Los Angeles Nightlife Blogs

Bread. Butter. Cheese. Epic Win. You and your home grillin' skills are up against professional chefs. The judges will deem the cheesiest of cheese and the winner lives in cheese-related infamy for all time. What could be better? Nothing. Nothing at all. This year's 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational has grown leaps and bounds from its orgins. This year, it's sponsored by Tillamook, who will be serving up 10,000 grilled cheese sandwiches. A Professional Division of Competition is reserved for the top chefs (so you’re not really up against them per se, but your sammy could very well win against theirs!). There's a special Amateur competition featuring 250 fresh out of the kitchen home chefs, competing in three categories: Missionary, Kama Sutra, and Honey Pot (because there's no better analogy for grilled cheese than sexual positions). There will be vendors selling grilled cheese bites for $2-$3 each, and there will be a special appearance by the elusive Grilled Cheese Truck itself. As you know from childhood, there's nothing better to wash down a toasty grilled cheese than a nice, big Fat Tire beer. They'll be serving up pints along with the Stone Brewery, and the event also features cheese-related activities, cooking demos, a costume contest, and stand-up comedy. A special treat for the first 1,500 pre-sales: you can register to judge the amateur competition! Ticket sales begin soon, so get ready to shell out for some cheese!

Sat April 24th - Los Angeles Center Studios - 12pm to 6pm - 1201 West Fifth Street, LA

Who doesn't have a soft spot for air guitar? Who hasn't rocked out to any cheesy 80s song (particularly Def Leppard or Journey) on their imaginary, coolest axe ever? No one, that's who. But some people have elevated the unabashed expression of rockness to an art form. These are the air guitar gods who made it to the LA Regionals, and are definitely worth checking out. Everyone in Los Angeles is encouraged to either sign up and compete, and to come down and see for themselves what kind of Air Guitar talent LA has to offer. Believe me, LA should have a ton of talent in this particular area. The contest will consist of two rounds. In Round 1, each competitor performs to a song of their own choosing. In Round 2, the top competitors from Round 1 perform to a surprise song. In each round, contestants perform for one minute of a song and are judged on a combination of technical merit, stage presence, and "airness" which loosely translates into "rockness". The winner of the US national championships gets a trip to Finland, land of ROCK!!!, to represent the US in the World Air Guitar Championship, for crown and title of Rock. Clear your schedule now – this is not to be missed.

Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the Troubadour – 9081 Santa Monica Blvd.

Got some vinyl you've been dying to swap? Head down to the Beat Swap Meet at the Grand Star Jazz Club on April 11 for some fresh beats!
As the digital age progresses into near-oblivion, one thing seems certain: a love of vinyl will persist among the coolest of the cool. And the smaller our Ipod Nanos get, the cooler those who still listen to and collect vinyl will be. Join the tiny masses! Get your own vinyl and get hooked on analog at the Beat Swap Meet. There will be tons of records for sale, live DJs, and people who really know music will be on hand to pass their infinite vinyl wisdom on to you.
Over 30 vinyl vendors & collectors come together for buying, selling, and trading records from all over the world. It's an all ages event, and free with the donation of a canned food item. Featured music is blues, disco, funk, hip hop, jazz, punk, reggae, rock, soul, and world (basically all the cool genres). Beat Swap Meet features three areas of music, live DJs, and check out the all 45s extravaganza (will the bar be serving Colt 45s in keeping with the theme? Maybe!), a celebration of 7 inchers and their collections. The event is hosted by L.Scatterbrain (Zulu Nation, Foundation Funkollective), and some of hip-hop's living legends will be selling records & spinning throughout the day. Special surprise performances and the first official DJ battle are on tap for the entertainment. The outside area is hosted by Rappers Delight, Huskey Radio, & Listen Clothing.
April 11, 12 noon – 6pm, Grand Star Jazz Club, 934 North Broadway, Los Angeles

