L.A. WeeklyFrom a winter wonderland brimming with wine to a memoir of one local graffiti artist’s struggle to survive on L.A.’s streets, here are the 14 best things to do in Los Angeles this week.
fri 11/15
DANCE
The Midas Touch
Last year, A Room to Create (better known as ARC) unveiled a new dance performance series dubbed Gold Series No. 1, featuring original works considering the glory and showmanship of the precious metal. The series returns with Gold Series No. 2, with some of the same choreographers, and with the conviction that there is more to say about the weight of gold and humanity’s golden hour. The six new works sport suggestive titles about gold and its effects: mine by Madison Clark; Golden Nuggets: Harbor Noetic Gestures and Soft Rise from Sarah Leddy, Carol McDowell, Daniel Miramontes, and alexx shilling; Glacial erratics (for those who harbor) by Tyler Rai; CONFLUENCE from Heyward Bracey, Rosemary Candelario and Nguyên Nguyên; plus X01RA7R from Richard Rivera. ARC, 1158 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Fri.-Sat., Nov. 15-16, 8:30 p.m.; $20, $15 students/seniors. goldseries2.brownpapertickets.
Confluence (Marcela Fuentes)
ART
L.A. Is CISCO’s City
In the 1990s, the Angeleno teen known as CISCO went “all-city,” getting his name up all over Los Angeles with graffiti. At the same time, brutal police task forces hunted him down while he coped with his mother’s heroin addiction, homelessness,and continuous instability. In his new memoir, Stefano Bloch recalls the challenges and rewards of exploring the city and leaving his mark on it. Going All City: Struggle and Survival in L.A.’s Graffiti Subculture is his first book, a brave portrait of a highly criticized subculture and a look inside the reality of growing up in low-income Los Angeles. “We had to create a place for ourselves as a matter of social and existential survival, regardless of the potential costs to our freedom,” reads an especially moving passage from the book. “We could have been called a lot of things: brazen vandals, scared kids, threats to social order, self-obsessed egomaniacs, marginalized youth, outsider artists, trend setters, and thrill seekers. But, to me, we were just regular kids growing up hard in America and making the city our own.” Join Bloch for this reading and conversation. Skylight Books, 1814 N Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; Fri., Nov. 15, 7: 30 p.m.; $19 (includes book). skylightbooks.com. —TRINA Calderón
(Courtesy of TenderFest)
FOOD&DRINK
Finger Lickin’ Good
Chicken tenders will be the poultry of choice at the first TenderFest. Co-organized by John Terzian’s H. Wood Group hospitality company and Off the Menu app — which has hosted similar burger, pizza and chicken wings events in the past — the festival will elevate the humble bar food and appetizer as restaurants Raising Cane’s, Delilah, Fuku, Hot Motha Clucker and Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken serve their versions of the fried, juicy bird in all sizes, colors and crispiness, accompanied by, of course, dipping sauces and beer. (VIP guests get to eat from Dave’s Hot Chicken, too.) Famous chefs Nancy Silverton, Wolfgang Puck, Timothy Hollingsworth and Chris Oh will also make the chicken strip the top dog in a charity competition judged by Johnny Zone, Ludo Lefebvre and Los Angeles Times senior food writer Jenn Harris. Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; Fri., Nov. 15, 6-10 p.m.; $65-$175. (310) 746-4000, thewallis.org. —Siran Babayan
sat 11/16
ART
Poetic Coincidence
The title of this dynamic group show was settled on long before the current fire season roared in, but the truth is, L.A. On Fire has decades of subject matter from which to draw. Taking as its touchstone Ed Ruscha’s iconic 1968 painting “LACMA On Fire” the show moves forward in art history to encompass the work of over 50 artists whose lives and practices have been touched by flames — such as Lita Albuquerque, Karon Davis, Gary Lang, John Knuth, Francesca Gabbiani, Chuck Arnoldi and Joe Goode. The array of thematic and material explorations also marks the inauguration of Wilding Cran’s new gallery space at 1700 S. Santa Fe, the latest post-industrial Arts District hub and magnet for a growing roster of the city’s most exciting programs. Wilding Cran, 1700 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown; opening reception: Sat., Nov. 16, 4-7 p.m.; exhibition dates: Nov. 16-Jan. 12; free. (213) 553-9190, wildingcran.com/upcoming-1. —Shana Nys Dambrot
Lee Field (Sesse Lind)
MUSIC
An Indie Music Get Together
