastic wonder of his current milieu in Urban Runway, which may tend to cause the monocles to pop from the eye sockets of audience members more accustomed to the traditional classical fare of frilly decorum and powderpuff pomp with intermittent ejaculations of “Well, I never!” Also that Thurston Howell laugh. 8 p.m. Tickets available at Hollywoodbowl.com/tickets. The Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, (323) 850-2000. –DS
Wednesday 9
Scene + heard
Gas up the Vespa, grab a rudeboy, and put Quadrophenia on for another spin: It’s a Mods & Rockers doubleheader. First up is Athens, GA. – Inside Out. The 1987 Tony Gayton documentary covers the once quintessential college town music scene, with interviews and performance footage from R.E.M., the B-52s, Love Tractor and more. Following is Two Headed Cow, Gayton’s take on psychobilly concern the Flat Duo Jets. The flick is most notable (to us) for the yak-yak-yak of Jack White, Exene Cervenka, Cat Power, Mojo Nixon and a cavalcade of stars. 7:30 p.m. $7-$10. 6712 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. Tickets available at fandango.com.
Published: 07/02/2008
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT
