HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
Probably the most amazing four-day run ever for the LA Phil, in 100 years!
TONIGHT! - CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Concert & Gala with DUDAMEL. MEHTA and SALONEN conducting!! (just yesterday I was remembering a trio for the ages, telling someone of having seen a show 21 years ago at Pauley with Dylan, Van and Joni all in their energetic renewal phases, or just think of this as a one-night classical Woodstock without the mud, in comfortable seats, acid optional, this will be unforgettable, on the actual 100th anniversary of the LA Phil’s first performance, has there ever been or will there ever again be three such Promethean baton twirlers on a stage together and they’re all ours, past and present LA Phil music directors and on the last number all three will conduct together, how could you possibly miss this, spring for a “cheap” seat), Thurs 7 p.m., $135-$195, VIP $3,000-$15,000, tables $30,000-$75,000 (includes cocktail reception, dinner, dancing).
MEHTA’S MAHLER - “RESURRECTION” (Mahler is in my Top 3, Zubie is known for having mastered his demanding work, Symphony No. 2 is seven movements, 90 minutes, no intermission, “Resurrection” is immense, overpowering, transcendent, enthralling and you will never forget the pure ecstasy of the finale), Fri 8 p.m., $89-$240.
SALONEN & SIBELIUS (Jean Sibelius is also in my Top 3, Symphony No. 5 starts with the quiet flutter of swans and finishes, or Finn-ishes, with what some consider the greatest finale of all, and of course fellow Finn Esa-Pekka has him in his cultural DNA, also Luonnotar, and world premiere of Salonen’s composition “Gemini,”), Sat 8 p.m., $20-$209.
BEETHOVEN’S NINTH with DUDAMEL (well looky here, that rounds out my Top 3 composers, not a bad way to turn 100 as the Dude conducts Ludwig’s towering achievement with a gazillion performers on stage, again, you can’t miss any of these, just take out a second mortgage, you’ll be glad you did, YOLO), Sun 2 p.m., no prices listed, completely sold out, they say so just show up and beg, maybe somebody’s partner expired on the way to the concert, and you’re in!), Sun 2 p.m.
All concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, DTLA.
TONIGHT! - PETER ERSKINE TRIO with George Garzone, Alan Pasqua, Derek Oles (CD release party of what they recorded here earlier this year, I was there, this is a really good lineup though I would recommend it even if it was just master Erskine doing a three-hour drum solo, he’s a SM treasure), Thurs, Fri 8, 9:30 p.m., Sam First, LAX, $25-$30.
RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! - 1984 (how cool does this sound? haven’t seen it yet but a stage adaptation of the chilling George Orwell novel, now with Tim Robbins added to the cast, by his Actors’ Gang Theater, sounds like something I want to experience), Thurs, Fri, Sat, next Thurs 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., The Actors’ Gang Theater, Culver City, $20-$50, Thursdays “Pay What You Can.”
TONIGHT! - THE GIFT: THE JOURNEY OF JOHNNY CASH (I hope this one hangs around as long as Linda because it’s just as good, in different ways, through photos, film and first-person narratives from family and friends it starts by taking you to where the Man in Black grew up and you unwind his life to get some insight into this very complicated man of many coats and how he became one of the most important artists of the 20th Century, oh and the music sounds pretty dang good too and there is early video footage that’s so interesting, especially of his TV show and some priceless performances, especially duets, how young does Joni Mitchell look?), Thurs-next Thurs, Laemmle Music Hall Beverly Hills.
TONIGHT! - LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE (amazing how long this music doc has played, way longer than anyone might have guessed, but it is good and will perhaps open your eyes to more respect for a woman who blazed early trails in male-dominated rock, advocated for human rights, shared a mattress on the floor of the Governor’s Mansion with Jerry Brown, lived life and her art on her own terms and succeeded wildly, and as Dolly Parton declares, “that girl could sing ANYthang!”), Thurs-next Thurs, Monica Film Center DTSM.
WESTERNER! (+ 4 other bands, don’t know them, doesn’t matter, Westerner is the real deal, four great players, a charismatic vocalist, excellent songs, see them now in cozy Harvelle’s before they start playing bigger venues), Fri 9.m., Harvelle’s, DTSM, $5.
PSYCHO!! LIVE! (well, the music is live and it’s expertly screeched by the LA Opera Orchestra so this will probably be the scariest version of the Hitchcock masterpiece that you’ve ever seen and heard and they have a party afterward on Halloween night and the Theater at the Ace Hotel is gorgeous but also a little horrifying around spooks time so, shower beforehand because you may not be able to for several days or weeks afterward), Fri, Sat, Wed, nest Thurs 8 p.m., Sat, Sun 2 p.m., the Theater at Ace Hotel, DTLA, $20-$150.
LA METROPOLITAN OPERA - Händel’s Julius Caesar in Egypt (whaaa? - now LA’s got 4 or 5 opera companies? well goodie I say, I don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout this but it’s in our back yard and Mt. Olive is very musically adventurous so let’s encourage them), Sun 7 p.m., Mt Olive Lutheran Church, Ocean Park SM, suggested donation $30 advance, $40 door.
DAN NAVARRO presents Cantina Navarro with MASON SUMMIT, ADRON, KATE COPELAND (you remember Lowen & Navarro, you may not know he’s also written songs for artists as diverse as Jackson Browne, the Bangles, the Temptations, Dave Edmunds and Dionne Warwick, recorded with Luis Miguel, Neil Young, Andrea Bocelli, Jon Anderson and Jose Feliciano, also has a thriving voiceover acting career in TV, video games and films — including Happy Feet — which my wife was also in! and here you’ll get to hear local artists he likes, including local kid grown up Mason Summit, who has opened Library Girl performances for 10 years since he was 13, see? — his mom didn’t hand him this gig, he damnwell earned it), Sun 8 p.m., McCabe’s, SM, $18.
THOM YORKE, Modern Boxes (haven’t caught Thom/Radiohead for a while, but for nearly 35 years he’s been worth listening to, so…), Tues, Wed 7:30 p.m., Greek Theater, Griffith Park, $40-$80.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: GUITAR SHORTY, 11/2, Harvelle’s; THE FAMILY ACID, CALIFORNIA book signing, 11/7, The Standard, Hollywood; JACARANDA - THE PARTCH ENSEMBLE, 11/9, First Presbyterian Church, DTSM; MAGIC FLUTE - LA OPERA, 11/16, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, DTLA.
BODACIOUS BIRTHDAYS: wow, slim pickin’s, if you want your kid to be a musician don’t do the horizontal bop in late January (9 months before), you’re more likely to get a cricketer — SONNY TERRY - of: and Brownie McGhee (1911), BILL WYMAN - bass, Stones (1936), GEORGE H. CRUMB - no, not that one, that’s R Crumb, this is the Pulitzer-winning composer (1929), DRAKE (1986), THE BIG BOPPER - born Jiles Perry Richardson, went down with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens (1930), BOB KANE - comic artist, Batman co-creator (1915), ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK - Dutch microscopist first to observe bacteria, protozoa and one of the worst names you had to attempt to pronounce for HS biology (1632).
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds, including more than 2,000 live shows. He has lived in Santa Monica for 33 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
