Visit our concert calendar for a full show list, links to buy tickets and our top picks.

PICK OF THE WEEK: Tiki Invasion @ Mission Tiki Drive-In

If I had to rank the greatest local tiki-themed drive-in theaters, the Mission Tiki Drive-In in Montclair would definitely make the top 5. But after Saturday’s Tiki Invasion, it might just crack the top 3. Ten bands including The Muffs and The 88, a Hot Rod and Classic Car show, three vintage cult classic movies, guest emcees King Kukulele and the mysterious jet-setting Johnny Nitro, a burlesque review, a bikini car wash, an attempt to break the world ukelele record and it’s BYOB. I like it like that.

• Fri 8/4 Tricky @ Avalon cancelled
• Sat 8/26 Jenny Lewis, Aimee Mann, Dave Eggers, Sarah Vowell, Mountain Goats @ Royce Hall
• Fri 9/1 Jamie Lidell @ Getty
• Fri 9/29 Del the Funky Homosapien @ Knitting Factory
• Fri 9/29 Mojave 3 @ Roxy
• Sun 10/1 Mojave 3 @ McCabe’s
• Sat 10/14 & Sun 10/15 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Fonda
• Mon 10/2 Band of Horses @ Avalon
• Sat 10/21 Decemberists @ Wiltern
• Fri 11/17 The Slits @ Troubadour

TUESDAY
Manu Chao @ Shrine
Tina Dico @ Largo
Typical Cats @ Echo
»continue reading Losanjealous Concert Picks: July 31 – August 6

As part of their Seeing India film series, LACMA presents a rare screening of Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy–Pather Panchali, Aparajito and The World of Apu–beginning this Saturday, August 5, concluding the following Friday and Saturday, August 11 and 12.

These 3 Indian films from the 1950’s are regarded as among the greatest of all time and have been cited as influences by everyone from Matt Groening to Akira Kurosawa. Check out Roger Ebert’s compact encomium of the trilogy here. Instead of Netflixing them, grab this chance to see them on a big screen.

Send an e-mail with your full name to contest@losanjealous.com and we’ll enter you in a drawing to win a pair of tickets to see Aparajito or The World of Apu, on Friday 8/11 and Saturday 8/12.

Contest entry closed

Saturday August 5 7:30 pm Pather Panchali

Friday August 11 7:30 pm Aparajito

Saturday August 12 7:30 pm The World of Apu

Full film program and ticket information at lacma.org.

ryan,

i was thinking of starting with kate mantilini, but if i can squeeze, i’ll get all of the four reviews into one. i just hope it isn’t overkill. don’t publish anything yet, i need to check for typos. since i’m mac n cheese with lots of typos mair.

You got it, Mair.

Cliff’s Edge – Silver Lake: Baked Macaroni w/ four cheeses
Urth Caffe – Beverly Hills: Kid’s Menu Macaroni and Cheese
Lucky Devil’s – Hollywood: Baked macaroni
Kate Mantilini – Beverly Hills: Macaroni and cheese

June was a whirlwind macaroni and cheese traveling month for me, as you can see, I hit up four posts and as I expected, not as good as Violet. I wonder if you guys think I’m an undercover partner of Violet and I am not, that is why I spend a few hundred dollars in a month eating out.

Okay, back to the good stuff. June was indeed a whirlwind. Let’s start off with Cliff’s Edge.
»continue reading Mac and Cheese CaseFile #24877-B: Four-Cheese Log, Part One

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The Losanjealous Benevolent Society gathers a weekly list of strange happenings and fun events in LA–the more ridiculous, the better. Visit our events calendar for the full list. And if you’re organizing or know of an event you think belongs on the list, send us info at tips@losanjealous.com.

FRIDAY

Mutations: The Art of Jim Winters @ Retropia
San Francisco artist Jim Winters’ subject matter often conveys a sense of humor and an appreciation of irony. Opening Reception Friday, July 28th 7-11 pm. Through Thu 8/31.

SATURDAY

Blessing of the Cars
The all-day and into-the-night annual affair, held at Hansen Dam, begins with a mass morning blessing by a Catholic priest, who then goes car to car, blessing each individually. Some people also ask him put holy water in their radiators.

Cannibal Flower @ Copro Nason
Cannibal Flower is a portable venue for the arts that showcases art, music, dance, film, projections, magic and fashion shows. It started in 2000 as a means for a group of friends to showcase their art and music without having to deal with the politics of the conventional gallery.

Cinespia: Manhattan @ Hollywood Forever Cemetary
This bittersweet comedy is Allen’s love letter to the City of New York. Bring blankets, drinks and picnic dinner for this special screening below (and above) the stars. DJ John Tripp spins before and after the screening.

