Remembering “Christmas in the Trenches” tomorrow night; & other Music & Art & Tix Alerts, Dec 23 2014

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HAPPY END OF HANNUKAH! And we wish you the best Festivusolstikwanzimithrachrismakah ever!

Okay, now let’s get serious. Please read today’s NEWS FEATURE, just below.

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We appreciate you, our readers, for your QUARTER-MILLION PAGE-VIEWS per year.

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★ WHAT’S IN THIS EDITION…
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♪ TUESDAY’s NEWS FEATURE ~ MUSIC & HISTORY
World War I “Christmas Truce Centenary Commemoration” is a concert Wednesday night in Santa Monica

♪ TUESDAY’s CONCERTS, JAMS, ETC.

♪ ONGOING EVENTS, including theatre this coming weekend

♪ TICKET ALERTS


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♪ NEWS FEATURE:
MUSIC & HISTORY
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WORLD WAR I “CHRISTMAS TRUCE CENTENARY COMMEMORATION”

By Larry Wines

A Wednesday night event celebrates a moment from one hundred years ago, and it's something that speaks to our time. Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24, at 5 pm in Santa Monica, ROSS ALTMAN & FRIENDS will perform in memory of a moment that still shines for us, through the mists of a full century past, from a time of carnage and smoke and brutality and misery. It was a moment when people found within themselves the best of things in the worst of times.

Even with the coming of Christmas a hundred years ago, World War I was filled with disorienting new things. It was Franz Kafka meets the Industrial Revolution – it hadn’t yet become the high carnival of hell on earth. As 1914, the war’s first year, came to a conclusion, nothing else about the war appeared ready to stop. And yet, its trench warfare was still novel to those caught in it.

Though sticking your head up above the trench would get you killed instantly, there had been some youthful, cheerful fraternizing between opposing armies on both the Western and Eastern Fronts. It was probably borne of youth and an empathy that we cannot imagine. Knowing the misery of ubiquitously immobilizing, even entrapping mud, and living, inescapably, mired into the trenches – trenches whose bottoms were open toilets – was a shared experience. So why hate each other for it?

Good natured taunts. Songs. Tunes on bugles or other instruments – the trenches were rarely very far apart – were characteristic of the first months of war.

But nothing ever had happened, in any war, like what happened on Christmas Eve 1914. Soldiers of both sides began by entertaining the other side with a round of Christmas Carols. The Germans raised Christmas Trees above their embattlements, whatever shreds of trees could be found brought-in from a short distance behind their lines. They decorated them with pieces of food tins and scraps of shiny metal, and in the German fashion, placed lit candles in them. They illuminated their little trees with battle lanterns, as they risked hoisting them into the air above the trenches, the space that could so easily become a deadly horizontal hail of bullets. And they sang “Silent Nacht.” Not just to themselves. But to their enemies. The Brits heard, and listened. In return, they sang, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” More songs followed.

Before long, both sides left their trenches. Many soldiers emerged singing. All made their ways through the tangles of barbed wire, until, wearing the uniforms of enemies, they met in the deadly middle ground, the killing zone of “No-Man’s Land.” There, they exchanged small gifts, soldiers’ gifts of uniform insignia, decks of playing cards, newspapers and magazines. One British soldier traded for the infamous German spiked helmet. Young soldiers. Youthful idealism before an endless war would diminish it into cynical assessment of a “Lost Generation.”

That Christmas in that deadly space, they showed one another the pictures of wives and children and sweethearts and mothers. And they shared camaraderie, slaps on the back, shoulder clasps, food – and peace.

An enduring legend later began that they played a game of soccer (football). It didn’t, simply because the ground was so ripped to pieces from artillery explosions, shrapnel, and debris. British survivors recalled “there had been an effort to organize it, but it didn’t come off,” and newspapers reported the score of the match that never happened, feeding the legend. Still, you cannot discount that if anyone had a soccer ball, the soldiers, freed from confinement in the trenches, probably kicked it around.

The scene of the Christmas Truce was not a singularity. It happened in many places all along the trenches of the front lines. And it so alarmed the high commands of each of the armies that, once it was ended, massive artillery bombardments were conducted by units brought up from the rear, units that had not taken part in the impromptu Christmas truce. Orders went out that any further fraternization was treason and participants would be shot. Some commanders hoped that every soldier who had met in peace in No-Man’s Land would be killed in the bombardments. The following Easter, at one place on the lines, a small truce happened after commanders had forbidden it, and soldiers of one side received Easter Baskets from their foes.

Ahead, World War I would be characterized by unprecedented carnage, with U-Boats sinking passenger ships, land mines, poison gas, aerial bombing, mass assaults of soldiers from their own trenches meeting murderous machine-gun fire from the opposing trenches, and finally, exhaustion of the human supply of people to be killed, and battalions of new mechanized self-propelled weapons called tanks finally breaking stalemates.

