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 Kris Baum |
Cultural Stimuli in LA
Issue 165: flickering flavor
There's something simultaneously comforting and romantic about the half-darkness of the cinema — people gathered together as anonymous, silent silhouettes following the promise of respite and fantasy. From nostalgic festivals to forward-looking fare, opportunities to connect with the flickering light of the projector are plentiful this week. Go old-school with a Sherlock Holmes double feature starring the incomparable Basil Rathbone, or take in a mini-fest of erotic Swedish films from the '60s and '70s. Meanwhile, you can check out all kinds of fresh-out-of-the-gate films at an ambitious festival of Polish cinema, catch the much-anticipated Nick Cave-penned Western The Proposition, or marvel at the collaborative fireworks of art-star spouses Matthew Barney and Björk. If music is closer to your heart, take in the innovative eight-piece hip-hop orchestra Breakestra, the harrowing weirdo-rock of Wilderness, or the hyper-literate ramblings of the Rock Bottom Remainders. Whatever you seek when the lights get low, find some fellow dreamers and spread it.
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flavorpill LA is an email magazine covering a hand-picked selection of music, art, and cultural events — delivered each Tuesday afternoon.
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For Women Who Love Color, Now Color Is Intense
Introducing HIP, High Intensity Pigments, an innovative new color technology from L'Oréal Paris that ensures that the color you see is the color you get. With an increased pigment load across all shades, HIP delivers a quicker color impact with a stronger color payoff. |
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Spotlight
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Way of the Worm
Here's your chance to prove that Angelenos do more than just watch movies all day. With children's books, avant-garde fiction, history, satire, self-help, and everything in between, the new releases and out-of-print treasures waiting at the LA Times Festival of Books make it a must for bookworms of every stripe.
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| Daily Updates |
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| FILM |
Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9
| when: |
Now through Thur 4.27 (5:15 & 8:30pm) |
| where: |
NuArt Theatre (11272 Santa Monica Blvd, 310.281.8223) map |
| price: |
$7.25-9.50 |
| links: |
Event Info | Drawing Restraint 9 |
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A labor of Matthew Barney and Björk's love, Drawing Restraint 9
is Barney's first major film since his epic Cremaster Cycle.
Commissioned by the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan, the
film enacts abstracted Japanese rituals aboard a whaling ship. Wrapped in
fur kimonos, the couple performs a tea ceremony before cutting each other
to pieces while liquid Vaseline floods the ship. The sharp, stylized
cinematography, glacial pace, oozing liquids, and sexual metaphors are
familiar from Cremaster, but Björk's quietly ethereal charisma
mixes up the familiar, and her haunting score is used to great effect
— particularly during the gory climax. (BR)
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| MUSIC: Brit Rock |
South w/ Something for Rockets
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Though often obscured by European chart-toppers like Keane and Snow Patrol, the boys in South would look just as good under the stadium lights. The trio's airy harmonies rival the Stone Roses, their fiery guitar work is just as infectious as Oasis or Blur, and they play the melancholia card as well as Coldplay and Travis combined. The band hits LA tonight in support of its upcoming release, Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars, a record sure to stake out territory all across the map. (EJ)
 When not busy rocking, South's lead guitarist, Jamie McDonald, is a diehard supporter of which football (er, soccer) club? The second and fifth correct responses each win a pair of tickets to this show.
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| ALSO ON TUE |
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LECTURE
Kaja Silverman: Photography by Other Means
Tue 4.25 (7pm) UCLA Hammer Museum (10899 Wilshire Blvd, 310.443.7000) map 
Event Info |
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One of contemporary art's greatest living superheroes, Gerhard Richter revitalizes modern painting by creating inspired photo-like pictures and then sweeping them into blurry abstractions. Tonight, Berkeley professor Kaja Silverman speaks on the art of analogy in Richter's work. (CG)
 
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FILM
The Proposition with Guy Pearce Q&A
Tue 4.25 (8pm) ArcLight Hollywood (6360 W Sunset Blvd, 323.464.4226) map $11
Event Info |
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Written by doomsday balladeer Nick Cave, this dark Australian Western follows a man (Guy Pearce) forced to hunt down his older brother in order to save his younger one. A Q&A with Pearce follows the film. (LLT)
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| MUSIC: Singer/Songwriter |
AM w/ Shanti and Ill Lit
| when: |
Wed 4.26 (7pm) |
| where: |
The Hotel Cafe (1623 1/2 N Cahuenga Blvd, 323.461.2040) map |
| price: |
$8 |
| links: |
Event Info | AM | Shanti |
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With all the buzz, it's hard to believe that New Orleans-born, LA-based singer/songwriter AM is only just now releasing his second album. The clarity of his acoustic pop garnered the singer's debut an avalanche of airtime both here and abroad, and his new record is sure to receive the same. AM is joined tonight by Ill Lit, whose tunes are wrapped in an added layer of banjo-based twang. Pixie-punk troubadour Shanti and deceptively sweet singer/songwriter Jay Nash round out a night of solid chair-grooving. (SND)
From which literary work was Ill Lit's name derived? The second, third, and fourth correct responses each win a pair of tickets to this show.
