Fourth of July

Cassandra McGrath's Stories to Make You Cry

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Cassandra McGrath is telling me the saddest story I've heard in a while. We're in the dining room of the 28-year-old folk singer's Echo Park house and sh ... More >>

The Ten Best Los Angeles Concerts of 2012

10. My Morning Jacket The Wiltern, September 11-13 The ever-electrifying My Morning Jacket held a three-night stint at the Wiltern this past September and didn't repeat a single tune. That's right. Three nights and no repeats. It takes one heck of a repertoire not just to have that many songs, but t ... More >>

Animal Collective, Flying Lotus - Hollywood Bowl - 9/23/12

Animal Collective & Flying Lotus Hollywood Bowl 9-23-12 Better than... shrooming while watching the Emmys. See also: *The Time Flying Lotus Pretended To Be A UCLA Physics Major *Flying Lotus - Coachella - 4-14-12 The Hollywood Bowl is not the venue for working out new shit, that is if you don't c ... More >>

The Best Los Angeles Concerts of the Summer

5. The Zeros and The Muffs Troubadour, July 20 Though the Zeros and the Muffs began their careers at the start of the punk era and in the middle of grunge, respectively, their billing this summer was inspired. Both play the kind of punk -- catchy pop hooks over wham-bam, cranked-up chords -- that, ... More >>

The 10 Most Depressing Excerpts From Sheriff Spokesman Steve Whitmore's Personal Blog

All of a sudden, every terrifying conversation we've ever had with L.A. County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore makes so much more sense. We just discovered his LiveJournal personal blog -- and it's an absolute minefield of bitterness and morbid regrets and 15-year-old girl tears. (Als ... More >>

Meet Poolside: L.A.'s Newest Monster Truck-Driving Disco Duo

See also: Allah-Las and Chicano Batman Headline KCRW's Summer Music Series at the Hammer Yes, Poolside has a swimming pool in front of their Los Feliz studio, which which doubles as an apartment. But it's not the one you might have expected to inspire their chill-as-hell "daytime disco." It's small ... More >>

Dennis Herbert Tillet, 25, Killed in Hyde Park Shooting on Fourth of July

See also: Just 10 minutes and five miles away, 14-year-old Unique Russell likewise fell victim to gunfire amid the celebration. Update: Morehouse College, one of about 100 "historically black colleges and universities" around the country, confirms that Tillet was a graduate. Read the college's full ... More >>

Incredible Fourth of July Time-Lapse Videos Show Flurry of Fireworks Across Los Angeles

Another perk of the L.A. sprawl: Every Fourth of July, a flurry of fireworks can be seen glinting across the Los Angeles skyline like bioluminescent plankton on a wave. Last year's best time-lapse video of this spectacle -- truly a raver's wet dream -- was shot from a hill in Highland Park. This ye ... More >>

Grill Around the World in 8 Ways: Celebrating July 4th like an Angeleno

A proper Fourth of July feast probably begins at the grill. And in contemporary Los Angeles, this all-American meal is as likely to be comprised of yakitori and carne asada as hot dogs and hamburgers: Americans have been mixing and matching food traditions from our collective immigrant background si ... More >>

5 Condiments to Spice Up Your July 4th Holiday

The Fourth of July is the perfect egalitarian holiday. Everyone is invited, and you don't have to bring a gift, dress up or sing any particular songs. It happens in summer when the weather is beautiful, there's nothing religious about it, you're not compelled to be with family to celebrate unless yo ... More >>

Top 7 Ways To Ruin a 4th of July Barbecue

The beery, cheery assemblage of friends and family that typifies the traditional Fourth of July grill-side hang is usually loose and easy-going. There may be burgers and potato salad. There may be a game of catch. There will certainly be fireworks. However, that giddy sparkler-lit spirit of free ... More >>

L.A. Weekly Flickr Pool Reader Photo of the Day: 4th of July Cupcakes from Cupcake Contemplation

Cupcakes really are quite a brilliant way to harness holiday spirit and apply that sentiment to special occasions. That is why today's L.A. Weekly Flickr pool photo of the day is this display of Fourth of July cupcakes from Cupcake Contemplation's Flickr. Here, star spangled red velvet cupcakes are ... More >>

Your Weekly Movie To-Do List

Sizzurp, Sci-fi and 'Murrica

Food News Roundup: Gay Rights Oreo Graphic, Tomato and Strawberry Gazpacho Foods That Improve Sexual Health

Bon Appetit: 10 foods that possess aphrodisiac qualities and can (theoretically) improve your sexual health. MSNBC Bites: Rainbow Oreo graphic celebrating LGBT pride month sparks advertising controversy. Eatocracy: Remembering Nora Ephron through her film Julie & Julia, as well as Ephron's other ... More >>

Boom!

