An evening of Latin psych-pop, Jeff Goldblum’s jazz band, a live score by No Age, music-filled holiday extravaganzas and more.
Caloncho
Monday, December 16, 2019 / 8–11 p.m. / The Roxy Theatre
Guadalajara’s Óscar Alfonso Castro, better known as Caloncho, writes easygoing love songs that transcend language barriers with sunny sweet nothings. If you aren’t sure, you can bet the lyrics have something to do with kissing beautiful lips and golden, sun-warmed skin and other blush-worthy antics. New York-based Colombian duo Salt Cathedral adds a bit of dance music to the evening, while charismatic Long Beach resident Rudy De Anda opens the show with Latin-infused psych-pop.
Tickets: $24-$30 / More Information
Whispertown & Friends Holiday Program
Tuesday, December 17, 2019 / 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. / Bootleg Theater
For the fourth year in a row, Whispertown hosts a holiday extravaganza for a good cause. The event is actually free, but donations will be collected for the Downtown Women’s Center, an organization dedicated to helping homeless women. The lineup offers all kinds of folksy, country, singer-songwriter goodness, with M. Ward, Nate Walcott, Lavender Diamond, Azure Ray, Tim Kasher & Stef Drootin, Valley Queen and Leslie Stevens among the scheduled performers.
Attendance is free / More Information
Jeff Goldblum
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 / 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. / Rockwell: Table & Stage
Nothing says the holidays are here like the smell of Jeff Goldblum’s cologne wafting offstage as he performs with his jazz band, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Goldblum has played the Rockwell with various degrees of regularity since the 1990s. Ever the charmer, the actor/musician/all-around smooth operator indulges in playful banter with the audience, who hang onto his every word and enjoy a sprinkle of magic peppered between songs.
Tickets: $25-$30 / More Information
X
Thursday, December 19, 2019 / 8–11 p.m. / Teragram Ballroom
X’s Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake put together a West Coast tour for the final holiday season of the decade, culminating with two nights of music in their hometown of Los Angeles, where the quintessential punk band formed in 1977. The band endures to this day with their original lineup, with a sound that’s evolved into an amalgam of punk, rockabilly, bluesy R&B and folk-rock. Instrumental surf rock band Los Straightjackets open the show clad in their trademark Lucha Libre Mexican wrestling masks and nice suits.
Tickets: $38-$100 / More Information
No Age Live Score ‘Ye Olde Destruction’ Screening
Friday, December 20, 2019 / 8–11 p.m. / Zebulon
“Ye Olde Destruction” is a self-funded skateboarding movie by filmmaker Thomas Campbell seven years in the making. Mainly shot on 16 mm film, Campbell packed a slew of skaters into two old cars, a ’70s Cadillac and a black Ford station wagon that feature prominently as characters themselves. Then, he took them on a cruise to DIY spots, pools and any skate-able surface in between with cinematographers such as French Fred, Jon Miner, Mike Manzoori and Connor Wyse coming along behind the camera to capture all the action. Noise duo No Age will perform their score to the movie live during the screening.
Tickets: $12-$15 / More Information
Leaving Records 10-Year Anniversary Party
Saturday, December 21, 2019 / 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. / Lodge Room
Leaving Records marks 10 years of fostering the ambient music community in Los Angeles, a mission aided by the delightful “Listen to Music Outside in the Daylight Under a Tree” monthly series hosted by label-head Matthewdavid in Highland Park. To celebrate this milestone birthday, Matthewdavid has put together a huge lineup of artists ranging from electronic collage to psychedelic improvisational jazz and unclassified permutations from across the cosmic spectrum. Julia Holter, Dakim, Ana Roxanne, Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes, Sudan Archives and Mndsgn are just a few reasons to attend.
Tickets: $14 / More Information
Neil Hilborn’s ‘The Endless Bummer’ Tour
Sunday, December 22, 2019 / 8–11 p.m. / The Regent Theater
Slam poet Neil Hilborn gained notoriety in 2013 when Button Poetry released a video that went viral featuring him performing his emotionally charged poem, “OCD.” On his current tour, dubbed “The Endless Bummer,” Hilborn shares heavy pieces on mental illness and mortality, but injects some humor in between poems and has a few things to say on more lighthearted subjects like hipster mating habits and rejected ideas for Tinder profiles.
Tickets: $17.50-$47.50 / More Information