HEADS UP
The Captains
Documentary Screening
Monday, July 25, 7pm
Hollywood Forever
FREE
More Info Here

Dress in character for a chance to meet William Shatner at the event. (N/b: Should you turn out fully picnic-prepared Monday eve, I prefer deviled eggs with my sauvignon.)

SIGNATURE COLLECTION BONUS
The second person to email me here with a mailing address and one fun fact about each captain in the film will be mailed a copy of the official movie poster, signed by writer/director/producer/captain William Shatner. Good luck; details for Monday’s screening below.

The Captains – an Epix Original Documentary produced and directed by William Shatner. In The Captains, he travels the world to connect with each of the actors who have played Captains over the long life of the Star Trek franchise. Shatner recalls his own experiences in the role that made him a star by interviewing Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, Avery Brooks and Chris Pine while interweaving clips from their respective shows and movies.

»continue reading To Do Monday: Bill Shatner Screens The Captains, Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Free)

DF is known for many things. Winning “Most Pungent” seven years running. That famous picture of me flipping off a unicorn while a Tyrannosaurus Rex elbows me in the crotch. Finishing my Nobel Prize acceptance speech despite barfing three times. But DF is emphatically NOT known for his calm, judicious sense of self-control. Au the contraire, he has been known to engage in … shall we say … untoward episodes of uncontrolled indulgence. To wit:

August, 1968: an innocent, straight-laced adolescent DF agrees to take a single puff of a marijuana cigarette proffered by a hirsute amigo. Next thing I recall is waking up three years and several hundred acid trips later, face-down in the middle of Golden Gate Park, long hippie hair corralled by a beaded headband, bearing Jerry Garcia’s love child.

September, 1979: a few months into my new, responsible job and life as a pencil-sharpener salesman, a colleague offers me a beer at a calm post-work happy hour on a Wednesday night. I chug the beer, then with the seal broken, chug seventeen additional beers, then chug countless shots of Rumplemints, and finally awake from the ensuing blackout period several days later in an Ensenada gutter, wearing only mascara and a “Huggies” diaper that really left nothing to the imagination. The really weird part is that upon getting back to work, my colleague told me that the beer he’d given me was non-alcoholic.

May, 1985: Sizzler comes out with their “All you can eat salad bar” campaign. DF, against the advice of his lawyer, parole officer, and psychologist, visits a San Dimas Sizzler during this promotion, and after eating all the food in the salad bar, proceeds to the kitchen, where he ingests several dozen frozen skirt steaks and drinks a tureen of ranch dressing before an elderly gentleman brings an end to the madness by whacking DF on the head repeatedly with his prosthesis. And you know what? I woke up from the ensuing coma still hungry as hell.

So yeah, DF and self-restraint don’t really belong in the same sentence. But after my misspent youth (and early adulthood, and most of middle age), I’ve learned a lesson: stay away from temptation! And that’s why I’m shit-scared right now, because temptation has come and found me with not one, not two, but THREE awesome-balls banked-track derby events this weekend in the greater SoCal area.

Believe it, rollerfans! This Saturday night, May 7, will witness the earth-shattering debut of the banked-track incarnation of the OC Roller Girls on their brand-new track, as the Orange Whip square off with the Traffic Jammers down at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. And if you’re averse to traveling below the Orange Curtain that night, you’re still in luck, because the LA Derby Dolls will be in action at Hi-Fi’s Doll Factory on Sat eve as well, when the Varsity Brawlers, fresh off their big upset of the three-time-defending-champ Tough Cookies, will take on that perennial threat from way down south, the San Diego Derby Dolls’ banked track specialists, the Swarm.

And whichever banked track action you opt for on Saturday, you’ll still be able to engorge yourself with more derby the very next day, as an adorably named but undeniably fierce Babydoll Brawl will go down at the Doll Fac on Sunday, May 8. And yes, that’s Mom’s day, but what better way to celebrate the nice lady whose vagina expelled you to see some of the finest up-and-coming skaters LADD has to offer? Take note: the BDB is an all-ages event, so feel free to bring the kiddies. And due to the family atmo, there will be no booze served, which is really for the best for DF given aforementioned proclivities.

