Weekend Update, Carmageddon or Not, There is Still Time to Party at My Pick of the Week Tonight!

Yes, it’s the eve of carmageddon. You could stay home and get ready for a quiet weekend, or Get out there and party….you've got the whole weekend to mellow out. 

Friday, July 15^th

Bunker Hill’s celebrates the release of their July music issue. They have a very special private party planned and I was able to get some of my peeps on the list. Be sure to RSVP to ensure entry.

This is a FREE event and will feature renowned sculptor Misha Frid, fine artist Rand South (see image below, left) and photographer Robert Landau (see image below, right). Live music with Granville "Danny" Young.  You must RSVP at http://conta.cc/pvst0R (Mention KTR Promo)
Enjoy complimentary Grey Goose cocktails and hors d'oeuvres by celebrity chef Emmanuel delcour www.emmanueldelcour.com . Dress code: Art Deco 1920's-inspired clothing encouraged and be part of the show!

You'll want to dress up…1920’s, which is soooo much fun, so get with the program, put your flapper best on….or close to it and meet me there.BTW it is not mandatory. Come enjoy, it’s FREE…my favorite word!

This FREE red carpet event will be held at 433 Spring St. in downtown LA, and starts at 7:00 pm and goes till 1:00 am. Technically, it is a private event, so don’t’ forget to RSVP at http://conta.cc/pvst0R

If you are near Downtown, bike, or schedule a group walk (remember to wear some good shoes)….if you are not, carpool and just stay on the streets….why take a chance? A lot of the buses will be Free, so take advantage…From Venice you can take the 333 all the way downtown. Then you can start the party on the bus. Be adventurous!

Also want to mention that I just found out that a kitty was abandoned by its owner in my building….Why do people bother to take in an animal when they are just going to abandon it?….makes me so upset. If you know of any one who is looking for a cat. He is thin and small, so I suspect he is young, his name is Riley (of course you can change that) He is white and gray and very sweet.

I have bad allergies and happen to have a male cat…that is very territorial with other males….you should see how he acts with my boyfriend. Please contact me at ktrpromo@gmail.com, if you know of anyone who would be interested. Poor Kitty.  The pix is not the best…he has an adorable face.

Now for the weekend!!! Hasn’t anyone heard of Public transportation? And it’s FREE this Weekend. Or a bicycle? Hey, I’m from NYC and that’s what we do. Or stay home and watch a good movie. You can also stay in your own neighborhood and support the arts. In Venice, we’ve got Diva Deluxe, Suzy Williams doing a gig on Saturday….also Culver City is having tons of openings on Saturday. Car pool and park….hang for the night in Culver City. Or go to a Free concert and see 5 time Grammy nominated R&B artist, Oleta Adams, in Burton Chase Park, also on Saturday. Where ever you decide to go, just have fun, you can take the bus as a group, and then you can all drink as much as you want.

We’ve got lots of free concerts everywhere on Friday, Saturday. It’s the whole experience that I love. Bring a blanket, some tasty treats….a juice bottle (you know what I mean) and snuggle up with your honey…or find a new one there. Lots of single meet-up groups come to these events and set up blankets…so keep your eyes open boys and girls, whichever team you’re playing on!

And if you are downtown and you like live theatre, “Confessions of a Pulpiteer” is playing at Art Share, 801 East 4^th 90013, at 8:00 pm. Lee Boek wrote and stars in this one man show. Admission is $15.00, but there is free parking. 323 661-0524; http://bit.ly/oR8oWD

 

Stay downtown, and enjoy Grand Performances for their 25th season of free outdoor concerts and performing arts at California Plaza in Downtown LA, with a full program of music and entertainment that reflects the best of global culture and inspires community among the diverse peoples of Los Angeles.

Tonight’s show features two acts. Torchbearer and soul-incarnate of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Seun Kuti and the famous Egypt 80 Band return to Grand Performances for an evening of funky, soulful, driving African rhythms. Celebrating his new release, From Africa with Fury: Rise, Kuti continues his father’s musical message against corruption, injustice and the many problems affecting Nigeria and all of Africa. California Plaza is located at 300-350 S. Grand Avenue, 90071.Show starts at 8:00 pm. http://grandperformances.org/

You could stay in Santa Monica and pop into South, an amazing restaurant with great Southern food presents “Friday Night Lights” (out door BBQ and live music)

Remember they have an incredible happy hour, yum! Starting at 3:00 pm and runs till 8:00 pm. Get there hungry! South also offers drink specials too. $3 beer, ($10.00 pitchers) and $5 wells, South is located at 3001 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (310) 828-9988; http://southsantamonica.com/.

Or in Venice, Figtree’s Café is a great place to start off your evening. No better place than the beach on a Friday evening in July. Tonight, you can hear some great live music at 6:00 pm. Fefe Lee, will be performing with friends. Come join the fun and sing along with their set of upbeat Beatle songs.

