Bring Your Flask

Randy and Jason Sklar, better known as the Sklar Brothers, even better known as the hosts of the only ESPN Classic show I’ve ever watched on a regular basis—Cheap Seats—and possibly best known as the Cain and Abel of Hollywood agents in HBO’s Entourage, got their comedic starts amidst the burgeoning “alternative” comedy scene of mid-90’s New York. Back then and over there, such now-defunct clubs as the famous Luna Lounge used to hold regular open-mic nights, where names like Marc Maron, Greg Fitzsimmons, Louis CK, Dave Attell, Sarah Silverman, and many, many more once tuned their respective crafts. The Sklars didn’t immediately fit in. In fact, they stood out, and in a bad way. They’re identical twins, which, in the eyes of the comedy club weary, was synonymous with hacky—not far off from ventriloquism, as both shticks tended to traditionally rely on the straight-man/wacky-man dynamic. In interviews, Randy and Jason have talked about their initial struggle against this assumption, not so much with their audiences as within their act. They had to work hard to eventually to find their patented rhythm of completing one another’s sentences, riffing on topics the other brings up, never disowning their uncanny likeness, yet never relying on it either. Basically, they had to find their true collective self, a feat which simply would not have been possible without the open-mic.

These days, the Sklars still perform almost everywhere in Los Angeles, but have also transitioned into the world of film and television, an industry with lots of microphones (as well as projectors, the mic’s visual equivalent), few of which are “open,” almost none of which are free.  Hence, “Open Projector Night,” hosted by Randy and Jason Sklar, this Tuesday, August 17, 8:00 PM at the Hammer Museum. Free popcorn, cash bar, and a first-come-first-serve policy for any under-ten-minute film or video out there, these semi-regular nights have developed a reputation for rowdiness, rudeness, and yes, even the occasional cinematic gem. Come screen-test your private masterpiece (submissions begin at 7 PM), or just support your local filmmakers by getting drunk and voting them off the docket completely.

The Sklar Brothers, more than most, know what its like to struggle for an identity, and they’ve kind of made an on-screen career out of it (not to mention, paved the way for stellar teams like the Walsh Brothers). So if you’re tired of being constantly confused for someone you’re not, of having to dress different to stick out, of explaining the subtle yet imperative dissimilarities between you and that other idiot, just leave it in the hands of Sklars. They may not love your work, they may make some clever jokes at your expense, but they’ll at least give you a mic.

For  more information about “Open Projector Night” and Hammer Public Programs (all of which are free), please visit www.hammer.ucla.edu, or call 310.443.7000.

What is a hipster sense of humor? Surely it has something to do with irony—the hipster’s original sin—or at least the thin version of irony that exists in wearing a D.A.R.E. t-shirt, while smoking a cigarette outside of the Silver Lake Lounge. But even irony has lost its all-consuming flavor amongst UCB and Largo crowds. Hipster humor also has something feminine about it, non-confrontational in its satire; it’s about a style and a matter of intention more than it is the content of a joke. Absurdity is actually its most potent ingredient, a commitment to the weird, a detached joy in the randomness of things.

In a name, it’s interviewer/performer/writer/comedian Dave Hill, who will be performing his one-man show, “Dave Hill: Big In Japan,” tonight, at 9:00 PM at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Hill looks like the character of Dim from Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and the pitch of his voice ranges from acid-trip-high to wallowing-drunk-low in a matter of seconds. He has become known for his fast-cut, Borat-style interviews—which have been featured on This American Life—in which he is always the main subject (Hill probably wouldn’t exist were it not for Sacha Baron Cohen, but the two differ vastly their approach). Many of his interviews are filmed on camera, and one gets the feeling he is constantly winking at the audience, but not in a mean way (a lot like Jim does when he looks toward the camera on The Office). He has an incredibly quick wit, but he doesn’t use it for harm. Carrying a misguided sense of uber-confidence, Hill seemingly wants to be friends with everybody he talks to, and thus, his undeniable charm.

He’ll walk into the red carpets of New York’s fashion week, holding a huge boom-mic with a windscreen on it, and proceed to ask an attendee what she thinks of the Kofi Annan collection. Though even this is harsh for him. More likely, he’ll take a private movement/acting class in New York City, and twirl around in tights with the male instructor, laughing with him rather than at him, creating a sense of camaraderie through shared acknowledgment of the absurd.