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| ALSO ON WED |
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FILM
Sherlock Holmes Double Feature
Wed 4.26 (7:30pm) UCLA's James Bridges Theater (405 Hilgard Ave, UCLA, 310.206.5388) map
Event Info |
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Basil Rathbone's portrayals of a modernized Sherlock Holmes are legendary. The violin-playing inspector shines tonight in The Scarlet Claw (1944) and The House of Fear (1945), screened in conjunction with a series exploring the intricacies of modern film restoration. (DRC)
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| DISCUSSION |
LA River Reborn: Environmental Justice and Social Responsibility
| when: |
Thur 4.27 (7:30pm) |
| where: |
Skirball Cultural Center (2701 Sepulveda Blvd, 310.440.4500) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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Though the Los Angeles River boasts more than 300 species of birds — not to mention salamanders, toads, and rabbits — it's still not the multi-use green space it could be. In LA River Reborn, artists such as Lane Barden, Helen and Newton Harrison, and John Humble examine LA's conflicted relationship with its river. Their photos and videos document the waterway's unique confluence of natural beauty, ornate bridges, concrete canyons, extravagant gang graffiti, and homeless encampments. Tonight, in conjunction with the exhibit, Skirball hosts an in-depth discussion of the many environmental and health issues related to the waterway. (DRC)
Note: LA River Reborn remains on display through Sun 9.3 (Gallery Hours).
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| ALSO ON THUR |
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DISCUSSION
Dialogue with Ann Magnuson
Thur 4.27 (7:30pm) Beyond Baroque (681 Venice Blvd, Venice, 310.305.8418) map $7
Event Info |
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Actress, singer, performance artist, and counterculture icon Ann Magnuson sings like an angel and tells jokes like a truck driver, but the subversive ideas on contemporary art, female sexual empowerment, and political activism that she discusses tonight are as serious as it gets. (SND)
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| DANCE |
Hysterica Dance Company: Rapture
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Having left her choreographic mark on the LA Opera, the Chicago Lyric, and the Boston Court Theatre, artistic director Kitty McNamee recently showcased her work at DanceBreak/NYC. Now, the rising star returns to LA to dissolve the boundaries between concert dance and pop culture. Rapture, a new piece, pairs inspired dance with music by Wham! and Kenny Rogers — not to mention its own driving electronic score. For the second half of the evening, McNamee hands the lead over to her company members for a set of interrelated shorts. (ASM)
In a kitsch-driven dream world, which Wham! song would you most like to hear Kenny Rogers perform and why? Our favorite response in 50 words or less wins a pair of tickets for the Fri 4.28 performance.
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| MUSIC: Indie Rock |
Wilderness w/ Parts & Labor
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For some showgoers, there's nothing more pleasing than having their concept of "music" smashed before their very eyes. Tonight's lineup at the Echo features two rock bands whose missions, it seems, are to mangle their genres to within an inch of their lives. NYC's Parts & Labor (previously lavished with Flavorpill praise) play searing, tuneful noise pop, and headliners Wilderness smoosh Explosions in the Sky-esque post-rock up against vocalist James Johnson's unearthly bellowing to bizarre (yet completely engrossing) effect.
(TG)
What kind of explosions inspired Explosions in the Sky's name? The first, fourth, and fifth correct responses each win a pair of tickets to this show.
