Visioneers Wednesday, July 29, 2009

If you missed the screening of Visioneers at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, here's another chance to see director Jared Drake's offbeat vision of corporate dystopia. The story concerns spiritless salaryman Zach Galifiankis, who's increasingly troubled by the frequency of his co-workers' combustion. Do his dreams of being President George Washington indicate his impending immolation? Quirky to be sure, this flick's saturated with symbolism — and apparently not for everyone. The comments on IMDB.com careen from "Blew me away" to "Completely unendurable." Maybe you've had to have worked in an office to get it (the Jeffers Corporation's company salute is the middle finger). You've certainly got to respect the filmmakers' DIY chops: Rather than relying on Hollywood distribution deals, Visioneers is screening via DVD wherever, whenever and by whomever. This time your host is Cinema Speakeasy's Saskia Wilson-Brown, and she requires a secret password for admission. (It's "montevideo," FYI.) Echo Park Film Center, 1200 N. Alvarado St., Echo Park; Tues., Aug. 4, 8 p.m.; $5 w/password. (213) 484-8846. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, July 31, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 2:58 AM, ,

Zak Smith Sunday, July 26, 2009

What's so punk about Zak Smith? Let's start with his illustrations of every single page (760!) of Thomas Pychon's Gravity's Rainbow. Who would even think to do that? Then how about Pictures of Girls, in which the mohawked artist found critical fame by inking and coloring the female form in intricate, intimate detail? Not punk enough? OK, so he became a porn star. Re-branding himself as Zak Sabbath, Smith made his penetrating premiere with Veronica Jett in VCA's Barbed Wire Kiss, tagged Pixie Pearl in Eon McKai's alt-porn debut Girls Lie, and gave an intimate injection to Mandy Morbid in Vivid-Alt's Hospital. To try to explain it all, Smith reads from We Did Porn: Memoir and Drawings. Surely, the career turn wasn't for the money — girls' pay rates in the XXX biz far outstrip the guys'. So why porn? From a 2006 interview with M. DiMattia: "I'm living off my paintings and have been for years. I'm involved in porn mostly because the social life of the art world is like living death." Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave., L.A.; Fri., July 31, 2009, 7:30 p.m.; free. (323) 660-1175. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, July 31, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 1:54 PM, ,

Battle of the Tribute Bands Wednesday, July 22, 2009

If concert ticket prices have kept you at home this recession summer, skip the ATM and head on down to Long Beach's totally free "Battle of the Tribute Bands." No Duh is no No Doubt, but they're a reasonable facsimile for the price, as are The Cured, Hollywood U2, and Rolling Stones cover band Satisfaction. Competing with them for actual cash prizes are Vitalogy (Pearl Jam), The Rising (Bruce Springsteen) and Stepping Feet (a Dave Matthews Band tribute, which begs the question "WHY?"). You'll still have to pay for the butter pecan ice cream and "powdered sugar fried dough" on offer, but you likely won't get through this mockery without them. Rainbow Harbor Amphitheater, 330 S. Pine Ave., Long Beach; Sat., July 25, 1-7 p.m.; free. www.summerandmusic.com. (Originally published on LAWeekly.com, July 24, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 2:36 AM, ,

The MisMatch Game Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Price Is Right may be best remembered for Johnny Olson's "Come on down!" and Family Feud for kissing bandit Richard Dawson, but no '70s game show better combined sauced celebrities and clueless contestants than The Match Game. The fill-in-the-blank TV challenge produced a decade of double entendres, and probably used the phrase "making whoopee" more often than The Newlywed Game. So if you're pining for the polyester past, look no further than The MisMatch Game, a fondly satirical re-creation of the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production. Dennis Hensley is your host, Gene Rayburn, and while there's no word on a faux Brett Somers (here's hoping!) the celebrity panel should include impersonations of Charles Nelson Reilly, Shelley Winters and Phyllis Diller. Get ready to match the stars! L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Renberg Theatre, The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., July 24-25, 8 p.m.; Sun., July 26, 7 p.m.; $15. (323) 860-7300. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, July 24, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 2:34 AM, ,

Bastille Day Los Angeles Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Another Fourth of July has come and gone, and we as a nation have once again successfully celebrated our love of freedom and hot dogs, so why not keep the party going by joining our French brethren's independence festivities at Bastille Day Los Angeles? Bastille Day marks the July 14, 1789, start of the French Revolution, wherein fed-up peasants told the monarchy to go eff themselves. In honor of that historic date, the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles presents an all-day outdoor extravaganza with beaucoup food, entertainment, raffles and contests. Win a trip to Paris? Bien sur! Waiter race? Oui oui! Petanque tournament? … Qu'est-ce que c'est? (Something to do with balls and feet. Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Tahitian dancers, portrait painters, and street performers, too. Warning: There may be mimes. Elysian Park, Monticello Old Lodge, corner of Stadium Way and Scott Avenue, L.A.; Sun., July 12, noon-10 p.m.; $5, kids free. www. bastilledaylosangeles.com. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, July 10, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 4:15 AM, ,

Teen Angst A-Go-Go! Friday, July 3, 2009

Life sucks when you're a teenager, at least according to teenagers. What with all the drama to keep up with on MySpace and the fact that Dad put a GPS tracker on your cell phone (Dad!!!), there's never been a worse time to endure adolescence. So come with me back to a more innocent era, the 20th century, when the daily life of teenagers wasn't documented in real time by Twitter posts about Facebook, but in the pulp-paper pages of comic books. In "Teen Angst A-Go-Go!," Captured Aural Phantasy Theater reads verbatim from mid-century comics, vintage-radio-show-style, to illustrate that, while the pop-culture medium may change, the message is the same: Teenagers are solipsistic idiots. LOL! Alexandria Hotel, Palm Court Ballroom, 501 Spring St., downtown; Fri.-Sat., July 10-11 & 17-18, 8 p.m.; $10. www.myspace.com/capturedauralphantasy. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, July 10, 2009.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 3:59 PM, ,