MORE GOOD NEWS!
The live concert series at The Getty, “Sounds of L.A.,” always so well curated and interesting – I have a big regret over having missed Richard Thompson there a few years ago, a two part compendium of the music of the last 2000 years, if anyone could cover years 1 through 1000, it would be him – are returning! One per month, starting Feb. 19-20 with “120,000 STORIES with Nobuko Miyamoto and guests, a genre-bridging concert that reflects on her experience as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned during World War II. In March we go to Afghanistan, and in April to Hawaii. The concerts are free but you need a reservation, and parking is $15-20.
NEIL YOUNG JUST KEEPS ROCKIN’
In the Free World. He published a message shortly after Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a memo to company staff, saying the streaming platform would not part ways with high-profile podcast host Joe Rogan, who has been accused of promoting vaccine misinformation, and of using racial slurs early in his podcast. “To the workers at SPOTIFY, I say Daniel Ek is your big problem, not Joe Rogan. Get out of that place before it eats up your soul.” God bless ya, Neil – 76 and still fighting for the same vision you had when you were a teenager, for a better world. And he still grinds out excellent music, too. A rarity. MARY McNAMARA, one of my favorite columnists, nailed it nicely in Tuesday’s LA Times.
SOUTHSIDE SLIM absolutely tore it up at Harvelle’s last Friday. I sure hope they bring him back. And daughter Nicole reported that BJORK at the Shrine killed it last week, in her own inimitable way. Watched WEST SIDE STORY on the big screen at home and loved it! Excellent job on all counts, Mr. Spielberg. And, I didn’t know, the music conductor was our own Dude from Venezuela. They really tried to keep it Latin-infused, it seems. ‘Bout time.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
ALAN PASQUA, DAREK OLES DUO – A duo? Just a piano and stand up bass? Ah, but it is an opportunity to hear two absolute masters stand out, and do things an ensemble doesn’t have room for. Fri 7:30, 9 p.m., Sam First, LAX, $25.
EM THE MASTER — I’ve been giving EM’s show a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for months now and still do. She sings, dances, has dancers. She crawls across the floor like a reptile, gripping the mic and never missing a beat. She doesn’t play the piano, she attacks it. Uses her voice as an instrument in creative ways. Her energy is nonstop and seemingly limitless. Writes terrific songs perfect for her act. More talent than anyone has a right to. Every Tues 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, DTSM, $10.
RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! - HAMILTON — Still with us, but only four more weeks. Tonight - Thurs, Fri, Sat, Tues, Wed, next Thurs 8 p.m., Sun 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m., also Sat 2 p.m., Pantages Theater, Hollywood, $49-3000+, depending on date/time.
LA PHIL with ESA-PEKKA SALONEN plays Bach, Strauss, Smith, and Salonen – Aren’t we just too fortunate here in the live music capital of the world, with such a stellar roster of former LA Phil music directors who come back to bless us, and here you get to start off with a little Bach, then two world premier compositions, then hit the exits with “Also sprach Zarathustra” dancing around your head. Fri 8 p.m., Sat 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA, $50-189.
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. Trust me. You’ve never seen anything like Toledo. Sun 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
BARBARA MORRISON – She’s an LA treasure who should be a much more recognizable name than she is, but if you’ve never before, during her 60-year career, heard her work her wide range of genres so comfortably and masterfully, and in the most beautiful club in LA (Herb Alpert’s), you will certainly know her name forever after. Sun 6 p.m., Vibrato, Beverly Glen, $40.
GARRICK OHLSSON plays all Chopin – He’s one of the best there is, and it’s an entire evening of Chopin. You’re not going to miss that, are you? Sun 7:30m p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA $64-131.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: LA PHIL with SALONEN plays BARTOK, Bjarnason, SIBELIUS, Walt Disney Concert Hall,, 2/17, 18, 19, 20; TOM BROSSEAU, JAKE XERXES FUSSELL, McCabe’s, 2/19; SOUNDS OF LA, Getty concert series with NOBUKO MIYAMOTO, Getty Center, 2/19. 20; SARAH SILVERMAN & Friends, Largo at the Coronet, 2/19, 3/5; PETE ESCOVEDO, Vibrato, 2/20; LA PHIL with FATHER JOHN MISTY, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2/25; HERBIE HANCOCK, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2/27; DAMN WELL PLEASE ORGAN TRIO, Mardi Gras! Harvelle’s; 3/1; JANIS IAN, McCabe’s, 3/1, 2; THE ENGLISH BEAT, The Bourbon Room, 3/4, 5; SOUNDS OF LA with SALAR NADER, Getty Center, 3/12, 13; MIDORI, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 3/13; HILLARY HAHN, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 3/18, 19, 20.
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