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| ALSO ON FRI |
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DOCUMENTARY
The Beauty Academy of Kabul
Fri 4.28 - Thur 5.4 (schedule) NuArt Theatre (11272 Santa Monica Blvd, 310.281.8223) map $9.50
Event Info |
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In this arresting documentary, director Liz Mermin follows a group of American beauticians as they sojourn to post-Taliban Afghanistan to train local women in the finer points of femininity: hair, make-up, and self respect. (RS)
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MUSIC: Hip-Hop/Funk
Breakestra
Fri 4.28 (9pm) Terrace Restaurant (443 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, 626.796.3030) map $20 / $15 before 10:30pm
Terrace Restaurant |
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Eight-piece band Breakestra's genius is in their reclamation of the funk-filled beats of old-school hip-hop. The group's grooves hearken back to the days of James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone, but with the craftiness of the hip-hop era. (JCF)
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| FESTIVAL |
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
| when: |
Sat 4.29 (10am-6pm) & Sun 4.30 (10am-5pm) |
| where: |
UCLA campus map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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Free to the public, about 130,000 of whom flock to UCLA's quad each year, the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books offers outdoor festivities for sporty readers and indoor sessions for their agoraphobic brethren. Snatch up books that won't be in stores for months — if ever — or bask in the words of Frank McCourt as he shares literary advice (and a charming accent) with the crowd. Events range from staunch and serious to booger-baby friendly, so bookworms of every type are sure to abound. (RM)
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| FILM |
I Am Curious: Swedish Erotic Films
| when: |
Sat 4.29 & Sun 4.30 (schedule) |
| where: |
Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, 323.466.FILM) map |
| price: |
$9 per screening |
| links: |
Event Info |
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Back in the day, erotic movies included narratives driven by progressive sexual mores — themes that made them far more politically potent than today's mindless wham-bammers. Much has been made of the glory days of American pornography, but the Swedes were the true standard bearers, with films like Swedish Nymphet (1974), the story of a young psychologist working with nymphomaniac hippies. Other highlights in the I Am Curious series include explicit sex-education film The Language of Love (1969) and Thriller (1974) — a sexy action flick which features the precursors to Kill Bill's foxy assassins. (DRC)
Outline the way a current political issue could be poignantly portrayed in a contemporary porno. The most realistic response in 50 words or less wins a pair of tickets to this event.
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| PERFORMANCE |
826LA Benefit feat. the Rock Bottom Remainders
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If the LA Times Festival of Books doesn't satiate your hunger with its cornucopia of literary indulgences, gorge again on the authorial as the Rock Bottom Remainders perform a related benefit for 826LA — a Dave Eggers-founded organization that encourages kids and teens to write creatively. Literary elite including Amy Tan, Dave Barry, and Scott Turow throw down adaptations of oldies-but-goodies alongside guest musicians Craig Ferguson, Frank McCourt, and the Byrds' Roger McGuinn. The evening also includes a lively round of literary and world-issue debates. (LLT)
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| MUSIC: Latin Jazz |
Omar Sosa
| when: |
Sat 4.29 (9 & 11pm) |
| where: |
Temple Bar (1026 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, 310.393.6611) map |
| price: |
$15 |
| links: |
Event Info | Omar Sosa |
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A pianist, percussionist, composer, and producer all rolled into one, jazz star Omar Sosa hits LA with a brand-new quartet that fuses elements of hip-hop, African drum 'n bass, and the classic sound of Pee Wee Ellis on saxophone. After stints playing in Ecuador, Sosa has fashioned a unique take on Afro-Cuban jazz that is evident on his most recent offering, Mulatos, which was recently nominated for a Grammy. Like many in the long line of jazz artists interpreting the African diaspora, Sosa brandishes influences from the Caribbean, North Africa, and beyond. (SNS)
What was the name of Sosa's very first group? The fourth and fifth correct responses each win a pair of tickets to this show.
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| ALSO ON SAT |
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ART: Opening
Jiang Hu: 34 Contemporary Chinese Artists
Sat 4.29 (4-6pm) Roberts & Tilton Gallery (6150 Wilshire Blvd, 323.549.0223) map
Event Info |
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Jiang Hu is a mythic Chinese realm populated by magicians and outlaws. It's an apt reference point, then, for a show that sees internationally acclaimed curator Huang Zhuan invite 34 of China's finest contemporary artists to share their work. (CG)
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| DJ |
DEEP LA feat. Osunlade
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Osunlade's drum beats and smooth vocals spill gloriously across the dance floor, as he works afrobeat, jazz, soul, and house music into one intoxicating mix. This Sesame Street alum (he produced songs for the program) does Big Bird proud, showing off multicultural influences that include Latino and African traditions. And he has lots of friends, too — as a producer, he's worked with artists like Roy Ayers, Vivian Green, and Radiohead. LA gets a chance to show its multicultural colors tonight as Osunlade brings the mix to DEEP. If only Mr. Hooper were opening. (MT)
Which '80s choreographer-cum-one-hit-wonder worked with Osunlade at Sesame Street? The first three correct responses each win a pair of tickets to this show.