No one had believed it could be so horrible. For those who had survived it, no one believed anything like it could ever happen again. They were wrong. But for one night, one silent night when the guns were stilled, the better angels of our natures had prevailed.

A fine video with intercut scenes from films is “The Christmas Truce” by history teacher SCOTT MacKENZIE, based on his reading of a soldier’s letter home about the Christmas Truce and traditional carols backing it; a must-see, it’s at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehFjkS7UBUU

Singer-songwriter JOHN McCUTCHEON wrote the definitive musical tribute to that night, and his song inspired a movie. The song is “CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES.” Ross Altman will perform it Wednesday night. You can find several video versions of McCutcheon performing it, some with historic photos. We recommend this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTXhZ4uR6rs

The song is also available as audio-only, with printed lyrics, at:
http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/john-mcCutcheon-lyrics/christmas-in-the-trenches-lyrics.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehFjkS7UBUU

“WORLD WAR I: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE,” a History Channel documentary, is a fine telling of what happened. It’s there in its 44:49 entirety, at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StL2F_Y91mk

FOR FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS, ON VIDEO, FROM SOLDIERS WHO WERE THERE, the BBC made a moving documentary titled, “Peace in No Mans Land - The Christmas Truce – Amnesty,” that runs 55 minutes. It’s free, at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WgPi_me1p4

Also, for more music that captures the essence of the soldier’s experience of World War I, listen to “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” written by Eric Bogle in 1971 and performed by JOHN McDERMOTT and THE IRISH ROVERS, with a photo montage of WWI. It’s about the Gallipoli campaign:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VktJNNKm3B0

Wednesday’s event is at the Quaker Meeting House, 1440 Harvard St, Santa Monica 90404.

For more on the live event, contact Ross Altman at greygoosemusic@aol.com



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♪ TUESDAY’s CONCERTS, JAMS, ETC.
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Tue, Dec 23, in Santa Monica:
5 pm WWI “CHRISTMAS TRUCE CENTENARY COMMEMORATION” with performances by ROSS ALTMAN & FRIENDS at the Quaker Meeting House, 1440 Harvard St, Santa Monica 90404.
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An event tonight celebrates a moment from one hundred years ago, and it's something that speaks to our time. Tonight, ROSS ALTMAN & FRIENDS perform in memory of a shining memory of a moment that still shines for us, through the mists of time, from a time of carnage and smoke and brutality and misery. It was a moment when people found, within themselves, the best of things in the worst of times.
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A hundred years ago tomorrow night, World War I and its trench warfare was still novel to those caught in it. There had been some youthful, cheerful fraternizing between opposing armies on both the Western and Eastern Fronts. But nothing ever had happened, in any war, like what happened on Christmas Eve 1914.
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See much more in the NEWS FEATURE story in this edition.

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Tue, Dec 23, in Burbank:
5:30 pm CODY BRYANT & EVAN MARSHALL return to play another “HAPPY HOUR HOOTENANNY,” before the big “GUITAR NIGHT” (that starts at 7:30), at Cody’s Viva Cantina, 900 Riverside Dr, Burbank 91506; 818-818-845-2425.
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More at the venue at 7:30; see listing.
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One-purchase-minimum is the cover. Venue has good Mexican food and full bar, and the band includes bigtime award-winners.

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Tue, Dec 23, in VC (Camarillo):
5:30 pm SONGMAKERS monthly “CAMARILLO SONG CIRCLE” in Camarillo 93010. Info and location at www.Songmakers.org

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Tue, Dec 23, in Downey:
6 pm Monthly “DOWNEY FOLK MUSIC JAM” led by BEA & JIM ROMANO at the Barbara J. Riley Community & Senior Center, 7810 Quill Dr, Downey 90242; 562-904-7223.

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Tue, Dec 23, in Ventura:
6-10 pm Monthly “VENTURA BLUEGRASS JAM” at Milano’s Italian Restaurant in the Ventura Marina, 1559 Spinnaker Dr, #100, Ventura; 805-658-8311.

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Tue, Dec 23, in T.O.:
6-10 pm Monthly “THOUSAND OAKS SONG CIRCLE” at the Greenhouse Café, 652 Janss Rd, Thousand Oaks 91360.

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Tue, Dec 23, in San Diego:
6 pm Monthly “SDBS BLUEGRASS SLOW JAM LEARNING SESSION” at the Boll Weevil Restaurant, 7080 Miramar Rd, San Diego 92117. Sponsored by the San Diego Bluegrass Society.
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Also see 7 pm listing for the other SDBS event, held elsewhere.

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Tue, Dec 23, in SFV (Toluca Lake):
7 pm Weekly “TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC SESSION” is a structured jam at Timmy Nolan's Tavern & Grill, 10111 Riverside Dr, Toluca Lake 91602; 818-985-3359.

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Tue, Dec 23, in Signal Hill:
7 pm Weekly “BLUEGRASS SOUP JAM” at Convert-A-Tape, 2420 Gundry Av, Signal Hill 90755.

