Catching Up with New Orleans Based Gal Holiday and The Honky Tonk Revue

For fans of Louisiana music, whether it be jazz, country, americana, swing, zydeco, cajun, or blues, and living in Southern California, we are blessed with great festivals and music clubs, that are constantly booking touring Louisiana based bands.  Thus, when "Where's Andrew" from National Geographic Traveler posted on his twitter account in November 2011 that he had just witnessed the best music in the New Orleans French Quarter, I was very curious and intrigued.  This was Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue fronted by Vanessa Niemann playing old-time countrified swing.  I found the band's website and YouTube videos, and saw that they had taken up a music residency in Los Angeles, splitting their time in New Orleans, and noted that in December 2011, they were doing some very late night performances at Taix in Echo Park.  I was planning on seeing one of those performances, but I was just too tired to make the late night trek to Echo Park, but then I got lucky, and Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue got booked for Harvelle's in Long Beach.  Playing Harville's under the Congregation Ale House was like being booked into a roaring 20's speak-easy.

I was mesmerized hearing and seeing Gal Holiday perform country swing at Harvelle's, and at times, it was like hearing Patsy Cline channeling Wanda Jackson's rockabilly, and below are the pictures from that night.  Her small space dance moves on stage became hyptnotic, and later learned, they were a trademark of her performances.

Emmylou Harris Again Teams with Vince Gill to Raise Funds for Country Music All for the Hall at Club Nokia

Back in September 2011, I wrote about how AEG LIVE  in partnership with Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame, and under the leadership of Vince Gill, organized a fundraiser at Club Nokia, as a "guitar pull' branded as All for the Hall.  It returned to LA Live on March 4, 2014, again with Vince Gill bringing long-time friend Emmylou Harris, and this time inviting Ann and Nancy Wilson (the sisters of Heart) and Jason Mraz, along with a surprise performance by Holly Williams, while also introducing rising Country star Camaron "Cam" Ochs.  Prior to the fundraising concert were dinner and cocktails for those buying tables for either $10,000 or $25,000 on the Club Nokia floor, and also individual floor tickets for $1,000.  In addition, two floors of upstairs reserved seating were available with tickets ranging from $50 to $125 that were filled to capacity., I had the chance to again interview Vince Gill and Emmy Lou Harris, and to also interview for the first time fundraising host Rita Wilson and guest artist Holly Williams (singing in the next picture).  Each of the artists contributed their time in this seventh version of the All for the Hall fundraiser that has an objective now of raising operating reserve funds for a greatly expanded Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, and contributions are always appreciated..

Get Your Phil - Friday and Saturday Night Dinner and Disney Hall Concerts

With all of the new restaurants opening in Downtown Los Angeles along with old favorites, the Los Angeles Philharmonic just launched a new program branded as "Get Your Phil"   - a Friday (or Saturday) night dining and concert ticketing package.   The second opportunity occurs this Friday night at the Border Grill Downtown LA and continues into November with dates at Le Ka Restaurant and Blue Cow Kitchen and Bar with a soon to be posted additional Saturday date of December 7th at Rivera for the Scheherazade concert.  The Get Your Phil program opened last Friday with Chaya Downtown LA in tandem with one of the LA Phil 10th Anniversary concerts (Debussy and Bartok) featuring conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. These dinners include a special ten minute discussion with one of the LA Phil musicians. The $32 Friday/Saturday night dinner program is available to existing LA Phil season ticket holders and to those looking to package up the promotional dinner and purchasing LA Phil concert tickets, which can be easily done online at LAPhil.com/GetyourPhil. The promoted evening LA Phil concert tickets at various price ranges (from $67 - $75 for Terrace or Front Terrace seats) are now available for the following dinners and concerts:

Friday, October 25

Border Grill Downtown LA

Salonen and Sibelius*

Friday, November 8

Le Ka Restaurant

Tovey and Shostakovich*

Saturday, November 30

Blue Cow Kitchen and Bar

Bach, Schumann and more

  

*This evening is also a part of the LA Phil's Casual Fridays program, which includes a post-concert Question and Answer session with the artists and a meet-and-greet with the orchestra.

