FRIDAY, July 27

What an, if I may use the term, “awesome” way to spend a Friday evening: Under the stars — well, star — perhaps sipping on a cold amber beverage, tapping your favorite appendage to “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird.” Yes, you finally can yell “Free Bird” all you want. The resurrected Lynyrd Skynyrd may only have two original members — guitarist Gary Rossington and piano player Billy Powell — but the Southern rock they churn out still delivers the quiver. Now if only I could remember where my roach- clip necklace went to. With Shooter Jennings and Laid-Law. The Greek Theatre, Griffith Park; Fri., July 27, 7:30 p.m.; $35-$65. (213) 480-3232.

SATURDAY, July 28

The 2007 Honda U.S. Open of Surfing & Beach Festival brings the cream of the sport to Huntington Beach. Surfers compete in longboard, ’60s surfing and high-performance moves. This being 2007, you can even watch it all at www.usopensurfing.com, which I can only imagine trying to explain to the surfer dudes at Mission Bay High School in 1978. All kinds of music, dance contests, fashion shows and exhibits too. Huntington Beach Pier, Huntington Beach; Fri.-Sun., July 27-29, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; free.

SUNDAY, July 29

An indie swap meet and art mart in the historic Palm Court of the Alexandria Hotel can mean only thing: Downtown just got even hipper. The Ballroom Blitz also boasts L.A. hipnoscenti Kim Cooper, Jim Freek and others doing the DJ thing while you swap and mart yourself drinking bloody marys and mimosas. The Alexandria Hotel, 501 S. Spring St., dwntwn.; Sun., July 29, noon-7 p.m.; free. (213) 325-0907.

MONDAY, July 30

A certain towheaded tyke I know turns 6 today. Since you really don’t care, your day probably doesn’t involve birthday cake and (ssshhhhh!) a brand-new Mattel Vidster. Instead, it would be fitting to head over to the New Beverly Cinema for a double bill of classic ’80s goofy flix The Goonies and Back to the Future. Sherman Torgan, proprietor and friend to the Weekly, passed away last week, and wherever he is, he’d be glad to know people are spilling popcorn and enjoying the theater he dearly loved. The New Beverly Cinema, 7165 W. Beverly Blvd., L.A.; Mon., July 30, 7:30 p.m.; $7, $6 students, $4 seniors & children. (323) 938-4038.

TUESDAY, July 31

There are few things you count on happening every week in this town: Getting your hands all inky on Thursday when your favorite alternative newspaper hits the streets; Jon Lovitz performing at the Laugh Factory; one of the Hollywood Boulevard characters getting arrested; and standup soldier Vance Sanders hosting his long-running comedy show, The Open Mic of Love. The topical e-mail subject lines he sends with his weekly listings will soon be published in an anthology called Funniest E-mail Subject Lines By a Comic/Booker 2007. (Last week it was “Cardinal Mahony Pays Off the Listings” — nice and timely work, Vance.) Explains Vance, “Every night when I leave to do standup, my daughter asks me, ‘Daddy, how much money do you make doing standup?’ I say, ‘Honey, I don’t make any money doing standup,’ to which she responds, ‘Then why do you keep doing it?’ And I’m just at that moment where I’m like, ‘She’s right, why do I keep doing it?’ As a tear starts to roll down my cheek, my daughter laughs, ‘Ha-ha, Mommy’s right.’?” This week: Roy Cruise, Lizzie Cooperman, Amy Stiller, Alan Lebetkin, Jim Ryan, Chrissy Haberman, Raj Desai and Shawn Carlow bring the laughs. The Westwood Brewery, 1097 Glendon Ave., Wstwd.; Tues., July 31, ?9 p.m.; free. (310) 824-0820.

WEDNESDAY, August 1

Who said, “Put me in the last 15 minutes of a picture, and I don’t care what happened before. I don’t even care if I was in the rest of the damned thing — I’ll take it in those 15 minutes”? If you said Barbara Stanwyck, you know your screen legends. Stanwyck’s had a long and varied career in Hollywood, doing classic melodramas, thrillers, comedies, Westerns and even television; some of the posters from her 40-year film period are now on display in Presenting Barbara Stanwyck: Film Posters of the Indomitable Lady, From the Mike Kaplan Collection. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Grand Lobby Gallery, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; Tues.-Fri., 10 a.m.-?5 p.m.; thru Aug. 26; free. (310) 247-3600.

THURSDAY, August 2

They’re nice. They’re Jewish. They’ve gone bad. Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad return from — where else? — New York, mecca for meydl gone vild (thank you, The Joys of Yiddish!). The self-proclaimed gals who “learned to smoke at Hebrew school, got drunk at their bat mitzvahs, and would rather have more shtuppah than chuppah” (you can probably figure that one out on your own) have shows all over town, with the exception of actually in town. This shtew (not a real Yiddish word) of comedy, music, spoken word and burlesque will all make you laugh in your latke. Come and kvetch a rising star. Or bialy can be. Pour some meshugge on me and kishka my ass. Stop me before I plotz. Terrace Restaurant, 443 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; Thurs., Aug. 2, 8 p.m. (626) 796-3030. Also at the Malibu Inn, 22969 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu; Wed., Aug. 1, 8 p.m. (310) 456-6060. Rhythm Lounge, 245 Pine Ave., second level, Long Beach; Fri., Aug. 3, 9 p.m.; $15. (562) 435-4288. And at Repertory East Playhouse, 24266 San Fernando Road, Newhall; Sun., Aug. 5, 7 p.m.; $15. (661) 288-0000.

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