Joe & Me - photo by Dian Andrews
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
THEATRICUM BOTANICUM: Premier's new show Sat, a political thought provoker – don’t be scared! They are always entertaining too. A few laughs too, I’m sure. It is another thing they are known for, one of their strengths. Grandpa Walton would be proud. "The Winter’s Tale" is one of Willie the Shake’s last, a tragi-comedy in five acts. He had at that point moved away from telling the stories of royalty, writing more about their emotions and lives of more everyday people. A terrific production. TB’s ever-evolving staple "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" has been performed by them every season, for more than half a century now. But you should probably come see this one again, because I have been told it has been reworked interestingly.Molière’s classic "Tartuffe" is brought forward a few centuries, and right into today’s headlines. How do you rid yourself of a persistent and clever con man? "Wendy’s Peter Pan" is typical of how TB takes a fresh look at things, and by title alone sounds like a lot of fun. I plan to see it and report back (but don’t wait for that). "Winter" Sat 3:30 p.m., "Latin" Sat 7:30 p.m.,"Tartuffe" Sun 3:30 p.m.,"Wendy"Sun 7:30 p.m., next Thurs"Midsummer" Thurs, 7:30 p.m., $15-60.
HOT CLUB OF LOS ANGELES — You can go to the Cinema Bar any Monday night, 9-11:30, for more than a decade now, and hear these hot players run through Django Reinhart-style ‘30s jazz. This amazing ensemble is a treasure. Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, free.
DUDAMEL & YUNCHAN LINN, LA PHIL - The dude is back! With a bang. With the youngest pianist to ever win the Van Cliburn competition, who seems up to all the dangerous territory Ludwig wrote into his "Emperor" Concerto, and the sentimentality and bold moments of Tchaikovski’s 5th. Man! Next Thurs 8 p.m.,Hollywood Bowl, $17-119.
RECOMMENDED:
"WILD THINGS ARE HAPPENING: THE ART OF MAURICE SENDAK" – Now you can see them much bigger than a page in a book. This is the first complete retrospective of his art since his death in 2012, and includes his work in many areas of the arts. Ends soon! Better run! 8/22 - 9/1, Skirball Museum, admission price? Parking fee - call for info and hours.
Tonight - "THE SUBSTANCE OF FIRE" – is still getting glowing reviews, and packing them in at our local theater treasure, The Ruskin, at the airport, in the long run. Written in 1991 by Jon Robin Baitz while still in his 20s, he drew his characters lovingly and skillfully, even those decades past his age. Directed here by Mike Reilly, the first NY production starred Rob Rifkin and Sarah Jessica Parker. Lead Rob Morrow first performed it years ago, as the youngest son. Now he plays the aging Holocaust-survivor patriarch of a family business, a book publishing company not doing well and about to be taken over by a large foreign firm. His children want him to bend his principles and publish a best-seller, but he is intent on a six-book examination of Nazi medical experiments. It’s almost like two plays, first the family dynamics with his three very different shareholding children, and in the second part comes Marcia Cross as a psychiatric social worker, and a different territory opens up. Thurs, Fri, Sat 8p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, SM Airport, $25-40..
GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY – When I saw these guys 17 years ago at Austin’s big ACL Festival, I didn’t know what to think. For about 20 seconds. A guitar player with his hair in two braids down to the bottom of his ribcage, big black shades hiding half his face, he sang half the time in a falsetto, and I immediately knew Aaron Behrens was one of the most charismatic performers I had ever seen. His bandmate was a really tall, very white dude in a shiny long cape outfit with a very high collar mostly obscuring his face, on drums, and occasionally percussive keyboards. Not since Lee Michaels, I thought, but…these guys were way different. They were funky, spacey, rockin’ out, soulful, electronic, and clearly Austin favorites. They got screams when they took the stage. Still together after 20 years (with an 8-year hiatus), I very nearly made this show HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Note early start time. Sat 6 p.m., Teragram Ballroom, LA, $42-54.
ASH GROVE ALUMNI - Sadly, the show has been changed to "A Tribute show for Joe Chambers," because he died of cancer just a few days ago. Friends said he was really looking forward to the show at McCabe’s, which would have been the day after his 82nd birthday. He was an original member of The Chambers Brothers, an LA family gospel group who did the unthinkable, combining soul and gospel with psychedelia into the huge and influential 1967 hit "Time Has Come Today," which he co-wrote with brother Willie. Shorter versions were released to radio stations but the 11-minute original LP version was by far the best, and the one I heard the most on radio. (An opportunity for the DJ to take a bathroom or smoke break, too.) Wendy Waldman will be there, as usual, a couple of other Chambers, and it should be an emotional and moving event. Sun 8 p.m., McCabe’s, Santa Monica, $28.
SANTANA - Mexican-born, Bay area-famous Carlos is a really old dude - 77 - still pushing spirituality on this "Oneness Tour," and his fingers still work just fine and he remains a legendary ‘60s guitarist who is still tearing it up and making you cry. With Jeff Beck recently gone, who else can you say that about? Doesn't matter who his band is, you go for Carlos. Counting Crows open. Wed 7 p.m., Kia Forum, Inglewood, $44-352.
COMING ATTRACTIONS (also recommended): "Wild Things Are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak," Skirball, 8/22-9/1; Theatricum Botanicum - "The Winter’s Tale" 8/24 - "The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote" 8/24, 31 -"Wendy’s Peter Pan" 8/25 - "Tartuffe-Born Again" 8/25, 30 - "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" 8/29; "The Substance of Fire," Ruskin Group Theatre, 8/22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 9/1; Ghostland Observatory, Teragram Ballroom, 8/24; Ash Grove Alumni, McCabe’s, 8/25; Santana, Kia Forum, 8/28; Dudamel & Yunchan Lim, Hollywood Bowl, 8/29; Midge Ure, Zebulon, 8/30; "Fool in Love" Festival, Hollywood Park, 8/31; McCabe’s Americana in the Park, Los Straightjackets, Mariachi Los Catrines, Gandara Park, 9/8; Kristin Korb Celebrates the Eurythmics, with Peter Erskine, Sam First, 9/11; McCabe’s Americana in the Park, Rick Shea & Tony Gilkyson, Mustangs of the West, Gandara Park, 9/15.
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 38 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or hate mail to: mailto:therealmrmusic@gmail.com
