By CHARLES ANDREWS
WILL STEPHEN COLBERT HAVE THE LAST LAUGH?
I sure hope so. But he had the laugh on me when I watched the first of his last four shows and panned it. There were a lot of empty seats in the audience, because he let only his staff in, and the whole show, as he announced, was bits that never made it on air. And shouldn’t have, because they weren’t that good. But that was the only night he did that, and I realized it was a sweet gesture of thanks to a staff he clearly loved. The next three shows got progressively better (David Byrne’s “Burnin’ Down the House” was killer, with a bright blue-costumed Colbert twirling onto the stage), and how perfect to have Bruce do “Minneapolis.” The finale show was pure brilliance, weird but wonderful, and having Sir Paul along to make just a brief, casual comment on democracy in the USA was impactful. There is hope. Yes, maybe the artists can save us, or at least get us to the finish line with a smile on our faces.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
DUDAMEL & YO-YO MA – Sometimes, there really isn’t anything to say. Paris-born American cellist, of Chinese heritage, many consider Ma the most accomplished and exquisite cellist we have, and he is a longtime close friend of our simply genius, soon-departing conductor and music director, Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel. I think that settles any immigrant debate right there. Thurs, Sat 8 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $169-410.
MOZART, “THE MAGIC FLUTE,” L.A. OPERA – Allllllright, then! This is a pretty fine way to end the season (and order your season tickets for next year). It is a mind-bending production you have to see. No more LA Opera until October. One show this week, one next, and two each the next two weeks. As low as $49 – you paid more for parking at some other show you saw, and the costumes weren’t as good, and… maybe even the music was not as good. Bruce is The Boss, but this is Mozart the Master, for centuries. Still on the charts, tours raking it in. He’s held up, for a reason, several reasons, actually. Mozart was, once again, broke when he wrote this, in ill health, this would be his final opera, and perhaps his most popular. It had all the right elements and a perfect place to run it, but he was gone within a couple of months after the opening. Sat 7:30 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA, $49-440.
JOHN CLAYTON, GERALD CLAYTON – Not going to spend much time on this since it is sold out, but this members-only event is sure to be memorable. Even if the brunch that accompanies it is not gourmet (but, mimosas!), attendees will likely have a chance to at least meet these jazz giants, if not chat a little. The 75-minute performance might be worth that whole price of admission. Papa John is a legendary SoCal bass master, and son Gerald, raised here but now based in New York, is, in my opinion, one of a small handful of the most gifted jazz pianists on the planet. Sun 12-2 p.m., Sam First, LAX, $150 members only (sold out).
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:
“GRANGEVILLE,” Ruskin Group Theatre, opens this weekend. I hope to see it soon, but after years of RGT productions I can confidently say you will not be disa Fti, Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., poointed. If you go right away, you might want a second look, during this long run.
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.
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.
“AMERICAN ON PURPOSE” – Craig Ferguson is back! I loved his old “Late Late Show” where he took playful, censor-friendly lechery to an art form, and loved his puppet friends. I didn’t so much love the horse or the skeleton. I even went once to a taping, with guest John Waters, a legend for my daughter Nicole, I’m such an awesome Dad. Years before I arranged an interview with Big Bird-Carrol Spinney, I told my son Chris only that we were going somewhere for a big surprise. I sat him down in the studio hallway and went inside the dressing room to make sure Bird was in full feather – Spinney was very insistent that no kid see him without the full costume on. I can still only imagine how a 5-year-old brain in the mid-’70s would process being in a room with only Big Bird and his dad.
Like Moses getting the tablets, maybe, only funnier, and fuzzier. Ferguson was reliably quirky but in no predictable direction. There are comedians who think instantly of funny things to say, and then there are those whose brains are in a different dimension – Jonathan Winters, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Ferguson. Read his autobiography, and you will marvel that he is still alive. Still with his Scottish accent, but a proud American. There are only five episodes, don’t miss any. Sat 9 p.m., CNN, the next day on the CNN app.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s Santa Monica, 5/31, 6/7, 14, 21, 28; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 6/1, 8, 15, 22, 29; 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//30; ARTURO SANDOVAL, Blue Note, 6/6-8; 6, 11, 14, 17, 21; CRAIG FERGUSON, “AMERICAN ON PURPOSE,” CNN; 5
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