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Tue, Dec 23, in San Diego:
7-10 pm "ZYDECO TUESDAY" brings a different band each week at Tio Leos Taco, 532 Napa St, San Diego.
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$8 cover includes dance lesson at 6:45 pm.

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Tue, Dec 23, in Universal City:
7-10 pm Stellar piano man MARC BOSSERMAN plays holiday-themed sets at the Hilton Universal.

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Tue, Dec 23, in San Diego:
7-8:30 pm Monthly “SDBS BLUEGRASS SLOW JAM LEARNING SESSION” at the Morse Academy, 4434 30th St, San Diego 92116; 619-200-7498.
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Also see 6 pm listing for the other SDBS event, held elsewhere.

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Tue, Dec 23, in Escondido (San Diego Co):
7:30 pm BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA play the California Center for the Arts, 340 N Escondido Bl, Escondido 92025; 800-988-4253.

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Tue, Dec 23, in Burbank:
7:30 pm Weekly “JOHN PISANO’S GUITAR NIGHT” showcase this time brings a “DJANGO REINHARDT TRIBUTE” with CHARLIE BISHARAT on violin, CODY BRYANT on guitar, JOHN PISANO on guitar, & JOHN LEFTWICH on bass, at Cody’s Viva Cantina, 900 Riverside Dr, Burbank 91506; 818-818-845-2425.
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More at the venue at 5:30; see that listing.
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One-purchase-minimum is the cover. Venue has good Mexican food and full bar, and the band includes bigtime award-winners.

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Tue, Dec 23, in SFV (Chatsworth)
8 pm AN UNDISCLOSED AMERICANA / ALT-COUNTRY / HONKY-TONK ARTIST OR BAND plays the Cowboy Palace Saloon, 21635 Devonshire St, Chatsworth; 818-341-0166.
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This is L.A.’s last real honky-tonk, and always fun. No cover, full bar. Go early for the free dance lessons.

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Tue, Dec 23, in Altadena:
8 pm THE UNTOUCHABLES play a BENEFIT** at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Av, Altadena. Phone for reservations, 626-798-6236.
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THE UNTOUCHABLES Jazz Band returns to the venue for a benefit and jazzy holiday performance. This talented group of musicians first came on the Pasadena jazz scene four years ago, and perfected their youthful approach to jazz on The Coffee Gallery's Backstage.
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The five members of The Untouchables spent the past four months apart, sharpening their skills at institutions of higher learning around the world.
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Keyboardist Eric Engler grew up in Chicago's suburbs listening to jazz tunes, taking piano and trumpet lessons. After moving to La Canada, he happily spent his high school years playing with jazz with The Untouchables. He continues to play both piano and trumpet and is currently studying Jazz Performance and Recording Arts at Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory.
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Drummer Shan Haupt is beating his drums all over Europe as he studies at The American University of Paris, France. Shan is studying how jazz is interpreted throughout different regions of Europe and is the undisputed king of the music room at AUP.
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Vocalist Nora Sagal is currently performing with the Harvard Opportunes while attending Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While charming audiences with her jazzed up interpretations of holiday favorites, you may recognize Nora's voice. Nora sang “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the George Clooney movie, “The Monuments Men.”
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Bass player Joshua Spry studies Music at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, where he also plays with the College's Jazz Ensemble. Although he's a music major with an emphasis in trumpet, Josh passionately plays the typical jazz acoustic stand-up bass and the bass guitar when playing with The Untouchables.
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Saxophone player Matthew Schwartz currently performs with University of California - Berkeley's Jazz Ensemble, a group of ten elite musicians, ranging from two freshmen to graduate students. Matthew is the only alto sax in the Jazz Ensemble, which performs in various venues in the Berkeley area.
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Pasadena Weekly's John Sollenburger said: “All The Untouchables members bring serious chops and a dedication to the genre that goes beyond their years.”
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Bob Stane adds, “The Untouchables' classy, jazzy style is sure to put you in a holiday mood!”
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** A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit Pasadena's Union Station Homeless Services. In the spirit of the holiday season.
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** The Untouchables also request that attendees bring a pound of coffee to donate to Union Station.
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Tix, $20.



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♪ ONGOING EVENTS,
including film & theatre
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Dec 16-Mar 15, in L.A.:
Opening of the new exhibition, “GIVE AND YE SHALL RECEIVE: GIFT GIVING IN THE MIDDLE AGES,” at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr, L.A. 90049; 310-440-7300; parking is $20 daytime, $15 for evening programs.
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Gift giving has held an important function in society since the Middle Ages, helping people to define their relationships to family and friends, to acquaintances and strangers, to God and to the church. This exhibition of intricate illuminated manuscripts examines models of gift giving found within their pages.
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Admission to the Getty Center is FREE. Parking is $15 daytime, $10 for evening programs after 5 pm. Hours: Tues–Fri and Sun: 10 am–5:30 pm; Sat 10 am–9 pm. Closed Mondays.

