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Underground > Gathering >

Los Angeles Has A Pulse

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16:13 / 01.10.03

Despite all attempts at wheatgrass/chakra slander, Los Angeles still lives and breathes.

Things happening this week:

John Darnielle's excellent 'band' (him and a guitar) are playing at Spaceland tonight.

This weekend Lee Bontecou's show opens at the Hammer.

Coming up, Dennis Cooper and other read their Halloween material at the Hammer's Ghost & Horror Night.

18:34 / 01.10.03

Sigh.

I've been really missing LA this week.

Seriously thinking of biting the bullet, coughing up the cash and flying out there for a few days before I have to go back to London.

Lilly Nowhere Late

07:01 / 02.10.03

Though I now live and procreate in London, I certainly left my heart in Lost Angeles.
I could just about weep at the notion. Tell me more. I lived in the most bizarre little house in
Altadena and had a business in Pasadena and spent 8 years and a bit doing my head in
on urban exploration and desert mystere. O L A
Perhaps Anna and I should plan a trip?

17:00 / 02.10.03

The Spaceland show was terrific -- his songs are so intense, and often bitter, but he also has a sharp, dry sense of humor which comes across brilliantly in person.

If any of you travelers decide to visit LA don't hesitate to drop me a line, there are a lot of new things here. The Gold Line has extended service to Pasadena, and the subways are still new enough to be clean and pleasant to ride. Restaurants and bars are continually opening and closing, and there are number of new ones that are very good. I'll be happy to share the results of my research.

Lilly Nowhere Late

20:14 / 02.10.03

Until traveling does happen(not for awhile, I am about to open a new
salon here in London and don`t have time to pee much less go to LA) do you
think you could just run down to Loz Feliz and eat at Mexico City and
pick up some of their fluffy quesadillas, black beans and rice and send them
London way?
For more news of LA pulse happenings, you should get in touch with
David Cotner of Hertzlion and get on his Actions list. It tells everything about
every music event in the world ever. DC is in LA mostly, and do tell him I said hi.

22:04 / 02.10.03

I love Spaceland. I went to the best Mooney Suzuki gig there three years ago.

And Canters! Aww, sniffle. I just saw the topic abstract. Canters at 3:00am for pancakes and hot chocolate.

Fred, have you ever been to the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax? It's quite close to Canter's, actually, and is one of the Best Nights Out in LA.

I need to contact my peoples and see if I have a place to stay, and find out how much a flight from Milwaukee would be. Might be cheaper since most of my weekends are all booked up before I go back to London, so I'll only be able to do a Monday-Friday thing....

But then there's my peoples in San Francisco... Argh.

If I figure something out I'll keep you posted!

Lilly Nowhere Late

06:12 / 03.10.03

I saw Damo Suzuki at Spaceland, but it was about 5-6 years ago.
Used to take my dogs to the dog park up Silverlake from there.
Memories make my head hurt some mornings.

Anna: Why Milwaukee? Are you a Londoner? Coming back?
Do get in touch.
Fred: How about Fred 62- middle of the warm night like? And
any santa ana`s blowing yet?

21:57 / 03.10.03

Why Milwaukee? Kind of a long story. I dunno. I'm beginning to wonder why, myself. Like I said, long story. But yes, I am a Londoner (probably one of the few around here who was born and bred there), and I'll be back in November.

Back on topic, I'm still trying to figure out this trip I might take. But, now there's a potential place to stay in Miami, instead. I wish I had more money. Any money.

01:06 / 07.10.03

Lilly: What is Hertzilion? A mailing list? Thank you for the tip. I will get right on the Mexico City delivery project. No Santa Ana winds at the moment, it's been quite grey & overcast. Classic LA weather: cool mornings & evenings, warm afternoons. Funny you should mention Fred 62, since "fred" is a reference to Fred Eric.

Anna: Yes, I try to catch any Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, or Chaplin they have at the Silent Movie Theater. I only wish the seats were not so unforgiving.