Dragon Boat Festival
In addition to hosting one of the largest dragon boat competitions in California, there will be Chinese traditional art demonstrations, Chinese Acrobats, traditional dance, music and martial arts performances. Through Sun 7/30.

Fancy Rat & Mouse Show @ Orange County Fair
The American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association (AFRMA) promotes and encourages the breeding and exhibition of fancy rats and mice for show and pets.

»continue reading Losanjealous Benevolent Society Events: July 28 – August 3

Fondue Party, 1968

Ordinarily, beer can-curled coifs, clanking cocktails and cackling conversation around a stainless steel fondue pot, sitting on a rich, blue felt-covered board atop a pool table, would be enough to inspire my imagination and make my spirit soar. But this slide offers much more!

Psychedelic beaded curtains (WOW they photograph well!) and lava lamps are rarely captured on film. And here they are side by side! I weep!
»continue reading Charles Phoenix’s Slide of the Week: Fondue Party, 1968

Good afternoon and welcome to Los Angeles Dissected Via Pictures and Words. Today, Old British Man and I shall attempt to address the social relevance of the Car Pool Lane and the topic of Diamond Lane etiquette.

SN: Old British Man, Good Afternoon.

OBM: On the 405 heading south there is a little run of fencing that has been described by many as “Tired, damaged and probably non-functional…”

SN: Is it slighlty bent towards the end and covered with Red and Blue streaks of paint, where a car or two has grazed it ever so slightly?

OBM: Yes, the metal is torn to shreds and it is rather unstable and very ugly to look at..

SN: I am familair with that landmark…
»continue reading Los Angeles Dissected: The Carpool Lane

[Note from the editor: This is part two of NoSmell Bob's 74-part review of La Reyna Grand Opening. Read part one here.]

Nearly two months have passed since my time at La Reyna. I’m moving this weekend, and while throwing my life into greasy boxes scavenged from the Ladera Center parking lot, I discovered a dusty and unmarked old cd-r under a pile of receipts and spare change. Curious, I loaded that badboy into my laptop and found the pictures taken to document that fateful mexican breakfast on 7th and Mateo. Hazy memories of gamey sausage links and slithery mexican food began to coalesce in my mind. It was time to write the review.

My first impression of La Reyna was something like “Wow, these people look a little nervous.” I quickly became distracted, however, by the numerous fake-looking swordfish on the walls. The swordfish were present in many sizes and instantly put me in a great mood for some reason. The nautical theme made me want to order some seafood, but the B rating and my instructions to sample the breakfast menu kept me on point.
»continue reading Profile: La Reyna Grand Opening

Cher: the biggest press event ever
Cher: I’m still waiting for my Kathy Griffin moment
Cher: I couldn’t win a god damned thing at the charity auction
Cher: WHERE MY GAYS AT???!!!!

CherCon. 10,000 square feet of wall-to-wall Cher…Woodland Hills…a Saturday afternoon. I arrive with our star intern Shane and report to the media check in. Shane is sporting a new tie and I am donning my best Lois Lane attire. As members of the press, we are shuffled off to a holding area. I recognize some of my peers from the White House Press Corps. Anne Kornblut from the NY Times, Christopher Cooper from the Wall St. Journal and Nedra Pickler from AP are all there. This is going to be big. When I spy Liz Smith from the NY Post I get a sinking feeling we might be scooped. Shane and I are hard at work trying to procure a wireless signal to no avail. We manage to break into the ELAYNHUNTCORRECTIONALFACILITY wireless account but service is sporadic and corrupted. Inmates are in our IM. The messages start flying. E.L. Woody strolls in with the TMZ guys and they ask to borrow a pen. Hmph.

I’ve worked with the media coordinator before. He’s generally in charge at the James S. Brady Media Briefing Room in the White House. I try to catch his eye but he keeps telling us to sit tight. So far he’s only come to personally escort reporters from LOGO TV in. I start to get antsy. We’re going to get scooped. We’re going to get scooped. My computer keeps saying SHAKE YA ASS! WATCH YA SELF!
»continue reading CherCon 2006: One Journalist Remembers

While buzz has been steadily building about the imminent arrival of clothes retailer H&M to the Los Angeles area, clothes retailer Forth & Towne have quietly been laying the groundwork to open not one, not two, but–count ‘em–THREE Los Angeles area stores this Fall. Century City, Canoga Oaks and Thousand Parks–consider yourselves warned!