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Opened Dec 13, runs through May 10, 2015:
The GRAMMY Museum presents “THE TAYLOR SWIFT EXPERIENCE” as their newest special exhibition, opening Dec 13th on her 25th birthday. Includes never-before-seen photographs and home videos, interactive experiences, hand-written lyrics from her top-charting hits, and iconic costumes, to give visitors an in-depth look at seven-time GRAMMY winner Taylor Swift as a singer, musician, songwriter, entrepreneur and style icon. She is the only artist in history to have three million-selling weeks (2010's “Speak Now,” 2012's “RED” and 2014's “1989”). She is a global superstar and the youngest winner in history of the music industry's highest honor, the GRAMMY Award for “Album of the Year.” She is the first artist since the BEATLES (and the only female artist in history) to log six or more weeks at #1 in the U.S. with three consecutive studio albums. Taylor Swift has an album on Rolling Stone's prestigious “The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time (by women)” list, and Time magazine has named her one the of the “100 Most Influential People in the world,” while she is Billboard's youngest-ever “Woman of the Year” and the only artist to have been awarded this honor twice. The Taylor Swift Experience is on display in the GRAMMY Museum's “Special Exhibits Gallery,” where temporary exhibits are showcased on a rotating basis. Info, www.grammymuseum.org/thetaylorswiftexperience

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Through December, in OC (NEWPORT BEACH):
Time tba Muldoon's annual "DICKEN'S CHRISTMAS TRIBUTE" starts Dec 12, runs through the holidays at Muldoon's Irish Pub, 202 Newport Center Dr, Newport Beach; 949 640-4110; www.muldoonspub.com

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On an irregular sched., through Dec 23, in OC (Anaheim):
8 pm "A CELTIC HOLIDAY" with CRAIC IN THE STONE plays the Chance Theater, 5552 E La Palma Av, Anaheim 92807.
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Music by CRAIC IN THE STONE
Book by Jocelyn A. Brown, Karen O’Hanlon, and Jennifer Ruckman
Directed by Karen O’Hanlon
Music direction by Jocelyn A. Brown
Executive producer Scott & Georgia Well
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Rediscover rich Celtic musical traditions throughout the night with a holiday concert of rousing pub songs, ethereal melodies, and familiar spiritual tunes, all woven together with traditional folktales. Bring the whole family and warm-up by the hearth with a cup of tea or a pint of plain with the Chance’s own Celtic band, CRAIC IN THE STONE.
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Remaining shows through Dec 23, as follows:
Sun, Dec 21, 7 pm (Sold Out).
Tue, Dec 23, 8 pm.
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Tix, $40, at: https://m.ovationtix.com/#/pr/928599

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Fridays through Sundays, MUSICAL THEATRE, in Sierra Madre:
8 pm “A LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS,” a play with songs, based on the “LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE” stories by LAURA INGALLS WILDER, at the Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W Sierra Madre Bl, Sierra Madre 91024.
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Adapted for the stage by JAMES DeVITA. Directed by EMILY CHASE. Presented by SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE. The cast (in alphabetical order): JOLIE ADAMSON, PAMELA DALY, JEFF DOBA, JIM HARNAGEL, ERIC CHARLES JORGENSEN, FLETCHER KAMAL, VALERIE ROSE LOHMAN, ANDREW STOCK, HANNAH VICTORIA STOCK and AMY TOLSKY
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Ample free parking behind theatre.

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Through Mar 9; PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION, in San Marino:
Times tba “IRISH & BRITISH ROOTS & AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHERS” is an exhibition at the Mary Lou and George Boone Gallery in the Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino 91108; 626-405-2100.
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This traveling exhibition pairs, for the first time, approximately 150 works by American photographers Paul Caponigro (b. 1932) and Bruce Davidson (b. 1933), enlightened observers of Britain and Ireland in the 1960s and ’70s. For Caponigro, Ireland and Britain became sites of creative energy to which he returned repeatedly. Davidson brought the same gritty street sensibility that had made his Brooklyn Gang series a sensation among photograph collectors. The exhibition examines the artistic, social, and historical forces informing two master photographers as they bring American eyes to enduring landscapes and changing cultural scenes.
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Runs Nov 8, 2014, through Mar 9, 2015.