After shutting down in 2016, record store Other Music has been hosting the Come Together: Music Festival and Label Market in New York for the past three years. For the first time, Other Music and Spaceland team up to organize The Get Together in L.A., a music festival and indie record label fair that aims to promote the enduring influence of indie labels even in a digital age. Friday features a kick-off party with DJ Joe Kay, while Saturday includes performances by soul singer Lee Fields with El Michels Affair, Bobby Oroza, Brainstory, Holy Hive, William Basinski, Anna Wise, Joel Jerome and DJs, in addition to a daytime market with dozens of labels such as Rough Trade, Sub Pop, Beggars Group, Dangerbird, Matador, XL and 4AD selling vinyl and other merchandise. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, 152 N. Central Ave., downtown; Fri., Nov. 15, 6-10 p.m. & Sat., Nov. 16, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; $15. (213) 625-4390, thegettogetherla.com. —Siran Babayan
CULTURE
Museum Happening
A new dimension in immersive art awaits you when you experience Moving Arts, an initiative of Theater at The Museum that involves the ongoing exhibitions and installations sprinkled throughout the grounds of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Over the course of one hour — and for one transformative night that can and never shall be repeated — you’ll journey through four site-specific plays that take you out of the confines of the gallery and reveal a museum in totality. It’s a happening in the finest sense of the concept — because none of it could have happened without you being there. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire; Sat., Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m.; $12; (323) 857-6000, lacma.org/event/theater-at-
(Cameron Tidball-Sciullo)
OPERA
And the Gods Made Love
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix’s new operatic opus Origin of the Alimonies centers on “a pair of divine beings whose thwarted love tears a wound from which civilization is generated, producing the Four Alimonies of the intelligible universe and the task of collective emancipation.” The ambitious project should be particularly intense when delivered by singer-vocalist composer Hunt-Hendrix’s avant-noise/experimental Brooklyn collective Liturgy, whose new “God of Love” single rains downs with sheets of metallic noise and angular shifts of sound shrouding ghostly vocals. In the opera’s L.A. premiere, Liturgy combine with the Sonic Boom chamber orchestra to perform the work, which features choreography by Gillian Walsh and performers Jeremy Touissant-Baptiste and Kathleen Dycaico interacting amid light artist Matthew Schreiber’s design. REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., downtown; Sat., Nov. 16, 8:30 p.m.; $22. (213) 237-2800, redcat.org. —Falling James
sun 11/17
FOOD&DRINK
Winter Wine Wonderland
While it may not be the most magical day in Burbank, it’ll definitely be the booziest. This year’s Winter Wine Walk pairs you with fine artists, a rollicking street fair and scores of hot spots at which you’ll sample the wares of wineries and brewers as you stroll through beautiful downtown Burbank. You’ll also thrill to the latest in holiday lighting, as well as 75 minutes’ worth of snowfall reminding you that the holiday — like life itself — is fleeting, beautiful and unique, and that the memories you make while inebriated count just as much as the times you actually can remember. San Fernando Blvd., Burbank; Sun., Nov. 17, noon; free. (805) 628-9588, facebook.com/events/
CULTURE
Tattooing Through the Ages
As we wrote in our recent L.A. Weekly cover story about tattoo culture, it has survived fashion trends, TV portrayals and changing tastes because of the tradition, meaning and self-expression that inspired it to begin with, and still does. Tattoo Uprising, a new doc about the art form screening in L.A. this week before hitting on-demand streaming, seeks to reveal the historical roots behind body art, providing an overview that covers how tattoos were used in early Christian practices, how they were discovered during the voyages of Captain James Cook, and how they soared in popularity in America thanks to artists like Ed Hardy and Sailor Jerry. The film — like our piece — shows how tattooing in the last five-plus decades has transcended stereotypes to become a respected reflection of culture that conveys who we are — for life. Arena Cinelounge, 6464 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; Sun., Nov. 17, 4:40 p.m.; $16. tattoouprising.com/screenings.
