A new drawing exhibit opens at the Getty today. / Photo by el daverino via LAist'f flickr pool. PERFORMANCE ART* Artist Martin Kersels creates an extraordinary evening filled with song, music, dance and visual material to describe his work at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. He’ll perform atop his large-scale installation “Rickey” with a Q&A with the artist after the performance. The event’s free. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the performance begins......

See a classic silent film at the Getty tonight. / Photo by el daverino via LAist's flickr pool. ART* When Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in LA in 1968 at the old Ambassador Hotel, it marked the end of an era. Photographer Paul Fusco pays tribute in his exhibit, “RFK Funeral Train,” which displays images he captured as RFK’s coffin was driven by train from NYC to Arlington, VA, and thousands of people lined......

Dinosaurs and the Watson Twins at the Natural History Museum tonight. / Photo by Stephanie Asher via LAist's flickr pool. ART+MUSIC So you don’t feel like dealing with rush hour tonight on the Westside? Then pull over and head to Fridays Off the 405 at the Getty Center. See some art, listen to music (King Britt, Power Douglas) have a drink and look over the edge to make fun of all the poor saps......

Update 7:00 p.m.: Sepulveda is still shut down and now crews expect to open it around 9 p.m. tonight. Update 5:11 p.m.: "Crews Hope to Clean up Sepulveda Landslide by 5:30pm Rush Hour" says Fox 11 News. Update 4:04 p.m.: Power has been restored to all effected except 700 residential customers in Brentwood and Bel Air. Update 11:14 a.m.: This morning's landslide even caused power to go out at the Getty Center. Luckily, power in......

Last Friday I trundled up in the tram at The Getty Center to see a 'sold out', intimate performance. For the mere cost of parking and a little bumper-to-bumper on the 405, I and my brother from another mother, MX, got to sit in a comfy auditorium and listen to the laconic stylings of ex-punk (no pun intended) troubadour, John Doe. Now, ain't yah jealous? Of course, I've always had a crush on Mr.......

If you're looking for something free and chill, then catch old school acoustic jazz at Crane's Hollywood Tavern or ride the tram uphill for reggae at The Getty. For jazz of a crazier brand (yet still classic), try the Art Ensemble of Chicago at REDCAT. Speaking of Chitown, three hip-hop artist from there will be at Echoplex. Hip-hop of a different brand can be found at the weirdest space in LA, pehrspace. And for some......

Could you imagine Los Angeles without the Getty Museum? If that serene white chunk of Italian marble nestled above the 405 suddenly removed its bulk to some other parts, would you notice? Would you care? An article in yesterday morning's LA Times reconsiders the Richard Meier-designed edifice in the light of its 10th anniversary, and in doing so, asks some important questions about the nature and integrity of architecture in Los Angeles. "there is......

"Sni Bong" - Dengue Fever Dengue Fever @ Getty Center Deborah Harry @ Pantages Theatre (see our interview from earlier this week) John Mayer @ Nokia LIVE Pete Hopkins @ Key Club Pierce the Veil @ The Troubadour Bikini Science, The Atma @ The Derby Aceyalone, Leadership Crew, Epsilon Project @ Malibu Inn Jon Brion, Nels Cline @ Largo Kingsley, Self Against City, Visa @ The Roxy Diegos Umbrella, Casa do Samba @ The......

Edward Weston. One of the most brilliant photographers of the 20th Century. Viewing the LACMA exhibit many years ago, I was enamored instantly. The buildings, the nudes, the everyday objects, and his link to Los Angeles stirred up emotions in me that I’ve never forgot. I’ve been trying for months to get to the Getty Center to see this latest exhibit, and finally this weekend I treated myself…and it was delectable! Once again, I......

Last night we headed over to the Getty Center to check out Fridays Off the 405, a monthly offering of evening hours in the museum galleries, with live music and a cash bar to boot. We got a late start, but stuck to our routine of taking Sepulveda, even though a quick glance told us that the 405 was moving free and clear. As the sun began to fade from the sky we pulled......

The Knitters, with vocalists John Doe and Exene Cervenka, guitarist Dave Alvin, bassist Johnny Ray Bartel, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake were born as a side project of the quintissential American punk band X....the group named its rockabilly-flavored offshoot the Knitters as an homage to legendary late 1940s folk group the Weavers. In 1985, the Knitters released their first album, Poor Little Critter in the Road, to critical acclaim and are recognized as one of......

