Artists Michael Dopp and Lisa Madonna reserve Silver Lake's Hyperion Tavern — a place that feels half like a cabaret and half like a backwoods bar — each Tuesday night. They call these nights “No Vex” and most people hear about them through word-of-mouth or Facebook invites. The bar opens sometime around 10 p.m. Dopp and Madonna bartend themselves — beers are $3 to $5 and stored in coolers — and hold court for a low-key Eastside art crowd. Usually an artist moonlights as DJ; once artist Ivette Soler opened an informal hair salon on the Tavern's stage, setting up in front of the red curtain and offering free buzzcuts and mullets to anyone willing. Regardless of what's happening, though, the event is true to its name: not vexing. It's laid-back and loose, a good place to go when you just want to talk. 1941 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake. (323) 665-1941, hyperiontavern.com.

—Catherine Wagley

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