The 2nd Annual Beer Fest is on! Set for April 10, 2010, you can check out tons of brews for less than an average night at the bar! Last year was the 1st Annual Beer Fest, spread out over two days. These two days were some of the drunkest, giggliest, aggressive days Culver City has ever seen. The shenanigans are back for a second time, with more breweries, and more drunken good times! Hold your breath! This year's Beer Fest features Budweiser, Sierra Nevada, Wingman, Stella, The Bruery, Woodchuck, Wyders, Dundee, Fireman’s Brew, Sam Adams, Angel City, Anchor Steam, Deschutes, Bierbitzch, Nakhon, Lagunitas, Reaper Ale, Pyramid, Pizza Port, and tons and tons more. And there's Pabst! The entertainment for 2010 features Petty Cash (a Tom Petty and Johnny Cash cover band love child), and 40 Oz to Freedom (a Sublime cover band). The difference this year is that it's not a weekend of beer, it's only a day of beer. Two days turned into two sessions - from 1pm-4pm and from 5pm-8pm. Tickets are $40, so if you can drink at least ten beers in three hours, you will have gotten away with a deal. If not, then you should have started building your tolerance years ago in preparation for this day. See you at the Beer Tent! 2nd Annual Beer Fest, April 10, Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City

Ride on over to the Hammer Museum on Wilshire on April 8 at 7pm for Bike Night! Free admission, free food, films, and special guests!
Take heart, bikers - not everybody in Los Angeles hates you. Yes, you're hard to see at night, and yes, you do get in the way of cars and terrify drivers who are trying to pass you. But take solace for one night at the Hammer Museum on Wilshire for Bike Night. There's strength in numbers, so get out there and fight those cars en masse!
Bike Night at the Hammer Museum is a celebration of all things bikes. Free admission for bikers, free vegan food bar (how's that for stereotyping?), and free screenings of films like Pee Wee's Big Adventure, hopefully Rad, possibly Quicksilver, and other bike-related films. There will be live musical performances by Dobrega and Fusion, and an appearance by a very special guest. There will also be tons of other bikers for you to stand around and talk shop with. Watch the divide happen between fixie riders and everybody else, real messengers and those guys that just have the bag, and watch the BMX crew (who are just there for the free food) scorn in all in their high and mighty coolness. Free bike valet parking provided by LA County Bike Coalition. Presented by the Hammer Student Association (HSA) in conjunction with artist Lisa Anne Auerbach.

World Pillow Fight Day is back at Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles on April 3, 2010, at 3pm. Pillow fight!!! World Pillow Fight Day is the day where all cities across the globe join in together for one massive, glorious, feather-flying pillow fight in celebration of pillow fights everywhere. Bring your pillows, bring a bandana for your face, and bring some of the best pillow-fighting skills you've got. You're gonna need them. While World Pillow Fight Day sounds like a feather-filled free-for-all, it is, but there are a few rules involved:

• 1. Don't talk about [Pillow] Fight Club!
• 2. Don't be in location until the exact minute.
• 3. Hide your pillows.
• 4. Rush in screaming "PILLOW FIIIIIIGHT!!!!!"
• 5. After 15mins of excruciating fun, leave.
• 6. Stay off the road and sidewalk.
• 7. Do NOT hit anyone with out a pillow!
• 8."If this is your first [time] at [Pillow] Fight Club, you have to fight."
  The Los Angeles Pillow Fight begins at 3pm sharp in Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles. It's actually pretty funny to see people trying to hide their pillows in the moments before – if you didn’t know any better, you'd think Sunday was the day for everyone to buy pillows for their apartments. As with any fight, when you’re in it, it seems to last a lifetime. Be sure to bring something to cover your mouth, nose, and eyes - imagine walking into a pillow factory explosion, and you'll get a sense of the amount of flying feathers. Work on your pillow fighting technique, and let's get ready to rumble!

   

Lebowski Fest returns to LA with a screening of The Big Lebowski at the Wiltern on April 2, followed by the Bowling Party at Cal Bowl on April 3rd – plenty of special guests and fun details to be announced. If you get the Acheiver's Pass, you can get into both events for cheap! Let the White Russians flow! Some movies are able to gain a cult following like nobody's business. Movies whose fans go into overdrive and turn their fandom into party, party, party! The Big Lebowski is one of these movies. It's the underachiever’s siren song – Dude Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, and all The Dude wants is restitution for his ruined rug, and who better than his bowling buddies to help right the wrongs? Nobody! And let the quoting begin. The Lebowski Fest features a Creedence cover set by Paddy and the Poor Boys on movie night, April 2, with special guests Jack Kehler (Dude's Landlord), Phillip Moon (Woo the Carpet Pisser), and Jim Hoosier (Liam). The specialist guest of all is Peter Exline, who inspired the whole tangled web of hilarity. The Bowling Party on April 3rd features bowling, bowling, more bowling, costumes, trivia, and other Dude-inspired contests. Bowling and shoe rental are included. If you’re the superfan, you won’t want to miss a minute!