Coffy & Foxy Brown The New Beverly's two-month Grindhouse festival officially ended on May 1, but they're screening an awesome double-bill: Coffy and Foxy Brown. If only they'd screen Cleopatra Jones along with these films, you'd have God's perfect trio of sexy, ass-kicking blaxploitation flicks. WHEN: Weds., May 2 - Thurs., May 3 WHERE: The New Beverly: 7165 Beverly Blvd. (1 block West of La Brea Ave.) Japanese Video Art The Radical Communication: Japanese Video......

Monday T.C. Boyle reads and chats with David Ulin 7pm @ Mark Taper Forum Jennifer Kaufman & Karen Mack present Literacy and Longing in L.A. 7pm @ Studio Branch Library Denise Hamilton & contributors signs Los Angeles Noir 7pm @ Borders Torrance Pat Montandon discusses Oh, the Hell of It All 7pm @ Vroman's Tuesday Barry Glassner discusses The Gospel of Food 7pm @ Central Library Kirk Douglas signs Let's Face It 7pm @......

Los Lobos, Zen Cruisers (Blondie's Clem Burke, the Cars' Elliot Easton, the Knack's Doug Fieger and Teddy Andreadis) @ Malibu Performing Arts Center Anti-Flag, Alexisonfire @ Wiltern Gary Lucas & Gods & Monsters @ Safari Sam's Kenny Wayne Shepherd @ House of Blues The Chapin Sisters, I See Hawks in L.A. @ Getty Center Irish Rovers @ Cerritos Center Colin Hay @ Largo Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Secret Chiefs 3 @ El Rey Dead on......

Peruse the work of photographer John Humble and it's obvious the man knows this city. While some of LA's famous perspectives (the Hollywood sign, Santa Monica Pier, Venice Boardwalk) have become international icons, Humble's work largely focuses on equally distinct, but far from iconic, images of the city and its people. The globetrotting photographer has worked for Time, Newsweek, Harper's, Esquire and others. His upcoming exhibit (and companion book), A Place in the Sun,......

Sometimes LA is like a bad romantic comedy. You know the one, where the fiance comes to meet the weird-ass parents and the protagonist tries, unsuccessfully, to hide just how crazy they are. (see “The Birdcage”, “Meet The Fockers”, et al). I live a quiet, unassuming writer’s life here. Yet whenever friends from out of town travel through, despite my assurances that I live a perfectly normal life in our sunny, smoggy city, LA......

Morrissey @ Pasadena Civic Auditorium Busdriver @ Amoeba (7pm) Pennywise, The Circle Jerks, Ignite @ House of Blues Helmet, Totimoshi @ The Troubadour Watson Twins @ Getty Center Gordon Lightfoot @ The Canyon Young Love @ Knitting Factory Midnight Movies @ Spaceland Peter, Bjorn & John @ Roxy Daughtry @ El Rey Dosh, Occidental @ The Echo Ladysmith Black Mambazo @ Pepperdine Kirsten Laiken, Moviestar Kiss, Highlines @ The Gig Kelly Shoes, Life With......

John Doe @ Largo Deftones @ Avalon Brand New Heavies @ El Rey Lindsey Buckingham @ Wiltern A Flock of Seagulls @ Hollywood Park The Wrens, Asobi Seksu, Bon Savants @The Troubadour Petra Haden & the Sellouts @ Getty Center Ima Robot, Whitestarr @ Roxy Ray Parker Jr. @ Vault 350 Islands @ Henry Fonda Lupe Fiasco @ Key Club Gliss @ Amoeba Janis Ian @ McCabe's Kid Koala, Fog @ The Echo La......

Rise Against @ Wiltern Mudhoney @ Safari Sam's Say Anything @ El Rey Dave Alvin @ Getty Center The John Popper Project @ The Roxy The Dickies @ Vault 350 The Reyes Brothers @ Key Club Lindsey Buckingham @ Grove of Anaheim The House Harkonnen, Matt Cash @ The Mint Teche, Mehrey, Reverse Osmosis @ Viper Room Love Is All, Still Flyin’, Soft Boiled Eggies @ The Echo Gutttermouth, The Darlings, The Ladykillers @......

