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DEC 2 - DEC 8
The world is coming to LA. Just step outside to go around the globe in seven days: sample today's urban London vibe courtesy Bugz in the Attic's Hoxton broken beat, the Scrawl Collective's writing on the wall, and Audio Bullys' hooligan house, or go old-school Anglo via acid-housemate Thomas Fehlmann. There's also Eurotronica galore, great Canadian hip hop (no, that's not a typo), and even Dutch and Hawaiian flavor. Closer to home, missives from African and Jewish Americans, as well as LA's innovative Latin-music underground, await you. The world's at your doorstep, so spread it. |
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Sharps Barber and Shop is the rally cry for young men who like to look and feel good, but don't care to primp. The anti-groomers at Sharps serve up high-tech shave gels, body washes, hair guck, and straight-edge shaves that keep a growing roster of rockers, bankers, and hipsters coming back for more. What's their secret? If we only knew.... |
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This week's flavor:
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| | Internationally celebrated photographer Mary Ellen Mark is one of America's greatest national treasures. Over the last 30 years she has traveled around the globe, masterfully documenting the essence of the human spirit with her incisive lens. Recently chosen by the readers of American Photo as the most influential female photographer of all time, Mary Ellen Mark has produced myriad books and exhibitions, including her most recent portrait series, Twins. Her work has graced the pages of LIFE, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vogue, to name a few. The Getty's Curator of Photography, Weston Naef, converses with Mark in the latest artist dialogue at the UCLA Hammer Museum. (SN)
  
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| | For those tired of hearing Eminem and 50 Cent constantly blasted over the radio waves, Sunday nights on KXLU have always offered a welcome refuge of stylistically diverse, independent beats. Mike Nardone's weekly radio show, We Came From Beyond, has been influencing the hip hop underground for 15 years, bringing groups like Jurassic 5 and Blackalicious to the masses. To celebrate, a selection of Nardone's loyal following of artists performs, including Dilated Peoples and the Visionaries. Catch the current crop of under-the-radar hip hop, and take solace in the fact that it will not include "In Da Club." (MG)
Note: This summer, Razor & Tie released We Came From Beyond, Vol. 2, a selection of cuts chosen by KXLU's Mike Nardone.
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| | Born from the peaceful poptronica of Micha Acher (the Notwist) and the unsettling vocals of Stefanie Bohm (Couch), Ms. John Soda received rave reviews for their soft collision of warm hums and hisses with electronic clicks and glitches on No P. or D. Ms. John Soda's label, Morr Music, has occasionally toed its own line too closely, sticking to self-consciously delicate sounds, but the new EP, While Talking, sheds the twee trappings. Jangling guitars and dirty bass lines may surprise old listeners, but Bohm's beguiling alto entices fans both new and old. Also playing are B. Fleischmann, Dntel, and Jel. (SC)
 Specifically where are the Notwist from? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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MUSIC: Rock en Español
Café Tacuba
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| when: | Tue 12.2 & Wed 12.3 (8pm) |
| where: | House of Blues Sunset Strip (8430 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, 323.848.5100) |
| price: | $30 |
| links: |
Event Info | Café Tacuba |
| | It is impossible to define Café Tacuba in just one word. They're a rock 'n roll band that combines the influences of their native Mexico and elements of punk, ska, and hip hop with a creative expertise you must see to truly believe. On stage, these styles combust into a lively musical delight thanks to lead singer Élfego Buendía, who jerks around like Iggy Pop, delivering lyrics in his signature gruff-but-tender manner. From ballads to punk anthems to psychedelic soundscapes, Café Tacuba take it all on in a show you're sure to remember. (MG)
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| | Southern belles Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor (aka Azure Ray) leave the comfort of Athens, Georgia to play this special show at the Troubadour. Fresh off their third album, Hold on Love, and a stellar collaboration with Moby on his 18, Azure Ray have begun mixing a little electronica into their Southern folk and sleepy tones. Expanding the boundaries of sonic loneliness, darkness, heartache, and loss, Azure Ray's heavenly harmonies make you swoon. As a bonus for old-school indie-rock aficionados, Crooked Fingers feature the gravelly vocals of ex-Archers of Loaf frontman Eric Bachman. (CW)
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| | A true pioneer of everything electronic, Swiss-born German icon Thomas Fehlmann makes a rare appearance. Highly anticipated by those in the tech-know, Fehlmann demonstrates his famous wizardry as a live performer. Fans of antiquated, experimental new wave and techno may remember him as a member of Palais Schaumburg and the Orb, dance music's highest standard of ambient. Under his own name and the Ready Made moniker, Fehlmann has produced and remixed for Kompakt, Mute, and Tresor, among countless others. Tonight, Berlin dub-master Daniel Mateo and Gudrun Gut, his Ocean Club Radio co-host, join him. (CFM)