Marina del Rey's July Fourth Fireworks

The Wednesday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

You can't replace the feeling of lounging on the couch with a scrunched-up newspaper. But with the web, at least you don't need to worry about getting ink on your hands and bagel. Here's a roundup of some food-related stories from our country's newspapers this week. Lucky for us, it's mostly free. F ... More >>

Santa Monica to Ban Late-Night Food Trucks on Main; City Council Apparently Unfamiliar With Drunk Munchies

curvewire.comSay your goodbyes, kiddos.​Wack! The seven City Councilmembers occupying that gorgeous beachside Hall over in Santa Monica seem to have little idea what keeps the party people going a few blocks south. They've tentatively approved an ordinance that will ban food trucks on Main St ... More >>

Anime and Music Convention AM2 Announces 2012 Dates at Anaheim Convention Center

Dianne GarciaAM2, 2011​AM2, the fan convention dedicated to "animation, music and manga," has announced that it will return for a second event at Anaheim Convention Center on June 15-17, 2012. The convention follows an unusual model in that general admission is free. Fans, however, have the ... More >>

Venice Bar Report: Roosterfish

Katherine Sheehan​ The Place: Roosterfish, 1302 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice; 310-392-2123. The Hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Daily. The Digs: A 2009 LA Weekly Best of Award entitled "Best Escape From West Hollywood" put it well: "Sometimes it's good, even necessary, to take a break from the glam ... More >>

Elderly Santa Monica Woman Plows Through Crowd of Children at Fourth of July Parade

Perez HiltonThe Affleck children, just out of harm's way.​If you didn't hear about the near-disastrous car crash during Santa Monica's otherwise idyllic (bike traffic notwithstanding) Fourth of July parade last Monday, it's because the old woman behind the wheel, and the group of children she ... More >>

Erika Rodriguez, South L.A. 12-Year-Old, Blinded by 'Firework Lodged in Eye Socket'

Bottle rockets: the light sabers of South L.A.​A little girl from South L.A. who had been playing with a sparkler at a late-night Fourth of July house party -- and who was then blasted in the face with return fire, probably from a bottle rocket -- has lost all sight in her right eye, City News ... More >>

Fourth of July 2011, Los Angeles: The Damage

sfistHere we go again​Updated after the jump: The L.A. City Fire Department received 17 percent more calls than on a typical Fourth of July. At one point, there were 26 brush fires raging. Judging by the American flag-shaped sunburns on our foreheads and bottle-rocket scars rendering our thum ... More >>

Live Review: Basement Babies at The cAbin, By George!

Sam BlochBasement Babies​Review by Sam Bloch. WHO: Truman Peyote, Matthewdavid, Sun Araw, Basement Babies WHERE: The cAbin, By George! WHEN: 7/5/11 In September 1995, an MTV reporter caught Bjork backstage at England's massive Reading festival. A few months earlier, she'd released her seco ... More >>

Bike Traffic: Santa Monica Lifeguards Declare 'SigAlert' After Bike Path Gets 'Worse Than 405' on Fourth of July

The good old days​Hilarious L.A. oxymoron o' the day: bike traffic! L.A. County lifeguards, bless their hearts, were faced with said phenomenon while regulating a packed Santa Monica coastline this Fourth of July. Forget Carmageddon, people -- we just survived the Bike-ocalypse. Apparently, ... More >>

Top 7 Hall & Oates-Sampled Hip-Hop Songs

We can go for that!​By Sheila Dichoso Nothing says hip-hop like Hall & Oates. That's right. Not even the filthy mouths of 2 Live Crew could resist their soft rock hooks, luxurious hair and awkward, ambiguous lyrics. (You can't go for what, exactly?) From Wu Tang to Kanye, rappers have paid ... More >>

Red, White and Blue Notes

America, You're Beautiful — Too Bad You Have to Work Tomorrow

Top 5 Accidentally Patriotic Things to Do in L.A. July 4 Weekend

Screenshot taken from Ghostbusters​ Everyone knows that L.A. isn't the 'real' America. It's full of communist liberals who have no faith in the great American nation. However, have no fear -- if you're planning on going to that show at the Echo on July 4 and skipping out on the fireworks, you ... More >>

Chick Pees in Urinal at Dodger Stadium, Makes Guy Hold Her Beer (NSFW Video)