"They're giving it away free? It must be good!" Put on your best pair of ripped jeans and a collared shirt (floss it, of course). It’s time for all the broke posers of LA to pretend they’re cultured! You can’t miss with the second annual "Museums Free-For-All" day on Sunday, October 1. Of course, those broke non-posers will probably realize that most of the 20 participating museums are normally completely free (Getty Center, California......

8-Bit @ Mr. T's Bowl Jamie Lidell @ Getty Center (free) The Dickies @ Safari Sam's Steve Poltz @ The Mint Death by Stereo @ Key Club Mary J. Blige @ Verizon John Williams @ Hollywood Bowl Elemenopy, Billy Boy on Poison @ The Whisky Marshall Tucker Band, Atlantic Rhythm Section @ Cerritos Center The Mars Volta, Red Hot Chili Peppers @ The Forum photo by the sweaty ms. hermit......

When LAist thinks of John Lithgow and food, some kind of a shiny extra-terrestrial pear pops into our head. We suggest you put that image out of your mind, however, if you're so inclined to see the former "3rd Rock from the Sun" star read aloud short-stories — about food — at this weekend's Food Fictions! at the Getty Center (Friday- Sunday, May 19-21). He's one of several actors who will be orating culinary-inspired......

Here are a few live music options for the old and jaded, desert-averse people. Fri 4/28 - Wilderness / Year Future / Parts & Labor @ the Echo ($8) – Willing to fight the Gnarls Barkley crowd at the Roxy? Didn't think so. Baltimore’s Wilderness are beloved in the indie community. They’re post-punk inspired, but not in an insipid way (think Fugazi and PiL not She Wants Revenge and the Bravery). Year Future are......

So our very own LA Times pulled off something of a coup Friday morning. The paper got a shout out in that other Times newspaper, when Richard Oppel credited our local rag for having an embed on the scene at Thursday's brutal suicide bombing in Ramadi. As a newspaper editor, you pray for a scoop like this. Major world news, and you are the only newspaper outlet with a reporter on the scene. It......

Bart DeLorenzo is the artistic director of the Evidence Room, one of Los Angeles's most unique and adventurous theatres for new works and for avant-garde writers. At the ER, Bart has directed over 20 shows, including No Orchids For Miss Blandish (1999 LA Weekly Award, Best Direction) One Flea Spare, Messalina, Pentecost, Saved, Andromache, Leonce and Lena, and their current show, She Stoops To Comedy. (LAIST reviewed it here.) He has received many awards......

Last night we attended the launch party for Tu Ciudad Los Angeles, a new lifestyle magazine targeted at 30-something, upscale Hispanics with above average household incomes. The party was held at the historic and plush Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with great music by Go Betty Go and Los Amigos Invisibles. Plus, an open bar, which we feel is always a good idea at events like this. Tu Ciudad is published by Emmis Communications, which also......

Saturday, May 21st • 8:00 pm : Selected Shorts: The Love Story Weekend--Marital Matters at the Getty Center • 11:00 am : ArtsDay panels at UCLA Extension • 4:00 pm : LACC Creative Writing Content Winners read works • 7:30 pm : Alicia Erian reads her book "Towelhead" • 7:30 pm : lecture on "Artist & the City as Social Imagination" at Villa Aurora •8:00 pm: Cinespia presents "The Bad and the Beautiful" at......

LAist loves Thanksgiving. Food. Football. Giving thanks. More food. Midday naps. Leftovers. Also, Thanksiving is non-denominational. Everyone can enjoy it, from avowed Satanists, to Reformed Lutherans, to Godless Blue State Heathens like ourselves. There is nothing not good about Thanksgiving. Simply put, it rules. So in honor of Thanksgiving (and by way of tying this column into the city which gives us our raison d'etre), here is a list of the top ten bounties......

Perhaps those Getty Center signs promising that the old Getty Villa will reopen soon are coming true. The J. Paul Getty Museum is looking for a Villa Transition Project Coordinator to assist in the renovation and reopening of the Getty Villa in Malibu. It's a short term gig, though. Get your resumes in soon. Details on the job can be found below.......

Los Angeles is a bright place. Some Angelenos embrace the region's light, while others scurry from it like a roach caught in the beam of the refrigerator's bulb at midnight. Whether you are a sun-worshipper or a vampire, though, sun is bad for you. When the rays are too much, we find solace in shady spots that cleverly use design elements to provide respite and relaxation (yes, we use sunglasses, hats and umbrellas too—but......