On which Michael Mayer Kompakt mix does Thomas Fehlmann's "Gratis" appear? The first two correct answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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| | West London collective Bugz in the Attic meld elements of house, techno, breakbeat, funk, soul, and jazz into an amalgam most commonly known as broken beat. Across a range of productions for labels like 2000 Black, Bitasweet, and People, and with a wealth of remixes for the likes of Zero 7 and 4hero, the Bugz crew have made their mark with the most indelible of sonic Sharpies. Tonight, Bugz in the Attic's Daz I Kue and Orin Walters (aka Afronaught) drop the starkest funk, the deepest soul, and plenty of dubplates sure to keep even the hippest heads craning their necks for a peek at the white label. (PS)
Come up with a band name using Bugz in the Attic's "blank in the blank" construction. Our three favorite answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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| | As seen everywhere from 2000's Whitney Biennial to a traveling retrospective organized by the Walker Art Center, Dawoud Bey's work goes deep in its chronicles of African American and urban life. The depth of Bey's photography isn't surprising considering how close he is to his subjects: a significant aspect of his modus operandi is promoting those that might get left out of America's cultural mainstream. As a result, his photographs, which range from intimate portraits to documentary snaps of subjects caught in their environment, really resonate. (MD)
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| | We learned about this event from those dependable literary upstarts at McSweeney's, who note it's not "directly affiliated with these events, and has no control whatsoever over their content, quality, or drink prices." Well, we'll go on a limb for it, excepting the drink prices, of course. For one, this reading takes place at the venerable Cole's P.E. Buffet, where the French Dip Sandwich was invented — reason enough to go, really. But then there's the genius of Aimee Bender as well: her short story collection, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, and novel, An Invisible Sign of My Own, are American originals, confessionals of a dangerous mind. Together with ace local lit crit and fiction writer Ben Ehrenreich, this makes one dynamic literary yin-yang bomb. (MD)
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| | Despite having the worst name in all of popular music, Swollen Members make surprisingly intense underground hip hop. Hailing from Canada and the mighty Battle Axe label, the Members bring an intense, almost psychedelic mind elevation to their indie-fied beats, despite a wide-eyed power that's anything but blunted. They're accompanied tonight by some of the best indie rappers around, including the heavy-mental Styles of Beyond (who've got one of the most energetic shows around), High & Mighty (responsible for great funky 12-inches like "B-Boy Document"), and Cage, the white b-boy even more screwed-up than Eminem. (MD)
What's the worst band name of all time? The two most groan-inducing answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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MULTIMEDIA
Popomatic: Welcome to the Plastic Factory
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| when: | Fri 12.5 (8pm) |
| where: | Popomatic Downtown (1142 E 11th St, Downtown, 213.596.5746) |
| price: |  FREE |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | Popomatic is a great contender in the search for the ideal fusion of art, music, and fashion in LA. With both Downtown and Hollywood galleries, Popomatic has the goods to deliver, and its monthly first-Friday event, Welcome to the Plastic Factory, proves it. This holiday event features Whitey Flagg's works on paper and the paintings of Larry D. Edwards. DJs Flem and Lady Lyric sweeten the air for your listening pleasure. The space itself is a studio with over 2,500 square feet in which to appreciate art, groove, sip drinks, and meet like-minded Angelenos. (JF)
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| | Local hero of every generation's liberal-minded dreamers (or at least those still crazy enough to think art can change the world), Robbie Conal is arguably America's most important public artist. Almost anyone who has ever left the house has seen his incisive, expressively drawn, deeply hilarious yet deadly serious political lampooneries. Artburn, the lovely, reasonably priced book from which Conal reads tonight, compiles decades of his seminal, grass-roots AgitProp. (SND)
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| | If ever an actress' face was born to represent the enigmatic, classic painting Girl with a Pearl Earring by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer, it is Scarlett Johansson's. The ingénue, who was last seen setting Bill Murray's heart ablaze in Lost in Translation, sucks Colin Firth's Vermeer into her magical orbit in this Peter Webber-directed film, set for release on December 12. Catch this pre-release screening of the libidinous and gorgeously shot film based on Tracy Chevalier's celebrated 1999 novel at the recently restored Egyptian Theatre. (SE)
In the third installment of which popular holiday-themed movie did Scarlett Johansson appear in 1997? The third correct answer wins a pair of tickets to this event.