You might be asking yourself who Forth & Towne are? What’s their deal and why should I care? Perhaps it will be easier if we just let Forth & Towne tell you who they are:

At the heart of our story: inspiration. It started with a group of women. Or more importantly, a new generation of women, determined to find current, wearable fashions in fits that flatter. Women who have grown-up, grown into themselves and want to look as fabulous as they feel.

That’s great, you say. But tell me about more about the F.A.T. woman. I’ll let Austyn Zung, Head of Design, take it from here:

We know that women lead rich, full, busy lives. They’re juggling careers, families, friendships, community work. Their clothing is an expression of themselves and their multi-faceted, busy lives required a multi-faceted wardrobe. With that in mind, we started designing the collection by breaking it into four pieces, via four distinct brands to serve the many sides of a woman.

So you’re starting to get where they’re coming from spiritually. But what are the clothes actually like? More from Austyn Zung, Head of Design:
»continue reading Forget H&M, Forth & Towne is Coming to L.A.

The Flaming Lips are my favorite band. To be sure, my very first Losanjealous entry dealt with last summer’s Fearless Freaks DVD release and the Beesley/Coyne Cinespace Q&A session:

“What is this thing…A blog? A website? What the hell happens? What do you do, write shit, link something relevant and make the clever? Fuck it I’m in. What’s to lose?”

I watched the movie again yesterday in order to work myself into a proper frenzy before the show. It’s just brilliant. Almost as brilliant as being one of the 18,000 people throwing glowsticks at the stage last night.

Almost.

The Flaming Lips @ Hollywood Bowl, 7/23/06
Lips photo by Nikki aka Girl in Long Beach
Craptastic Anatomically Correct RAZR™® capture by yours truly

Visit our concert calendar for a full show list, links to buy tickets and our top picks.

PICK OF THE WEEK: Cat Power @ McCabe’s

Local officials are pleading with the public to conserve Cat Power during this peak concert season. Suggested conservation steps include minimizing the consumption of Chan Marshall’s songs weekdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and only playing her shorter tracks. Thank you for doing your part to prevent unnecessary Cat Power outages.

Whatever its duration, School of the Flower is one of those rare, understated but compulsive collections you’ll want to listen to on repeat until it’s time to blow out the incense, dump the wine in the sink, and step fuzzy-headed into the imperfect sunlight of the prosaic, but suddenly potentially transcendent world. – Pitchfork

Send an e-mail to 6organs-contest@losanjealous.com with your full name to enter.

myspace.com/sixorgans

We need to invent a new genre for Penelope Houston… smart, literate music made without compromise. – Newsweek

Send an e-mail to avengers-contest@losanjealous.com with your full name to enter.

penelope.net | myspace.com/avengers

A solo artist too, his various guises have been getting progressively more song-based, and this is his best yet. – Q

Send an e-mail to pajo-contest@losanjealous.com with your full name to enter.

papa-m.com | myspace.com/davidpajo

This could be the Beach Boys scoring a Hitchcock movie. – LA Times

Send an e-mail to irving-contest@losanjealous.com with your full name to enter.

thebandirving.com | myspace.com/irving

• Wed 8/16 Mates of State @ Amoeba
• Wed 8/23 Mountain Goats @ Amoeba
• Sun 9/10 Polyphonic Spree @ Fonda
• Thu 9/14 Black Keys @ Avalon
• Thu 9/21 Andrew Bird @ Fonda
• Thu 9/28 Wolfmother @ Palladium
• Mon 10/23 Yo La Tengo @ Fonda
• Sat 11/18 Hot Chip @ Echo

MONDAY
Darker My Love, Immaculate Machine @ Spaceland (free)
Flaming Lips @ Jimmy Kimmel
Gnarls Barkley @ Avalon
Jurassic 5 @ House of Blues
Minders @ Derby
Sparta @ Viper Room

TUESDAY
David Bazan @ Tangier
Elected @ Jimmy Kimmel
Jurassic 5 @ House of Blues
Six Organs of Admittance @ Spaceland
Taking the Jesus Pill @ Amoeba (free)
»continue reading Losanjealous Concert Picks: July 24 – 30

Classic theatre, classic film enjoy rerelease synergy

Bonus Photo: Shitty nuartraffic stuck in while capturing above

The Losanjealous Benevolent Society gathers a weekly list of strange happenings and fun events in LA–the more ridiculous, the better. Visit our events calendar for the full list. And if you’re organizing or know of an event you think belongs on the list, send us info at tips@losanjealous.com.

SATURDAY

Cinespia: Dressed to Kill @ Hollywood Forever Cemetary
Stylish, sophisticated and terrifying, this De Palma masterpiece is brimming with sinister elegance. Bring blankets, drinks and picnic dinner for this special screening below (and above) the stars. DJ Jun spins before and after the screening.

Dodgeball Tournament @ Somewhere in Bakersfield
The tournament will take place on the turf before the Bakersfield Blitz/Stockton Lightning game with the Champsionship game taking place at halftime.

LA Derby Dolls: Sirens vs. Tru$t Fund Terror$
It’s a blue collar versus blue blood showdown on the banked track, the likes of which we haven’t seen since that time Zsa Zsa Gabor slapped that police officer! Will the post-game celebration include vintage Dom Perignon, or a round of brewskis?

Night Vision @ MOCA
NIGHT VISION: MOCA After Dark presents 15 Saturdays of exciting programs including artmaking, screenings, groundbreaking DJs, live music, spoken word, guided tours, and a cash bar and light fare at Patinette Cafe during Robert Rauschenberg: Combines. Featuring The Like and Nine Black Alps.

Pasadena Confidential Crime Bus Tour
1947project’s five-hour luxury coach tour offers surprising insights into the often weird and horrible history of the Crown City, from the infamous to the forgotten.

»continue reading Losanjealous Benevolent Society Events: July 21 – 27

The Kiss, 1958

Half open Venetian blinds reveal a dusk or dawn sky. Are Venetian blinds really from Venice? Funny, I never thought to ask myself that question before. The answer is yes! Thank you Italy!

But this slide isn’t about Venetian blinds. Oh no! It’s not even about the warm and inviting honey blond wood paneling, dainty doilies, yellow daisies on black, hand held hankies, mod curtains or the gold anodized aluminum bullet lamp pointing to the curved ceiling above. Not even about the overwhelming fact that this is the interior of a trailer. No. This slide is about makin’ out with grandma!

I loved my grandmas. One was town and the other was country. There names were Geraldine and Kindzetta. Yes, I loved them but I don’t recall kissin’ them like this!

By the way, don’t you just love grandma names?

Here’s to trailer interiors, kissin’ grandmas and you!

Charles Phoenix

Is Campari the perfect summer drink in Losanjealous? Discuss.

Bonus photo

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In a city where things are in constant flux, it is comforting to find Westwood Village’s Shack Row basically remaining the same decade after neverending decade: Sleazy, dirt-cheap, filling as hell. Burgers. Burritos. Buck Fiddy Subs. Korean BBQ. Falafel. All manner of shackfood for the broke college student.

The below photo was submitted yesterday by an associate of one of our hundred-dozen field reporters.

Locale: Shack Row
Chicken Burrito: $2.50
Shoe Size (for scale): 12

Foot-in-mouth jokes aside, it certainly gives Lincoln Heights’ SuperDongBurrito a run for the money when you consider you could conceivably juggle two 12″ dongs for .50 less than the price of one SuperDong. Talk about doubling down. Let me hear you:

Shack Row! We Love You!
We Don’t Know What We’d Do
Without your Dongs for $2.50
As Big As My Damn Shoe!

Though you are a dated giant, your size does not impede
One’s navigation through you, with above average speed.
Your circular existence and multitude of lanes,
Sharply counteracts Sea-Tac, where I sit and wait in vain.

You have a cell phone parking lot off Airport, to the right.
(Although this is quite creepy when waiting late at night.)
You don’t have much to offer, in aesthetics or swank appeal
But what you do have, LAX, you give to us with zeal.

Hidden treasures at each gate abound, from Ruby’s to Cinnabon
Lots of bathrooms, lots of signs, a few seats to sit upon.
This is not to say you’re perfect, you have flaws without a doubt.
Your bathrooms really irk me; why can’t the stall doors open out?

You always tend to smell the same, like stale coffee, paper and feet,
But give me a choice between you and MSP; your system can’t be beat.
Dropping off or being picked up for departures or arrivals
Is effortless with you, my dear, no fighting for survival.

I love the way you have dividers, which separate street from gates,
I do hate checking bags, however, because I cannot stand your wait.
I smile when I exit, as your AC gives way to heat,
And I love that you’re accessible via freeways or surface streets.

It’s easy to get to you on time, my love, and drop-offs are just heaven.
(And I also love your “secret” shortcut to United’s Terminal 7.)
I’m proud to call you my hub for all the world’s destinations
Your marvelous cement exterior is certainly a divine creation.

I hope you get a facelift soon, so you can be at your very best.
But keep the Autopia voice outside that greets your weary guests.
I’ll get right to the point, mon cher, you’re my favorite airport, LAX.
Even with all of your flighty flaws, you are still the sex.