BIG SHOWS COMING UP! – WILLIE NELSON will turn 90 IN LA, and he’s throwing himself one helluva party. Who will be there? Sturgil Simpson, Neil Young, Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg, The Chicks, Lyle Lovett, Nathaniel Rateliff, Norah Jones, Tom Jones, Bob Weir, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Edie Brickell, Leon Bridges, Kacey Musgraves, Ziggy Marley. and many more, will celebrate with ol’ Willie. He certainly has enough great songs to pass around. Hollywood Bowl, April 29-30.
I know it’s only 2023, but my guess is 21st century musicologists could well look back and decide this was the concert of the century.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT~ – LA OPERA, “PELLEAS AND MELISANDE,” DEBUSSY – Believe me, I’m not complaining. I moved here from NM decades ago for two reasons: to get into the music biz at the world center for it, and to live where the great live shows were three or four times a night, not 3-4/year. Fell short on the first one (no LA Times or Rolling Stone. but here I am, writing every week about the best live music for the “paper of record” in groovy Santa Monica. And for all those years, the abundance of music has never let up. So much so that I can’t always make even every don’t-miss show. This LA Opera production is one of those (and I’ll be lucky to make the final performance Sunday). How then, can I be so sure? Not one but two impeccable sources. UCLA Musicology grad Nicole wrote: “I loved it!! The writing and dialogue was a lot more nuanced than I’d expected and that was refreshing. The music was beautiful! My friend who played in the orchestra told me it’s Debussy’s only opera and it has no arias and was all-through composed and because a lot of people call it an ‘anti-opera,’ which makes sense. I thought the set design and lighting were entrancing, I loved Melisandre’s hair! and her dress was so light and beautiful, loved the cloaked beggars sleeping in the cave – a truly ethereal production.” LA Times classical music critic, Mark Swed, who is particularly adept with opera, gave it a lot of space and a lot of praise, and made observations that come only from many years of listening and watching very critically. He makes connections from Debussy’s intent to the singers and players and the production, which provide that context I always write about, that so enhances the enjoyment of what is in front of you. I suggest finding his review in the Times before you go. So trust me, Swed, and Nicole, and don’t miss this exceptional event. Thurs 7:30 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA, $15-249.
THE HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – Hot Club’s brand of virtuoso, sometimes breakneck Django-style 1930s gypsy swing jazz is found nowhere else and even if it was, it couldn’t possibly be better than this. These guys are masters, individually and collectively. They manage to record and play high-profile gigs and still show up every Monday night here, for years. Aren’t we lucky? Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, no cover.
EM – Come see what you’ve been missing (before it’s too late), one of the most talented and versatile performers in this whole dang ridiculously talented city of angels. The best shows aren’t always in the arenas and fancy clubs, and you don’t always get what you pay for. Sometimes, you get a lot more. Tues 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, $10.
RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! – RICK SHEA – is a SoCal country treasure, an exceptional songwriter who can sell a song both quietly or raucously. I like his quieter, introspective, wise, great pickin’ seductive singing side best. Put a drink in front of you and go with it. Thurs 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, free.
TONIGHT! – LA PHIL, BRAHMS FIRST SYMPHONY – I love Brahms. And especially this first symphony of his, which, by varying accounts, took him 21 years to complete. I was turned on to both when I was a manager at an Odyssey Records (defunct chain) in Albuquerque in the late ‘70s. We had hired two guys part-time who were into classical and they loved me, because I would always pump them for what they knew and loved and why, AND I was the only manager who would let them play a new classical release on the store sound system. Everyone else thought it would drive customers out of the store. I thought it would open some ts, including mine. So thank you to those two guys, and to my Mom who couldn’t articulate what she liked and why, but she loved it and played it at home, and of course, I listened. I’m not sure I agree with those who say this was Beethoven’s 10th symphony, meant as a compliment, But I understand. Brahms and his First are superlative benchmarks of classical creativity, and paired at these concerts with a Wagner lieder sung by star soprano Dorothea Röschmann, conducted by a flamboyant, charismatic Venezuelan not named Dudamel, rather Rafael Payare, this should be a memorable evening. Thurs, Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $55-190.
TODAY! – BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE EXPERIENCE – OK, I still haven’t seen it, busy, out of town, but I will, and my recommendation stands. Bob Marley was one of the greatest performers and musicians (his compelling, hypnotic, otherworldly vocal instrument) … ever. And his Wailers were musically phenomenal, and his songwriting was unique and remarkable. Silverlake’s Roger Steffens, the world’s foremost authority on Marley, if not reggae itself, is leading tours every weekend at 1 and 3, and he would not do that if it wasn’t up to snuff. This covers only “the Island (record label) years,” but that’s what most people are familiar with. Thurs-Sun-Wed 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m. -10 p.m., Mon-Tues 11 a.m. -5:30 p.m., Ovation Hollywood, $20-70.
“PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE” – Read carefully. It’s an “absurdist comedy.” By the inarguably absurd comic Steve Martin. I laughed, but it is not intended to have you in stitches the entire time. It is the absurd and thought-provoking fantasy that Picasso and Einstein may have hung out together in a Paris cafe in the early 20th century, before either was famous. What might they have been like? Who else might have passed through? No one knows so Martin could go anywhere. One place he went was to make the “ordinary” women involved sound smarter than those two wise guys. Some shows are selling out. Fri, Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica Airport, $20-35.
TOLEDO DIAMOND – Unique, riveting, first class act. There’s nothing like it, it is high performance art and great fun. Degeneracy is rarely so well disciplined. Could be the most memorable 12 bucks you ever spent. Sun 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
MOZART, BRAHMS – Piano Quartets. See above for Brahms comments. I think you know that Mozart guy. One night only, another rare treat provided by our LA Phil. Tues 8 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $33-64.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE EXPERIENCE, Ovation Hollywood, 4/13-30; “PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE,” Ruskin Group Theatre, 4/21-23, 28-30; I SEE HAWKS IN LA, McCabes, 4/22; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s, 4/23, 30; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 4/24; EM, Harvelle’s, 4/25; BLONDIE, Greek Theatre, 4/19; IGGY POP, Regent, 4/20, Hollywood Palladium, 4/27; NEIL YOUNG, STEPHEN STILLS, LUKAS NELSON, others, Greek Theatre, 4/22; WILLIE NELSON 90, Hollywood Bowl, 4/29, 30.
By CHARLES ANDREWS
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 3,000 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 37 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at Charles Andrews