The Lee Bontecou show was pretty incredible. She's a frail, tiny thing, and then there are these massive steel sculptures of hers. The progression was also amazing -- her recent work has a freshness that is heartening. The opening was fun in an art-star-gazing sort of way. What an inbred world. Los Feliz, Silverlake & Echo Park are sprouting new clubs and galleries nearly weekly.

Any other sentimental favorites?

18:37 / 07.10.03

Sentimental favourites? Um....

* Universal CityWalk (yes, yes, I know)

* Aardvark's Vintage on Melrose and Venice Beach

* Johnny Rockets on Melrose

* Meltdown Comics on Sunset

* Heck, that whole section of Sunset, from Fairfax up to the Chateau Marmont, especially the Ralph's

* Rocket Video on Fairfax (? I think -- or is it Highland?)

* that Jack-in-a-Box opposite the Little Red Schoolhouse by the Jim Henson buildings

Well, you did ask for sentimental...

19:10 / 16.10.03

Those are pretty sentimental. I live not too far from Rocket Video, in fact. I should post some photos and link to them for whenever you folks get the urge to gaze fondly.

This weekend, anybody in the area is welcome to join in for Oktoberfest

Old World Restaurant @ Old World Village
7561 Center Ave
Huntington Beach, CA

23:37 / 20.10.03

Don't know whether any of you old timers were aware that Amoeba Records has come to Los Angeles. DANGER. DANGER. Leave your wallet at home. I get suckered for $30+ every single time, and that's without ever leaving the the used classical lp subsection.

02:08 / 21.10.03

I'm not going to make it this year, which makes me sad. Hopefully if I have any money (hahahahahaha), then I want to tie in a visit with a trip to San Francisco for APE next February...

Lilly Nowhere Late

05:33 / 21.10.03

When you go to Mexico City, a browse in Mondo Video A-Go-Go on Vermont is well worth the
18 hours one could lose there. Also Skylight Books.

Ho hum. So missing LA. Would love a walk on Gabrielino Trail just now.

Planning a winter trip with Kareema, but no details yet.

16:12 / 27.10.03

Well, Ghost & Horror Night at the Hammer was sparsely attended, perhaps because the sky looked like this as I left the house on my way there. You can see people who've been indoors all day sniffing the air and looking confused when they come outside, and there's a fine layer of ash on everything.

Dennis Cooper read a story called 'Elliott Smith at 14' in lieu of performing a karaoke version of Monster Mash which had "been a dream of mine since I was a child. Particularly for a group of fine intellectuals like yourselves." Ouch.

Rocket Video does not stock the old Pippi Longstocking films, as I have discovered to my great regret.

Upcoming, whites from the Danube at Opaline, ten bucks. I think it's worth the ten just for their idea of snack food.

18:29 / 27.10.03

This week:

At the Echo Park Film Center, Wednesday, October 29th:

STYLE WARS - 6PM
"Come see this seminal work that examines some of the early pioneers in the
graffiti art movement. FREE FOR THE KIDS!!!"

And right next door at 33 1/3 Books, Tuesday, October 28:

"Discussion and book signing with Alexander Cockburn as he presents his new book, Politics of
Anti-Semitism. This groundbreaking book includes essays by Edward Said, Robert Fisk, Norman Finkelstein, Shaheed Alam. This first book in the new CounterPunch series is a timely anthology on the compulsion of silence and complicity in crimes against a betrayed people."

17:32 / 16.12.03

Is it that nobody in LA likes this sort of stuff? I can find other things, too. How about the cast & crew screening of the new Lord of the Rings film? I've got one spare ticket if I haven't already gotten a reply by email.

Tarkovsky's Mirror & Sacrifice are playing tomorrow and Thursday (I'm going both nights), the Lee Bontecou show's still in town, and next Tuesday Kubrick's 2001 is playing for free at LACMA.

