dt news: DT Gets Funky, Artsy and Remixed
By Dan Johnson
Aug 10, 2015
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/arts_and_entertainment/downtown-gets-funky-artsy-and-remixed/article_b6e0e928-3d41-11e5-af05-dbea84506964.html
photo by Jenny Risher Photography
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - In this week's Don't Miss List: Downtown Gets Funky, Artsy and Remixed
1. One of the world’s oldest and most penetrating questions is, “Why must dog chase the cat?” It has yet to be adequately answered, though George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic will broach it again on Friday, Aug. 14, at Club Nokia. Expect an evening of funky goodness and plenty of audience members chanting “bow wow wow yippy-yo yippy-yay.” BTW, in 1997, 16 members of Parliament Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We’re unsure which of that crew will be on hand this week, but we can guarantee that you will not need a flashlight to see how spectacularly rad this gig will be. At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or clubnokia.com.
2. Who would have thought that the recent diplomatic détente between the United States and Cuba could have been a prelude for this month’s Downtown Art Walk? Certainly not this Listings Editor. Yet, the happening on Thursday, Aug. 13, features a strong contingent of culture from that island nation in Colors of Cuba: A Sensory Art Exhibition, to be hosted at the Art Walk Lounge (634 S. Spring St.). Elsewhere, Broken Fingaz, the laudable lads from Haifa, Israel, continue their psychedelic odyssey with the exhibit Journey Galactico at the Howard Griffin Gallery at Fourth and Spring streets. Further art pleasures will crowd the streets of the Historic Core, namely the block of Spring between Fourth and Fifth where vendors will bake away the day in the hot sun and sell their wares. Throughout the Historic Core or downtownartwalk.org.
3. Classical composition inexplicably merges with contemporary remix culture on Saturday, Aug. 15, as Grand Performances hosts Classical Remix. To start, members of the Colburn School student body will play select classics with piano luminary Alfredo Rodriguez. Once finished, Los Angeles-based sample guru and all-around facial hair specialist Daedelus (shown here) will take the stage to proverbially chop and screw the previous compositions with newly minted groove vibes, while carefully avoiding a soaring flight too close to the sun. The gig begins at 8 p.m., but as usual a hoard of eager fans will arrive early and pack the Cal Plaza Watercourt, so consider yourself warned. At 350 S. Grand Ave., (213) 687-2190 or grandperformances.org.
4. For the past two weekends, REDCAT has reverberated with the collective weight of a world’s worth of creative experimentation in the form of the annual New Original Works Festival. This weekend holds the third and final week of the run, and with its closing comes a trio of distinct shows. A stylish pop music song cycle from Cassandra (shown here) meets the choreography of Tokyo’s Takao Kawaguchi and multimedia theater from Kevin Williamson during their performances on Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 13-15, at 8:30 p.m. At 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.
5. The Summer Concert Series at Pershing Square continues with yet another classic band you will immediately recognize for that song you have heard 1,001 times (at least). Don’t be surprised when the familiar strains of America’s “Horse With No Name” fill the park on Saturday, Aug. 15. The band that, ironically enough, was formed in London will pass through Los Angeles with no less than two of the three founding members. While original bass player Dan Peek is no longer with us, you can bet that a resolute America will offer no compromises in their electrified folk rock musings. Arrive early to catch a few tunes from the Freddy Jones Band. At 532 S. Olive St., (213) 847-4970 or laparks.org/pershingsquare.
Send information and possible Don’t Miss List submissions to calendar@downtownnews.com.