HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
THE HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – from their website: "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. - Santa Monica Daily Press" And may I add, 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.
RECOMMENDED:
"QUEEN MARGARET’S VERSION OF SHAKESPEARE’S WAR OF THE ROSES" – "What compels those who rule to make war, not love? The pendulum swings, and a petty universe of leaders works alone, ignoring the needs of those they supposedly govern. Human values erode as governments vying for power overtake the mere living of life." – does that sound centuries old, or like today’s headlines? Theatricum’s production encompassing Henry VI Part I, II, III, and Richard III, centers on Queen Margaret and the women and children of Shakespeare’s civil war saga. Sat 7:30 p.m., Theatricum Botanicum, Topanga Canyon, $15-60.
"MACBETH"’ – In this bloody, depraved corner, M’Lord and M’Lady, reigning still as the unchallenged monstrous couple of political pushiness, gruesome greed, absolute ambition and murderous mayhem. Some things never change. No wonder this one by Will (Shakespeare, not Geer) remains perhaps his best-known work (but hardly beloved). Sun 7:30 p.m., Thetricum Botanicum, Topanga Canyon, $15-60.
"A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM" – TB specializes in Shakespeare, and they do "Midsummer" every single season, 50 years now. If it ain’t broke, and the people love it, don’t axe it, but they do tinker with it a little every summer, and that means if you saw them perform it last year, or 10 years ago, you will see something a bit different, but still Will’s welcome warhorse. Who doesn’t love it? Sun 3:30 p.m., Theatricum Botanicum, Topanga Canyon, $15-60.
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, $12.
Next Thurs: Interview, Q & A, book signing by our own SUSAN HAYDEN , of her first book, "NOW YOU ARE A MISSING PERSON." The woman who launched or enhanced hundreds of writing careers, as the founder and "Presenter" for 14 years of the amazing LIBRARY GIRL monthly spoken word and music series at the Ruskin Theatre Group at Santa Monica Airport, is now the "Presented." A cosmic shift, and apparently the universe approves because the launch last Saturday at Beyond Baroque was packed! And respected writers (like Cameron Crowe and Dave Alvin) are giving it high praise. This past Tuesday was the official release date, so now you can get it in stores, and online, and tonight, next Thursday, you only have to go as far as Culver City to catch her talking about her book. which she calls "a lyrical, hybrid memoir of stories, poems and fragments." I’ve known Susan for at least six or seven years, maybe more, and I remember at our first meeting she told me about this long-simmering, oft-neglected "project" she was determined to finish. But in fact it took a lifetime, her lifetime, to finish it. What an accomplishment. Next Thurs 7 p.m., "The Marriage of Love and Grief," with NYT Bestseller author Steve Leder, The Village Well, Culver City, free but please reserve.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: "QUEEN MARGARET’S VERSION OF SHAKESPEARE’S WAR OF THE ROSES," Theatricum Botanicum, 7/1, 8, 16, 23, 30; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s, 7/2, 9, 16, 23, 30; "MACBETH," Theatricum Botanicum, 7/2, 9, 16, 21, 30; "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM," Theatricum Botanicum, 7/2, 9, 23, 28; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 7/3, 10. 17, 24, 31; LYLE LOVETT, Saban Theatre, 7/6; DUDAMEL Conducts FALLA, RAVEL, Hollywood Bowl, 7/6; JAKE SHIMABUKURO, Saban Theatre, 7/8; HAPPY TOGETHER TOUR with TURTLES, Little Anthony, others, Saban Theatre, 7/9; LIQUID KITTY’S PUNK ROCK BBQ, Harvelle’s, 7/9; NEIL YOUNG, Greek Theatre, 7/10, 13; DUDAMEL Conducts VERDI’S REQUIEM, Hollywood Bowl, 7/10 (Invitational Rehearsal), 7/11; RICK SHEA, Cinema Bar, 7/13; ELLINGTON, GERSHWIN with DUDAMEL, Hollywood Bowl, 7/13; JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT, Greek Theatre, 7/14; KOOL & THE GANG, VILLAGE PEOPLE, Hollywood Bowl, 7/14, 15; DIANA KRALL, Hollywood Bowl, 7/19; REGGAE NIGHT XXI with BERES HAMMOND, STEEL PULSE, Hollywood Bowl, 7/23; GERSHWIN, DVORAK, LA PHIL, Hollywood Bowl, 7/25.
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 (the real mr music…)