Celebrate L.A. Heritage Day 2013!

Pico House. Photo Credit LA Heritage Alliance. 

This upcoming Sunday, (April 14th, 2013) from 11am to 4pm, head out to El Pueblo with family and friends to celebrate and learn more about Los Angeles Heritage! Featuring over 200 organizations from across LA, experience exhibits, booths, tours, five museums, children activities, and more for free!

Upcoming Literary Events

Panoramic Bookshelves at Skylight Books by ExperienceLA Contributor

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books recently announced their schedule of events for April 20-21 at USC.  While we're super excited for the event, it is a WHOLE MONTH away!  So while you're planning your Festival of Books excursion, here's some great events to quench your literary thirst in the mean time!  Literary events can be found throughout Los Angeles at literary venues, universities, theaters, museums, libraries, and more!

Favorite Flickr Pool Photos from 2012

We decided to end the year by looking back at our ExperienceLA Flickr Pool Photo submissions.  Over 1300 photos were shared to our pool this year!  We looked out for some favorite moments, some cool and interesting sights (and sites!), and some iconic places!  We look forward to seeing more amazing photos in 2013! 
- ExperienceLA Staff

Short Order's New Menu Items Inspired by Hoof to Tail Movement

Just over one year ago, Los Angeles chef legend, Nancy Silverton, in partnership with restauranteur, Bill Chait. opened Short Order at the Originals Farmers Market, just above Dupar's at Third and Fairfax.  At the time, much attention was focused on the burgers, as the Nancy Silverton burger blend had been featured for many years at one of the butcher stalls at the Original Farmers Market.  With increasing awareness in Los Angeles (for example Lindy and Grundy butchers just up the street) about hoof to tail use of an entire cow, Executive Chef Christine Page has set out to integrate the use of two steers per week, for a series of dishes that some would be featured just one day a week.  In discussion with Chef Page, his earlier training in supply chain economics while getting his MBA at USC in their entrepreneurship program was going to be really tested. 

One featured Short Order dish, of limited availability, is the Ruben, in which Chef Page is making his own corned beef: however, due to its popularity, the two entire steer order per week, are being augmented by additional brisket orders, and they still have been known to run out. Short Order is also making their own bacon for their BLT which they call a BPB-LTA for their inclusion of pork belly along with lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Another weekly dish on Tuesday is their Shepards pie, which makes use of leftover meats centered around a large marrow bone.  Probably a must try at Short Order is the deep frying of their renown pickles, probably better than any fried pickles that one might get at a County Fair.  The use of frying also comes into play, by frying the ordinary croissant and stuffing it with banana cardamon cream. This and other imaginative desserts are available to go from a separate take out section. For coffee lovers, you will find Short Order serving coffee from Verve of Santa Cruz. Plus a number of innovative cocktails making use of fresh farm to table ingredients. In addition to the upstairs dining, one can also eat and drink on the ground level portion of the restaurant that is set up as a bar.

Here are my Short Order pictures shared  from Flickr as a slideshow below, and for those with an Ipad, click here.



So if visiting the Grove or the Original Farmers Market, plan on a visit to Short Order for some very tasty menu items. If you go on a Thursday, then you can catch the Bacon wrapped filet.  My picture in the slide show is a mini-version using a quail egg that will eventually show up on a happy hour menu in a slider version. I have now been to Short Order several times, and I have added it to my other favorite Los Angeles food destinations with Nancy's imprint, Mozza, and Bill's ownership, Rivera, in partnership with Jon Sedlar.