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| ALSO ON SUN |
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READING
Karen Finley: George and Martha
Sun 4.30 (6pm) UCLA Hammer Museum (10899 Wilshire Blvd, 310.443.7000) map
Event Info |
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Alt-culture goddess Karen Finley's new book is a fictional tale of sexual obsession starring George W. Bush and Martha Stewart. It might sound a little outlandish, but Finley uses the characters to explore the dark underbelly of American Puritanical hypocrisy. Oh, and she lampoons them, too. (SND)
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SPOKEN WORD
Tongue & Groove
Sun 4.30 (6:30-8pm) The Hotel Cafe (1623 1/2 N Cahuenga Blvd, 323.461.2040) map $5
Event Info |
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Tongue & Groove sets itself above the flood of monthly LA spoken-word events with an eclecticism and understated elegance. Tonight's installment features Slam Champ Pat Payne, Ellen Switkes, Tanya Frank, and music from Jacqueline Lord. (SND)
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| MUSIC: Electro Stomp |
The Presets
| when: |
Mon 5.1 (midnight) |
| where: |
Spaceland (1717 Silver Lake Blvd, 323.661.4380) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info | The Presets |
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The members of Australian duo the Presets may have met at the prestigious (and notoriously stuffy) Sydney Conservatorium of Music, but these boys hardly have dust on their sleeves. With sweaty live sets, unisex clothing, and a compelling focus on avant-garde art and video, the group's aesthetic evokes images of bands like the Pet Shop Boys and New Order. But it's the audible scars in the band's unlikely fusion of influences — from Nine Inch Nails to Soft Cell — that's the real attraction. With songs that are by turns melancholy and anthemic, acid house and bossa-nova synth, surreal and melodramatic, this wave of thunder from down under is anything but stuffy. (SND)
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| FILM |
7th Annual Polish Film Festival
| when: |
Thur 4.28 - Thur 5.4 (schedule) |
| where: |
Laemmle's Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Blvd, W Hollywood, 323.848.3500) map |
| price: |
$10 per screening |
| links: |
Event Info |
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The 7th Annual Polish Film Festival brings together a cadre of films by gifted directors, writers, and actors whose eclectic, cosmopolitan works fuse sophisticated cinematic sensibilities with a fierce love for Poland's storied history. The festival promises some 30+ features, documentaries, and shorts, as well as a number of notable in-person appearances. Expanded programming at LACMA and the Egyptian Theatre includes a comprehensive look at the groundbreaking oeuvre of Krzysztof Kieslowski, with iconic works like the Blue, Red, and White trilogy, The Double Life of Veronique (1991), and rare gems like 1979's Camera Buff. (SND)
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| ALSO ONGOING/UPCOMING |
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ART
Raymond Pettibon
Now through Sat 5.6 (Tue-Sat: 10am-6pm) Regen Projects (633 N Almont Dr, 310.276.5424) map
Event Info |
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Fresh off a big-league solo exhibition in New York, punky-graphics go-to man Raymond Pettibon returns to his native LA with a new exhibition of drawings in his signature color-splashed pen-and-ink style. (LLT)
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THEATRE
Bright Boy: The Passion of Robert McNamara
Now through Sun 5.7 (Fri-Sat: 8pm / Sun: 7pm) Electric Lodge (1416 Electric Ave, Venice, 310.306.1854) map $22
Event Info |
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Finding similarities between Iraq and Vietnam makes a nice pastime for critics of the current administration, but this allegorical comedic play pushes beyond the easy lure of political outrage. Using Robert McNamara, President Kennedy's Secretary of Defense, as a character, the show explores the choppy waters of paradox in the human heart. (SND)
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SMART AND SASSY: Southern California Consortium of Art Schools |
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It may sound like an ivory tower for academics, but the Southern California Consortium of Art Schools does more than just publish erudite manifestos. Bringing together students and faculty from the many world-class graduate art programs that populate the region — from Cal Arts to Otis, UCLA to Claremont — the group produces public symposia that feature invigorating lectures, discussions, and performances. This weekend at the Getty, Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley, Catherine Opie, and other well-known agitators investigate the Aesthetics of Risk. The real risk, though, is that the day's deep thoughts might get washed away by the afterparty fun, featuring DJ Eddie Ruscha (son of Ed)
