Orpheum Theatre

The Dazzling Story of the Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre has six floors of dressing rooms, a film projector, a world-class sound system and one of the only surviving Wurlitzer theater organs in the country. It's also one of the last independent venues in the city. Ninety years in, it continues to thrive after more than 85 years thanks ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, December 14 Thrill Jockey 20th-anniversary party with Wooden Shjips, Liturgy, Trans Am, Kid Millions THE ECHOPLEX Back in the '90s, arty Chicago alt/indie warhorse label Thrill Jockey basically drew the map for marginalized music's move into the mainstream, with a roster including Tortoise, ... More >>

Is Different From the Others the First Gay Movie?

In 1919, a Social Democratic government came to power in Germany and lifted long-standing censorship laws. Acting quickly, filmmaker Richard Oswald joined with psychiatrist and gay-rights pioneer Magnus Hirschfeld to write and produce Different From the Others, a 90-minute drama about the love affai ... More >>

Umamicatessen: Meating Place

A "soft open," in restaurant parlance, is a kind of dress-rehearsal period, wherein the establishment throws open its doors and hopes for a manageable trickle of customers to walk in, allowing the kitchen and waitstaff to work out kinks in the menu and service. In the Twitter age, however, a soft o ... More >>

Music Picks: Digital Underground, Beady Eye, Erykah Badu

Also, Jane Birkin, Human Drama, Big Jay McNeely

Ovation Awards

What do all the glittering prizes mean?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Orpheum Theatre - 10-10-11

Timothy NorrisJoseph Gordon Levitt discussing the nature of love with Neil Patrick Harris​Joseph Gordon-Levitt hitRECord Fall Formal The Orpheum Theatre October 10, 2011 No one was really quite sure how this was going to work. All people could be sure of was that Joseph-Gordon Levitt had buil ... More >>

Music Picks: Esperanza Spalding, Elbow, Toro Y Moi, Blink-182

Also, Glen Campbell, the Smashing Pumpkins, Lanie Lane and others

The Ettes, Sade, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Benefit for Nick Curran

Also, Kendrick Lamar, the Punk Rock BBQ, Katy B and others

Peaches at the Orpheum and Killing Joke at the Wiltern Over the Weekend

Timothy NorrisJesus Christ, Peaches!​ [For more photos, see Timothy Norris' slideshow "Peaches Christ Superstar @ The Orpheum Theatre".] This weekend, we reviewed Peaches at the Orpheum Theater, performing Peaches Christ Superstar, and Killing Joke at the Wiltern.

First Snapshots: Yoko Ono meets Lady Gaga (and Sonic Youth's Thurston & Kim, and the RZA, and Mike Watt, and Princess Leia, and many others) at the Orpheum in LA

Gustavo TurnerYoko Ono and Lady Gaga frolic on a piano at the Orpheum Theatre in LA​We told you this one was going to be special. Stay tuned for our full review, but Saturday night's brilliant show/tribute to Yoko Ono at the Orpheum brought some extremely special moments with Tune-Yards, the ... More >>

This weekend: Plastic Ono Band, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, School of Seven Bells, the Avett Brothers, Fountains of Wayne

Yoko Ono​John Lennon would have turned 70 next week, and among the events celebrating the legendary Beatle are two shows this weekend featuring a reconstituted Plastic Ono Band, the loose collective of musicians Lennon assembled 40 years ago. His widow Yoko Ono and son Sean Lennon (the musica ... More >>

Tonight: Perfume Genius, the Black Keys, Guster, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sara Bareilles, Bettye LaVette, Funeral Party

Perfume Genius​Mike Hadreas, the 28-year-old Seattle-based pianist who makes music as Perfume Genius, creates hyper-emotional ballads so fragile a stiff breeze might knock them over. He's found plenty of strength in the them, though -- Hadreas turned to the keyboard to quell the inner turmoil ... More >>

Nightranger: Star Bright

Top 10 Popstar Clothing Lines that Put Madonna and Lourdes' New "Material Girl" to Shame!

In this week's Nightranger column, we cover last week's Macy's Passport "Glamorama" event at the Orpheum Theatre downtown. The event was scaled back from years past live music-wise (Macy Gray and Eric Hutchinson performed short sets in between the runway looks) but the production was still top-notch ... More >>

Tonight: Natalie Merchant, Odeum Guitar Duo, Wild Beasts, Lone Wolf

​Natalie Merchant at the Orpheum Theatre "Natalie Merchant manages to make what would seem to be a stuffy premise -- putting new melodies to the classic words of dead poets -- into the most sonically adventurous project of her career. Known more as a singer and lyricist, she proves to be uncan ... More >>

This Weekend: Dâm-Funk, Jane's Addiction, Hootenanny, Mates of State, Baths, CocoRosie

Matthew ScottDam-Funk​Chalk it up to one of music's little mysteries -- how the old synths and creaky drum machines on Dâm-Funk's sprawling Toeachizown can sound so new. L.A.'s "Ambassador of Boogie Funk," born Damon Riddick, unleashed that double-CD, five-LP collection on the world last yea ... More >>