This is, in fact, Hill’s greatest strength: his ability to include the subject, and by extension, the audience in the creation of the joke. He is genuine, which is why it works. And why he may be one of the best examples of hipster humor out there.

For tickets more information about The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, please visit www.ucbtheatre.com, or call (323) 908-8702.

Fireworks have the ability to conjure up about as many disparate meanings and memories as the number of spokes in their shooting spiral light displays. In China, they’re thought to scare away evil spirits. In America, they’re billed as patriotic—provoking heckles of “ooh’s” and “aah’s” and “hell yeah’s” from admiring crowds. In zombie movies, they’re often used as weapons of distraction. In the Middle East, they’re not much different than the sights and sounds of air bombs. And in romantic relationships, they’re either explosive celebrations of symbolic ecstasy, or nostalgic reminders of dying light.

Whatever meaning you may attach to them, fireworks do possess a universal power. And on this July 4^th, FineArtsLA.com is giving you and a lucky date the chance to witness the magic close-up at the best Independence Day pyrotechnics show this city has to offer. Live at the Hollywood Bowl, with special guest Vince Gill (does is get more patriotic?), and the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West (apparently it does), the Los Angeles Philharmonic presents the famous July 4^th Fireworks Spectacular. Simply write in your first name, last name, and e-mail address into the form below, and you will automatically be put in the running to win two free tickets to this year’s show (and as always, your name will be added to the lottery of the next three FineArtsLA.com ticket giveaways).

Sure, you could catch the lights from a distance off the side of the 101. But why not immerse yourself in the Bowl this year, and join the true fireworks show, which of course has nothing to do with gunpowder, but rather the thousands of individual sparks that fly up from our own collective subconscious.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Please get yourselves down to the Nuart and quick. I didn’t realize it until it was almost too late, but since the 11^th they’ve been screening, daily, the five-part masterpiece of avant-garde artist Matthew Barney, The Cremaster Cycle.

The Cremaster Cycle is comprised of Barney’s sculpture, photography, drawings, and five feature-length films that Barney created between 1994 and 2002.  The films, whose loose, wordless narratives vary widely, explore the processes of creation in ways that reach far beyond the biological implications (“cremaster” is the term for the muscle that controls testicular response to external stimuli).  Barney spares no expense—he includes everything from an extravagant, Busby Berkeley-esque musical revue in a blue-turf’d football stadium to a high-fashion Western starring Norman Mailer; an epic ascension of New York City’s Chrysler Building, to motorcycle gangs, faeries, magicians, live pigeons, and the Budapest Opera & Philharmonic—I mean, everything. What’s best, the films can be enjoyed individually or as consecutive parts of a whole.

So act fast, folks. These films are rarely screened—especially with the opportunity to see them consecutively. My recommendation would be to take the day off, swing by the 99c store for a few packs of Red Vines, and settle in to the dark theater for a day of gross overstimulation.

The Cremaster Cycle screens at the Nuart from June 11 through the 17^th. Visit the Nuart’s website for ticket information.

There are some people who can’t see a film without unleashing their inner critic.  So long as they’re not doing it in your ear during the film, there’s nothing wrong with a little constructive criticism. Studying up on film and all that goes into it can help those critics sound less like Randy Jackson on “American Idol” and more like Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers.  Neil Landau’s book, 101 Things I Learned in Film School is just the kind of thing you need to get up to speed so that your judging the mise-en-scene and the juxtaposition as opposed to the Cameron Diaz’ comedic timing.

Landau will be signing and reading from his book at Book Soup in West Hollywood on Thursday night, giving you a crash course in everything from camera angles to getting financing.  Landau is a screenwriter whose credits include Doogie Howser MD and Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead. We know what you’re thinking, but this book is chock full of actual advice and lessons learned.  In Los Angeles, its smart to know these things even if you work in an entirely different business – it’ll help your client base as a dentist, for example, if you can ask a producer how his or her premiere went or what the latest box office numbers were.  It’s all about the universal language of film.

Neil Landau will be signing and reading from 101 Things I Learned in Film School on Thursday, May 27 at 7pm for FREE.  For more information, please click here.