Lord knows this troika of derby fantasticness may well be the death of DF and his poor overstressed sense of self-control, but hey—if you gotta die, death by derby is a pretty sweet way to go. Get your tixes for OCRG here and LADD here, and DF’ll see you at the track, young’uns.

ATTN: SPECIAL AGENT DALE COOPER
In The Trees: TWIN PEAKS 20th Anniversary Art Exhibition @ Clifton’s Brookdale

OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, February 12, 2011
TIME: 8:00PM to 11:00PM

Reception and exhibition are open to the public on a first-come basis.

»continue reading Tonight & Next Tuesday 3/9 5-8 pm: The Best Show On WFMU Pledge Drive

CHICKENS IN LOVE is a full-length album of twelve original songs written by 826LA students and performed by Los Angeles-based recording artists: She & Him, Fiona Apple, Cold War Kids, Tim and Eric, The Submarines, Summer Darling, The Happy Hollows, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Dum Dum Girls, The Growlers, Crystal Antlers, and The Pity Party.

“Mamacita” shown here is leading donations with a whopping $635 as of press time and will be performed by Cold War Kids (really looking forward to hear that). You can view videos of performances of all 12 songs and pledge donations here through April 30.

A corresponding benefit show is set for March 6 at Echoplex:

Chickens In Love: An 826LA Benefit Show
Hosted by Dianna Agron from Glee
with live performances from:
The Submarines
The Growlers
The Pity Party
Summer Darling
+ More artists TBD
Tickets & Info

Chickens In Love | 826la.com/chickensinlove

HEADS UP

The Fold presents… a Benefit for Haiti featuring
Pete Yorn
Tim Kasher (Cursive)
Craig Werden (Shudder to Think)
+ Special Guests
Wednesday, February 10
Bootleg Theater
Tickets & Info

The event will be hosted by Nick Kroll (this guy), David Wain and Nicholas Shumaker and more.

Proceeds to benefit Happy Hearts, an organization that specializes in secondary response efforts.

Photo of Tim Kasher by Lindsey from his July 2009 Glass House show.

»continue reading No Cancer! Benefit w/ Vivian Girls, No Age, Abe Vigoda & many more, Sunday, Feb 7 at The Strange

»continue reading Stillerstrong and Architechture for Humanity eBay Signed Memorabilia Auction for Haiti Schools

It seems when The D. comes a-knockin’ everyone comes a-rockin’. The line-up for their Stand with Haiti Benefit next week at the Wiltern has ballooned and getting dangerously close to maximum rock and comedy thresholds. Here’s where we stand today:

TENACIOUS D and Friends
Stand with Haiti: To Aid Partners In Health Haiti Relief
Featuring Performances By:
TENACIOUS D
Frank Black
Russell Brand— Just Added!
Aimee Mann— Just Added!
James Mercer
Bob Odenkirk
Patton Oswalt
Maya Rudolph— Just Added!
Jason Segel— Just Added!
Ben Stiller— Just Added!
Tig Notaro— Just Added!

[Tickets & Info]

Habitat for Humanity | Stillerstrong

Huge photo gallery of all performers below.

»continue reading Love and Haiti Benefit with Aziz Ansari, Ben Stiller, Sarah Silverman, Thomas Lennon, Ed Helms & Nick Kroll, Largo at the Coronet Theater, January 25, 2009

HEADS UP

Tenacious D, Frank Black, James Mercer, Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt @ The Wiltern
(Stand With Haiti Benefit) Tue 2/2

Tenacious D and Friends
Stand with Haiti
Featuring Special Performances By:

Tenacious D (of Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny)
Frank Black (of Pixies)
James Mercer (of Shins)
Bob Odenkirk (of Mr. Show)
Patton Oswalt (of King of Queens)

Benefit for Partners In Health Haiti Relief
 
 

HEADS UP

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia & Family Guy live @ Gibson Amphitheatre (Partners In Health’s Stand With Haiti benefit) Fri 2/12 (Ticket pre-sale begins Wed 1/27 10 am)

From the press release:

Two of television’s most provocatively funny shows will visit the Los Angeles stage to benefit Haiti relief. The cast and creators of both “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” and Seth MacFarlane’s uproarious “Family Guy” will take over Gibson Amphitheatre Friday, February 12th for a very special live event. They will be joined by to-be-announced special guests. Tickets go on sale Thursday, January 28th at 10 AM.

