By CHARLES ANDREWS
WELCOME, Y’ALL!
(I grew up in the West, I get to say that. Plus, Southern-born, so full credentials.) – to NOTEWORTHY, my attempt to make sure you don’t miss some great live show that you would have been front row for… if only you had known about it.
For eight years, it ran weekly in the Santa Monica Daily Press. They dropped me, but the Mirror wanted me, and they have an LA-wide reach of hundreds of thousands of digital subscribers. So, sometimes things work out for the best. The easiest way to get it, in your email, is to subscribe (free) to my Substack publishing account, MUSIC, POLITICS, LIFE.
Go to – https://bit.ly/3UGkK1F and hit the “subscribe” button.
This is the place to find out if there is a performance this week you would not want to miss. LA is the greatest live music city in the world, for variety and quality, so don’t miss out. These are not listings; they are my personal recommendations. I would be at every one of these if I could.
JIMMY KIMMEL
Precious freedoms, stolen, trashed, one by one.
I heard Republicans arguing that this was a business decision, that he was low in the ratings (he was bringing $6M/month in for ABC), that the affiliates wanted him gone – yes, because their overlord Nexstar, which controls more than 200 affiliate stations, already way over the legal limit, wants to gobble up even more and is negotiating with the Trump regime, which was of course delighted with the sacrifice offered to the king, of Kimmel being silenced. The FCC chairman threatened to remove the license of ABC, so this was purely a political, authoritarian control of media move.
The offending jokes about Charlie Kirk, a racist divider (who, of course, did not deserve to die), were far milder and less provocative than what Fox and friends serve up every day. (Recently, someone on air suggested solving the homeless problem with “voluntary” lethal injections.) The main Kimmel joke being cited was that Trump had all the empathy for Kirk’s death, “of a 5-year-old carrying around his dead goldfish,” which he said after showing a clip of Trump, asked by a reporter, on, “the loss of your good friend Charlie Kirk, how are you holding up?” He showed he couldn’t care at all. No emotion. He just quickly answered, “I think very good…” and without even finishing the thought, he immediately pointed out the construction trucks for his $200M+ White House Ballroom. Trump shamed himself, and this says it all.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
LA OPERA’s ‘WEST SIDE STORY’ – Wait a minute, is that an opera? Or a musical? On stage and on film. Well, it certainly has all the elements of great opera, maybe because it was originally conceived as such, with a masterpiece score by the great Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, landmark choreography by Jerome Robbins (“Fiddler,” “The King and I”), and a storyline better than most operas, modernized Shakespeare. It changed the course of American theatre and music. I’m so glad LAO took this on and can’t wait to see it. In person on the formidable LAO stage with great sets is the best, of course, but if you can’t take that in, it will be simulcast on the Pier on 9/27, free. Sat 6 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., next Thurs 7:30 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA, $38-350.
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – You can go to the Cinema Bar any Monday night, 9-11:30, free, for almost 14 years now, and hear these hot players run through Django Reinhardt-style ‘30s jazz. This amazing ensemble is a treasure. Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, free.
RECOMMENDED:
Tonight – NINE INCH NAILS – Trent Reznor is one of only a handful of creative rockers who surprise and excel over a decade-long career, and is always worth taking a look at. This first tour in three years is getting rave reviews. The stage production is notable, with an A and a B stage, and The Times said it was, “a thrilling onslaught of angst, sincerity and nightmarish otherworldliness,” reminding of his work with David Lynch. Kia Forum, $192-1,99 9/18, 19;
THEATRICUM BOTANICUM: – Outdoors in the Topanga Canyon woods, now in their 50th year, it is one of the very best theatre companies in LA, with a mastery of The Bard and moving, thought-provoking topical productions. You had all summer, but it’s not too late. Their killer production this season is “STRIFE,” which sounds like today’s horrible headlines (“what compromise is possible when human dignity and health are on the line?”), gripping, with a great ending, Sat 3:30 p.m. Ditto “WINE IN THE WILDERNESS,” which takes a few mind-bending turns, Sat 7:30 p.m. “THE SEAGULL: MALIBU” is the only, only misstep I have seen this company take in 20 years of performances I’ve seen. It was uncharacteristically lacking in every aspect. Insiders told me it had to do with two principles being sidelined, but I don’t think that could have fixed it. Mon 7:30 p.m. Will Geer’s TB, Topanga Canyon, $15-60.
“HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU” – Panel game show format takes on politics and current events, but the object is not so much to have correct answers but hilarious ones. The chaos is overseen by one of my favorites, Roy Wood Jr., but his two team captains, Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black, dish up the biggest laughs, most of them spontaneously. Every Sat, 9 p.m., CNN, but this weekend only, on Sunday, 9 p.m.
TOLEDO DIAMOND – His decades-long Sunday night residency at Santa Monica’s Harvelle’s, the oldest blues bar in LA (almost a century!), is a treasure that you shouldn’t assume will always be there. Toledo choreographs (literally) a truly unique show, a blend of ‘50s hipster jazz and his dancing dames and a most modern smokin’ hot band that gets better all the time. Every Sunday, 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): NINE INCH NAILS, Kia Forum, 9/18, 19; ‘WEST SIDE STORY,” LA OPERA, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 9/20, 21, 25, 27 (free simulcast on the Pier), 28, 10/4; THEATRICUM BOTANICUM: “STRIFE” 9/20, 28, 10/4, “WINE IN THE WILDERNESS” 9/27, 29, 10/5, 12; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s Santa Monica, 9/21, 28, 10/5, 12, 19. 26; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 9/22, 29, 10/6, 13, 20; LA PHIL, DUDAMEL LAUNCHES FINAL SEASON, Disney Hall, 9/25, 26; SPIRITUALIZED, Orpheum, 9/28; JOAN OSBORNE, Venice West, 9/28; KAMASI WASHINGTON, Blue Note, 9/30-10/5, 10/7-12.
DOWN THE ROAD (also recommended): DWIGHT YOAKAM, Greek, 10/1; ROBIN TROWER, Orpheum, 10/1; DUDAMEL, LA PHIL, STRAVINSKY, Disney Hall, 10/2, 4, 5; AL GREEN, YouTube Theatre, 10/4; DENGUE FEVER, Alex’s Bar, 10/9; DUDAMEL LA PHIL, MAHLER #2 “RESURRECTION,” Disney Hall, 10/9, 10, 11, 12; TY SEGALL, Bellwether, 10/10; PETER ERSKINE TRIO, Sam First, 10/11; LOS STRAIGHTJACKETS, McCabe’s, 10/12; LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin Theatre, 10/12, 11/9, 12/14; LA PHIL GALA, DUDAMEL’S FIESTA, BEETHOVEN, DVOŘÁK, REVUELTAS, more, Disney Hall, 10/14; CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM, Ford, 10/16; ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, McCabe’s, 10/17; OZOMATLI, Venice Wrst, 10/17, 11/14, 12/12; BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET, Blue Note, 10/21, 22; BOZ SCAGGS, Disney Hall, 10/25; MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, Saban Theatre, 10/25; TIM BURTON’S “THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS” in concert, Hollywood Bowl, 10/25, 26; ITZHAK PERLMAN, Disney Hall, 10/28; SIMON MOULLIERE QUARTET w/ GERALD CLAYTON, Sam First, 10/29; Halloween “HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME,” film + organ music, Disney Hall, 10/31; QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Dolby, 11/11; PATTI SMITH, “HORSES,” Disney Hall, 11/15; LA TRIO, Sam First, 11/15; ROBERT PLANT, United Theater on Broadway, 11/22, 23; DENGUE FEVER, Venice West, 12/5; JACKSHIT, McCabe’s, 12/9, 10, 11; LA PHIL, MOZART, SIBELIUS, Disney Hall, 12/12, 13, 14; CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET w/ GERALD CLAYTON, Blue Note, 12/15.
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 3,500 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 39 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or hate mail to: therealmrmusic@gmail.com
