CITY GEM: Los Angeles Through the Lens of Chuck Boyd, 1965-1969 The Los Angeles Public Library’s Photo Friends is a volunteer-run organization that helps dig up, dust off, and lovingly preserve the vast amount of negatives, prints, and other photographic ephemera amassed by the LAPL. In the Photogropher’s Eye series, the photo-preservation nonprofit presents a free illustrated lecture with music historian Jeff Schwartz, who discusses the 30,000-plus images of rock legends snapped by the late rock n’ roll photographer Chuck Boyd. — Karin E. Baker
Thursday, August 8
MUSIC: The Grownup Noise The Americana-infused indie-pop of the Grownup Noise has scored its members some well-earned praise, not to mention gigs with impressive fellow musicians, including Amanda Palmer, the Get Down Stay Down, and Rock Plaza Central. Catch the Bostonian five-piecer on the band’s West Coast tour when it headlines a show at the Silverlake Lounge, following such tough acts as Goldenboy, Tijuana Cartel, and Liam Gowing & The Family Jewels. — Karin E. Baker
ART: The Karma Underground Charity Art Auction
Friday, August 9
Photo by Carl Lindstrom
MUSIC: dublab presents Mia Doi Todd and Dexter Story The dublab DJ collective moves out from the Internet airwaves and into the summertime-friendly Levitt Pavilion for another one of its world-class lineups, this time featuring LA’s own Mia Doi Todd and Dexter Story. Todd’s ethereal music uses haunting instrumentation to breathe life into thoughtful compositions; each song is deeply rooted in a spirituality that recalls the classic American folk revival of the ’60s, one that’s made all the more salient by contemporary reflections on the vulnerable kinship between humankind and the cosmos. Meanwhile, Dexter Story’s broad influences form the backbeat of his own unique sound, and the show itself promises to be just another testament to dublab’s uncanny curation. — Tanja M. Laden
Saturday, August 10
PERFORMING ARTS: Guignolers Cirque-a-Palooza For the first half of the 20th century, Le Theatre du Grand Guignol in Paris reigned as the predominant purveyor of make-believe savagery, peeling away audiences’ anxieties to reveal the horror within. These days, André de Lorde’s Grand Guignolers de Paris continue to terrify in Debbie McMahon’s adults-only interpretation of a children’s classic. This year also marks Guignol’s 200th birthday, originally created by a French dentist to ease the fear of his patients. Prior to the performance, cake, libations, and a French-language absinthe demonstration commemorate the creation of one of modern puppetry’s foremost figures. — Tanja M. Laden
Sunday, August 11