Stand-up comedy and Los Angeles have had a notoriously dysfunctional relationship history. The city—a sunny desert town run by movie studios—is not inherently nurturing toward live, solo spouts of jokes and complaints. Any comedian will tell you the laughter comes from dark places, and the colder, more crowded and desperate the environment, the funnier the jokes.

But LA does have the proverbial carrot on a string, the reason a lot of comedians even get into the game—stardom. The sheer proximity of such clubs as The Comedy Store and The Laugh Factory to the lots of Universal and Warner Brothers is reason enough for most young funnymen to pack up some flip-flops and go. After all, the Walk of Fame is littered with such once-upon-a-time transports—Bob Newhart, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Sam Kinison, Richard Pryor, Richard Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, etc.

And there in lies the rub. A city full of comedians, many in fact talented, with no set audience—supply before demand. This contradiction is what led to the infamous comedian strike of the late 1970’s against Mitzi Shore and The Comedy Store (culminating in the suicide of comedian Steve Lubetkin), and more indirectly, to the way the big name clubs are run today: two-drink minimums, secret waitlists for open mics, overpriced admission, and the requirement of newer comedians to bring their own audience.

So what, oh what is a comedian (and a die-hard fan, like me) supposed to do? Just put up with the nonsense? No, not in the age of MySpace and Facebook. These days, it’s all about the self-produced showcase, and there’s not a better one in town than Maria Bamford and Melinda Hill’s What’s Up Tiger Lily? It’s free, every Monday night, 8:00 PM at the Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill on Sunset, and features some of the best known and new comedians in the business. It’s been going on for the past three years, and used to take place on Wednesday nights in Silver Lake, but has since moved venues—correlating with the broader shift in the public’s comedic sensibility from more “mainstream,” observational humor to the excessively personal, sometimes abstract “alternative” comedy built up in the early ‘90’s.

The show this past Monday was hosted by up-and-comer Jake Weisman, who fretted out a string of fast-paced confessions about his cats, his veganism, and his unintentionally gay appearance, before introducing a night-full of simliar and often hilarious self-depricators and storytellers.

The highlights for me were of course Maria Bamford (who’s patented “voices” of friends and family surpass gimmickry and enter the world of depth-psychology once you realize they might just be coming from inside her head); David Koechner, of Anchorman fame, who riffed in the guise of two made-up characters for so long and with so much ease, you forgot who was telling the jokes; and finally Kyle Kinane, quickly becoming my favorite new comedian, if only because he seems to be truly genuine in even his most absurd humor.

I also enjoyed Chris Hardwick (a for-sure crowd pleaser), Melinda Hill, Jonah Ray, and Chelsea Peretti, but do wonder if the somewhat overbearing amount of comedians on bill took away from their solid acts. After all, this is the one leftover staple—the huge line-up—from the more mainstream clubs that still haunts otherwise superb shows like What’s Up Tiger Lily! I fully realize that even 5 minutes is a hard time-slot to fill, and fresh faces deserve their stage time, but wouldn’t it be nice to see, for once, just three or four excellent comedians doing a half-hour each in a cheap, intimate setting? You know, sort of like bands at music venues?

Just a thought, and maybe a wasted one in a city such as Los Angeles. For now, I suggest the next best thing, which is most certainly What’s Up Tiger Lily! This upcoming Monday’s line-up: Marc Maron (who’s WTF podcast is a must), Greg Proops, TJ Miller, and many more.

What’s Up Tiger Lily! is every Monday night, 8:00 PM at the Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill inside the Denny’s parking lot on Sunset. For more information, please visit http://www.myspace.com/whatsuptigerlily.

On hearing a name like Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, there are a number of typical silent film songs that pop into your head – mostly of the slapstick, bumbling, parodying varietal.  Films from the twenties, that roaring decade before the era of the “talkies” with flickering motion pictures of flappers and hapless hopeless romantic gentlemen who can’t quite seem to get anything right, were accompanied by live orchestras in the cinema.  The musicians would play upbeat, complex melodies that would stick in your head as exactly what Charlie Chaplin sounded like when he’d accidentally let another gentleman caller intercept a bouquet of flowers just before presenting them to a lady-friend.   Or they’d play downtrodden songs to suit a dejected Buster Keaton as he walks away from a car that’s inexplicably fallen apart beneath him.