This Saint Patrick's Day, don't stay in because it's a Wednesday night, or go to a friend's small get together, or go to a silly frat bar downing cheap green beer. Get out there and drink to your liver's content in not just one, but many bars! The Yard in Santa Monica is organizing a St Patrick's Day pub crawl for all those out to make the Americanized St. Patrick's Day exactly what it is: an excuse to get drunk. But why the green beer? You know full and well they hold their beer sacred in Ireland and would never let so much as a drop of green dye near the Guinness. At the St. Patrick's Day Santa Monica pub crawl, celebrate with the beer of your choice - you're not restricted to your Guinness or Jameson, but people will give you funny looks if you're drinking Red Stripe. The Yard has gotten all things Americanized Irish together, from live Irish music, a costume contest, and even drunk leprechauns. It's essentially all of your college frat parties rolled up and tied with a big green bow. Meet at The Yard at 119 Broadway in Santa Monica at 6pm on March. 17th, and see what unfolds!

Open House Sundays kick off at Citizen Smith May 18.  With the tagline “Come sexy or don’t come at all,” the ongoing event promises to be a day full of revelry Miami/Ibiza style. Be sure to enjoy their extensive, delicious brunch and lunch menus along with complimentary mimosas (an incentive for you to wake up and get down there!) on the huge outdoor patio with two bars.  Open House Sundays go from noon - 10pm, and once your belly's full of mimosas, kick off your shoes and shake your thing on the dance floor! DJs are packed back to back and will blast all the freshest hits and old school beats. The best part about this is there's no cover charge all day long!

1600 North Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90028

The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has been around for a while - hailing from San Francisco, they play twangy country Americana with a surprisingly authentic edge. They've recently pressed restart with a new vision, a new line up and a new CD. Called Beat the Devil's Tattoo, they take an aural road trip through American, picking up pieces of Memphis blues, NYC punk, and Texan swagger all along.  Beat The Devil’s Tattoo has a raw sexual energy, and presents a new style that encompasses all the new members. The firebrand fuzz bass from their first two albums B.R.M.C. and Take Them On, On Your Own emerges on “Shadows Keeper,” and “Aya,” Howl’s acoustic driven, edgy Americana is ever-present on “Long Way Down” and the title track, “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo.”

They've got a three-night stand at the Echoplex coming up March. 11 - 14. The Whigs will open Thurs., March 11, and Fri., March 12; Thousand Dozen Gloves will open Sun., March 14.

The Art of Bleeding has been around for a while, and it's been an evolving work of art for years now. At one point, there was a robot, a gorilla, and a puppet doing lord-knows-what. But now, the Art of Bleeding show goes without that pesky robot, cheesy gorilla suit and bothersome puppet interfering. This Saturday is Nurse Appreciation Night, celebrating with  "nurses night out" at club Fetish Nation on March. 6. There will be an  interactive installation for the club's "medical fetish night," parking the ambulance in the club's courtyard as the centerpiece of a sort of field hospital for the morbidly curious.  Instructive materials and strict medical "screenings" will be available within -- courtesy of the highly qualified and minimally clad nurses -- while the improvised outdoor infirmary will feature exquisitely debilitated patients frolicking in an "educational" multimedia tent-show environment.

Special arrangements have been made for Art of Bleeding fans to get in FREE before 11pm (otherwise $25).   Just tell the nice door people "Abram sent me."  Art of Bleeding's installation will be open approximately 10pm to midnight.

Fetish Nation @ Circus nightclub, 6655 Santa Monica, Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038 (arrive early for best parking.) 21+, club goes on 9pm-3am, 10pm-12am - Dress for distress! Hospital/ER/grievous head wound-wear is high encouraged!

For more details, check out: http://artofbleeding.com/fetishnation.html

Did you dream of having an adoring crowd of millions scream and cheer as you rocked out onstage, backed by towers of amps? Do you go to karaoke and secretly hate on all those who are taking it lightly, while you go up there and really channel Axel Rose, down to that sideways dance he does? But did your life have other plans for you, so that  you were never able to make your dreams a reality?