Figtree’s Café is known for their healthy delicious food, located right on the Venice boardwalk at 429 Ocean Front Walk Venice, at Paloma Ave, two blocks south of Rose. Figtree’s has been voted the best restaurant on the boardwalk since 1978. Figtree’s has a wonderful happy hour, with delicious pizzas for $4.95. Yum...I just had the BBQ Chicken Pizza last night. Delicious. Monday thru Friday and also has FREE delivery. 310 392-4937; www.figtreescafe.com;

The Talking Stick and Venice MoZaic celebrate the founding father of the spoken word movement, Gil Scott-Heron. . Nickie Black hosts this festive and FREE community gathering with "Zebra Party" and "The VeniceVille Players" and others. Special guests also include Jawanza Dumisani and Poet Laureate.  DJ Noj keeps the groove goin’. The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge is located at 1411 Lincoln Blvd. Venice 90291. Show starts at 7:00 pm. 310.450.6052; www.thetalkingstick.net;

 

 

 

Corey Helford Gallery debuts “Idle Hands,” the highly-anticipated solo exhibition of pop artist COOP, and his most audacious yet. COOP’s new body of work is rendered in his signature style.

The opening reception will run from 7:00 pm till 10:00 pm. Corey Helford Gallery is located at 8522 Washington Blvd., in Culver City 90232; www.coreyhelfordgallery.com.

Saturday, July 16^th

Now today from Noon till 4:00, gotta stop by the 5^th Annual Venice BBQ…wow…is it 5 years already? I sang at the first three. It’s a wonderful community event. Station 63 Fire Fighters grill up some tasty grub and people are asked to bring side dishes or deserts. They have great entertainment and all kinds of contests…even one for the best side dish….so don’t forget to enter, when you get there…and check out those hunky firemen….Yum!

As always the Venice BBQ will be held at Oakwood Park at 767 California Oakwood and California, 90291. Noon till 4:00 pm. Good eats. http://www.venicenc.org/node/1693

 

 

 

Lots to do tonight…

 

 

In Venice, Obsolete, a unique, eclectic store is having an artist reception for Tyson Grumm. Obsolete hosts interesting and edgy openings with intriguing art. They always have a nice spread of food and drink and a very cool crowd shows up.

Located at 222 Main Street, tonight they are offering Summer Snacks and Drink by Gjelina. (That place has amazing food) The opening runs from 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm. 310 399-0024; http://www.obsoleteinc.com/

Stay in Venice and see “The Lit Show” with Suzy Williams at Beyond Baroque (681 Venice Blvd). Suzy Williams is an absolute riot and an incredibly talented performer. This is the 6th year of "The Lit Show" and each time, it is more vibrant and exciting.   Usually the writers collaborated with composers to make original songs, at other times, an existing poem or a work of prose is set to new music by Suzy or Brad Kay. A facile quartet supplies the instrumental backdrop.

This year's ensemble includes Rick Kellis (flute, sax), Oliver Steinberg (bass) and Don Allen (drums), along with Brad Kay's piano.  A guest vocal ensemble (Andrew Cheeseman, Rory Johnston, Mikal Sandoval and Dudley Saunders) will join Suzy in a rollicking 1838 song by Charles Dickens, "The Ivy Green." Show starts at 7:30 pm. Admission is $15.00. Wine and cheeses FREE in the lobby!  http://www.beyondbaroque.org/  For more info on this event, see my full article on the Weekly Features Page.

It’s the opening of the Free Pop Saturdays at the Marina del Rey Summer Concerts and it’s a big one.

Grammy nominated pop, R&B, and gospel singer-songwriter Oleta Adams, opens the season in a performance of her most soulful songs including the hit "Get Here."

Event runs from 7:00 pm till 9:00 pm.

Free pop concerts are scheduled every other Saturday night at the beautiful Burton Chase Park overlooking the Marina.

Chase Burton Park (13650 Mindanao Way), sits on the end of a peninsula and boasts a wonderful view of the marina’s main channel. It’s a fantastic place to have a picnic. Bring a blanket some wine while and enjoy the music.


Parking is available at County lots #4 and #77 on Mindanao Way, or lot # 5 on Bali Way. http://file.lacounty.gov/dbh/docs/cms1_146017.pdf

Bergamot has a few…

The Frank Lloyd Gallery (B5B) is pleased to announce its second annual ceramics exhibit selected by a guest curator. Worldwide design maven Rob Forbes has chosen this year's group exhibit. Reception: 5:00 pm-7:00 pm 310 264-3866;  http://www.franklloyd.com/

Lois Lambert Gallery, Gallery of functional Art (E-3), will be having an opening reception of "Selected Works" by Los Angeles artists David Jang, Tae Ho Kang, and Chaa Youn Woo. Sik Chang is here from Korea for the opening reception of his exhibition "Transposed Images". Reception runs from 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm. http://galleryoffunctionalart.net/

William Turner Gallery which is also at Bergamot (E-1) is will be having an opening reception for Greg Miller: Magnificent Seven.

