Maya Pictured Here in her Youth.  Courtesy of The Slim Diva

The Renaissance Woman of the Civil Rights Movement
Royce Hall – Santa Monica, CA
3/16/11

Best-selling author and American cultural icon Dr. Maya Angelou appears at Royce Hall Wednesday March 16 as part of UCLA Live’s 2010-11 spoken word series. Next month, Dr. Angelou will be awarded the highest civilian honor—the Presidential Medal of Freedom—at a White House ceremony. Patrons with tickets to her previously scheduled February  UCLA Live event may exchange them for the new date or request a full refund at the point of purchase. →

dublab present A LABRAT MATINEE 9 : our minds align
The Cinefamily – LA, CA
2/20/11

Open your pupils wide and join dublab for rarely seen music videos, new dublab VisionVersion films, comedy clips, out-there animation and other eye-melting magic. After the films stick around for a musical mind alignment party featuring a live performance from one of dublab’s favorite bands plus Labrat djs playing soundtrack selections on the Spanish Patio. Don’t miss these visions burning bright!!! →

Comedy Congress – Hosted by Patt Morrison
Crawford Family Forum – Pasadena, CA
2/23/11

Join KPCC and the Crawford Family Forum for beers and laughs with host Patt Morrison and guests Greg Proops (Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Alonzo Bodden (NBC’s Last Comic Standing) and Ben Gleib (Hollywood Improv) as they discuss the absurdities of current events in politics: House gridlock, health care reform and the usual suspects of Washington, D.C.

Admission is FREE, but RSVPs are required. →

“Cement Slippers”

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Cambodian psych and surf rockers Dengue Fever return with their newest record Cannibal Courtship, again bringing back to life the soulful sounds of sixties-era Cambodia and contemporary rock music. Guitarist Zac Holtzman shares vocal duties with the inimitable Chhom Nimol in “Cement Slippers,” the first single off the album. The record comes out on April 19 via Concord Records‘ Fantasy Label.  You can download their new track, here. →

Happy Valentine’s Day, EM readers. This one is from renowned Italo disco DJ Salvatore Cusato (aka Casco). He is one of the pioneering DJs of electronic dance music, well before Daft Punk produced their hit single “Digital Love”. Sadly, there’s word that Casco passed away in December of last year, although I haven’t been able to confirm it beyond a few speculative blog posts. In any case, enjoy. →

Performance by Critically Acclaimed Animator, Miwa Matreyek
Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock
2/13 thru 3/18/11

The opening reception of Miwa Matreyek’s astounding and mythical blend of live performance, shadow puppetry and animation starts tonight, February 13, 2011 from 6:00-9:00pm. Myth and Infrastructure is a multi-media performance using projected animation recognized for it’s ingenuity and performed at last year’s TED Convention. →

Dragonfly, Los Angeles, CA
Live Review: 2/6/11

Ah, the 90’s, with their plaid shirts, baggy corduroys and lemon-bleached hair. If you’re anything like me (or about as old as I am), you fondly remember lying on your bed after a grueling day of trigonometry and social studies, listening with excruciating intensity to your favorite alternative band. (My go-to’s were The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.) Those days, sadly, are pretty much gone—maybe it’s because we grew up and are (hopefully) harboring a little less angst, but I suspect it’s mainly because alternative music just isn’t the same anymore. True, the alternative scene lives on, but few would say that it has the oomph it did in the glory days of the 90s. Few, that is, except those who know about Badwater. →

Bardot A Go Go
The Cinefamily – LA, CA
2/22/11

Brigitte Bardot was a pop icon to pop icons like Godard, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol. She recorded songs with Serge Gainsbourg and starred in films by Jean-Luc Godard. Simone de Beauvoir declared her the first and most liberated woman of post-war France: “A locomotive of women’s history.” →

LA Records Presents The Stepkids, PB Wolf and Jeremy Sole
Freak City – Hollywood, CA
2/11/11

The debut LA Show from Stones Throw’s latest signing, The Stepkids, who create futuristic electro soul recorded on a reel-to-reel and combine soaring harmonies sung by three singer/songwriters alongside psychedelic visuals in their live show.  After working with such pop stars as Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, 50 Cent & Pharoah Monche, the Connecticut trio grew weary of the mainstream and joined forces to create a fusion of jazz, West African, classic soul, funk & psychedelic.  Think Rotary Connection meets Frank Zappa, T.Rex meets Sly Stone. →

Cassette School
Music Opinion

The Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
Live Review: 2/2/11

“She said, Afrocentricity was of the past / So she got into R&B, hip-house, bass and jazz”

There were a lot of white people at the Check Yo’ Ponytail event at The Echoplex last week. This shouldn’t be anything new since there have always been a lot of white people at hip-hop shows. →