LA Film Fest Moves to LA Live

​ This morning the Los Angeles Film Festival announced that they're moving the show downtown. LAFF had been based in Westwood for the past four festivals, but the event's growing size and the concurrent reduction in potential screening venues in the area (the seats were torn out of the Festiva ... More >>

Rock Picks: Fuck Buttons, Exene Cervenka, Imogen Heap, John Fogerty

Also, HEALTH, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Múm, Leon Russell and others

Rock Picks: Grizzly Bear, Michigan and Smiley, Meshell Ndegeocello, Aztlan Underground

Also, Ghostface Killah, Pi, Brother Ali and others

Over the Weekend: Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Long Beach Comic-Con, Eagle Rock Music Fest, Graffiti Spirits

Over the weekend Los Angeles seemed obsessed with one thing and one thing only: Radiohead's Thom Yorke, who, after a surprise DJ gig at the Roosevelt on September 15, L.A. Weekly learned would play an exclusive gig at the Echoplex on October 2 in addition to two gigs at downtown's Orpheum Theatre on ... More >>

Rock Picks: Pelican, Herman Dune, Rasputina, Bill Frisell, Random Patterns

Also, the Rakes, Cold War Kids, Idan Raichel Project and others

Van Morrison Returns to LA for Three 'Astral Weeks' Performances at the Orpheum

Wow. He's really milking this one, eh? Good for him. Van Morrison's doing Astral Weeks, which he first performed for two nights at the Hollywood Bowl in the fall, at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown LA.

Funny Stuff, Then Not So Much

What to do in L.A., January 9-15

Rock Picks: Part Time Punks Festival, The Breeders, Rodney Crowell

Also, Uh Huh Her, James Intveld, Miranda Lee Richards and more

Rock Picks: Tangerine Dream, Spindrift, Robyn Hitchcock

Also, Electric Six, Heartless Bastards, Scissors for Lefty and more

Rock Picks: B.B. King, Matmos, Coldplay

Also, Supergrass, Ratatat, the Duke Spirit

One From the Heart: Outfest Achievement Award Winner Donna Deitch

Director shoots from the hip about the Hollywood gender gap and the soon-to-be sequel to her most famous film

Rock Picks: Spindrift, Randy Newman, The Gutter Twins

Also, Zola Moon, David Banner, Naïm Amor, and more

Rock Picks: Beirut, The Cure, Jonathan Richman

And other May 29-June 5 shows

Rock Picks: The Dirtbombs, Robyn, Dizzee Rascal

And other May 15-22 shows

Sensuous Woman, Mean Men, Dancing Swans

Rock Picks: Deborah Harry, Björk, Richard Hawley, Shonen Knife, Bang Sugar Bang

For the week of December 7 - 13

Rock Picks: Jimmy Scott, the Raspberries, Sharon Jones, Wreckless Eric

For the week of November 30 - December 6

Rock Picks: Puffy AmiYumi, the Dickies, the B-52's, Fear, Van Halen

For the week of November 16 - 22

Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals, Orpheum Theatre, 11/09

Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals November 9, 2007 Orpheum Theatre By Ryan Colditz On a night when everything was still all too complicated and lacking in humanity, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals rolled through town and brought smiles to the faces of everyone in their path and left a tap ... More >>

Rock Picks: Finland Station, M.I.A., Feist, Suzanne Vega

For the week of Nov. 9-15

Rock Picks: The Hives, Buck 65, Redd Kross, Yo La Tengo

For the week of Nov. 1 - 8

Put Heading Here

Concerts Clubs Other Rock & Pop

Rock Picks: Neil Young, the Pogues, Michelle Shocked

For the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1

PJ Harvey Live at the Orpheum Theatre

PJ Harvey at the Orpheum Theatre, October 15 By Randall Roberts Polly Harvey waltzed onto stage last night looking like Emily Dickinson after a rough wrestle in the meadow, hair mussed, wearing a floor-length white Victorian gown, its poufy shoulders sprouting high above her frame. The word grow wa ... More >>

Devendra Banhart, Orpheum, 10/13

Devendra Banhart Orpheum Theatre, 10/13 By John Curry In every generation of pop music, someone comes along with a fabulous persona to wrap generously around their art. Not since Ziggy has there been anyone as wonderfully camp and exploitive as Devendra Banhart. The songs he played from the new rec ... More >>

Filthy Waters Run Black

What to do in Los Angeles this week

Rock Picks: Akron/Family, Duncan Sheik, PJ Harvey, Jill Scott

For the week of Oct. 11 - 18

Devendra Banhart Curls Up in Your Hand

A wide-ranging interview on Tarot cards, Topanga Canyon, the tackiness of the "freak folk" label and his wonderous new album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

Queen Week

What to do in Los Angeles this week

Movin' On Up

Our city gets vertical with a crop of new high-rise condos

Rock PIcks

For the week of December 7 - 14

Rock PIcks

For the week of Nov. 24 - 30

Rock Picks

For the week of Nov 3 - 9