December 24 Free Holiday Celebration at the LA Music Center

For the fifty-three year in a row, the LA County Arts Commission is bringing some of the finest performing arts groups to the Los Angeles Music Center for a free public performance during the afternoon of December 24, 2012 from 3 pm to 6 pm.  The LA County Holiday Celebration, includes free parking at the Music Center, and the performances take place inside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  Festivities begin on the Music Center plaza at 12:30 pm, to help entertain those in line looking for the best seats.  Seating begins at 2:30 pm, continuing throughout the entire three hour performance period, as most people are there to see their friends and family members, so on average are in the audience for about an hour.  This year for the first time, the adjacent Grand Park will be open, so explore it before or after your visit to the Music Center, and there will even be food trucks. If you can't attend in person, then catch the performance live on KCET-TV, on the radio at KPFK 90.7, or streaming on a computer or mobile device at www.kcet.org.  You can also participate during the live performance in an interactive conversation on Twitter by following the hashtag of: #HCLA. The following 20 performance groups (not in performance order), chosen from among over 500 performing arts organizations throughout Los Angeles County will each perform for approximately six minutes each during the afternoon before Christmas Eve.

Salvation Army Tabernacle Children’s Chorus
Invertigo Dance Theatre
Vox Femina Los Angeles
Elliot Deutsch Big Band
Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble
Las Cafeteras
Palmdale High School Choral Union
Mariachi Sol de Mexico (which can be watched here on YouTube)
Colburn Children’s Choir (not to be missed)
Shin Dance Company (with video embedded below)
South Bay Children's Choir
Vaud and the Villains (also not to be missed: possibly singing Christmas comes to New Orleans)
Immaculate Heart of Mary Children's Choir
Harmonic Bronze Handbell Ensemble
Family Life Sanctuary Choir
Pacifico Dance Company (with picture above)
Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles
Shakti Dance Company
Second Samoan Congregational Church Choir
Double G and Strings

Arts & Culture for Black Friday on 11/23

LACMA in Yellow  by ExperienceLA Staff

While Black Friday is often marked as the day to head to the mall and the major shopping centers, it can also be the perfect day to experience Los Angeles and spend time with your loved ones!  Here are some event ideas for those looking for some non-shopping Black Friday adventures. Oh, and some of these events are FREE!

-ExperienceLA Editor

Gallant Suits: Doing Good Made Fashionable.

If there were such a thing as a politically-correct suit for men, Gallant Suits would be it. Constructed completely of 100% Italian wool, this is your chance to do right in the eyes of fashion.  And look good doing it, of course.

Event Ideas: The Halloween Variety of Los Angeles

amigos muertos by Karol Franks
from our Flickr Pool

There's that first Fall chill in the air and before we know it one of my favorite holidays will be upon us - Halloween! But the season is more than just costumes and sweets, it's the perfect reason to head out on a new Los Angeles experience. Here's some suggestions from our calendar that cover a wide range of what LA has to offer!

Whitney Lives On: Grammy Museum Style

Whitney Houston, the pop icon, I knew, but Whitney at church choir practice and on the cover of Seventeen Magazine?  This was part of the lifelong star's life I knew nothing about.  And I have the Whitney! Celebrating the Musical Legacy of Whitney Houston exhibit to thank for that.     Presented by the GRAMMY Museum at LA Live, the opening was timed strategically a week before the late Houston's last movie release, Sparkle. "The idea of the exhibit came from the fans," said Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum, Bob Santelli.  
Partnered with son (and newest member to the GRAMMY Museum team), Jake Santelli and the Houston family put together not just an exhibit of Whitney's music career accomplishments, but rather, the story of a spectacular life lived... as seen through the eyes of those who knew her best.  

Silverlake Contemporary Ballet: The Swan Lake You've Always Wanted To See

Swan Lake.  A million ballerinas have danced a version of it, the hauntingly grand Tchaikovsky music is unmistakeable aaaaand who can forget 2010's The Black Swan? Seriously.  Well, that's all about to change.

