December 14, 2011

Merry Twistmas to All

Posted by Kim Ohanneson under Go Go Here | Tags: , , , , , , , |
[2] Comments 

Have weenie tree, will travel.

Just about now, you’re hoping it’s YOU who’ll  get run over by a reindeer what with the Muzak-mauled carols, the mall-maddened crowds, and the 7-11-icky eggnog.

De rigueur holiday gift: a cocktail guide stocking stuffer for the office party planner.

To put you out of your seasonal misery, Ms. Go Go advises cutting the sugar with a little spice – say,  juniper berries taken in the form of gin — and adding a theatrical chaser – or four — with the following So-Not-Taking-the-Season-Seriously shows. You’ll have to move fast; these theatrical events are late-breaking, ending soon, or sure to be sold out.

You’re obviously not the only Grinch in town. 

True Tales, Retro Slides, and Astro Weenie Trees

STOP!  Before reading on, clickety-clack those computer keys to grab tickets to kitsch historian Charles Phoenix’s just-added, sure-to-be-sold-out  Retro Holiday Slide Show this Sunday, December 18th at 3:00 p.m. Gape at the glory of a Kodachrome year in vintage slides that start with politically incorrect Rose Bowl Parade floats and end with a Christmas bondage party.

Sure, you can take notes for your next birthday bash.

LATE BREAKING NEWS!  Now that you’ve got Sunday scheduled, cancel your Hump Day lunch and head downtown for True Holiday Tales With Charles Phoenix and Friends, a FREE Grand Performances midday event today, Wednesday, December 14th from noon to 1:00 p.m.   Joining the Ambassador of Americana are tellers of true tales such as Ric Salinas (one-third of the comedy group Culture Clash) and Kristina Wong (who tours with her one-woman show Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest while feuding with James Franco).   You’d go mano  a mano with Franco any time.

And yes, Grand Performances dares you to bring an Astro Weenie Tree.

(TRUE HOLIDAY TALES with Charles Phoenix and Friends — Today! Wed, Dec 14th from noon-1pm/FREE — Grand Performances, California Plaza Watercourt, 350 South Grand, DTLA 213.687.2159, grandperformances.org)

(CHARLES PHOENIX RETRO HOLIDAY SLIDE SHOW – Sun, Dec 18 @ 3pm; $30 – REDCAT Theater, 631 West 2nd St, LA 90012; http://www.redcat.org/event/charles-phoenix-0)

Buk up!

Buk the Season

What better antidote to Xmas than the man who said, “I don’t like jail, they have the wrong kind of bars in there.”

Happy holidays!

Whether you already love the chronicler of L.A.’s low life or just wanna say Scrooge the season, don’t miss the final performance of  Christmas 4 Bukowski this Friday, December 16th at 8:30 p.m. at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theater.  Jessica Lynn Verdi serenades with carols as you enter the black box theatre but don’t get your pom-pom panties in a twist; director Josh T. Ryan cuts the cheer with a healthy dose of Bukowski’s cyanide-sharp prose and poetry.  By the time you leave the theater, all Xmas sentiment will have been scoured away so you can wade into the holiday fray once more. 

Bukowski would definitely approve your post-performance, wading-into-the-fray nightcap.

(CHRISTMAS 4 BUKOWSKI – FINAL PERFORMANCE!  Fri, Dec 16th @ 8:30 p.m./$10 – Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre, 4850 Lankershim Blvd, No Hollywood;  818.202.4120 zombiejoes.homestead.com)

'Cause he's your best friend.... (Courtesy of Santasia)

Merry Full Monty and the Little Penguin That Could

The bad boys of Santasia, all alumni of ImprovOlympics, Second City, and ComedySportz,  have been gleefully skewering holiday traditions for over a decade — that’s 40 reindeer years to you — with their R-rated mix of  original claymation (penguin), film shorts (penguin again), and laugh-’til-you-choke sketches such as an epic get-the-bully snowball brawl and the sleigh ride from hell.

Just in case you’ve been dreaming of a  James Cameron-does-White Christmas….

And if you’ve been dragged to one too many performances of The Nutcracker and The Snow Queen, you’ll appreciate the definitely-not-Kringle-approved choreography in musical parodies ranging from Chicago to Fame to The Full Monty. 

Nothing says holiday like a scantily clad man wearing a Menorah.

