By CHARLES ANDREWS
WILL STEPHEN COLBERT HAVE THE LAST LAUGH?
I’m sure he will, though I can’t yet know the form of it. Every President is the butt of political humor, but not even Richard Nixon had the tissue paper-thin (orange) skin of Donald J. Trump, whose geopolitical (“just a quick excursion in the Middle East,” we can do it all with missles and planes) and cultural ignorance are constantly on display (no one of any artistic worth wants to play the Trump Kennedy Center any more, so close it for two years “for renovation”), embarrassing dance moves (to “YMCA”? – good God), embarrassing combover construction hair, speech like a five-year-old and word fumbles and slurs, malapropisms and other butchering of the English language, not to mention his obvious mental decline.
But cross him, and he will try to ruin your career. CBS is already in the Hall of Shame for censoring the longest-running show of any kind on TV, the stellar “60 Minutes.” And now they bow to the would-be king by getting Colbert axed, shamelessly kissing that gigantic tush in order to get their billion-dollar merger approved by the White House. (Other presidents would have kept their hands off such a business deal.) When Paramount takes over, CNN and so much more will be on the trash heap. CBS will never live this down. Which gives Colbert a victory already, in his banishment. How low we have sunk. But tune in to the final shadows this week to see special guests Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen, and Colbert performing with David Byrne. Wed, Thurs 11:35 p.m., CBS.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
Tonight! – Dudamel Conducts Die Walküre– So you have boycotted the music of Richard Wagner ever since you learned of the Nazi associations? Get over it, go fight some modern nazis in your own backyard. Trust the art, not the artist. Wagner’s been dead nearly 150 years, almost half a century before the mustachioed monster came to power, and is certainly in everyone’s pantheon of great composers. If it’s fine with The Dude, I’m good. We don’t have the Venezuelan wunderkind for that many more concerts, and hearing this trilogy on successive nights is therefore double the privilege and opportunity.
And as I write this, there are still tickets for 25 bucks – are you kidding me?! I could not appreciate Gustavo Dudamel’s unique, jaw-dropping command of the orchestra and the music through his conducting as much, as my vision has faded the last few years, but I now have restored eyesight through a miraculous headset device called Maggie Vision, that I got through the VA, and I can now see Dudamel’s every facial and body move, and it is a joy I almost lost. Please write to me if you would like more information about it. I have had people approach me at Disney Hall to ask. I certainly hope you all can catch this series of three performances, but tickets are limited and going pretty fast. Wed – Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $25-380.
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – This rockin’ quintet, known for Django Reinhardt-style ‘30s-’40s jazz (for starters, but they go way beyond), whose across-the-board virtuosity never fails to bring a smile. I have never heard anyone walk away from one of the HCOLA shows and say, “They’re pretty good!” Usually, it’s hard to say anything when your jaw is on the floor. Still at their years-long residency at the intimate Cinema Bar just outside Santa Monica, every Monday night. Lucky us. Take advantage. Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, 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. Toledo is perhaps the longest-running proof that Santa Monica is a City of the Arts. (Yes, you bet, this is art.) Sun 9 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $13.
BRIGHT EYES – The tour is titled “‘Wide Awake’ + ‘Digital Ash’ 21st Birthday Full Album Shows,” after the two very different albums they released on the same day 21 years ago. Robert Hillburn, the longtime arbiter of pop music yea or nay at the then-influential L.A. Times, called “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” – “An album with the simmering glow of a masterpiece.” Not bad. Pull that one out for the rest of your career. I always had a favorable impression of BE and frontman Conor Oberst, but never listened much, for some reason. But my oh so music-savvy daughter Nicole is slinging some hard-earned music money at tickets for this performance, with her equally savvy boyfriend Rocco, and that’s all I need to boldly, confidently recommend this show. Sat 7 p.m., Hollywood Bowl, $48-323.
TV RECOMMENDATIONS:
“THE DAILY SHOW” – I think they now have the best cast ever. (Apologies to Roy Wood Jr.) In fact… yelling, wildly gesticulating Jon Stewart is my least favorite host. Mon – Thurs 11 p.m., COMEDY CENTRAL.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s Santa Monica, 5/24, 31, 6/7, 14; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 5/25, 6/1, 8; DUDAMEL & YO-YO MA, LA PHIL, Disney Hall, 5/28, 30; “GRANGEVILLE,” Ruskin Theatre, 5/29-7/12; STRAUSS & MORE WITH DUDAMEL, Disney Hall, 5/29, 31; MOZART, “THE MAGIC FLUTE,” L.A. OPERA, 5/30, 6/6, 11, 14, 17, 21; CRAIG FERGUSON, “AMERICAN ON PURPOSE,” CNN; 5/30;
DOWN THE ROAD (also recommended): PAUL SIMON, Hollywood Bowl, 6/7; MILES 100: A CELEBRATION IN AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ, Jazz Bakery, 6/13; LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin Group Theatre, 6/14, 7/12, 8/9, 9/13, 10/11, 11/8.
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