The Silverlake Contemporary Ballet (SCB) is re-inventing the story once again and just to make it that much more LA, each act will be played by local legends...live...on stage. Yep, you heard that right.  Awesome sounds by Races, The Young Romans and Holly Conlan will each play a rock rendition of the centuries-old ballet score.  In addition, a collection of large scale paintings curated by Edgar Varela Fine Arts will set the scene, American Apparel will donate the costumes and, together, all tell their depiction of a love story 'tested by Hollywood morality'.

Beyond Summer Reading: Free July Literary Events

The Last Bookstore by ExperienceLA Staff
From our ExperienceLA Flickr Pool

In the ExperienceLA office, one of the best things about summer is that it's time to start some summer reading.  But here at ExperienceLA, we like to make book adventures jump out of pages.  Here are some summer highlights to add to your literary life.  Oh, and they're all FREE:

Win tickets to see Los Otros – send us your “Only In L.A.” photo

On May 23 the world premiere of the musical, Los Otros, makes its debut at the Mark Taper Forum. The show celebrates those experiences that are unique to Southern California. In honor of this, we are giving away one (1) pair of tickets* to see the show on June 1st at 8PM, and what better way to do this giveaway than to host a photo contest?! Send us your best “Only in L.A.” photo, capturing that moment or experience that makes us say, “Oh yeah, that’s definitely L.A.” Because – you know – we are all about Los Angeles experiences after all J

Party hearty and smartly: free Metro rides and AAA Tipsy Tow service for New Year's Eve weekend

Many of us already have our plans made for celebrating the New Year. Some of us are still deciding - and if you happen to be in this category, might we suggest visiting the ExperienceLA.com calendar for some ideas :)

Whatever your plans are, if you and your roommates are drawing straws to see who will be the sober this year, or if you simply haven't had time to think about finding a designated driver, fear not! Metro and AAA have provided some wonderful solutions for this coming weekend of merriment in Los Angeles.

Fall in Los Angeles

Fall Sky in LA by Lucyrk in LA

Fall for me always officially starts the day after Halloween. Maybe the lingering sounds of the rustling leaves as trick-or-treaters were out and about the night before has something to do with it. I think my favorite part about fall is the abundance of warm colors all around. It helps to ease the chill from the cooler air.

The Greencards Playing at The Mint on Tuesday July 5

The other day I got a friend request on Facebook from Kym Warner and at first didn't recognize the name. But I qucikly realized that this was Kym from The Greencards who I had seen back at Stagecoach 2008 and had included them in my blog post for ExperienceLA.com back then. Now I suspect the reason he friended me was that I might then discover that The Greencards were coming to play in Los Angeles at The Mint on Tuesday, July 5.

I had a chance to make it to another concert at The Mint several years back, and I did a blog post on that concert featuring Broke Down Cadillac and opening act Smith and Pyle. So in honor of the Greencards coming to The Mint, I uploaded some of these The Greencards Stagecoach 2008 pictures to flickr for this blog post.

Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken Restaurants to Promote IRIS on Cirque du Soleil Day LA

Thursday, June 16, 2011, is Cirque du Soleil Day in LA, and you can celebrate at Susan Feniger's STREET and the Border Grill restaurants in Santa Monica and Downtown Los Angeles that are co-owned with Mary Sue Milliken. Each of them are creating a special Cirque-themed menu that help to celebrate the upcoming opening of IRIS, A Journey Through The World of Cinema at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The picture above was taken at an LA Central Library ALOUD book panel almost five years ago, and it is our copy of a heavily used cookbook that these two Top Chef Master competitors published back in 1989 celebrating the cooking of City Cafe that opened in 1981 and City Restaurant that opened in 1985. Thus, its been 30 years of the Two Hot Tamales in Los Angeles.

Anime Expo 2010 Recap: Day 3 & 4

Day 3: Rock n Cosplay.
Saturday seemed like the busiest day at Anime Expo 2010, with everyone off work, they all descended onto the Los Angeles Convention Center... in cosplay! I don't know how many photos I took of different people in cosplay, but I do know that I don't even think I got 1/3 of the people dressed up. It was crazy.