HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! - CELSO SALIM & DARRYL CARRIERE — I kept writing every week last summer about these two blues masters, holding court in the sunshine and ocean air on Main Street every Sunday, for free. I dropped by several times and even though I heard a few songs repeated from previous sets, I never got tired of their blues perfection. Brazilian-born Salim sings, and slides the bottleneck across his guitar strings like a distraught howling wolf, while Carriere adds an attention-grabbing, dangerous growl when he’s not blowing wild on harp. Truth be told, they sound even better indoors, with whiskey in your hand and a smile on your face. Thurs 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $10.
EM the MASTER — Why do I keep HIGHLY RECOMMENDING this show, week after week, for months? Because it’s still as great a performance as it was the first time I saw her, and because there still may be one or two of you who haven’t gone to Harvelle’s on Fourth Street on any Tuesday night, parked right next door in the parking structure, plopped down your 10 bucks cover charge (are you serious?), ordered a couple of modestly-priced drinks at the bar from the friendly co-owners Jason or Damian, and settled into a comfy booth ready to be entertained, maybe even amazed. Yeah, she’s that good. Every Tues 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $10.
RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! “Netflix is a Joke” presents DAVE CHAPPELLE & Friends – So why not HIGHLY RECOMMENDED? Because I value my safety. I would go see him anytime, even nosebleed sets at the Bowl, but some people… don’t get him, I guess. REALLY don’t want to get him. Or think he goes way too far. (Hasn’t that been said of all the greatest comedians?) Four nights at the Bowl? Holy whizbang, and the first three nights are almost sold out. At up to $600+ a ticket. Absolutely no cell phones allowed: they will take them and seal them in a pouch you can carry and then free them after the performance. If you’re surprised at that, maybe you’re not ready for Chappelle. Thurs, Fri, Sat, Tues 7 p.m., Hollywood Bowl, $35-600+.
SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINE Concert – Certainly a good cause, this is a fundraiser to provide critical health care for victims of the War in Ukraine, so bring your digital wallet. Ignore that one of the groups who put their name on it is Culver City Forward, Forward in Santa Monica being the developer-funded group doing everything possible to densify and build out, and up, our small city.
Our inspired SM-based music organization Jacaranda is behind this, and with their brilliant Artistic Director Patrick Scott curating, I expect top notch performers, and inspiring. They promise “an emotion filled evening of music and poetry celebrating Ukrainian music, poetry and art with prominent Ukrainian artists.” Also performing will be their resident Lyris Quartet, who alone are worth any price of admission (and this is free).
It will include short works by classical Ukrainian, Russian and Polish composers, living Ukrainian composers Valentin Silvestrov and Jan Freidlin, as well as the late Miroslav Skoryk, and the Romantic modernists Reinhold Gliere and Sergei Prokofiev, music by Dmitri Shostakovich, the soul of Russia during Soviet oppression under Stalin, and Henryk Gorecki (some of his work is nothing short of stunning) from Poland will provide moral support. Prominent concert pianists Inna Faliks and Steven Vanhauwaert, Latin Grammy-winning cellist Antonio Lysy, and violinist Myroslava Khomik, will be joined by the Lyris Quartet. The performance will culminate with special guest singers performing the Ukrainian National Anthem. Fri 6:30 p.m., Robert Frost Auditorium, Culver City, free, with reservations. with a suggested $25 minimum charitable contribution by phone on-site.
TOLEDO DIAMOND — Have you gone to catch his unique show yet, every Sunday night at Harvelle’s, here in SM? I’ve been recommending him for… decades. Choreographer to the biggest stars, smoky-voiced hep cat, creator of a unique floor show, with his dames, circus hoops, and a band that is truly a knockout. Trust me. You’ve never seen anything like Toledo. You will not forget this show and likely you will be back, friends in tow. Sun 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
LA PHIL with DUDAMEL performs STRAVINSKY’S “THE RITE OF SPRING,” Ginastera’s “Estancia” – Be on time and on point for these two classic ballet compositions. Ginastera uses the backdrop of the disappearing gaucho culture in Argentina, while “Spring’s” debut in Russia was fraught with controversy, from content to dancers, but pretty much heralded the dawn of 20th Century classical music. Next Thurs Walt Disney Concert Hall, $20-266.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: SOUTHSIDE SLIM. Harvelle’s, 5/6; LA PHIL with DUDAMEL performs STRAVINSKY’S “THE RITE OF SPRING,” Walt Disney Concert Hall, 5/6, 7, 8; PEARL JAM, Kia Forum, 5/6. 7; JIM KWESKIN, McCabe’s, 5/7; RICK HOLMSTROM BAND with special guest “THE KING OF DOWNEY,” McCabe’s, 5/8; DAVID SEDARIS, Royce Hall, 5/8; FLAMING LIPS, Wiltern, 5/9; LA PHIL with DUDAMEL performs REVUELTAS, STRAVINSKY’S “PETRUSHKA,” Walt Disney Concert Hall, 5/12, 13; LA PHIL with DUDAMEL performs VILLA-LOBOS, STRAVINSKY’S “FIREBIRD.” Walt Disney Concert Hall, 5/14, 15; SONG-WRITERS SHOWCASE with RICK SHEA, Petty/Chavez & Jeff Turmes, McCabe’s, 5/16.
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 36 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