Enter Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp, the answer to your prayers. For one week, you can shirk your responsibilities and live like a rock star! Stay in a hotel (trashing it is optional), spend your days jamming, recording, writing songs, and honing your craft. The best thing is you have real rockers as your camp counselors. These are people who've been in the business, traveled the long road of the rocker, and want to show others the way. At the end of the week, you get to perform live with your new band at a real rock venue in Los Angeles.

The Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp is nothing short of spectacular - aging CEOs, high school kids, housewives, and even handicapped kids  share the stage under one goal: to ROCK!!! For one shining moment, they are living their dreams - they are rock stars playing to millions. The last session, featuring Bret Michaels and Kip Winger just ended at the Key Club, but the next one is scheduled for the last week of April, featuring Steven Tyler and Duff McKagan, with the final show at the Whiskey. Check out more info at www.rockcamp.com.

If you haven't texted money to Haiti, or wrote a check, or did anything to help besides watch the news and talk about it, here's your chance to do something good and listen to some great music while you're at it. Voices from the Rubble partners with Center for Lupus Care to give relief to the victims of the Haiti earthquake for a momentous night while catching some of the most talented and uplifting performers in Los Angeles. Rise from the Rubble Haiti Benefit Concert presents gospel singer Jon Gibson, soul and R&B great Cleotis Gray, Southern jazz singer and recording artist Ombrey, hip hop lyricist and recording artist Kaos, and socially conscious rapper, recording artist Sensmusic.

The performers reflect the Haitian culture in their own unique ways by highlighting reggae, jazz, hip hop, rap, gospel, inspirational songs, and spoken word. Proceeds will go directly to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, which efforts include providing water purification systems, hygiene kits, food, and shelter.  Anecdotes will be incorporated in the concert with the help of the Haitian community. The rebuilding takes longer than you think, and there’s always room for more help and heart.

Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010

Time: 5pm – 9pm, Silent Auction begins at 5pm, concert begins at 6pm

Location: 100 N. Hillcrest Blvd., Inglewood, CA

The skater culture has always been rife with subcultures - you have the hip hop skaters, the skater punks (the most well-known of the skaters), the emo skaters, and the metal skaters. While all skater subcultures have their own self-made aesthetic, the metal skaters by far have the most colorful and have brought art into the mix the most. For once, the curious world of the metal skater is on display at Exhibit A Gallery. This weekend, Tony Alva, Richard Villa III, and Levi’s presents Daggers Rule, an Exhibit A Gallery Exhibition on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 7pm – 11pm. Curated by Catharina Pedersen, this show features are done on Dagger denim vests, in true metal head-style, from artists Tony Alva, Christian Hosoi, Eddi Reategui, Jake Brown, Steve Olson, Greg Lutzka, Sean Sheffey, Dave Duncan, Eric Dressen, Rune Glifberg, La Chappa, Richard Villa III, Nazrn, Marque Cox, Jessika Irwin and tons more. Daggers and Thrashin’ memorabilia will also be on display, as well as 10 classic Dagger/Thrashin’ decks hand painted by Catherine Hardwicke. And for a super-sweet part of the night, they’ll be screening the movie Thrashin’, the skate-metal Rad of the skater punk world. Check out the Exhibit A Gallery for more info, and unleash your inner metalhead skater/artist!

1086 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA

The most anticipated awards show of all time is taking place here in Los Angeles on April 8 at Club Nokia. The Revolver Golden Gods awards show, presented by Epiphone may well be one of the most epic awards show, and definitely one of the most entertaining. It’s an awards show chock full to the gullet of nothing but metal. Performances feature Rob Zombie, Fear Factory, As I Lay Dying, Zakk Wylde, The Devil Wears Prada, Brian Posehn & All Stars, and it’s hosted by wrestler Chris Jericho and general madman Andrew WK. I forecast that the most interesting performance of the night will be a tie between the aging Rob Zombie and Andrew WK.

Rob Zombie’s done a lot in his post-White Zombie life, but will he push his own envelope for this performance and try to top all his past accomplishments like House of 1000 Corpses and White Zombie's Sexy Swinging Sounds album, knowing he’s performing in front of the likes of guitar great nominee Dave Mustaine, or will he croak out the old favorites like Boogieman?

Or will it be weirdo Andrew WK, who is a loveable oddball, full of all the power and bellowing of a fun-loving Glenn Danzig.  No doubt it will be a hilarious performance from WK, and one you can tune in to see Saturday, May 22 on VH1 Classic.

