By CHARLES ANDREWS
OK, HOLD ON…
I know this is a music (and other arts) performance calendar, and I will get right to that, but first, an important note, that is very music performance related –
NATALYA ZERNITSKAYA… DAN HALL… CAROLINE TOROSIS… JESSE ZWICK… don’t forget the names of these four Santa Monica City Council members who have aligned themselves with dense growth philosophies, and/or campaign contributions from developers and others similarly aligned. Which may explain their votes recently to end negotiations with the RPG Group, concert promotion superstars with decades of experience, who offered to invest what it takes to bring our venerable Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (Oscars 8 yrs, James Brown, Beatles, Stones, MLK Jr., Dalai Lama, Bob Marley, Eagles, Pink Floyd, Sinatra) back to life, at zero cost to the city or its residents. “The numbers didn’t add up,” the Council members explained.” Which is baloney. The historic venue sits on land worth tens of millions more to a developer, with that pesky old building gone.
WHERE ARE YOU, MR. MUSIC??
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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
(Don’t blame me if the pickin’s are getting slimmer. Happens every year around the holidays, though it seems a little early this year. Musicians and other artists are human, too, ya know, and they like to spend time with their families around the holidays. Also, in the music biz, you might as well take the month of December off. Hard to reach anyone. Doesn’t mean there aren’t good shows, just fewer of them. If you haven’t already seen The Nutcracker enough to last several lifetimes, well then, you’re in heaven.)
PATTI SMITH, “HORSES” 50th Anniversary – I guess I shouldn’t go on and on about this show since it is sold out, but fanatics will always find a ticket. Few artists have such an impactful debut album as “Horses.” We all know song lyrics often verge on poetry, but with “Horses,” the lines were erased. Smith was known first as a poet, but the music here was so compelling you immediately merged the two. Is it excellent poetry set to great music or the other way around? Who cares? And she kicked off with a major remake of a very classic garage rock staple, Them’s “Gloria,” who, in this version, climbed the stairs to Patti’s room, and then they “took the plunge.” Respected Rolling Stone rock scribe Lenny Kaye saw an opportunity and traded his typewriter for his electric guitar and has been with them the entire half-century. Her two kids, from her marriage to MC5 guitar monster Fred “Sonic” Smith, are in this touring band. Aw, Patti Smith as doting mom. I think those “kids” missed a good thing by not hyphenating the two parents’ last names – Betty Smith-Smith. Fri 8:00 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $?? (sold out, but…)
“HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU” – Panel game show format takes on politics and current events, but it’s more important to be funny than right. Often hilarious. 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. Sometimes they have a lame guest panelist on, but his two team captains, Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black, dish up the biggest laughs, most of them spontaneously. Sometimes they have a lame guest panelist on, but Michael, Amber, and Roy carry the show. Every Sat, 9:00 p.m., CNN
HC of LA
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 9:00 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, free.
RECOMMENDED:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICOLE ANDREWS!!! Fri, all day, Highland Park, $$$priceless.
STEVE HACKETT – Sometimes, especially with a handful of guitar wizards, they remain impressive for decades without new material or exposure, even with decreasing notoriety. Although I haven’t seen Hackett for decades, I suspect he is in this category. He will be playing a lot of Genesis material, and “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” but his solo work was always even more worthwhile. It’s a bit of apples and oranges, but I can say that when I finally saw Jeff Beck, just before he died, after six decades of trying and missing, he blew me away. He had only gotten better. These masters don’t live forever. Take a chance. Hopefully, Steve can hack it, too. Thurs, Fri 8:00 p.m., Orpheum Theatre, LA, $65-102.
RICK HOLSTROM BAND with STEVE BERLIN – The RHB is one of the best music secrets in town; the trio can play with anybody, and they do, such as Los Lobos’ horn man Steve Berlin. McCabe’s veteran booker Wayne Griffith has long known the secret and schedules them frequently with the best local musicians of any genre, and they always make it work. Holmstrom has played with some greats, including Dylan, Booker T, and the great Mavis Staples, but drummer Steve Mugalian has been on a few of those. Mavis loves him, and he’s kind of a local boy, Santa Monica, SMASH. Sun 8:00 p.m., McCabe’s, Santa Monica, $28.
TOLEDO DIAMOND – 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 (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. Sun 9:00 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $13.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): STEVE HACKETT, Orpheum Theatre, 11/13, 14; OZOMATLI, Venice West, 11/14, 12/12; PATTI SMITH, “HORSES,” Disney Hall, 11/15; LA THREE, Sam First, 11/15; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s Santa Monica, 11/16, 23, 30, 12/7, 14, 21, 28; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 11/17, 24, 12/1, 8, 15, 22, 29; RICK HOLSTROM BAND with STEVE BERLIN, McCabe’s, 11/16; DAVID BYRNE, Dolby Theatre, 11/20, 21; DJANGO FESTIVAL ALL STARS, Theatre Raymond Kabbaz, 11/20; ROBERT PLANT’S SAVING GRACE, United Theater on Broadway, 11/22, RP with Rosie Flores, Valley Events Center, 11/23; LA OPERA’s “LA BOHEME,” Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 11/22, 30, 12/4, 6, 10, 14;
DOWN THE ROAD (also recommended): THREE VISITORS, Jazz Bakery, 11/23; DENGUE FEVER, Venice West, 12/5; JACKY TERRASSON TRIO, Sam First, 12/5, 6; JACKSHIT, McCabe’s, 12/9, 10, 11; LA PHIL, MOZART, SIBELIUS, Disney Hall, 12/12, 13, 14; LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin Theatre, 12/14; CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET w/ GERALD CLAYTON, Blue Note, 12/15; ALLMAN BETTS FAMILY REVIVAL, Orpheum Theatre, 12/20.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
