Currently Browsing: Nightlife

Where to celebrate the holidays with Santa and light displays

Posted by Kelly on Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 pm31 9:23 PM
in Lifestyle, Nightlife | 0 comments

Christmas in Echo Park. Flickr photo via Alex de Corboba

With all the sewer construction going on in Griffith Park right now, the traditional holiday lights put on by the LADWP were canceled this year. But there are a few options in the Los Angeles area still worth checking out!

Train Rides and Santa at Travel Town Museum

Take a Holiday Train Ride and visit with Santa Claus himself at the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park, where they’ve got the train route decorated with all sorts of holiday lights. The train rides go through December 23, leaving around 5:00 pm each night until 8:00 pm.

Tickets are $7.00 per person (infants 18 months and under are free) – which you should probably purchase ahead of time online. While you can purchase them at the Travel Town ticket booth, things might get a little crowded!

Digital photographs with Santa are available for $5.00 each. Kids will also get a candy cane!

Click here for more info.

Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena

So you’ll have to get on a freeway to get there, but it’ll delight the kids to see a real pretty Christmas Tree Lane. A bonus: It goes through January 1! Click here for more info and for directions.

For other holiday lights and events around Los Angeles and as far as Orange County, check out this Santa Clarita web page.

Where will the desire for twinkling holiday lights take you this year?

The lunar eclipse and Los Angeles sunrise from Griffith Observatory

Posted by Kelly on Monday, December 12th, 2011 pm31 2:33 PM
in Nightlife, Pictures | 0 comments

Saturday’s lunar eclipse ended up being probably the coolest thing I have ever done in Los Angeles.

Despite the 4:00 am wake-up call, I managed to grab some coffee and a few layers of clothing before heading off to Griffith Park to witness a complete lunar eclipse from the Observatory. It was, of course, PACKED with people, so parking was pretty crowded and I ended up lugging my tripod, camera, and all the other necessities about a mile up the windy road before arriving at the Observatory lawn. News crews, Angelenos, and tourists crowded the area, but I some how managed to find an okay spot to test out my new Nikon DSLR.

Somehow, I managed to catch a few decent shots – although I am by no means a professional photographer (in fact, I’m hoping to sign up for a class next spring). Although it was frustrating I couldn’t get a great shot of the shape of the actual moon as it was eclipsing (the clouds diffused the light and I didn’t have much of a lens for it), I had to try and not condemn the point-and-shoot photographers for using their flash when taking photos of the moon (yep), thus interrupting my own images.

The crowd and flash photography aside, this was one of the coolest things ever. By around 6:00 am, you’d seen everything the eclipse had to offer, so it was time to move to the other side of the Griffith Observatory to snag a good spot on the balcony for nighttime Los Angeles skyline photos, and to watch the sun rise. I am happy to report that I now officially feel like a true Angeleno. And if you haven’t done sunrise at the Observatory yet, better put that on your LA bucket list because it is a required activity.

Click here to check out the full Flickr set (including shots from the sunrise) from our early morning adventure!

Screenings and celebrations for the Echo Park Film Center 10 year anniversary weekend

Posted by Kelly on Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 am30 9:30 AM
in Art & Music, Community News, Lifestyle, Nightlife | 0 comments

“Sell your TV and come to the cinema” is the defining phrase on the Echo Park Film Center website, and while we’re keeping our TV (just got rid of cable) we are very excited for its upcoming 10 year anniversary weekend, which takes place from Friday, December 9 through Sunday, December 11. In celebration, the Film Center is organizing some live music, food, receptions, speeches, selling new merchandise, and of course hosting a lot of film screenings in various locations (including the Vons parking lot!).

Here’s the scoop from the website:

Friday, December 9 from 8–11:00 pm
Libations, live music and films at Stories Books & Cafe, 1716 Sunset Boulevard.

Saturday, December 10 from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Family filmmaking workshops and open house at Echo Park Film Center, 1200 N. Alvarado Street.

Saturday, December 10 from 7–10:30 pm
Filmmobile silent films screening in the Vons Parking Lot, 1342 N. Alvarado Street.

Sunday, December 11 from 2–6:00 pm
Punk Rock Songs & Cinema at The Smell, 247 S Main Street.

Sunday, December 11 from 6:30–10:30 pm
Reception and the Premiere of City of Angels 11: An EPFC Youth Film Project at Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main Street.

Echo Park’s Week in Music

Posted by Kelly on Monday, November 28th, 2011 am30 10:00 AM
in Art & Music, Nightlife | 0 comments

For the week of Monday, November 28 through Sunday, December 4, 2011

Monday
Rock and Roll Exposed (a documentary on the photography of Bob Gruen) @ Echoplex
The Chain Gang of 1974, American Tomahawk, Hot as Sun, Cassettes Won’t Listen @ Echo
Lianne La Havas, Little Hurricane, Driftwood Singers, Count Fleet, LA Font @ Bootleg Bar
Sexting, Cave, Jealousy, Bachsung @ Pehrspace

Tuesday
Downtown/Union, Tumbleweed Wanderers @ Echo
Sonos, John Gold, Liz Pappademas @ Bootleg Bar