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra has long been a fan of remembering those silent film orchestras of the past.  They host an annual Silent Film concert allowing audiences to reminisce the golden days of silent film by screening one or two and providing pitch-perfect accompaniment.   This year, LACO presents two silent, short films: Disney’s Alice’s Wild West Show and Buster Keaton’s iconic film, The Cameraman.  Both represent the joy of filmmaking in that era – a time when newcomers to the cinema actually believed a train was making its way into the theatre and evacuated with great speed in self-defense.

With conductor Timothy Brock at the helm, the LA Chamber Orchestra will play a new work, by Mr. Brock himself, to accompany The Cameraman and the original music that accompanied Alice’s Wild West Show all those years ago by Alexander Rannie. Because who would Buster Keaton be without that wily, horn-heavy soundtrack we all came to know and love?

Performing Sunday, May 23 at Royce Hall at 6:30pm, the concert just wouldn’t be complete without, well, you!  That’s right, welcome to our latest Extra! Extra! ticket giveaway.

A few things of note: by entering into this contest, you’re automatically entered to win our next three giveaways.  (We know, you’re welcome.) All we need is your first name, last name, and email address and voila – is that a newsboy cap you’re wearing?

(Click here if you think contests are for wussies and you’d rather buy your own tickets.)

A sense of community is one of the many reasons people frequent gallery openings.  When everyone’s milling around on a Saturday night, Grolsch or Tecate in hand, discussing the work of some emerging artist hung on the stark white walls of a Culver City gallery and deciding where to imbibe next, there’s a sneaking sense of belonging.  Once you find a gallery with the same taste as yours, it’s only a matter of time until that’s your local spot where everyone knows your name.

With all this in mind, Edgar Varela Fine Arts has got the right idea.  At their previous location, a number of openings featuring various artists were held giving regulars and newcomers the idea that it was as much about doing something interesting and new as it was about experiencing new artist’s work.  The new location strives to continue driving the point home.  The grand opening of this new space, on W. 5th Street in downtown LA, will be held on Wednesday night and will highlight the feminine work of artist Ashley Gibbons in an exhibition called “Coquettish Modernisms.” She utilizes quilting, lingerie, and other fabric-based materials to create images that reflect women and the female form in a modern way.  Gibbons puts hardware to good use as well, stretching lingerie across a canvas with screws and nails.  Her show at Edgar Varela Fine Arts runs from Wednesday (May 12) through June 26, 2010.

Edgar Varela is an independent art collector and dealer with a panache for throwing art-related events that Angelenos actually want to attend.  If you like what you see, make sure you keep coming back – you’ll want to be known as a regular.

Ashley Gibbon’s “Coquettish Modernisms” opens Wednesday, May 12 from 5 – 9pm at Edgar Varela Fine Arts. Click here for more information.

We start off with an English gentleman.  He’s on stage, with his requisite pipe, telling us of the dull and boring days in a rented flat in central London that drove him to seek entertainment in a place as unlikely as the theatre.  He treks off to see red curtains pulled back revealing a perfectly comic duo in only their first role of the evening: as host and the night’s main act, Mr. Memory.  This is the beginning of “Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps”, on now at the Ahmanson Theatre.

This show is not for the theatre purist easily offended by a lack of the ever-elusive “fourth wall.”  This is, instead, one of the funniest, most inventive, self-reflective plays I’ve seen in a long while.  With a cast of only four, the players cover many a persona often by simply changing their hat while still on stage.  The special effects were nowhere to be seen, either, with characters holding out and shaking their own coats to simulate the wind.  Various accents abounded as each actor moved between his or her alternate personalities – Clair Brownwell’s initial character, Annabella Schmidt, had a very German accent (pronouncing “involved” in all sorts of incomprehensible ways) before she switched to become the blonde Scottish woman, Pamela, out to get our leading man, Ted Deasy.

Deasy played only one man – the clever, but wanted Richard Hannay – and was a delight from the moment he stepped on stage.  He mastered a dry, elongated British accent and paired it with a quick-paced rapport, making the play seem almost like His Girl Friday, as directed by Mr. Hitchcock.  With references to Hitchcock’s films throughout, from a scene with Deasy running away from planes in silhouette a la North by Northwest to a sneaky puppet that made Mr. Hitchcock’s iconic cameo for him, “The 39 Steps” is a comical tour de force.