and a concert by the inscrutably evolving avant-garde fave the Red Krayola. (SND)
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CD REVIEW: Rainer Maria, Catastrophe Keeps Us Together |
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Grunion Records
Released April 2006
$13.98 (Amazon)
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Catastrophe may be an impetus for individual bonds, but it's inaction that
leaves a band middling in the minor leagues. While Rainer Maria's careening,
post-emo indie tunes have kept them afloat for over a decade, sameness left
the band playing to similarly sized club crowds, while slightly poppier
openers (Rilo Kiley, for instance) passed right on by. With
Catastrophe Keeps Us Together, Rainer Maria reimagine themselves, not with a newfound
maturity, but by adopting the relaxed sensibility of a younger act. Gone
are overcomplicated song structures and the caws of guitarist
Kyle Fischer. In their place, songs like "Catastrophe" and "Clear and True"
deliver affecting, uptempo hooks and inspired, bouncy vocals. The
resemblance to Rilo Kiley is undeniable, but singer Caithlin De Marrais, a
longer-lived emo-ette, outclasses Jenny Lewis at every turn,
girl-next-dooring her way through each pop passage with the poise of an
inspired indie vet. (AP)
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STREAMS: Gomma |
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We check in with our friends at Gomma for new videos posted in support of Who Made Who's debut album, along with selections from neo-soulster Mocky and label boss/resident punk-funk-disco don Munk. These make welcome additions to the site's bursting cache of excellent streaming mixes from the likes of Thomas Barfod and In Flagranti, as well as Headman and Lindstrom. Exposing the Gomma stable to the wired masses is the recently released Dancing Galactic — an exclusive digital compilation available only on iTunes, featuring ten new tracks that include an acid-tinged Playgroup remix for the floor, assorted new material from label stalwarts such as Leroy Hanghofer, and a live performance from Who Made Who. (CJN)
Note: To access downloads from the Gomma homepage, click on "mixtapes/videos (games)" in the left-hand navigation, then on "mixtapes." The featured MP3s will appear on the right side of your screen.
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| Header Design: |
| Dregberry | Kris Baum |
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| Editors: |
| Drakkar Noir | Daniel R. Chamberlin | | Sex & candy | Shana Nys Dambrot | | Frangipani | Josh C. Forbes | | Fig | Jocelyn K. Glei | | Berry tangerine | Doug Levy | | Ginger | Sascha Lewis | | Bayberry | Mark Mangan | | Carnation | Colin J. Nagy | | Lilac | Andrew Phillips | | Wild honey | Lauren Ragland | | Jasmine | Bryony Roberts | | Juicy cherry | Jonathan Schultz |
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| ABOUT US |
| flavorpill LA is a free weekly mailer covering music, arts, and cultural events in Los Angeles. All listings are pure editorial, never paid advertisements. No money is accepted from venues, artists, or promoters. Read more about us, and spread it... |
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To let us know about an upcoming event that you think belongs here, please email us at events at least two weeks prior to the date.
To find out more about submitting cover art to run at the top of Flavorpill publications, go to flavorpill.net/design. |
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| Contributors: |
| Currant | Cole Godvin | | Lemon zest | Todd Goldstein | | Pumpkin pie | Elisa Jacobs | | Cinnamon | Ruth Marcus | | Pomegranate | Allen S. Moon | | Eucalyptus | Sam N. Shah | | Orchid rain | Rylan Strader | | Garden mum | Maya Thomas | | Vanilla | Laura L. Tiffany |
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Production: |
| Hollyberry | Casey Acierno | | Green Tea | Anjuli Ayer | | Vanilla cookie | Chelsea Bauch | | Freesia | Jessica Bauer-Greene | | Linden Honey | Morgan Croney | | Balsam & cedar | Josh Deeden | | Mint | Nate Bock | | Fig & rose | Amanda Ford | | Cherry | Daniel Gendelman | | Lavender | David Goodine | | Apricot | Sander-Martijn Milks | | Calla lily | David Morrow | | Blueberry | Leah Taylor |
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