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| | Jennifer Wolf wears two hats, and this night simultaneously celebrates both. For several years in Venice, she has operated the Sandbox, a gem of a gallery that closes after this show. Don't worry, the closing is voluntary, as Ms. Wolf requires more time to dedicate to her other, more important hat: her own paintings, currently on display. These are gorgeous abstractions made of pigments she grinds herself using local rocks and mineral soils. Luminous and richly textured, they are both poetic and earthy, and they deserve her, and our, full attention. (SND)
Note: The exhibition runs through Sat 12.27. The gallery is open on Saturdays (1-5pm).
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MULTIMEDIA
Create:Fixate's Optical Lounge & Audio Lab
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| when: | Sat 12.6 (7pm-2am) |
| where: | 8601 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills (9th Fl, 323.466.5141) |
| price: | $5 before 10pm / $7 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | In the city that practically defines short attention spans, Create:Fixate is becoming a standout in the multimedia scene. Founder Michelle Berc presents the second anniversary and tenth installment of this bimonthly celebration of music and art, the Optical Lounge & Audio Lab, in a Beverly Hills space that
boasts a beautiful view of the city. A roster of 26 artists show their work, including David Gray, Dafne Nesti, Jason Macaya, and Andrew Einhorn. Audio labsters Liza Richardson of KCRW, Frosty of dublab (and flavorpill), Polyrhythmic, experimental drum 'n bass don Pieter K, and RD of ELM Conceptions enhance the visuals, as do spoken-word outfit PoetS of the Round Table. The event also features live painting, so you can witness art in progress. (JF)
What form of media do Create:Fixate's events lack? The two most convincing answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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| | Vice and XLARGE, those temples of all things irreverent and fashionable, are having their holiday fiesta, and it's accordingly a corker. Headlining the live scenario are the mysterious Dengue Fever, who beguile any room with their swirling, jazzy Asiatronica. It's the DJ lineup, however, that's most impeccable, with sets from the always funky Firecracker crew and DJ Swamp, who's as much an entertainer as he is a turntablist. Swamp — who's won many a scratching competition and served as Beck's spin-master general, in addition to making twisted records of his own — has been known to set his vinyl aflame at the climax of his sets. Burn, baby, burn is what we say. (MD)
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DISCUSSION
A Roly-Poly Conversation on the Wherefore and How-So of Eugenia Butler's Art
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| when: | Sun 12.7 (3pm) |
| where: | Otis College, Ben Maltz Gallery (9045 Lincoln Blvd, Westchester, 310.665.6905) |
| price: | FREE |
| links: |
Event Info | Eugenia Butler |
| | Eugenia Butler has been a major figure in modern art for more than 35 years, as celebrated in the current exhibition Arc of an Idea: Chasing the Invisible at the Otis College of Art & Design. Butler became known in the '60s and '70s for her seminal contributions to the burgeoning arena of LA conceptual art. Her most celebrated work is language-based, blurring the line between representation and abstraction by straddling different modes of perception. Butler notably combines scientific and visual approaches, demonstrating the timelessness of even the most difficult idea once it's disguised as a beautiful object. In conjunction with the show, Butler signs books and participates in a discussion with the audience. (SND)
Note: The Eugenia Butler exhibition runs Tuesday through Saturday (10am-5pm) until Sat 12.13.
