By CHARLES ANDREWS
WORRIED YET?
Tough week. And who knows what will happen between when I write this and the next 12 hours. I check my TV way too frequently these days.
Finally, white folks are beginning to understand that… everyone, everyone, has to be alert. But docile? Obedient? Of course, we can’t. That will only accelerate things. Ask any Iranian. I hate to tell myself this tough news, but this is a rare time in American history. 1776. 1861. 1941. 2026. Any of those dates could have marked the end of the American dream. But really brave Americans made the sacrifices needed. Once again, if we are not now prepared to fight – not with guns, this time, and maybe that makes it even harder – we will not have this free nation so many love.
Some will, even now, call this alarmist, socialist scare nonsense, Drumpf Derangement Syndrome. Maybe some will say… not yet. But I don’t think we need to wait until thousands die, as likely have in Iran. One is way too many. Say her name. Renee Nicole Good. Not a terrorist. Not deranged. One of us. A good person who cared. She must not have died in vain, but there must not be more. Patti Smith: “People have the power.”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – Not to worry, the earth is back on its axis, HCOLA is back at their decades-long Monday night gig at The Cinema Bar. Their website calendar now shows them booked through at least 2027. This is the place where you can literally get very close to the music. I mean, seriously, these guys are virtuoso musicians, and they rock out in a ‘30s kinda way, and for free. Cool crowd, cheap drinks. If you’ve never caught them, why don’t you just move back to Akron or Albuquerque and see what you can find. Who says Santa Monica(-adjacent) is not a City of the Arts? Sundays 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, always no cover.
RECOMMENDED:
TOLEDO DIAMOND – Who’s been showing up even longer than the Hot Club, with a very different but also virtuosic show? His decades-long Sunday night residency at Santa Monica’s Harvelle’s, the oldest blues bar in LA (almost a century!), is the stuff of myth. Toledo choreographs 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. Who says Santa Monica is not a City of the Arts? Sun 9 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $13.
“BLADE RUNNER” film LIVE music – Can you still say “I love this film!” when it’s so damn dark, dystopian, and depressing? And depicts a future LA. (looking more believable every day now…) The screening is the 2007 Final Cut of Ridley Scott’s 1982 film starring Harrison Ford as a put-upon Replicant hunter. He falls in love, or at least lust, with one of his humanoid targets, so maybe it is now getting closer to AI relevance. Edited down to two hours, it is based on the famous Philip K. Dick novel, and will be shown on the Dolby’s very large HD screen, with live synth accompaniment of the original Vangelis soundtrack. It was a commercial flop in ’82, for a few reasons: competing against “E.T.,” slower and more contemplative than action-oriented, and poorly marketed. But if you are a fan, and it has built up a large cult following, this would be the way to experience it again. Next Wed 8 p.m., Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, $39-117.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s Santa Monica, 1/18, 25, 2/1, 8, 15, 22; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 1/19, 26, 2/2, 9, 16, 23, 30; “BLADE RUNNER” film LIVE music, Dolby Theatre, 1/21; STANLEY CLARKE, Blue Note LA, 1/22-25; IVES, ADAMS, HARRIS, COPLAND, LA PHIL, Disney Hall, 1/23-25; “HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU,” CNN Sat 9 p.m., 1/24, 1/31, 2/7, 14, 21, 28; MAHLER, BARTÓK, RAVEL, LA PHIL, Disney Hall, 1/29-2/1; JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT, Orpheum Theatre, 1/31;
DOWN THE ROAD (also recommended): JIM KWESKIN & FRIENDS, McCabe’s, 2/7; LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin Theatre, 2/8, 3/8, 4/12, 5/10, 6/14, 7/12, 8/9, 9/13, 10/11, 11/8, 12/13; DUDAMEL, BEETHOVEN, LORENZ, SCHUMANN, Disney Hall, 2/12-15; ALBERT LEE, McCabe’s, 2/13; HILLERMAN’S “DARK WINDS,” Season 4, AMC/+, 2/15; WARREN HAYNES Solo, Blue Note LA, 2/17, 18; DAMN WELL PLEASE ORGAN TRIO, Harvelle’s, 2/17; KAUKONEN The Final Tour, McCabe’s, 2/20, 21, 22; GUSTAVO, BEETHOVEN “MISSA SOLEMNIS,” Disney Hall, 2/20-22; BEETHOVEN, ORTIZ, DUDAMEL, Disney Hall, 2/26-3/1; LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO, BroadStage, 2/27; BRANDI CARLILE, Kia Forum, 2/27; GLASS “AKHNATEN,” LA OPERA, 2/28, 3/8, 11, 14, 19, 22; BILL FRISELL TRIO, Blue Note LA, 3/4, 5; DUDAMEL, “Dante,” BEETHOVEN 6, Disney Hall, 3/5, 6, 8; CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO, Blue Note LA, 3/9; THE BAD PLUS POTTER TABORN, Blue Note LA, 3/10, 11; MADELEINE PEYROUX, Blue Note LA, 3/17, 18; “VERTIGO” in concert, Disney Hall, 3/21; SAMARA JOY, Blue Note LA, 4/15, 16; VERDI “FALSTAFF,” LA OPERA, 4/18, 26, 30, 5/2, 6, 10; TAKE 6, Blue Note LA, 4/30-5/3; SANTA MONICA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL, BroadStage, 5/1-9; MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO, Blue Note LA, 5/4, 5; LA SANTA CECILIA, Fonda Theatre, 5/7; MOZART “THE MAGIC FLUTE,” LA OPERA, 5/30, 6/6, 11, 14, 17, 21.
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 40 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or hate mail to: therealmrmusic@gmail.com