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♪ TICKET ALERTS
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Sun, Dec 28, 7 pm: MATT WITLER & BRONWYN KEITH-HYNES play the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Av, Altadena 92675. Reservations (by phone only) at 626-798-6236.
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MATT WITLER is a Boston based mandolin player who grew up in the Los Angeles area. Starting on the fiddle at the age of nine,Matt fell in love with old time and bluegrass music. At the age of 14 he picked up the mandolin and began to study music in earnest. Matt has spent the last four years studying at the Berklee College of Music. While Matt is rooted in the bluegrass tradition,he has explored and been influenced by Jazz,classical,and pop music. In 2012 he won first place in both the mandolin,and flatpick guitar contests at the Rockygrass bluegrass festival. Matt is a founding member of the Lonely Heartstring Band,a progressive acoustic band that is quickly gaining acclaim in the bluegrass community.
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BRONWYN KEITH‐HYNES is a Boston-based musician originally from Charlottesville, Virginia. Accepted on a scholarship to Berklee College of Music at age 16,she graduated in 2013 with a Professional Diploma in Violin Performance. Bronwyn is fast gaining recognition for her fiddling across bluegrass and acoustic music circles. Her playing,improvising,and writing are informed by her past five years of intense immersion in the Boston acoustic music scene and time spent studying traditional Irish and Cape Breton music before moving to Boston. Bronwyn has performed with Peter Rowan,The Milk Carton Kids,Anais Mitchell,Joe Pug and Tony Trischka. In 2014 Bronwyn won first place in the Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship in Winfield,KS. Bronwyn was on staff this summer at Berklee College of Music Five Week Program,teaching private string lessons.
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Matt and Bronwyn play original instrumental tunes as well as their favorite bluegrass numbers, folk songs, and fiddle tunes.
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Tix, $15. This will sell-out early, with the much-anticipated homecoming by Matt.

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Mon, Dec 29, 8 pm: STRAIGHT NO CHASER: "THE HAPPY HOUR TOUR, " plays the Fred Kavli Theatre-Thousand Oaks Civic Arts, in Thousand Oaks.
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If the phrase "male a cappella group" conjures up an image of students in blue blazers, ties, and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses ... think again. Straight No Chaser (SNC) are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch. They have emerged as a phenomenon with a massive fanbase, numerous national TV appearances and proven success with CD releases. They're performing on the heels of the release of Under The Influence, their fourth album release through Atlantic Records. The album features contributions from superstars Jason Mraz, Rob Thomas, Phil Collins, Dolly Parton and more! Straight No Chaser is the real deal, the captivating sound of ten unadulterated human voices coming together to make extraordinary music that is moving people in a fundamental sense ... and with a sense of humor. On the road, Straight No Chaser has built a reputation as an unforgettable live act.
Tix at: http://m.ticketmaster.com/event/0B004CBBFC0EBCB0?artistid=1261643&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1&brand=nederlanderla&camefrom=cfc_ndrcon_ned_Dec3

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Dec 31: HERSHEY FELDER’S “THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK SING-ALONG” at the Geffen Playhouse in L.A. is a New Year’s Eve special event at Midnight, and a tradition the singer has taken to other cities to ring-in previous years. Info & tix, www.GeffenPlayhouse.com, or call box office at 310-208-5454 or go in person to the box office during business hours.

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Dec 31: “NEW YEAR'S EVE AT THE ARCADIA BLUES CLUB,” 16 E Huntington Dr, Arcadia 91006; www.arcadiabluesclub.com; 626-447-9349. The venue’s excellent New Year’s Eve Party always features great blues bands and early bird tix are on sale now; get the best seats and save money, 1st come, 1st served. Venue has full bar and NYE includes dinner. Venue always has good food with generous portions. Great place, but bring earplugs. Seriously. Substantial discount for advance tix: http://arcadiabluesclub.ticketleap.com/

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Dec 31: “NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH ANDY & RENEE AND HARD RAIN,” sells-out every year. $75 ticket gets you: dinner catered by Critic's Choice, wine and beer and soft drinks, Champagne toast, live music for listening / dancing. In O'Donnell Hall at Martyr's Church, 624 15th St, Manhattan Beach 90266. Doors at 8 pm, dinner at 8:30 pm, band at 9 pm. Cocktail Party attire. Renee told us on 12/16, “We are 75% full, so get your tickets ASAP.” Tix at: www.andyandrenee.com/store.php

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Dec 31: “THE SHAMROCK'S NEW YEAR'S EVE” is taking reservations now for TWO New Year’s Eve parties; In the afternoon they celebrate the arrival of 2015 in Ireland at 4 pm Pacific time, with music by THE DUBLIN ROGUES, who are flying-in directly from Dublin the day before; this one (2-6 pm) lets you celebrate the New Year WITH FAMILY AND CHILDREN. Their SECOND New Year's Eve Party brings music by THE BRICK TOP BLAGGERS to welcome in 2015 in the Pacific time zone; a $10 per person non-refundable cover charge is required to secure that reservation, with table guaranteed from 8 pm; Champagne at midnight & party favors included. At the Shamrock Irish Pub and Eatery, 39252 Winchester Rd, Ste 145 Murrieta 92592; 951-696-5252; e-mail requests for NYE reservations to Paul@getshamrocked.com; more info, www.theshamrockirishpubandeatery.com

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Jan 6, 8 pm: WILLIE NELSON & FAMILY play the City National Grove of Anaheim.
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This is a dinner-optional event. A three course prix fixe dinner including salad, entree options, and dessert is available for purchase for $30. If you plan to dine, we recommend arriving at 6 pm. Dinner concludes at 7:30 pm. Go to www.citynationalgroveofanaheim.com for menu details.
Tix at: http://ticketmaster.com/event/09004D30A3D45AAF?artistid=732878&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=2&brand=nederlanderla&camefrom=cfc_ndrcon_ned_Dec3

