MUSIC GIFT SUGGESTIONS
Note: I know it would be more convenient for those of you reading online for me to include links, but… well, I’m sure you can find all these things easily yourself.
Music? Local? Where better than MCCABE’S? Strings and capos and sheet music for the players, lessons for those who long to. An amazing selection of instruments.
THE CHURCH IN OCEAN PARK qualifies on my music list because I have heard so much good music there, from Tom Brosseau to The Bonedaddys to Ry Cooder. They finally reopened recently after a disastrous ceiling collapse, but there is still a lot of work to be done, so a holiday donation there would be much appreciated. They do a lot of good work and have for decades.
88.5 FM, SOCAL SOUND – is the little station that could, stringing together a network of small college stations in SoCal, all at 88.5, to create a station broadcasting from Cal State Northridge but reaching all of the greater LA area. I have listened from the beginning and they have turned me on to many artists I love, who I can’t hear anywhere else. They rely almost entirely on listener subscribers. No commercials, nonstop music. Become a subscriber and you will be eligible for concert tickets throughout the year. KCRW former head Nic Harcourt runs the show, Mookie does some fine programming, mixing in the new and old and obscure, and Andy Chanley is an outstanding DJ.
YES, I KNOW
Bruce did not play here a couple days ago. Springsteen’s concerts here got pushed back to April a long time ago, because of illness. But now, not till 2024, the whole tour. Ulcer. Boss, did you have to get a geriatric affliction, reminding us of your age and mortality (and ours)? It is serious, obviously, and we all wish him the best. He always seemed the picture of health, a gym rat with solid muscles, pounding out three-hour concerts night after night, for decades. But “ulcers don’t care.” I was pushing my deadline and checking my most comprehensive, reliable (?) source of live music listings, and there it was, wrong, and I forgot. Sorry.
Interesting, in my tribute to Jerry Rubin 11/26, on his approaching 80th birthday party this Monday at The Gaslite (“everyone is invited!”), I mentioned a number of famous folks up in years, and that seems to have been too much for some of them. Henry Kissinger died the next day, and now Norman Lear. But don’t worry, Jerry, you are just a kid and as healthy as a unicorn (An error in that piece meant to list comedian/peace activist Dick Gregory’s age at passing, not a current age. He and Jerry were good friends.)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
Tonight – MEHTA, MAHLER, SEONG-JIN CHO – We’re so fortunate, with maestro Gustavo Dudamel loving and mastering the works of the great Gustav Mahler, that we also have a renowned former music director who occasionally graces us with his interpretations. Win, win. Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho has become an LA Phil favorite, for all the right reasons, and all his romantic tendencies are perfectly matched to Schumamn’s emotional Piano concerto, the only one he wrote. After intermission fasten your seat belts for the first symphony Mahler unleashed on the world, such a sonically powerful examination of no less than life and death, that you might think he thought he had only one shot, but thankfully it was only the beginning. As I write this, you can still see this performance for 20 bucks. That’s insane. Downtown parking costs more than that. (But only $9 for event parking at Disney.) If you are a donor (and why aren’t you? – holiday gift suggestion!), this is one of six rehearsals you are given privy to, no extra charge, and with Zubin Mehta holding forth on his beloved Mahler, that’s a rare treat. Thurs 7:30 p.m., donor rehearsal 10 a.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $20-268.
“FRIDA & DIEGO,” LA Opera – Fresh on the heels of excellent stagings of chestnuts “The Barber of Seville’’ and “Don Giovanni,” LA Opera gives us a new production devoted to our favorite fun couple. Perhaps because of their proximity to LA, and our large Hispanic population, they have held a special place in our art hearts. Also, Hollywood loves a chaotic tale of love and hate, from a pair of mismatched geniuses. A Day of the Dead ghost story from Grammy Award-winning composer Gabriela Lena Frank and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, and resident conductor Lina González-Granados commands a cast packed with international talent. Final performance. Sat 7:30 p.m., Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, LA, $149-324.
THE HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – Looking for something different? But really good? And on a Monday? EVERY Monday? They’ll even be there Christmas night – “Hot Club’s brand of virtuoso, Django-style 1930s gypsy swing jazz is found nowhere else and even if it were, it couldn’t possibly be this good. These guys are masters, individually and collectively. You will find it hard to stop smiling all night.” Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, no cover.
RECOMMENDED:
Tonight – SAMARA JOY, A Joyful Holiday – I’ve yet to catch this marvelous jazz vocalist live and I hope to, like Amy Winehouse she’s a stylistic throwback totally informed by her predecessors, but concerts of holiday songs are not my thing, especially for a trek all the way out to Northridge. But like Patti LaBelle singing the alphabet on “Sesame Street,” I’m sure she will be quite a present. Thurs, 8 p.m., The Soraya, Northridge, $39-119.
LIBRARY GIRL, “Out of My Hands” — In its 15 year and still going strong, it’s definitely not too late to discover this dynamic, often inspired monthly spoken word reading conveniently delivered at our airport theater, the Ruskin. Founder and curator Susan Hayden usually has music involved somehow, and the poets’ prompt for this one, a collaboration with Roar Shack, comes from a Dwight Twilley song. It’s kind of like a multi-comic stand up show: if you don’t care much for the last performer, you may love the next one. Sure, you’ve missed some great moments in the past 160+ shows, but — start coming, every month. The future looks bright. Sun 7 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, SMO, $20 (includes dessert, free parking).
TOLEDO DIAMOND – Unique, riveting, first class act. There’s nothing like it, it is high performance art and great decadent fun. Degeneracy is rarely so well disciplined. Toledo may have his trademark ciggy, but it’s the band that really smokes! Sun 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: MEHTA, MAHLER, SEONG-JIN CHO, Disney Hall, 12/7, 8, 9, 10; LED ZEPAGAIN, Roxy Theater, 12/9; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s, 12/10, 17, 24, 31, 1/7, 14, 21, 28; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 12/11, 18, 25. 1/1, 8, 15, 22, 29; CHRIS ISAAK, Orpheum, 12/12; MEHTA, BEETHOVEN Symphonies, Disney Hall, 12/14, 15, 16, 17; MANHATTAN TRANSFER, Final Farewell Concert, Disney Hall, 12/15; QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Kia Forum, 12/16; RACHEL & VILRAY, Troubadour, 12/18; X, Roxy Theater, 12/19, 20; BILLY GIBBONS & FRIENDS, Troubadour, 12/19. 20, 21; CELSO & DARRYL, Harvelle’s, 12/21; RICK SHEA, TONY GILKYSON, Cinema Bar, 12/28; Whisky a Go Go 60th Anniversary Celebration presents LOVE performing “FOREVER CHANGES,” W. Hollywood, 1/14/24; BOOKER T. JONES, The Soraya, 2/2/24; HOT TUNA acoustic, McCabe’s, 2/10/24; ROBERT FRIPP, David Singleton, An Evening of Conversation,Questions, Insights, McCabe’s, 3/3/24; ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS, The Soraya, 4/21/24.
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 therealmrmusic@gmail.com