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CONFERENCE
The Next Generation of Jewish American Writing
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| when: | Sun 12.7 (7pm) |
| where: | Skirball Cultural Center (2701 Sepulveda Blvd, 310.335.0917) |
| price: | $15 |
| links: |
Event Info |
| | David Ulin, celebrated professor/writer and the editor of Another City: Writing from Los Angeles and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, moderates this reading and discussion about contemporary Jewish American writing. Ulin knows his stuff, as do participants like Michael Tolkin (novelist/screenwriter behind such edgy works as The Rapture, The New Age, and The Player), but discovering what the "next generation" of the event's title might bring excites us most about this essential wordfest. (MD)
Who's the most important Jewish writer? The five most compelling answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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| | Finally, a bill that reflects the kaleidoscopic sound of urban LA. Ozomatli's last album was called Embrace the Chaos, and that's what they do. A big band with a lot of influences, this local collective, at times led by turntablist supreme Cut Chemist, fuses Latin jazz and other border musics with hip hop and funk for an infectious block party vibe with a brain. Quetzal follow a similar path: another expansive ensemble mixing jazzy soul with Mexican traditional music, salsa, rock, and a refreshing social consciousness. Go Betty Go erase any thought of the Donnas with their adventurous punk. Made up of four young Mexican girls from Glendale, they merge traditional adolescent punk with their Latin heritage for a sound that's both rip-roaring and reflective. Not your average skate betties, Go Betty Go are one of LA's most discussed new bands. (MD)
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| | In the beginning there was house. Then hip house. Then deep house. Then hard house, microhouse, and the list goes on. As for the Audio Bullys, they make "hooligan house." Like Basement Jaxx remixed by Guy Ritchie, this UK duo pick up where the Streets leave off, dropping humorously laddish narratives with appropriately laddish cadences on their debut album, Ego War. It's the new sound of urban England — all vital, blurred colors and cultures. Opening is George Sarah, the eclectic local electronicist whose startling lyrical tapestries blend techy and organic sonics. (MD)
Who is Guy Ritchie's ultra-famous wife? The third and sixth correct answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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| | Brand-new gallery the Lab 101 and pop-shock mag Vice present the first-ever US show for the UK's Scrawl Collective, otherwise known as painters Will Barras, Matt Sewell, Al Murphy, Nick Walker, Steff Plaetz, Lucy McLauchlan, Cat, Phlash, and Mr. Jago. The collective, known for its large-scale paintings and Scrawl books, has helped make the term "street art" plausible. Using the broad strokes of graffiti, Scrawl is now a global incubator for progressive street art and illustration. To that end, the exhibition marks the debut of the Collective's new outgrowth, Scrawl Tees — the latest incarnation in a series of art meets commerce projects. (JF)
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| | An all-around cinema classic, this 1953 epic depicts Pearl Harbor far better than, say, Pearl Harbor, because it doesn't neglect the human heart beating at the core of World War II. Studded with eight (deserved, for once) Academy Awards, director Fred Zinnemann's take on the acclaimed James Jones novel features great performances all around, including those by idiosyncratic heavyweights Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra. Though it's become a visual cliché par excellence, the shot of Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr getting busy as Honolulu waves crash over them still proves remarkably affecting — as in "hot." (MD)
Note: On Saturday and Sunday there is an additional screening (1pm).
What's your favorite play on From Here to Eternity's famous beach sex scene? Our five favorite answers each win a pair of tickets to this event.
