Short Takes

Jazz Friends
Jazz group Outside World leads Tosten Burks to self-reflection at their Hollywood release show.
Apr 18
Modern Blur Is Not Rubbish
Woo-hoo! Brittany Menjivar gets her head checked by a jumbo jet at Blur’s pre-Coachella warm-up show in Pomona.
Apr 17
Are You Receiving Her Psychic Messages?
Brittany Menjivar will not rest until the whole world has fallen in love with Kenzy Peach.
Apr 13
Revisiting Girlhood
Amid a cultural re-embrace of “girlhood,” Emily Quintanilla revisits Sadie Shorr-Parks’s review of Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut novel, “The Poet...
Apr 11
The Fans Are Inhospitable (Are We?)
Mitski’s Friday show at the Shrine led rory hayes to question whether the audience had even gone through “Puberty 2” yet, misbehaving before their...
Apr 10
Next Time You See a Busker, Be Nice
John C. Reilly mistakes Sierra Ferrell for his buddy Will (no relation?) at the Fonda Theatre/dairy farm/honky-tonk, Kate Sadoff reports.
Apr 6
Innocent Until Proven Guilty of Shoegazing
In the musical justice system, shoegaze is represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the fans who brought earplugs and the bands who...
Apr 2
Everyone Who Thinks They Know What’s Going On Doesn’t
Greg Dillon says “BYE BYE” to insomnia and embraces the chaos of Kim Gordon’s dream dollar at the Regent Theater.
Mar 30
Other People’s Art That We Could Have Created Ourselves
Duck and cover! The iconic launch reading for “The Big One” magazine brought down the house, reports Max Gordy.
Mar 27
Pay Pigs, Incels, and Young Sociopaths
A. J. Brown gets parasocial for the launch of Brittany Menjivar’s debut anthology at Stories in Echo Park.
Mar 23
Towards a New Plastic Order
Emma dePaulo Reid determines whether haircutting, tree trunks, and negated flour chickens were wise beyond their years at the Hammer Museum’s “Only...
Mar 21
This Is Me on Top of You
Britt Menjivar attends a “hardcore” screening of Mara Mckevitt’s “Val” and Miranda July’s “The Amateurist” in Chinatown.
Mar 15
Liquor Is Quicker but Butter Is Better
Whatever Los Angeles Bar: Second Pour brings, Brandon Sward will be there, with open arms and open eyes, yeah.
Mar 14
Carol Cheh on Daniel J. Martinez
1:1 invites writers to reflect on a single work of art with focus, care, and imagination to expand how we view, receive, and write about art. 1...
Mar 10
Glass House Is a Smash
Jack Skelley has no stones to throw at “Glass House,” a new intermedia performance organized by Volta Collective and Central Server Works.
Mar 9
The Pulsing Innards of Jack Skelley
Emily Ann Zisko faces her complete fear of Jack Skelley’s “Fear of Kathy Acker,” adapted for the Santa Monica stage by Siena Foster-Soltis.
Mar 6