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Jan 7-Feb 1: “JACK LEMMON RETURNS” as performed by his son, Chris Lemmon in a musical story-telling style, plays the Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St, Santa Monica 90401; 310-434-3200.
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The son of the Hollywood legend who starred in “Some Like It Hot,” “The Odd Couple,” and ao much more, performs “an immensely personal, and ultimately heartwarming story” about his Academy Award-winning father and their enduring relationship. Written and directed by Hershey Felder and performed by Chris as his father, “Jack Lemmon Returns” is one-man show that captures the magic of a bygone era, when Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, James Cagney, Jimmy Stewart, and Shirley MacLaine were but a handful of the many stars who would pass through the Lemmon's Hollywood Hills home. The performance includes George and Ira Gershwin's "Love is Here to Stay" and "'S Wonderful," “Jack Lemmon Returns” is a loving tribute to a world famous dad, told with respect and dignity. Tix now available at 310-434-3200; www.thebroadstage.com; www.events.smc.edu.

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Sat, Jan 10, at 2 & 7 pm: DAVE STAMEY, whose many awards most recently include “Male Performer of the Year” from the Western Music Association, and winner of the Will Rogers Award for Male Vocalist of the Year from the Academy of Western Artists, and a winner and five-time nominee for Songwriter Of The Year, plays the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Av, Altadena 92675. Reservations (by phone only) at 626-798-6236. Don’t dawdle: he always sells-out here. Tix, either show, $25.

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Sat, Jan 10, 8 pm: THE JAYHAWKS, now on a West Coast Tour, play their L.A. show at the Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood. Tix, $30, now available at: http://www.fondatheatre.com/events/detail/255970

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Tue, Jan 13, 8 pm: “THE DROP: RYAN BINGHAM” in the Clive Davis Theatre at the Grammy Museum, L.A. General advance tix go on sale Thu, Dec 18, at noon. (American-Express-Card-only presale ended Wed, Dec 17, at 10:30 pm.)
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Ryan Bingham needed some peace and quiet. Free of the burdens that had saddled him during the writing and recording of his recent albums, he relocated to an old Airstream trailer tucked away in the mountains of California, camping out for several weeks and embracing the solitude to dig down deep and craft his most powerful album yet: “Fear and Saturday Night” is set for release on Jan 20, 2015.
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Bingham faces down his past with a poetic grace throughout the album. Recorded mostly live with a brand new backing band and under the guidance of producer-engineer Jim Scott, “Fear and Saturday Night” opens with "Nobody Knows My Trouble," an autobiographical ballad about trying to outrun a painful past and finding redemption both in the strings of a guitar and in hitting the road with the love of your life. The lead single, "Radio," is about coping with a darkness that doesn't want to let go, while "Hands of Time" deals with accepting what's behind you and moving forward with grit and determination. It's the hard-learned lessons, through both good times and bad, that helped make Bingham the man he is today, as a GRAMMY and Academy Award winner.
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In an interview will discuss his new album and the journey he took to create it. Following that interview, moderated by Scott Goldman, Vice President of MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation, Bingham will perform. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Tix, $20, in-person at the Museum Box Office, by phone at 213-765-6803 or online at www.grammymuseum.org

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Wed, Jan 14, 8 pm: “AN EVENING WITH WALTER EGAN” in the Clive Davis Theatre at the Grammy Museum, L.A. General advance tix go on sale Thu, Dec 18, at noon. (American-Express-Card-only presale ended Wed, Dec 17, at 10:30 pm.)
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Egan's composition "Hearts on Fire" was recorded by GRAM PARSONS and EMMYLOU HARRIS on the classic album “Grievous Angel.” More than just a writer and singer, Egan has played on many sessions and has worked with such luminaries as STEVIE NICKS, LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM, DON HENLEY, JACKSON BROWNE, LINDA RONDSTADT, and even played bass for the classic group, SPIRIT.
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He’s best known among more mainstream audiences for his chart-topper, "Magnet and Steel." Walter Egan is more than a one-hit wonder. With numerous covers of his songs around the world, Egan has released ten solo CDs as well as three with the Brooklyn Coyboys and six with the Malibooz. "Magnet and Steel" has been featured in commercials and major motion pictures that include “Deuce Bigelow,” “Boogie Nights,” “Overnight Delivery,” and “The Night We Never Met.”
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Today, Egan continues to play with his WALTERNATIVE Band and with his surf band, the MALIBOOZ. In February 2014, his tenth solo album, “Myth America,” was released on the Classic Music Vault label. His exhibit of paintings, "The Martyrs of Rock" was shown in Washington DC and will open at the Mister Musichead gallery in Los Angeles in January 2015.
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Following an interview with Museum executive director, Bob Santelli, Egan will perform. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Tix, $20, in-person at the Museum Box Office, by phone at 213-765-6803 or online at www.grammymuseum.org