(Illustration by Scott Aicher)
BOOKS
Welcome to Hollywoodland
Writer Iris Berry has always been fascinated by the reality of modern-day Hollywood and its glittery history as Tinseltown, and in her new collection of poetry, All That Shines Under the Hollywood Sign (Punk Hostage Press), the two worlds collide to often-engaging effect. She marvels about the way jazz glides “its way/down translucent highways/at one in the morning” and “ephemeral evenings/draped across Hollywood” and rhapsodizes about such long-lost local landmarks as the Tropicana Motel and the Garden of Allah. Accompanied by evocative L.A.-centric illustrations by Scott Aicher, Berry’s short portraits of vanishing and changing Southern California are often sentimental but infused with a rueful punk-rock perspective as she mulls over how “A catalog/of catastrophic events/shaped our lives.” At this book-release celebration, musician-writers Keith Morris, Jack Grisham and D.H. Peligro also read their work. Soap Plant/Wacko, 4633 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz; Sun., Nov. 17, 6-9 p.m.; free. (323) 663-0122, facebook.com/events/
mon 11/18
MUSIC
20 Years of Excellence
Latin music’s biggest night turns 20 this month. To celebrate the Latin Grammy Awards’ milestone, the Grammy Museum hosts a launch party for its new Latin Music Gallery, which includes performances, a DJ, education program for students, giveaways and ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Latin Recording Academy president Gabriel Abaroa Jr. and museum president Michael Sticka, as well as the gallery’s first exhibit, “Latin Grammy, 20 Years of Excellence.” The display (running through spring 2020) features audio samples, artwork, instruments, wardrobe and memorabilia belonging Ricky Martin, Shakira, Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernandez, Juanes, Luis Fonsi, Lila Downs, Alejandro Sanz, Julieta Venegas and many others, in addition to a look back on past winners of the Person of The Year awards. Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown; Mon., Nov. 18, 7 p.m.; free, RSVP required. (213) 765-6800, grammymuseum.org. —Siran Babayan
tue 11/19
CULTURE
Nocturnal Wonderland
Avoiding the mall (and the television) can help delay the chaos of Christmas a lil’ bit, but once your neighborhood is all lit up again, all bets are off. It seems the shopping (and stressing) season gets more intense the more lights start to shine around town. Head it all off at the vibrant experience known as Zoo Lights, where you can dive headfirst into the holidays during its preview week. The Zoo promises this year’s “wild wonderland of lights” will offer more animal characters and wildlife-inspired displays, and some fresh interactive fun like “the world’s largest illuminated pop-up storybook.” A festive family or date night, the after-dark event also offers comfort food and drinks and photos with the man himself, Santa Claus, on select nights for an additional fee. During Preview Week, November 15-21, non-member admission is $12. Los Angeles Zoo, 5333 Zoo Drive, Griffith Park; runs through Jan. 5. $11.95-$16.95, free parking. lazoolights.org/. —Lina Lecaro
Echo Park Film Center 18th Anniversary (Courtesy of EPFC)
wed 11/20
FILM
Community Movie Night
Over five days of celebration and remembrance, the Echo Park Film Center’s 18th Anniversary Celebration looks forward as much as it gazes backward. Cast your mind back to the halcyon year of 2002, when founders Paolo Davanzo and Ken Fountain took a tiny room and transformed it into a 65-capacity beacon of creativity for a community that’s changed immeasurably, just as the Film Center has remained its steadfast center. Workshops, music, potlucks — and, yes, screenings of everything from Nepantla: Migration Narratives to new work from the co-op — they’re all here, welcoming you with open arms and open minds. Through Sunday. Echo Park Film Center,1200 N. Alvarado St., Echo Park; Wed., Nov. 20, times and locations vary; free. (213) 484-8846, echoparkfilmcenter.org/events/
thu 11/21
CULTURE
The Ultimate Sneaker Closet
Imagine entering a huge sneaker closet, containing dozens of the most famous sneakers to date. Sneakertopia, a new pop-up sneaker museum, is the closest thing to it, celebrating sneaker culture through art, history, music, and design. Taking place inside HHLA (formerly The Promenade at Howard Hughes), the vast 15,000-square-foot exhibit serves as an indoor playground equipped with exclusive and rare sneakers, massive, interactive galleries, and endless photo ops. From Wu-Tang Clan dunks signed by Ol’ Dirty Bastard to Kobe Bryant’s UNDFTD 4’s (debuted at a Lakers game) to kicks via Rihanna and Nipsey Hussle (the epic Puma collab) to murals and street art, wherever your eyes land, this is a story of “creativity, expression and innovation” through a sneakers lens. HHLA, 6081 Center Drive, Ste 222, Westchester; Fri.-Sat., multiple times, through February; $38. sneakertopia.com/. —Shirley Ju
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