GRATITUDE – SO IMPORTANT
A LOCAL NOTE, not music, but trees – Santa Monica peace activist JERRY RUBIN will be presiding over the dedication of a "Tree of Gratitude" planted by the City to acknowledge the lifetime work of Jerry’s late wife MARISSA. It will take place this Saturday – EARTH DAY – at noon in Palisades Park, just north of the Pier. What a great way to acknowledge and celebrate Earth (currently on life support) Day, and sweet Marissa, who was truly one of our most outstanding citizens.
IT’S 4/20 TODAY. I should have saved last week’s big photo of Marley ("BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE EXPERIENCE," see below) for today. Because of the auspicious date.
Speaking of reggae: I’ve recently gone back to obsessively playing the soundtrack to the landmark 1972 Jamaican film, "The Harder They Come." Every cut is baxide, geezam! It’s on my Top Ten Albums of All Time list.
For a long time I was reluctant to admit the movie and soundtrack were my introduction to, and love songs from, the island.. Then foremost authority on the subject Roger Steffens (see below) assured me, "Oh no, that was almost every American’s first blush with reggae." Of course, Steffens caught fire with The Wailers first major label release, and it became his life. He was invited, from his "Reggae Beat" show on KCRW, to join an early Wailers tour. I never even got to see Bob live. (But my wife did, at Santa Barbara Bowl. In fact, you can spot her skanking up front, in the video of the concert. I am, of course, very envious.)
WILLIE NELSON will celebrate his actual birthday, #90, while on tour – here in LA, at the Hollywood Bowl, with a pair of concerts, 4/29-30. Who doesn’t love Willie? A true American icon. A bearded, longhair Texan known for smoking prodigious amounts of weed all his life, even after busts and IRS harassment. Who will be there to celebrate him and sing his songs? A lineup to make this perhaps the concert of the century. Sturgil to Stapleton, Snoop to Sheryl (Dogg to Crow), The Chicks, Norah to Tom Joneses, Beck to Ziggy.
I must at least note the recent passing of RYUICHI SAKAMOTO (71), the barrier busting Japanese synthesist-composer-activist-actor. I picked up his "Thousand Knives" LP mid-’70s and was fascinated and hooked.
Happy Birthday, Mom, IRENE CATHERINE CLEMENS ANDREWS, still miss you, and love you so much.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
SOUTHSIDE SLIM - I’ve written glowingly about Southside every time he comes to town, and every time I try to catch his show because he is simply one of the best bluesmen around, for his powerful vocals and his electric guitar.10 bucks? Are you kidding me? Sat 9 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $10.
I SEE HAWKS IN LA – My failing, I suppose, but I have always had difficulty finding the right words to convey what a pleasure it always is to listen to this fine outfit ensemble of very talented players and singers, decades on the scene. I’ve heard them so many places over the years but I can’t think of a more ideal room for what they do than our own McCabe’s. Country, alt country, folk Americana, ditch trying to find a label and just sit back and take in what exquisitely laid-back music they put forth into the universe, Perhaps, yes, from the perspective of a high flying hawk.Sun 8 p.m., McCabes, $24.
THE HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES – 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:
TONIGHT! - GEORGE KAHN JAZZ & BLUES REVUE – That’s a lot of letters and words but this is a lot of show, with a lot of players and singers and ranging across genres and styles from standards to swing to bop to a little bit o’soul and R&B to his own compositions. Even though he lives "over the border," he’s pretty much a local guy with son Evan (successful cellist) a Samohi grad and wife Diana a well-known vocal coach at SMC. Always entertaining. And at Herb Alpert’s sumptuous venue tucked away in the hills. Thurs 7:30 p.m., Vibrato, Beverly Glen, $10-30.
TONIGHT! - BLONDIE – I mean, really, who knows for sure, but most of the original band is still together and they had so many great songs and Debbie Harry probably still has it, still has that look at least, that cool, so among all the bands of that era still around, I think this is a good bet. With the Linda Lindas.Thurs 8 p.m., Greek Theatre, LA, $60-160.
TODAY! - BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE EXPERIENCE – OK, I still haven’t seen it, busy, out of town, but I will, and my recommendation stands. Bob Marley was one of the greatest performers and musicians (his compelling, hypnotic, otherworldly vocal instrument) … ever. And his Wailers were musically phenomenal, and his songwriting was unique and remarkable. Silverlake’s Roger Steffens, the world’s foremost authority on Marley, if not reggae itself, is leading tours every weekend at 1 and 3, and he would not do that if it wasn't up to snuff. This covers only "the Island (record label) years," but that’s what most people are familiar with. Thurs-Sun-Wed 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m. -10 p.m., Mon-Tues 11 a.m. -5:30 p.m., Ovation Hollywood, $20-70.
IGGY POP – If you know his history you will be thrilled to see him still going crazy, if not you won’t even think about going. Um, that’s too bad. Who knew he could have such longevity, one of the most interesting and enduring volatile rockers, credited with giving birth to punk? Fri 8 p.m., Regent Theater, LA, $
"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. Some shows are selling out. Fri, Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, Santa Monica Airport, $20-35.
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, Santa Monica, $12.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: IGGY POP, Hollywood Palladium, 4/27; BOB MARLEY ONE LOVE EXPERIENCE, Ovation Hollywood, 4/28-30; "PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE," Ruskin Group Theatre, 4/28-30; WILLIE NELSON 90, Hollywood Bowl, 4/29, 30; TOLEDO DIAMOND, Harvelle’s, 4/30, 5/7, 14, 21, 28; HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES, Cinema Bar, 5/1, 8, 15, 22, 29; BOHEMIAN STRINGS, LA PHIL, Disney Hall, 5/2; DVORAK, BRUCKNER, Disney Hall, 5/5, 6, 7; DANIEL SZABO TRIO W/ PETER ERSKINE, Sam First, 5/5; LA CHILDREN’S CHORUS, Disney Hall, 5/7; ZIGGY MARLEY, Disney Hall, 5/9; "OTELLO," LA OPERA, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 5/13, 17, 20, 28; DUDAMEL, LA PHIL, "BEETHOVEN 7TH," Disney Hall, 5/25, 26, 27.
By CHARLES ANDREWS
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