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Wed, Jan 14, 7 pm: AKIRA KUROSAWA's “RED BEARD” 50th-anniversary screening is in USC’s “Visions & Voices” series, in the Ray Stark Family Theatre, School of Cinematic Arts 108, on the USC Campus in University Park (L.A.) Admission is FREE and open to everyone, but RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED and it will fill-up. Reserve your seat online beginning Tue, Dec 9, at 9 am, at www. visionsandvoices.usc.edu
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“Red Beard” is set in a public hospital serving the indigent in rural, feudal Japan. The 1965 film asks profound humanist and existential questions relating to social injustice. Is there a way out of the dispiriting cycle in which victims express their pain by hurting others? How can we break cycles of suffering and violence? “Red Beard” is the last black-and-white film by Kurosawa, and the last Kurosawa film starring legendary Japanese actor TOSHIRO MIFUNE.
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The screening is presented in conjunction with a live stage performance the FOLLOWING NIGHT by LOS ANGELES POVERTY DEPARTMENT (“LAPD”), the renowned theatre troupe made up of homeless and formerly homeless artists, with the theatre company celebrating its own 30th anniversary. The actors present their acclaimed work “RED BEARD, ” also free, but requiring a reservation. This is quite special, with a classic film and live theatre together over two nights.
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The other half of USC’s “RED BEARD / RED BEARD” presentation:
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Thu, Jan 15, 7 pm: The “RED BEARD” theatrical performance by the LOS ANGELES POVERTY DEPARTMENT acting troupe, directed by John Malpede (without the film), is in the McClintock Theatre on the USC Campus in University Park (Los Angeles). Admission is FREE and open to everyone, but, like the above event, RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED and it will fill-up. Reserve your seat online beginning Tue, Dec 9, at 9 am, at www. visionsandvoices.usc.edu
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Renowned theatre troupe LOS ANGELES POVERTY DEPARTMENT (“LAPD”), celebrating the 30th anniversary of their founding, is the first theatre company in the United States composed of homeless and formerly homeless artists. “LAPD” connects the experiences of people living in poverty to the social forces that shape their lives. “Red Beard/Red Beard” is a poetic and powerful work that challenges viewers to reflect on possibilities for breaking cycles of poverty.

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Attention ACTORS (one listing):
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Fri, Jan 16, 2-5 pm: Renowned theatre troupe LOS ANGELES POVERTY DEPARTMENT (“LAPD”), presents the “LAPD PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP” in the Wallis Annenberg Hall (ANN), Room 106, on the USC Campus in University Park (L.A.) Admission is FREE and open to everyone, but RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED and it will fill-up. Reserve your space online beginning Tue, Dec 9, at 9 am, at www. visionsandvoices.usc.edu
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John Malpede and Henriëtte Brouwers of “LAPD” theatre will lead a performance workshop that draws on their acting troupe’s revolutionary practices for creating community-based theatre. Malpede founded the “Los Angeles Poverty Department” in 1985. He has taught at UCLA, at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, and at the Amsterdam School for Advanced Research in Theater and Dance (DasArts). Brouwers is a performer, director and teacher who has worked with “LAPD” since 2000. Born in the Netherlands, Brouwers was invited to present her work in the United States by the Theatre Project in Baltimore in 1993, and has since performed and taught at universities and theatres around the country.

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More TICKET ALERT events listings…
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Jan 22: “ECLECTIC GUITARS” featuring ERIC JOHNSON & MIKE STERN at the City National Grove of Anaheim; tix now on sale. This one is NOT a dinner show. Tix at: http://ticketmaster.com/event/09004D43F109C986?artistid=735397&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1&brand=nederlanderla&camefrom=cfc_ndrcon_ned_Dec3

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Jan 23, 7 pm: “ECLECTIC GUITARS” featuring ERIC JOHNSON & MIKE STERN, at the Regent Theater, 448 S Main St, downtown Los Angeles. Show is 21+, and is partially seated; seating is first come, first serve. Presented by Spaceland & Nederlander. Tix, $35 - $45, at:
www.ticketfly.com/purchase/mobile/index/707157?utm_medium=bks_Dec3

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Sat, Jan 24: “THE MET IN HD: LEHÁR'S ‘THE MERRY WIDOW’” is an HD Opera Broadcast (delayed broadcast), in the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre / Frank Sinatra Hall, on the USC Campus in University Park (L.A.) It begins with a Pre-Opera Discussion at noon, followed by the HD broadcast at 1 pm. Admission is FREE and open to everyone, but RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED and it will fill-up. Reserve your space online beginning Tue, Dec 9, at 9 am, at www. visionsandvoices.usc.edu
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The great Renée Fleming stars as the beguiling femme fatale who captivates all of Paris in Lehár’s enchanting operetta, seen in a new staging by Broadway virtuoso director and choreographer Susan Stroman (“The Producers, ” “Oklahoma!, ” “Contact”). Stroman and her design team of Julian Crouch (“Satyagraha, ” “The Enchanted Island”) and costume designer William Ivey Long (“Cinderella, ” “Grey Gardens, ” “Hairspray”) have created an art-nouveau setting that climaxes with singing and dancing grisettes at the legendary Maxim’s.