Wednesday
Cass Mccombs Band With Lights By Jake & Mollie, White Magic @ Echo
Dub Club @ Echoplex
Duniven, Broadcast Station, Liquid Love Letter, Bixby Knolls, Lost And Found @ Bootleg Bar

Thursday
Jamie Woon, Oregon Bike Trails @ Echo
Kick off party for The Echo Ten Year Anniversary month with Dan Deacon, Xbxrx, Juiceboxxx, Freezepop, DJ Franki Chan @ Echoplex
The Entrance Band, King Tuff, The Abigails @ Bootleg Bar

Friday
Allen Stone, Zz Ward, Thee Rain Cats @ Echo
Indie1031.Com presents Girl in a Coma, The Dead Ships, Fences, Kate Crash @ Echoplex
Nick Waterhouse, Allah Las, Ana Egge @ Bootleg Bar
Org Music Presents: First Fridays @ Lot 1 Cafe
Saint Motel @ Origami Vinyl
American Clit Legend, I Hate You Just Kidding, The Wind Chasers Club, My Brother My Double @ Pehrspace

Saturday
KCRW’s “Are Friends Eclectic?” Holiday Show With Iron and Wine, Jimmy Cliff, Brett Dennen, Other Lives, The Belle Brigade, White Denim, The Secret Sisters, Anna Calvi, Mia Doi Todd, Zee Avi plus special guests @ The Orpheum Theatre
The Echo Ten Year Anniversary with: Extreme, Irregular, Unidentified Wine-Tasting Object @ Echo
Bootie La Holiday Mashup Party @ Echoplex
Funky Sole @ Echo
Swahili Blonde, Siddhartha, Lady Lazarus, Crooked Cowboy & The Freshwater Indians @ Bootleg Bar
Feed Your Head Presents: Seasons, Azaliasnail, Now, The Happy Casualities @ Lot 1 Cafe
Fonda @ Origami Vinyl
Derde Verde, Fern Lane, Sanglorians, College Kids @ Pehrspace

Sunday
Part Time Punks Presents: Siouxsie & The Banshees Nite With Guest DJ Boss Harmony (Punky Reggae Party/Dub Club) @ Echo
Judson McKinney, Count Fleet, The Lonely Wild, Fort King @ Bootleg Bar
Foolproof Four @ Origami Vinyl

Visit the venue websites for more information on the cost and times of shows. Feel free to add more events in the comment section. All events listed are subject to change at any time, and new events announced for the week after this posting may not be included.

Echo Park’s Week in Music

Posted by Kelly on Monday, November 21st, 2011 pm30 4:13 PM
in Art & Music, Nightlife | 0 comments

For the week of Monday, November 21 through Sunday, November 27, 2011

Monday
The Chain Gang of 1974, Lesands, Tic Tic Boom, Kflay @ Echo
M31, The Tleilaxu Music Machine, So Wrong, Creepy Marbles @ Pehrspace
Rock & Roll Dance Party @ Lot 1 Cafe
Little Hurricane, The Peach Kings, Rachael Cantu, The Janks @ Bootleg Bar

Tuesday
A House for Lions, Torches, Dandelo @ Echo
Raw Geronimo @ Origami Vinyl
Francisco the Man, We Are the Pilots & Heflin Fox @ Lot 1 Cafe
The Cooling Time, The Chromium Heart, Square On Square @ Bootleg Bar

Wednesday
Dub Club Meets Angel City Soul Club @ Echo & Echoplex
Pyramid Vritra @ Origami Vinyl
Blac Jesus & The Exps Residency with Audia & Karma The Mirror @ Lot 1 Cafe
Red Circle Underground, Franco Near Death, Programmed For Pleasure @ Bootleg Bar
Live Jazz Every Wednesday Night at 7:00 pm @ Downbeat Café
Morse Code, Killer Cam, Dirty Dave, Mark Mareclo, Partytime@ The Short Stop

Thursday
Closed for Gobble Gobble Give 2011 – Help feed the Homeless on Thanksgiving Day @ Echo
Yo Mammas House Thanksgiving Spectacular with DJs Velocity B & Nate Day @ The Short Stop

Friday
Aquarium Drunkard Presents: Crooked Fingers, Strand Of Oaks, Graham Lindsey @ Echo
Leftovers @ Lot 1 Cafe

Saturday
Funky Sole @ Echo
Ghiant and Friends @ Taix Lounge
Hello Echo, The Californian, The Dead Ships, Heroes And Heroines @ Bootleg Bar

Sunday
Melt Banana, 400 Blows, Retox @ Echoplex
Part Time Punks Minimal Synth, Coldwave Nite with The Present Moment, Continues @ Echo
Wreck of The Zephyr, Greenhorse, Nathan Flom @ Bootleg Bar
Super Soul Sunday @ The Short Stop

Your Saturday guide to Echo Park festivities

Posted by Kelly on Saturday, October 15th, 2011 am31 9:41 AM
in Art & Music, Community News, Nightlife | 0 comments

Lots of cool stuff going on today – grand opening parties and other festivities all around Echo Park. Here’s the calendar breakdown in case you missed something: