Oct 282016
 

halloweenhouselosangelespentagram

 

Los Angeles is a great place to celebrate Halloween and with so many things to do it can get hard to choose. Here are some suggestions:

Friday (10/28/16)

It’s sold out on Saturday and Sunday but there are tickets available tonight to see Danny Elfman perform as Jack Skellington, Catherine O’Hara as Sally, Ken Page as Oogie Boogie, and Paul Reubens as Lock while a live orchestra plays in sync with the film for Halloween at the Hollywood Bowl: “Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas”

L.A. Girlfriend along with Nicky Blitz and Disco Shrine are playing The Goth Ball at Resident where costumes are encouraged

LACMA is screening Pan’s Labyrinth in conjunction with their exhibit Guillermo del Toro: at Home with Monsters

Saturday

The Santa Monica Zombie Crawl starts at 6pm and has food and drink specials all night as well as an after party ($12 for the wristband)

Villains Tavern in the Arts District is having a free Halloween bash with Rumprollers Organ Trio and a traditional NOLA jazz band

The Boulet Brothers 16th Annual Halloween Ball is at The Globe Theater which will be turned into a night club/haunted mansion. The party includes three floors of DJs, “interactive horror areas”, carnival games, performances and more, with Clive Barker and Drag Race star Violet Chachki in attendance for a meet and greet  ($30)

Cinefamily is showing Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie

Sunday

Cinefamily has two showings of the 1959 Vincent Price film The Tingler with their seats wired to simulate the effect used at the original film’s screening which had seats equipped with buzzer shocks for certain key moments in the film

cARTel Collaborative Arts LA is hosting SpiritSpirit: a cocktail and ghost story pairing at Think Tank Gallery with performances, music, a DJ, craft cocktails, “Summon the Spirits” immersive game, and one prize each for the best dressed- theme and non-theme ($15) . You can also combine it with Think Tank’s escape room and get $5 off with code SPIRITX2

All weekend and Halloween

The theme for this year’s free Haunted House presented by Rotten Apple 907 in Burbank is The Not So Enchanted Forest. Although it is free to go, donations are requested- this year’s charity is VBAS (Volunteers of Burbank Animal Shelter)

The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride in Griffith Park has a “Secret Society” theme this year and for the first time ever passengers will leave the safety of the hay wagon for a section of the trip. There is also a haunted suburb to go trick or treating in, a haunted maze, and more.

Think Tank Gallery is hosting Trap House-a combination art show/ escape room running all day and night. The sci fi/ horror themed art show is free. The escape room is a ticketed half hour experience with a human trafficking and organ harvesting theme.

If you missed The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl you could see it in 4D at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood

Halloween (Monday)

The biggest event in the city has to be the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval– a massive free street party (500,000 people!) on Santa Monica Blvd.  with multiple music stages and a chance to see some of the most creative costumes around.  Palihouse nearby has tickets for their rooftop party ($20) and there are also additional parties at several places in the area. Definitely don’t drive there though- it gets pretty hectic!

Organ virtuoso Clark Wilson is improvising a soundtrack for a screening of the classic silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at the Walt Disney Concert Hall

LA Opera’s incoming Artist in Residence, Matthew Aucoin will create and conduct a new score for chamber orchestra for the film Nosferatu at The Theatre at Ace Hotel

LACMA is showing The Bride of Frankenstein with extended access to the Guillermo de Toro (5-8pm) included in the ticket price ($15-20)

 

 

Oct 202016
 

The Moth & The Flame- Young & Unafraid

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (10/20-10/23/16)-

Thursday

The Moth & The Flame are playing at the Troubadour with Young Rising Sons

MOCA Senior Curator Bennett Simpson is giving a walk through of the exhibition R. H. Quaytman, Morning: Chapter 30 at MOCA Grand Avenue (free and free museum admission)

The Faint are playing at The Mayan with Gang of Four

Art critic Douglas Crimp will be discussing and reading from Before Pictures, his autobiographical account of life as a young gay man in New York from the late 1960s through the 1970s, at the Hammer Museum (free)

Tkay Maidza is performing at the Bootleg Theater

Fever Charm and LAYNE are opening for Night Lights at Resident

Friday

Art Night Pasadena is a great way to check out Pasadena’s museums and cultural centers for free as well as live music and performances. Free shuttles are provided for getting around.

Front Porch Cinema at the Santa Monica Pier is showing Labyrinth starring David Bowie (free)

Lemaitre are playing at the El Rey Theatre with Chet Porter and Coucheron

LACMA is showing Guillermo del Toro’s 1993 vampire film Cronos

The Molochs are playing at Non Plus Ultra with the Paranoyds and Numb.er

Saturday

For Los Angeles–based artist Dan Levenson’s performance at Hammer Museum he will be leading a three-hour class that will consist of a lecture, drawing exercises, and critiques following the curriculum of the SKZ (State Art Academy Zurich), a Swiss modernist art school of his own invention. (free)

LACMA is screening two iconic experimental films of the 1960s: Walter De Maria’s Hardcore and Michael Snow’s Wavelength for their Desert/Ocean program, followed by a conversation between Jane McFadden and James Nisbet, two of the leading scholars of De Maria’s artwork, and moderated by Jennifer King, LACMA’s associate curator of contemporary projects.  (free)

The New Beverly is showing a horror double feature of Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby and Paul Wendkos’ The Mephisto Waltz starring Alan Alda and Jacqueline Bisset ($9.27 for both)

Saturday and Sunday

The Brewery Art Walk is a fun way to check out up and coming artists in their studios in the massive complex downtown

Beach Goth, a two day music festival taking place at The Observatory Grounds in Santa Ana, has a ton of great bands playing with single day and two day tickets still available. The Growlers are hosting with Eric Andre and bands include Bon Iver, Future Islands, Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestants, The Faint, Patti Smith, Violent Femmes, TLC, Grimes, Gucci Mane, The Drums,  The Pharcyde, Moving Units, TSOL, and many more.

Sunday

Vidiots is presenting Harry Dean Stanton with the first ever “Harry Dean Stanton Award” at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel. The evening will include conversations, film clips, and music, featuring performances and tributes from Kris Kristofferson, Father John Misty, Karen O, Inara George, John C. Reilly, Jack Huston, Harper Simon, and many more.

LACMA is hosting a book signing, film screening and discussion with noted Iranian painter, book illustrator, animator, and sculptor, Ali Akbar Sadeghi. (free)

Blitzen Trapper are playing at the Bootleg Theater

 

***If you are curious about Neal Unger, the older skateboarder in the above video, this video provides a bit more information on him and his philosophy. He only started skateboarding recently!

Aug 252016
 

DIIV- Doused

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (8/25-8/28/16)-

Thursday

DIIV are playing at The Fonda Theatre with Wild Nothing

Metro Art is having an Artist Conversation with Todd Gray, Ken Gonzales-Day and Phung Huynh in the Union Station Ticketing Hall in conjunction with the exhibition, The Makers: Portraits of Metro artists whose work enriches the rider’s journey, featuring portraits by Todd Gray

The Album Leaf are playing a free show at Amoeba Records to celebrate their new album Between Waves, which they will also be signing

At the Hammer Museum’s panel discussion The Streisand EffectMade in L.A. 2016 artist Dena Yago, her frequent collaborator Sean Monahan, and Rachel Berks of Otherwild Goods and Services will discuss the “ever-expanding role and function of today’s creative industries and the blurring of lines between art and commerce”

Singer Julien Baker is performing at the El Rey with Phoebe Bridgers and Julia Jacklin

Artist Thomas Kuntz is giving a tour of the LACMA exhibition Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters, and will speak about his experiences working with Guillermo del Toro on the film Crimson Peak (standby only)

Fascinator is playing with TeamMate and Middle Kids at The Echo

Friday

For the Getty’s Friday Flights, its free music and art series, the program includes a project by artist David Horvitz and musician Xiu Xiu; a performative lecture by Martine Syms; a bassoon and vocal collaboration between Archie Carey and Odeya Nini presented by wild Up; and B A S E (a durational rule game) by choreographer Laurel Jenkins.

Cut Chemist is the DJ for this installment of the free event DJ Nights at The Music Center Plaza

Punk icon Keith Morris will be signing his book My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor and speaking with Jim Ruland at Skylight Books

If you like your drinks and bands combined with wild animals check out the LA Zoo’s Roaring Nights- this month it’s Indie Night. Or for an under the sea vibe you can check out The Aquarium of the Pacific’s Deep Dive event which in addition to the bands has DJs and a film about surfers

Culture Club are playing at the Hollywood Bowl (also Saturday)

Saturday

Diane Coffee (Shaun Fleming of Foxygen) is the performer this time for the Getty’s Saturdays off the 405 Music Series

Corey Helford Gallery is having a huge party for the opening of their 10 Year Anniversary Group Exhibition

Artist Jackie Winsor is giving a talk at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel (free but RSVP required)

Meatwave are opening for Violent Soho at The Echo

Sunday

FYF Fest is sold out for the weekend and Saturday but there are still tickets available for Sunday’s show- highlights of which include LCD Soundsystem, Grace Jones, Young Thug, Wild Nothing, Father John Misty, Beach House and more

The Arclight in Hollywood is showing the epic film Lawrence of Arabia

Only two more weeks left to see Shakespeare’s The Tempest free in Griffith Park

 

 

Jul 282016
 

TOKiMONSTA (feat Anderson .Paak & KRNE)

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (7/28-7/31-16)-

Thursday

TOKiMONSTA, Gavin Turek, and Ambré are performing at this week’s Disappear Here, the free music night at Hammer Museum

For the closing of the exhibition Shapeshifters at Shulamit Nazarian Gallery in Venice,  XINA XURNER (Shapeshifters artist Young Joon Kwak’s musical performance collaboration with Marvin Astorga) will present a new performance that combines voice, music, movement, and interaction with Kwak’s sculptures and features artist and composer Elisa Harkins and Travis R-D of performance collective Project Rage Queen. The performance will be followed by a conversation between Kwak and artist Jennifer Moon.

Sinkane is performing a free concert at Skirball Cultural Center

LACMA has a free screening of Ira Sachs’ new film Little Men and a conversation with Sachs and stars of the film Greg Kinnear and Theo Taplitz

Protoje are headlining the free concert at the Santa Monica Pier

Friday

For the Getty’s Friday Flights this week, there will be music by M. Geddes Gengras and wild Up’s Lewis Pesacov, installations by Jim Drain and Jennifer Juniper Stratford, a performance by Ry Rocklen and Nick Lowe’s The Bushes, and a film program presented by Veggie Cloud (free)

Magic Wands are playing with Drinking Flowers, Terminal A, and Fatal Jamz at the Viper Room

LACMA is having a book signing (free) with Guillermo del Toro at 5pm and afterwards he will be introducing his film The Devil’s Backbone (tickets for the film here)

Black Milk is performing with live band Nat Turner at The Echoplex

Gary Wilson & The Blind Dates and Jimmy Whispers will be playing one of the last shows at the original location of Pehrspace

Saturday

Bergamot Station is having a full day of artist talks and exhibition openings for Summer Saturday

The Broad is having the second of their late night events- Nonobject(ive): Summer Happenings, this time with Sky Ferreira DJ’ing, a reading by Richard Hell in collaboration with the music of The Haxan Cloak, music by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Mas Ysa, dance and visual art collaborations by Ryan Heffington and Brontez Purnell within the galleries, and experimental music by Anenon

Reverend Horton Heat is playing a free show in Pershing Square

You can see Trainspotting outside The Autry before the sequel comes out in January of next year

Ice Cube is headlining the first night of HARD Summer Music Festival, which includes performers Flosstradamus, Anderson .Paak, and Dizzee Rascal among others

Sunday

MOCA is having a free screening of Ed Ruscha’s only two films Miracle and Premium and Filipe Lima will introduce his film Ed Ruscha: Buildings and Words, a new short-length documentary about Ruscha’s extraordinary body of work

Major Lazer is headlining the second night of Hard Summer Music Festival with  Dillon Francis, Porter Robinson, DJ Khaled and many more also performing

Griffith Park Free Shakepeare Festival continues with The Tempest (begins Saturday 7/30)