HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
TONIGHT! - LA PHIL, DUDAMEL CONDUCTS MOZART – An overview of Wolfgang’s greatness.Need I say more? OK - "Overture to ‘The Magic Flute’," "Piano Concerto No. 27," "Symphony No. 41, ‘Jupiter’." His last piano concerto, with renowned Mozart interpreter Mitsuko Uchida, and his last symphony, the mighty "Jupiter," one of his longest and best-loved. Thurs, Fri, Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, $164-364.
JUDY COLLINS, Sophie B. Hawkins – Yes, that "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." Name another ‘60s icon still performing seven decades later, to adoring crowds, and still hitting the high notes. OK, her friend Joan Baez, also known for covering great songs and making them her own. Leonard Cohen’s "Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," Pete Seeger’s (The Byrds’) "Turn, Turn, Turn," Joni’s "Chelsea Morning," "Both Sides Now" and "River," of course "Amazing Grace," her own "My Father," and my favorite, Ian Tyson’s "Someday Soon." It’s a short list of those thriving survivors, and since she’s 84, maybe you shouldn’t wait for the next tour. I never paid attention to Sophie B. Hawkins but she always had a rabid following and a reputation as a great live act, so I thought I should mention her. Fri 8 p.m., Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills, $38-98.
SOUTHSIDE SLIM – Thank you, Harvelle’s, for once again making available, right here in downtown Santa Monica, a bluesman of rare talent and energy (and he is no kid!). Slim absolutely tore it up there recently, with his jaw-dropping guitar work and killer band pushing a mix of soulful blues both slow and frantic, jazz, funk, Latin, soul and R&B, and a guest vocalist who filled the dance floor. Sat 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $10.
THE HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – Wouldn’t you know it? Hot Club takes off only two Mondays per year at the Cinema Bar, and one of them was last Monday, Memorial Day (and my birthday), when I was going to invite y’all to join me there for a great show. So now, you have 50 other Mondays to choose from, but don’t put it off. Life is uncertain – eat dessert first, is a good rule. Hot Club’s brand of virtuoso, sometimes breakneck Django-style 1930s gypsy swing jazz is found nowhere else and even if it was, it couldn’t possibly be better than this. These guys are masters, individually and collectively. 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:
Ruskin Group Theatre, "PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE" – Read carefully. It’s an "absurdist comedy." By the inarguably absurd comic Steve Martin. I laughed, but it is not intended to have you in stitches the entire time. It is the absurd and thought-provoking fantasy that Picasso and Einstein may have hung out together in a Paris cafe in the early 20th century, before either was famous. What might they have been like? Who else might have passed through? No one knows so Martin could go anywhere. One place he went was to make the "ordinary" women involved sound smarter than those two wise guys. People are diggin’ this show – it’s been extended for a third time. But some shows are selling out, so…. Fri, Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica Airport, $20-35.
MARIACHI USA 2023 , 34th Annual – You love Mariachi music? Me too. It was the only live music I heard during COVID. You want more? You could go to Olvera Street every weekend for a year, or see them all at once here. More guitars and fiesta skirts than you can shake maracas at. Sat 6 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, $37-450.
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,
Next Thurs -RICK SHEA – is a SoCal country treasure, an exceptional songwriter who can sell a song both quietly or raucously. I like his quieter, introspective, wise, great pickin’ seductive singing side best. Put a drink in front of you and go with it. Next Thurs 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, no cover.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s, 6/11, 18, 25; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 6/12, 19, 26; "PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE," Ruskin Group Theatre, 6/9, 10, 11, 16, 17; RICK SHEA, Cinema Bar, 6/8; PEDRO, Harvelle’s, 6/10; THEATRICUM BOTANICUM: "MACBETH" 6/10, 17, 25, "A MIDSUMMEER NIGHT’S DREAM," 6/11, 18, 25, "QUEEN MARGARET’S VERSION OF SHAKESPEARE’S WAR OF THE ROSES," 6/24; DAN NAVARRO, McCabe’s, 6/10; LIBRARY GIRL, Ruskin Theatre, 6/11; ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS/ IMPOSTERS, NICK LOWE, LOS STRAITJACKETS, Greek Theatre, 6/16; JACARANDA, 1st Pres Church of SM, 6/17; HOLLYWOOD BOWL JAZZ FESTIVAL, 6/17, 18; KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD, Hollywood Bowl, 6/21.
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 Charles Andrews