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MUSIC: Songwriter
Jon Brion
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| when: | Fri 12.5, Fri 12.12 & Fri 12.19 (8:30pm) |
| where: | Largo (432 N Fairfax, 323.852.1073) |
| price: | $10 minimum |
| links: |
Event Info | Jon Brion |
| | Superb multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Jon Brion's Friday night residency at the Largo has been one of the most happening live music events in LA for a long time. He's held various residencies around town through the years, and his wonderful energy, quirkiness, and pure love of music shine through in every performance. A first-call studio musician and one of the most sought-after producers in the industry, he has helmed records by Aimee Mann, Evan Dando, Fiona Apple, Brad Mehldau, and Rufus Wainwright, among others. His most well-known professional works are his masterful scores to P.T. Anderson's acclaimed films Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love. (SN)
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| CD REVIEW: The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow |
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Sub Pop
Released October 2003
$13.00 (Sub Pop)
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"Mine's not a high horse," sings James Mercer, but we wouldn't blame him if it were — his band the Shins' second album is such a masterpiece of '60s-inspired rock, the bragging rights are his. Twining elements of the Byrds, the Smiths, and, most intriguingly, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Shins lace acoustic strumming and tube-warmed electric hum with interstellar sparkle. Mercer is blessed with a rare grasp of melodic quirk: his deadpan drawl, prone to launching into falsetto flicker, could shine up even a mediocre backing band, |
but fortunately, thanks to the deft arrangements, uncanny harmonic focus, and carefully balanced studio poise — an artful cross between garage immediacy and producerly artifice — he doesn't have to. There's no barking these Shins — they're already several paces ahead of any obstacle you could name. (PS)
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| BLOGGER: LA Blogs |
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LA Blogs is home to a well-gardened compendium of our fine city's many and varied blogs — from the savvy media monitoring of LA Observed to the meta-fun of RealityRemixed, there's a home slice for everyone. Appropriately, LA Blogs has a blog of its own, too — a great source for of-the-moment news, links to things to do, and general LA radar provided by upcoming.org's's tasty feed. Curator and founder Jonah Manning has worked hard to ensure your blogging pleasure and his labor of love is not in vain. (JF)
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| STREAMS: dublab |
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dublab is known the world over as a super-source for steaming hot dishes. Whether you're in the mood for a quick bite or a sumptuous sit-down, the Labrat chefs are ready to jump into action. The dubfridge is stocked with only the freshest future roots ingredients. Each exotic morsel is selected for its full flavor and complex boom-bappity-ness. So next time you have a hankering for something soulful and savory, don't grab a bag of miniature sugar blobs. Instead, visit dublab for a hunger-healing hit parade. (Frosty)
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| CREDITS |
| Header Design: |
| Frank Capra | Andrea Homan | | |
| Staff: |
| Slick Rick | Matt Diehl | | Fritz Lang | Sascha Lewis | | John Lennon | Mark Mangan | | Hakeem Olajuwon | Yancey Strickler | | |
ABOUT US
flavorpill LA is a free weekly mailer covering music, arts, and cultural events in Los Angeles. All listings are pure editorial, researched and written based on what we think has flavor. No money is accepted from venues, artists, or promoters. As always, feel free to send in any and all feedback — comments, questions, ideas, or rants. Spread the flavor...
EVENT SUBMISSIONS
Please send all interesting event information (press releases, links, etc.) to events. |
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| Contributors: |
| Long Duck Dong | Jen Bachman | | Marcel Duchamp | Paul Laster | | Cesar Chavez | Jay Belin | | Marlene Dietrich | Jocelyn K. Glei | | Vladimir Nabokov | Christopher Hampton | | Don Corleone | Emily A. Welsch | | King Kong | Shana Nys Dambrot | | Robert Siodmak | Lisa Rosman | | Douglas Sirk | Philip Sherburne | | Mies Van Der Rohe | Elizabeth L. McDonald | | Yao Ming | Sander-Martijn Milks | | Joseph Conrad | Anjuli Ayer | | Richie Hawtin | Frosty | | Harvey | Carly F. Miller | | Mikhail Baryshnikov | Menaka Gopinath | | Gloria Estefan | Suzanne Ely |
| Arshile Gorky | Lavina E. Lee | | George Washington | David Morrow | | Siegfried Fischbacher | Steve Nalepa | | Zubin Mehta | Carol Diehl | | Freddy Adu | Nick Parish | | Arthur Rubinstein | Jeremy Sampson | | Carlos Santana | Amanda M | | Gene Simmons | Jeff S. Safran | | Sharon Osbourne | Jennifer Fader | | An Wang | Jason Sattler |
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ELECTRONIC MUSIC MAGAZINE
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