18:36 / 16.12.03

fred, i'm so sorry. i've actually been interested in just about everything you've posted, but i've been too scatterbrained to reply properly, which i realize is no excuse for leaving you hanging so often when you're trying to organize things. i actually live in San Diego, so sometimes it's a bit of a pain making things happen up your way, and i was also out of town for a good chunk of September and October, first in Hawai'i, then in New Jersey (how's that for a change of scenery?).

i really appreciate your attempts at getting things together. i'm especially bummed i missed the graffiti thing.

18:42 / 16.12.03

oh, and re: Tarkovsky and/or Kubrick - let me talk to my girlfriend tonight. i'm sure we can make it up there for one of them, at least.

16:45 / 18.12.03

Yikes! I'd come to view posting to this thread as almost a form of performance art. I wish I'd remembered you were in SD, there was a good art show with party afterward recently at the Cassius King gallery. Well I am going tonight, Thursday, definitely to see The Sacrifice at 9:35 and possibly also The Mirror at 7:30. I'll hopefully see you guys there, if not, perhaps next time.

17:04 / 18.12.03

dammit. while i was posting that yesterday, my girlfriend was making plans for me with another friend who just popped into town from Seattle to head up to Century City to see Big Fish last night. we saw the 10:40 show, i got home at 3:15 or so, and left for work at 5:10am. i keep nodding off at my desk, so i don't know if i can head up there again tonight.

well, i'm glad we're in contact at least.

17:05 / 18.12.03

or whenever i posted that. god, i'm fucking tired.

01:43 / 19.12.03

Ha, no worries, I wound up working late and am missing the first show myself. Do yourself a favor and get some rest -- I saw two horrible accidents, one on the 10 and one on the 405, I doubt traffic will improve any time soon.

Perhaps next week? Mind you, 2001 is showing at 11am, it would probably involve an ugly morning-rush drive which I wouldn't fault you for skipping. On the plus side, the show is free and the theater's quite nice.

I'll keep posting events as they come up, one of these days the tiiming will be right. Do post San Diego events as well, I'm long overdue for a trip down.

19:10 / 22.12.03

Don't forget that tomorrow's show is free:

Tuesday, December 23
11am
Special Free Holiday Matinee
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968/color/139 min.)
Dir: Stanley Kubrick; w/Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester.

12:58 / 23.12.03

wait...is that 11 am?

03:45 / 04.01.04

Does anyone know of things to do in LA, perhaps along the lines of nice bars or clubs to go to, perhaps where they play decent dance, indie, retro music etc... or whatever you think.
Or indeed other events ... fetish, Dennis Cooper, , ,
I've just arrived here, and not sure where to start. Staying till Tuesday, I think (6 Jan). Quite fancied hitting San Diego but time's looking a bit tight- Las Vegas may be a bigger priority at this stage...

21:18 / 05.01.04

Sorry I didn't get a chance to check back in here since my last post. C**t, please post if you're still in town and I'll see what I can dig up for you.

21:41 / 05.01.04

Wednesday, January 7th, at 6pm at the Egyptian Theatre (their spelling) in Hollywood, there will be a screening of 21 Grams with discussion afterward with actors Benicio del Toro and Naomi Watts.

Upcoming at the UCLA Film Archive (Melnitz Theater) on Saturday January 10 2004, 7:30PM:

"SHANGHAI EXPRESS
(1932, United States) Directed by Josef von Sternberg

The combined star power of Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong propels this melodrama in which two former lovers are reunited on a train during the Chinese civil war. Von Sternberg was arguably one of cinema's greatest directors of women, and in SHANGHAI EXPRESS he had two illustrious actresses to work with: Dietrich, as the notorious "coaster" Shanghai Lily, and Wong as her traveling companion, the reformed prostitute Hui Fei. Wong's outstanding performance was so powerful yet so restrained that Dietrich felt she had been upstaged. The steam and smoke, the stylized performances, the minimalist but crackling dialogue and the stunning cinematography of Lee Garmes all make for a most enjoyable ride."

Also at the UCLA Film Archive, beginning January 16th, will be the 14th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema. Hopefully there will be some decent films this time and just more ethnokitsch.