(SANTASIA – through Sat, Dec 24; various days/times; $23 on line/$35 at the door; Rated R — Whitefire Theater, 13500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, 91423, for info and tix http://santasia.com/index.htm)

 

July 19, 2010

Parno Graszt: Gypsy love with milk churns

Posted by Kim Ohanneson under Daily Go Go | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
[4] Comments 

Parno Graszt stir things up at the Skirball. (Photo courtesy of Yonas Media)

The moon may not be full until Sunday but that doesn’t mean your blood isn’t already stirring with the heat and the anticipation….

What better way to work off that agita than with Parno Graszt‘s high energy brew of soulful and oh-so-danceable Hungarian/Romani music.  Described as “THE SOURCE of Gypsy music” by Songlines Magazine, the eight-piece, twenty-year folk veterans (whose name in Romani means “White Horse”, the symbol of purity and freedom)  make their Los Angeles debut at the Skirball Cultural Center on Thursday to kick-off the institution’s oh-so-brief Summer Concert season.   Expect to hear instruments ranging from guitars, double bass, tambura and accordions to spoons, water cans, milk churns and ‘oral bass’ (a “continuous vocal improvisation made by the percussionist”).   And really, when was your last oral bass experience in public?

Party in the Pushkar. (Film still from "Ramblers, Roamers, Vagabonds - Parno Graszt" courtesy of podium productions)

In 2008, the Paszabi gypsies were invited to India (the purported motherland of the Roma people) where they searched for musical roots,  familiar customs, and source melodies while playing with local musicians in the Pushkar Desert and elsewhere. On Wednesday, the day before the concert, the Skirball screens Ramblers, Roamers, Vagabonds – Parno Graszt, Sandor Sillo’s color-drenched documentary of the journey.  (Free but reservations recommended so don’t delay, Go Go’ers!)

Eastsiders/downtown wage slaves can also check out the group  on Friday at the noon Grand Performances at the Water Court at California Plaza but those lucky enough to be able to plan an extended stay at the Skirball can dine before dancing (but sadly, not before film viewing) at the reservation only dinner buffet at Zeidler’s Cafe.   Post-dinner/pre-concert,  check out “Jews on Vinyl”; album highlights of the Roger Bennett/Josh Kun guest-curated exhibit include  “Batman and Rubin” and “Bagels and Bongos”.  (The latter may be the only instrument not utilized by Parno Graszt.)   Feel your Inner Don Draper relax in the retro Fifties living room where listening stations await.

The choice of whether to fill your hip flask with Mad Men scotch or Mad Hungarians is, of course, up to you….

Ready?  U Know U Want 2 Go Go….

(more…)

 

June 18, 2010

Gangsta Wagner: Bring on the Valkyries, bring on the funk.

Posted by Kim Ohanneson under Daily Go Go | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 
Double G and daKAH do the Ring.
(Photo courtesy of Grand Performances)

Go Go’ers, here’s an eve o’ Dad’s Day event for all the fathers in your life from your Pop Pop to your baby daddy.

By the time Saturday’s Grand Performance rolls around, Wagner’s “The Ring” will have roiled through the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (and will continue roiling through June 26).   If you’re a diehard Wagner fan who’s attended every sidebar offering of “Der Ring Des Nibelung” as well as the Main Event, you will definitely want to add Double G‘s Gangsta Wagner to your “If you like it then you better put a Ring on it” collection.

Geoff Gallegos (a.k.a. Double G) is the co-founder and composer, as well as “Da Konductor”, of the dAKAH Symphony Hip Hop Orchestra.  The  60+ piece ensemble has strings, winds and percussion to deliver the symphonic sound; electric guitars, turntables,  singers, and MCs bring the soul.   (Wagner might not know what to make of the MCs and turntables; then again, he had dwarves and mermaids to work with….)  Expect the Berklee College of Music-trained Gallegos, who also produces and arranges for musicians such as Outkast, India Arie, John Frusciante and Everlast, to funk up Wagner’s Ring with Left Coast Rap for a  musical thrill ride.

For a kinder, gentler thrill ride (and the ultimate downtown experience), take the Red Line from Union Station to Pershing Square, climb the north stairs to 4th and Hill, and for a quarter, take the Angels Flight Railway (“The Shortest Railway in the World”) up to the California Plaza Watercourt.  (The railway closes at 10:00PM so be prepared to hoof it downhill post-concert if necessary.)   BYOB and a picnic (NOTE: No red wine or glass containers allowed!) or grab Famima fare (Free coffee with any Famima cake!) at the Plaza.  Stake out your spot by 6:30, chow down, and get any chit chat with dads or dates out of the way before the music starts.

‘Cause you don’t want to mess with the Germans and the gangstas….

Ready?  U Know U Want 2 Go Go….

(more…)

 

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 96 other followers