Ahh, Megadeth, you're that band that the weird loner kids listened to at lunch, you're the band that our parents warned us about, you're the band that was so absolutely delicious to discover on our own. They've been rocking ever since frontman Dave Mustaine got kicked out of Alcoholica for being alcoholic, got pissed off and vowed to create a bigger, better monster than Metallica, and then, as if by magic or a decree from above, the world was blessed with Megadeth? Remember that? Get ready for your trip back to 1989 on March 31 at the Hollywood Palladium, for their Rust in Peace 20th anniversary tour. It’s been 20 long, long years since the seminal Rust in Peace was released and you locked yourself in your room to play air guitar and pretended that you were Dave Mustaine for days on end. 20 years since metal ruled the earth. 20 years since there was no Britney Spears, no American Idol, and still room for ratty-haired smelly guys who did nothing but play guitar (awesomely!!) all day long to win world domination. Megadeth's been going the whole time, they never cut their hair, and they rock harder than anyone on the planet. Check them out March 31 at the Hollywood Palladium, and relive your old school metal days before you let your back patch jean vest fade into obscurity in some box in your garage. And there’s no better way to do it than headbanging to Megadeth!

This may well be one of the coolest art shows all year - it features art on recycled skate decks! Featured artist is Michael Pukac and tons of other artists! Check out who'll be showing their art: Amanda Sage, Motion One, Hans Haveron, L. Croskey, John Park, Spectr, Tommii Lim, Stix and Jones, Yuki Miyazaki, Nick Wildermuth, Ted Von Heiland, Anna Chung, Shahid Brown, Patrick Haemmerlein, Max Neutra, Jacob E. Roanhaus, Jose Carabes, Elle Seven, Liz Brizzi, Jonathan Bueno, Kelly Thompson, Carlos Ramsey, Dicapria, Mikolaj Wyszynski, Walt Hall, Art Martinez, Douglas Alvarez, Julie B., and more. 

“Decked Out”:Art on Recycled Skate Decks
Opening Saturday, March 13, 2010 – 7-10pm
4534 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock, CA

Show Dates: March 13th – April 7th 2010  Opening Reception: Saturday, March 13th – 7-10pm

Curated by The Imaginary Light Bulb Factory

10% of proceeds will go to Greenizm: a 501.3c rehabilitating neglected urban landscape into green skate parks in LA County while promoting the arts to skate culture.

If you're looking for something totally different, and from left field, you already know to look to the UCLA Live program. But on February 20th, they're bringing something extra-special, something so far from the typical live music of Los Angeles, that it could very well blow your mind and expand your horizons at the same time. It's hard to imagine more humble, un-rock star-ish beginnings than the story of Tinariwen, a group that formed in a refugee camp in Libya. The members of Tinariwen are from the nomadic Saharan group the Tuaregs, and at their start, they began by creating propaganda songs for the Tuareg rebel movement in Mali. Their unique sound combines traditional Tuareg poetry and music with influences as wide-ranging as Algerian pop rai, and Western blues and rock music. They will perform as part of the UCLA Live program with special guests. Guaranteed you won't find a more interesting backstory, or more interesting music than Tinariwen.

Tinariwen, UCLA Royce Hall, 405 Hilgard Ave, Westwood, CA, February 20, 8pm

Cheap Trick has been around since the 1980s, and they've rocked through the 80s, 90s, and today....just like any mediocre radio station. They rocked last year with Poison and Def Leppard on an arena tour, and now they're back to rock your socks at the House of Blues in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. Don't be shy about going - everyone loved Cheap Trick, and everyone wanted them - just like they wanted! So brush up on your power ballads and arena anthems, reinvest in Aqua Net, and start some fist-pumping action!

Cheap Trick, Sunset House of Blues, 8430 W Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA; February 25, 7:30pm

Catch El Cid's famed flamenco show, one of the most subtly and profoundly romantic dances, on the most romantic of days. The repository for all thing flamenco is featuring not only one, but two flamenco shows along with a five-course dinner of their delicious Spanish fusion cuisine. Don't forget to grab a carafe of Sangria - their white Sangria is pretty sweet, so if your honey is of the salty type, go for the red. Two shows are featured, one at 6pm and one at 8pm - it's indeed a magical night of traditional flamenco song and dance, guaranteed to send your sweetheart blushing and in a lovin' mood.

El Cid, 4212 Sunset Blvd, 90029