There’s so much going on in the City of Angels, it can be hard to keep track of it all. Thanks to the new Flavorpill, we’re inviting the entire community to make suggestions with its gorgeous city-based culture guide — an open platform where our very own editors and curators meet and mingle with artists, gadabouts, and other tipsters for a limitless variety of both ongoing and one-off recommendations. With this in mind, please enjoy our weekly list of hand-picked event suggestions here on Flavorwire, and in the meantime, be sure to check out the new Flavorpill. We’ll see you there.
Monday, July 29
MUSIC: Last American Buffalo Since their 2007 debut, Marquis for the Debutante, Last American Buffalo have brought a guitar-fueled dose of Americana to the local indie circuit. Since then, the musicians continue to evoke country barrooms and the alluring through the seductive restraint which with they approach the ever-evolving folk tradition. Now, the group caps its month-long residency at the Satellite with a free show in support of its latest release, Long Way Down (currently available for free), along with fellow bands Birds of a Black Feather, The Rebel Light, and The Golden Ghosts — who also celebrate their own recent record release. — Jane McCarthy
COMEDY: Drunken Tales of Glory and Shame
Tuesday, July 30
FILM: Robert Williams: Mr. Bitchin’ Pioneer, visionary, founding father, or subversive — call Robert Williams whatever you want; it’s far too late to put the genie back in the bottle. Though the man needs no introduction in art-world, alt-comics, illustration, or publishing circles, this documentary gets the story on the record. Robert Williams: Mr. Bitchin’ traces the evolution of his career from the underground comix world to the global, nearly cultish superstardom he currently enjoys. A compendium of documentary footage, scholarship, personal insight, and interviews, the film examines this arc as well as its effect, if any, on the way Williams lives and works, and on the art world in general. — Shana Nys Dambrot
Wednesday, July 31
MUSIC: TheLIFT Music enthusiasts and lay listeners alike are fawning over “future soul” foursome Hiatus Kaiyote; even highly respected artists such as Erykah Badu and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots are falling for the singular sounds of the Melbourne quartet. Hiatus Kaiyote’s multiple influences include Stevie Wonder, J Dilla, and Flying Lotus, but the band’s music defies classification, merging widely diverse genres from jazz, soul, and hip-hop to rock, electronica, and even opera. Catch this budding supergroup live, along with Contact Field Orchestra and KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole. — Tanja M. Laden
Thursday, August 1
MUSIC: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Friday, August 2
MUSIC: Songs in the Key of LA w/ Ozomatli Ozomatli burst onto the scene in 1998 with their self-titled debut. A mirror of LA eclecticism, Ozomatli’s crew of Latino, black, white, and Asian members plays a danceable mix of salsa, cumbia, and hip-hop. With lyrics in both English and Spanish, the band infuses each tune with all the energy of a SoCal beach party. Not a bad choice to breathe some life into the long-forgotten tunes in Songs in the Key of LA , currently on display at the Central Library. Hear Ozomatli and friends play live at Grand Performances in conjunction with the library’s exhibition, along with fellow stars such as Jackson Browne and Cheech Marin. — Joe DeFranceschi
Saturday, August 3
FILM: Eat|See|Hear presents Donnie Darko Eat|See|Hear is an annual mobile film festival, but the summertime screenings are also a multi-sensory merging of food and music, as its title implies. In other words, Eat|See|Hear doesn’t just project cinematic gems onto a jumbo outdoor movie screen — it also serves up instant picnics courtesy of LA’s own famed food trucks. This peripatetic entertainment series also comes with live music, featuring both established and up-and-coming indie acts. This week, Eat|See|Hear presents Donnie Darko, a 2001 creepy cult classic starring the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, and Jena Malone. The film’s non-linear narrative follows the paranormal adventures of its tortured teen hero (Gyllenhall), whose own reality is threatened by a series of so-called “daylight hallucinations.” — Tanja M. Laden
PARTY: Swimming With Sharks feat. Friends of Friends
Sunday, August 4