Issue #4
12/06/23 - 12/12/23
I have spent a lot of time over the past few weeks complaining about the general fatigue I feel, a malaise that strikes me every day at 6 or 7 PM. Mostly I’ve identified it as a symptom of the early nightfall. “It’s daylight savings, it’s really hard this year,” I’ve said to about seven different people, who all nod along and agree with me wholeheartedly. But I also think what’s really happened is I’ve fallen out of the habit of going out. I’ve forgotten that you don’t go out when you are not tired - you go out and become not tired. Doing things at night is energizing and fun (and helps you sleep better in my opinion). And another thing about going to events during the holiday season, when there is so much competition for night space with all the holiday parties and the travel and the general end-of-year-burnout: if you are an audience member you are basically a hero.
Comedy
Here at Slow Days we are big fans of variety shows, and also several of the people on this upcoming show at UCB.1 Danger! Don’t Look! is a comedy show about pushing the boundaries but not in a caution-tape-over-the-mouth way. This show features some really great writers and comedians who reliably produce fun, inventive bits from the likes of Alec Robbins, Sam Oh, and sketch group Moon Goon.
When I got back into comedy, I was a little afraid of the LA open mic culture, but that was before I spent some time at Oeno Vino. I’m not recommending you go to an open mic there (although I have been to some recently that would actually make for some very pleasant shows) but to Baby Tooth, run by Yaki Margulies, who books a solid lineup and puts on a great show. It is a very reasonable hour-long and after it’s over you can leave with a nice bottle of wine to take home.
Another great comedy show at another great Atwater bar - Asbury Park at the High Low with Sheng Wang, Rachel Kaly, and Dylan Subiza, hosted by Meredith Casey and Noah Findling. It’s a great bill. Sheng Wang does a joke about finally using enough lotion that has actually changed how I operate in the world (I now use enough lotion), and Dylan Subiza has a bit I love about his ex’s wedding that I won’t spoil in this newsletter. Obviously no promises whether either of these will be done at the show.
I’m not necessarily a musical person but I feel like that doesn’t really apply during the Christmas season, which has been designed so that it feels like a musical might break out at any moment. Gabe and Alden’s Holiday Party at Dynasty Typewriter is a musical “in the style of a 50’s Christmas special,” a genre that I’m less familiar with but has the potential to go off the rails in a fun way.
Poetry
Deep down I think we all want to live in a time when poetry is cool again, when we all know the names of poets and can even quote them regularly - it’s why the beat generation still has a chokehold on the national imagination. But most people think of poetry readings as boring, stilted, maybe even intimidating. Casual Encountersz, a regular poetry and reading series, is attempting to bring make poetry more of an event by hosting readings that are intentionally not stilted or intimidating - the one tonight at Lauren Powell Projects is BYOB and there’s an afterparty at Jumbo’s.
Short Films
Since this is an open mic film screening, I have no idea of the quality of the films, but that is part of the charm. There are actually surprisingly few places where you can see work that is at various stages of quality, which is one of the most effective ways for developing taste, getting inspired, and also finding real diamonds in the rough.
For highly vetted short films, check out this screening at American Cinemateque tonight.
Music
Like Casual Encountersz, Minaret Records is another outfit that attempting to promote community through events around a neglected art form, this one being jazz. They have an event on Thursday at Mid City Yacht Club with Ambrose Akinmusire, Chiquitamagic, and Justin Brown trio.
A friend recommended this show at the Fonda and has heard that Automatic and Geneva Jacuzzi put on a good show, which is getting harder and harder to find these days. How many concerts have I been to in LA that should have been dance parties and ended up just being a crowd of people standing stock-still and staring straight ahead? Go to this show and dance!
Vagabon has one of my favorite voices in music, a voice that makes even the most danceable songs on her new album pensive and melancholy. She’s playing at the Lodge Room on Saturday with Nourished by Time, who also rules. Go to this show and also dance, pensively and melancholically!
Shopping
While many gift guides will encourage you to tailor your gifts to the recipient's interests (your dad likes golf? have you thought about getting him golf clubs?), this can make gift-giving into a kind of boring and almost mathematical experience. Art Mart offers an opportunity to buy some genuinely unique gifts from local artists, with proceeds benefiting Scribble Community, a non-profit art center. There will be many variations of Little Guys (sculpted, crocheted, etc), and the nice thing about Little Guys is that they are something we are all interested in :)
Actions
Whenever Hollywood and the Democratic machine converge it always feels a little grotesque; it’s too smarmy, too self-congratulatory, too unearned. Yet nothing has felt quite so despicable as the prospect of Joe Biden coming to LA to fundraise for his presidential campaign while the genocide rubber-stamped by his administration unfolds in Gaza. A coalition of Palestinian groups are organizing a rally outside of his country club fundraiser on Friday, which gives Los Angeles the opportunity to set the tone for his whole election season and show that the city is not the bastion of unwavering support that he believes it is.
Podcasts
We The Unhoused, a podcast by Theo Henderson, has returned with iHeart media. The first episode features a history of the podcast as well as an interview with Theo about his experience being unhoused and another with Maria Rescuerda of Rescuing Our Homes. An essential resource for understanding the scope and breadth facing the unhoused communities in Los Angeles.
Misc
Now I know what a holiday ham feels like.
In fact we are hosting a show next month on January 6th at UCB! Tickets here!