Drawing on the cultural and geographic influences of his California roots, Greg Miller explores images of the American urban and rural landscape of the mid-twentieth century.

The Opening reception runs from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. www.williamturnergallery.com

Or head to Culver City, there are a bunch here that will be open....drop into

Honor Fraser offers an exhibition of works from The Mott Collection, Loud Flash: British Punk on Paper, curated by artist and designer Toby Mott.

Honor Fraser is located at 2622 S. La Cienega Ave. The opening reception is from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. (310) 837-0191; http://www.honorfraser.com/.

JK Gallery (2632 S. La Cienega Blvd.), presents-Macro features work by artists Mari Andrews, Emily Clawson, and Jenny E. Balisle.

On view will be installation and paperless drawings of Mari Andrews, encaustic work of Emily Clawson, and multi-layered oil paintings and minimalist pen and ink drawings of Jenny E. Balisle. The exhibit investigates relationships of patterns found in our natural environments up close and far away. 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 310.837.3330; http://www.jkgallery.net.

And continue on to Walter Maciel Gallery 2642 S. La Cienega Blvd. who will be showing a new video work by Kansas City based artist Barry Anderson. A group show of small scaled works entitled Size Matt ers (no it’s not a typo) will be presented in the back gallery and will include artists from the gallery’s program as well as artists invited to participate in the exhibition.

Gallery 1: Barry Anderson, New Work; Gallery 2: Size Matt ers, Group Show of Small Works. Reception runs from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 310.839.1840; http://www.waltermacielgallery.com/

Cherry and Martin features art by Martin Matt Connors (see image), Robert Cumming and Florian Morlat from 6:00 pm till 8:00 pm.

Cherry and Martin is located at 2712 S. La Cienega Blvd. 310.559.0100; http://www.cherryandmartin.com/.

On the other side of La Cienega, use the cross walk, and stop into Blum & Poe, who will be offering a group show called Glee as well as the work of artist, Drew Heitzler.

Reception: 6:00 pm-8:00 pm. Blum & Poe is located at 2727 S. La Cienega Blvd. 310-836-2062; http://www.blumandpoe.com


Now, if you  walk over to Washington…there are a few about a block or so east.


The Carmichael Gallery is a lovely gallery and will be featuring a group show entitled, Instant LA Summer 2: Heavy Happy from 6:00 pm -8:00 pm.

Wine is usually offered. The Carmichael Gallery is located at 5795 Washington Blvd. (323) 939-0600; http://www.carmichaelgallery.com/

Right next door, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Blythe Projects features, Beneath the Sea, their first exhibition with Los Angeles filmmaker and visual artist, Troy Morgan (see image).

Inspired largely by fairy tales, mythology and his childhood fascination with horror films, Morgan's work explores universal human experiences - the 7 Deadly Sins and the unfolding of consciousness- and reflects how people orchestrate their own private worlds to make sense of relationships and life on the material plane.

Blythe Projects is located at 5797 Washington Blvd, 323 272-3642; www.blytheprojects.com.

Then across the street, don’t forget to stop into the Mark Moore Gallery at 5790 Washington Blvd bet La Cienega and Fairfax where they will be having a group exhibition. The Mark Moore Gallery from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. They will be offering refreshments. 310 453-3031; http://www.markmooregallery.com/.

Now back the other way (west) pop by LeBasse Projects who will be presenting works by artists, Andrew Hem and Melissa Haslam.

LeBasse Projects is located at 6023 Washington Blvd. 90232. Opening reception runs from 7:00 pm-10:00 pm. Wine is usually served. 310.558.0200;  www.lebasseprojects.com.

Down the street, Thinkspace (6009 Washington Blvd., 90232), will be open as well and always has nice events. From 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, enjoy the opening reception for Tran Nguyen (see image), and David Bray. 310.403.8549; http://www.thinkspacegallery.com.

Cardwell Jimmerson Contemporary Art, 8568 Washington Blvd., will be having an opening reception for Vincent Robbins (see image) which runs from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 310-815-1100;  http://www.cardwelljimmerson.com/

Sunday, July 17^th

Upper West, a new loft like restaurant hosts a exhibition featuring Kymm Swank from 4:00 pm till 7:00 pm. Upper West is located at 3321 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, 90405. 310-344-6031; http://art-vault.com/

If you love food trucks, this is the thing for you…Stop by The Get Up (Inaugural Throw Down) GET UP for LA’s top food trucks and musical acts at an indoor/outdoor “Mega-Brunch” party. And you should definitely GET Up and get there early (FREE before NOON)  After noon it’s $10.00, but you can get in with an rsvp for $5.00 at http://www.thegetupla.com/

Enjoy special brunch drinks and THE GET UP brunch menu items made just for the event. This event will be held at Medusa Lounge, 3211 Beverly Blvd. 90057. Check out their facebook page for a full list of trucks and bands, etc. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=231869453499829 

Or stay home and curl up with a good book….why deal with the traffic. Snuggle with your kitty or dog, or take a walk….who needs to drive anyway?