Gender equality at the Dodger Stadium urinal.​Just when we thought the hemorrhaging Dodgers legacy couldn't get any trashier, it looks like we may have found a more dogged Dodger dog than team owner Frank McCourt. Forget parking-lot supervillains: This is the chick who peed in the boys' bathro ... More >>

Top 5 Food Events This Weekend: TOTNLA, Ramen, Wine, Hot Dogs & Roasted Meats

Ramen Bull Kicking off its Popchef series, Breadbar's consulting Chef Noriyuki Sugie debuts Ramen Bull, a menu of five beef-centric ramen dishes: short rib ramen ($11); oxtail ramen ($15), beef tongue ramen ($12); spicy ramen ($14); and corn beef ramen ($13). Available Monday through Saturday, 5 t ... More >>

Super 8 Review

JJ Abrams meets Steven Spielberg

Stage Raw: Eccentricites of a Nightingale

COMPREHENSIVE THEATER LISTINGSNEW THEATER REVIEWSSTAGE FEATURE on Free $$$ and TrioL.A. WEEKLY THEATER AWARDS NOMINEESNEW REVIEW GO THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE ​Photo by Craig Schwartz It's New Year's Eve in Tennessee Williams' drama, and Alma Winemiller is enchanted by the crisp snaps ... More >>

WHO'S YOUR TACKY UNCLE?

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 6/28 - 7/2

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "The surroundings are luxurious, but the avant-garde cooking of Michael Voltaggio, who uses his tank of liquid nitrogen with the abandon that a bachelor uses his toaster oven, is anything but sedate: white asparagus lac ... More >>

Grilling for the Fourth: Italian Sausages

D. GonzalezItalian Sausages: (l to r) Bob's Pork & Pecorino, A-1's Garlic & Parsley & McCall's Pork Fennel​ As Americans, it has been our tradition that on Fourth of July weekends we honor the ratification of our Declaration of Independence by firing up the grill to prepare foods named after G ... More >>

Dance Club Pick: (Cherry) Bombs — Miss Kitty, Bondage Ball and Erotic City

Target Sundays @ CAAM

Pasadena Fire Department Spraying Fire Retardant In Preparation For July 4th

​Pasadena firefighters are preparing for the Fourth of July weekend by spraying a fire-retardant chemical on brush around the Rose Bowl to reduce to the possibility of a wildfire by a fireworks show there scheduled for that day. According to Lisa Derderian of the Pasadena Fire Department, wor ... More >>

WARNING : THE FOLLOWING BLURB CONTAINS SENSORY OVERLOAD

A French Toast, S'il Vous Plait

Over the Weekend: Kick Out the Clots Benefit, Texas Heat at Crewest Gallery, Anime Expo 2009

Between not buying illegal fireworks in Chinatown and enjoying the fact that we could sleep in Friday, our Fourth of July Weekend was pretty packed, with Pool party/BBQ after Pool party/BBQ to attend. In between nursing our sunburn and our hangover, we got to hit up some of the most happening event ... More >>

Rock Picks: Riot Girl Carnival, Miniature Tigers, Death Cab for Cutie, Deer Tick

Also, Vieux Farka Touré, John Fogerty, Stacey Q, Watts Ensemble and others

More BBQ love heating up around town: Nick Stef's Thursday, Rustic Canyon on the 4th, Ford's Filling Station in July

Photo credit: TheBittenWord.comBBQ madnessMore restaurants are piling on the barbecue love we're seeing so much of this year. Add Rustic Canyon to the list. Owner Josh Loeb is turning the casually genteel Santa Monica restaurant into a hub of smoky action on Saturday, July 4 only, starting at 4:00. ... More >>

We Are Scientists, Morning Benders, The Blood Arm, El Rey, 7/1/08

We Are Scientists with Morning Benders and The Blood Arm, El Rey, July 1, 2008 Photos by Timothy Norris Last night The Blood Arm performed the first truly excellent theme song for the economic recession of 2008. Dedicated to Jay-Z, referencing Wesley Snipes' three-year jail sentence for tax evasi ... More >>

Randy Newman, Katrina, The Fourth of July and "Louisiana 1927"

Randy Newman, Katrina, The Fourth of July and "Louisiana 1927" By Alex Rawls In April in The New York Times, Geoffrey Himes described Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927” as “more than an anthem, ... it’s also a modern-day folk song that gains new lyrics as singers adapt it to new circumstance ... More >>

Naa Na Na Na Naa

How the West Coast Eastside sound changed rock & roll