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Sun, Jan 25, 8 pm: JESSE COOK plays the City National Grove of Anaheim. This is a dinner-optional event. A three-course prix fixe dinner including salad, entree options, and dessert is available for purchase for $30. If you plan to dine, we recommend arriving at 6 pm. Dinner concludes at 7:30 pm. Go to www.citynationalgroveofanaheim.com for menu details.
Tix at: http://ticketmaster.com/event/09004D22F74E37FC&brand=nederlanderla&camefrom=cfc_ndrcon_ned_Dec3

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Feb 14, 8 pm: SPARKS, accompanied by a 38-piece Orchestra, perform ‘Kimono My House’ and assorted songs from their 23 albums; presented by Goldenvoice, FYF, and Ace, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel, L.A. Tix, $43.50-$132.50, on sale Dec 17 at 10 am.

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Feb 21 & 22: "THIS AIN'T NO MOUSE MUSIC!" is a great documentary with Cajun, Zydeco, and Texas Blues, playing only on Feb 21st and 22nd at the Art Theatre, 2025 E 4th St, Long Beach 90814; 562-438-3723; arttheatrelongbeach.com. With a limited run, it will sell-out early.
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The film is the Story of Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records., a feature-length documentary by Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling. “Smokin’ hot!” — Radio One, New Zealand. “One of the best music documentaries around...This film puts the heart and soul back into music and opens your mind to incredible artists you may never have heard of.” — The Film Reel, Toronto.
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“Chris Strachwitz is a detective of sounds, an archaeologist of the deep American music, music with roots that strike straight into the country’s heartland. He is the guiding force behind the legendary Arhoolie Records, producing albums that the Rolling Stones and many others played the grooves right off of. Since 1960, Strachwitz has been recording the authentic pulses of the great American music, throbbing away in the backwoods of the nation. His label offers an unparalleled catalogue of blues, Cajun, wild Hillbilly country, Tex-Mex and New Orleans R&B. These diverse musical strands seem to have grown right out of the ground they are played on. With tape-recorder in hand, Strachwitz traveled to plantations and prisons, roadhouses and whorehouses, churches and bayou juke joints. He returned with recordings that would revolutionize the sound of popular music. In This Ain't No Mouse Music!, their vivid portrait of an obsessive sonic sleuth, filmmakers Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling take a hip-shaking stroll from New Orleans to Appalachia and right into very the DNA of rock’n’roll. In this beautifully shot film, we come face to face with the creators of indigenous music, from the great Clifton Chenier to fiddler Michael Doucet, from Flaco Jimenez to the Pine Leaf Boys, playing songs that are endemic to their place and circumstance, to dialect and class, to climate and landscape. Their music is now highly endangered by the merciless steamroller of pop culture, assimilation and commercialism, which makes Strachwitz's desperate pursuit to track down every last artist all the more urgent. But these songs aren’t meant to be locked away in a Smithsonian vault to be decoded by folklorists and musical anthropologists. This film is a living cultural history with a soundtrack that bites and kicks and screams. Even 50 years later, Arhoolie’s records remain alive, unruly and still so sharp that some songs can cut you right down to the soul. — Jeffrey St. Clair, Author ‘Born Under a Bad Sky.’”
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More at: http://nomousemusic.com

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Feb 27: ALAN JACKSON with BRANDY CLARK & JON PARDI at Nokia Theatre, “L.A. LIVE, ” in downtown L.A. / Doors at 7 pm / tix, $25, $55.95, $79.95, $149.95 / went on sale Nov 7 at 10 am.

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Apr 2, 8 pm: PUNCH BROTHERS with GABRIEL KAHANE play the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood. Tix, $41.50, on sale now.

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May 15, 7:30 pm: THE PIANO GUYS play the Greek Theatre. Tix at: http://m.ticketmaster.com/event/09004D75DD8D6B4F?artistid=1836087&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=203&brand=nederlanderla&camefrom=cfc_ndrcon_ned_Dec3



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The ACOUSTIC AMERICANA MUSIC GUIDE endeavors to bring you NEWS and views of interest to artists everywhere, more specifically to musicians and the creative community, and music makers and fans of acoustic and Folk-Americana music, both traditional and innovative. We provide a wealth of resources, including a HUGE catalog of acoustic-friendly venues, and schedules of performances in Southern California venues large and small. We cover workshops and other events for artists and folks in the music industry, and all kids o’ things in the world of acoustic and Americana and accessible classical music. From washtub bass to musical spoons to oboe to viola to banjo to squeezebox, from Djangostyle to new-fangled-old-time string band music, from sweet Cajun fiddle to pre-bluegrass Appalachian mountain music to proto blues.
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