What made the show spectacular was the work of Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson, cast as Man #1 and Man #2, respectively.  They went from train ticket takers to cops on the hunt for a murderer to inn-keepers to German spies (and their wives) to on-stage “special effects” coordinators taunting Deasy and Brownell to the end.  The Men (numbers 1 and 2) interacted with each other seamlessly, moving in perfect sync when necessary and telling one another when they’d forgotten to change their hat again and they were acting as the wrong character.

Perhaps the scene that prepared the audience best for what we were about to experience came toward the start when Annabella Schmidt, who had talked her way into staying at Mr. Hannay’s flat for the night, explained her predicament.  She told Hannay that she was being followed by detectives and that they would be there now beneath a street lamp near his apartment.  As Hannay went to pull back the blind to see for himself, Man #1 and Man #2 rushed on stage holding a prop street lamp.  They set it up and stood beneath it, their trench coat collars pulled up and black hats pulled down.  Quick-witted with a hefty side of film noir, vintage international intrigue, and absolutely no magical seamlessness between scenes.  “Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps” tells you what its going to do as it does it, but in the funniest way possible – just make sure you brush up on your Hitchcock.

“Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps” runs now through May 16 at the Ahmanson Theatre downtown at the Music Center.  Please click here or call (213) 972-4400 for more information.

When my friends first dragged me to a Cherry Boom Boom show late one night at the Key Club on Sunset, I was more than reluctant.  I’m the type of girl who fights for women to keep their clothes ON in the entertainment industry.  More depictions of powerful women prosecutors, professors and presidents please; not more docile eye candy for the power-bloated male.

But what I discovered at the Key Club that night broke through my ridged outlook of propriety and introduced me to a new era of women’s comedy, creativity, and right to strut their stuff.

Although the leggy ladies of Cherry Boom Boom do embrace some of the imagery of the 1950’s pin-up girl, they are a bevy of powerful 21^st century women whose passion and power will overwhelm you and leave you grasping at your seat.  The group combines nouveau cabaret dance vignettes with the gimmicks and humor of old time burlesque and a healthy dose of ‘don’t mess with me!  I’m proud of my body and who I am’. The Boom Booms’ intelligence, flair for storytelling, skill with a whip, and perceptive comic timing, enliven and enlighten the genre I had labeled as ‘stripping’ and judged so harshly from outside the Key Club doors.

Artistic Director and choreographer Lindsley Allen created the group two years ago and began touring small LA venues with the show.  They got such a buzz that Allen was invited to choreograph and co-direct a piece for Dancing With The Stars, starring Cherry Boom Boom and featuring Carmen Elektra. Allen, one of the original Pussycat Dolls, received her BFA in ballet and has had a successful career as a dancer and choreographer.

Cherry Boom Boom’s new show, “The Rendezvous”, opening at the King King Hollywood in May, also utilizes Allen’s background in Commedia Dell’Arte, the 16^th century Italian clowning style. Allen studies commedia with Tim Robbins’s world-renowned theater company, The Actors’ Gang, and she chose to bring elements of that style to “The Rendezvous” to utilize the unique characters each of her dancers developed over the past year.  Rather than being a typical dance review, “The Rendezvous” brings to life the timeless commedia story of the thwarted LOVERS.“You get to go on a classic journey,” Allen explained, “All the dance numbers support the story.  I’m so excited to bring dance and commedia together. This show is a love affair between my two favorite worlds”.

The King King’s performance space is ideal for the piece. The multi-leveled stage, VIP lounge seating, and bar accentuate Cherry Boom Boom’s fusion between nightclub cabaret and Broadway show. You will definitely see me in line at the King King, this time dragging some new skeptics along with me.

- By Stephanie Carrie

“The Rendezvous” will perform at the King King on the last Thursday of every month, May-October.  Opening night is Thursday, May 27^th.  Doors open at 8pm for a 9pm show. Be sure to stay for the dance party afterwards! For tickets www.kingkinghollywood.com or call (323) 960-9234.

Advance tickets highly recommended.

http://www.cherryboomboom.me/