18:39 / 07.01.04

well, fuck. we were coming up for the 21 Grams thing, but we didn't buy tickets ahead of time, and now they're sold out.

fuck.
fuck.
fuck.

23:16 / 07.01.04

ok, I am going to PM you my phone number for future reference as sometimes they hold back a few spaces at the Egyptian and I have an acquaintance there who can check to see if something is available -- a bit of a long shot but it doesn't hurt to ask

there's also this:

Friday, Jan 9
6pm
Lee Bontecou: A Retrospective
Bontecou Bash
Extended hours until midnight
Free Admission, Music, Cash Bar, and Raffle
Easy parking below Museum for $3
Special extended hours and free admission give you the perfect opportunity to see the exhibition Newsweek called “as good as it gets,” and the Los Angeles Times described as “exceeding expectations.”
Lee Bontecou: A Retrospective closes on Sunday, January 11

14:16 / 10.01.04

The Lee Bontecou show was incredible -- her vacuum-molded plastic work from the 60s not only prefigures but 'spanks' Matthew Barney as they are wont to say in the world of autocross. I cannot too strongly urge attendance for those of you who might be able to stop by today or tomorrow, it's a comprehensive, rare showing of this stunning work.

Today, Yoshitomo Nara has a show at Blum & Poe. Book signing's at 5, reception's at 6:

2754 S La Cienega, 310.836.2062

Don't have any good articles on Nara handy, but here's one excerpt:

"Nara's work is influenced by Japanese comic books--manga--but he is unique in the contemporary-art scene here for bedeviling his typically cute and vulnerable figures with a Western-influenced horror-film element. The children peer at the viewer through black-void, dagger-blade eyes, clutching a knife or saw in a final stand of rebellion or incipient insanity. One recalls the Diane Arbus-inspired twin girls standing in the bloody hotel hallway in Kubrick's film of Stephen King's The Shining. Nara's tapping into Western horror through the medium of the innocent child is particularly poignant in Japan's controlled society of rigid language and social structures, especially considering recent shockingly violent crimes in Japan involving children as the aggressors. Some people have regarded Nara's work itself as threatening."

15:28 / 12.01.04

Thanks for the info there Fred (who are you calling a c**t?

). Quite fancied that 21 Grams thing but we had to leave town that day to be elsewhere- and by diz's account it sounds like it was a bit busy anyway. We ended up going to the Viper Rooms on Sunday (yawn - yes, sad tourists who thought we'd check out R Phoenix's last visitng spot) and were treated to a showing of the film Brazil, with people sitting silently around on beanbags, eating pizza- seemed like a nice place.
Apart from that did all the usual nonsense like going to Universal Studios

22:44 / 12.01.04

I'm glad you didn't take offense! Sounds like you had a nice enough time -- LA is really a tough town for travelers, transportation being what it is, not to mention the everpresent plague of prepackaged shopping/dining/movie experiences and structures.

This Wednesday there will be a free show at UCLA by Ima Robot who were described to me as sounding like Hot Hot Heat (this was an endorsement). While I cannot personally vouch for this band, what the hell, it's free and it's right down the hill.

16:31 / 16.01.04

Art show at Cassius King -- not Los Angeles actually but San Diego. I will be driving down with a friend.

The information I have received is as follows:

Opening night: January 16, 2004 (runs until February 8, 2004)
6 pm - midnight
435 3rd Avenue

Artist Lineup:
Ogi
Sean Dougall
Kelly Tunstall
Stella Lai
Deth P. Sun
Kaoru C. Kumano
Mike Park

There will be DJs as well:
Tone Capone
DJ Scientifik
Bootney Farnsworth
Steven Slabco from Slabco Records (his last album was for BAPE)

Lilly Nowhere Late

06:06 / 17.01.04

Fred, did you ever get in touch with DCotner of Hertzlion.com as I think I suggested, or meant to? Does the "Actions" list which includes loads of happenings all over the world, and centers from LA. Every week when I get the list, I think of you.
God, I miss LA................................................................................

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