All proceeds will go to Partners In Health’s Stand With Haiti initiative. PIH has been providing vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years and is one of the largest health care providers in the country. Stand With Haiti is the organization’s immediate response to the Haiti earthquake disaster.

The “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” ensemble— Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Artemis Pebdani and Danny DeVito— will perform the FX show’s signature musical moment, the hilarious rock opera extravaganza, “The Nightman Cometh,” live on stage.

Seth MacFarlane will lead a bawdy live interpretation of “Family Guy’s” equally unique songbook. Family Guy Live will feature the cast of the Fox hit, joined by musical accompaniment, performing some of the memorable selections from the show and much more.

Now, please enjoy this clip compiling many instances of Charlie’s intensity on display from Always Sunny.

PHOTO by Sung. Check out his full photo set for Pitchfork here.

Throwing up a “bat signal” to fans and donors for an imminent benefit show—if ever an event could be announced, placed on sale, sold out and performed all in the space of four short days can be so highly anticipated, this was it—Radiohead performed a rare small club show at the Henry Fonda Theater this past Sunday. Again taking advantage of the Internet’s strengths by quickly getting word on their website and then auctioning tickets online to the highest bidders, the show raised an impressive $572 thousand and change for Haiti relief efforts by Oxfam.

Coming into the Fonda, right away one picked up on a definite heightened energy in the air. Die-hard fans, some of whom queued up as early as 12 noon 7 a.m. and paid a minimum of $475 for their ticket, are already pressed up against the stage barricade. Celebs mingle easily with ordinary folk. It’s one of those rare occasions where everyone feels like a VIP just for the privilege of being in the room. Everyone knows they are about to witness a special event and the collective level anticipation gives off some electricity.

It feels slightly ridiculous to review the performance itself at a benefit show, where the quality of the show is not really the point of the evening, especially one arranged on such short notice, in the midst of recording new material. Suffice to say, I’d be surprised if anyone who left this show disappointed.

On an undecorated stage beneath basic house lighting and armed only with standard rock instrumentation—guitars, bass, drums, keys—nary a laptop or sampler in sight—they worked through a thoroughly satisfying set of two dozen tunes. »continue reading Radiohead, Benefit for Oxfam Haiti Relief, Henry Fonda Theater, January 24, 2010

Some time back around Thanksgiving I received this DVD, watched it, enjoyed it immensely and then promptly forgot to give away a copy. Hell what’s a few months when you’re dealing with a timeless classic. Here we go. This relatively short “video collage” compiled by former Guided by Voices front man, eccentric Ohioan and dedicated career boozehound Bob Pollard begins with a cartoon bottle of booze, a cartoon pack of smokes and a cartoon state of Ohio (with Dayton flagged) parading across your screen, the foreboding words “Coming Soon!” your only warning of what’s in store next; blink, and you’ll miss them. Suddenly the MPAA rating card appears (actually a more fitting, clever modified variant thereof):

Rated “PUKE” for pervasive alcohol abuse, lethargy, briar humour, some drug use and comic violent images.

Ok, then. You now know what to expect. You’re then thrown into a disorganized, frenetic, low-fi video mashup of old GBV concert footage, newer footage, sportscasters, striped pants, masked ruffians and naturally throughout all of it the strong, clearly palpable undercurrent of Booze, Smokes, and Dayton flowing freely. Surprises and minuscule gems (seizures?) abound. Skipping ahead a few chapters, without doubt my favorite quote in this whole glorious mess comes from a guy who appears to be one of Bob’s former students:

»continue reading Friday DVD Giveaway: Win The Devil Went Home And Puked: Robert Pollard’s Rock Show Now