I have an extremely unpleasant commute that plays a large role in my daily life. It goes like this: every morning, after dropping my kids off at school (we live in Highland Park; they school in Silverlake), I plow headlong into rush hour traffic and meander my way to Culver City, where I badge into my office, grab a coffee, do some work, and then meander back home around 1/1:30 in the afternoon. All told, this drive-time extracts about three hours from my life every day. Why do my kids go to school in Silverlake when we live in Highland Park? Why do I drive to an office where I have no co-workers? What am I listening to while I drive? Three questions, one answer: “Gah, I forget.” What matters here is that it does not put me in a good humor.
That said, my drive has been brightened lately by the sudden arrival of an inspired bit of street art on Riverside Drive, close by The Elysian Theater. Where formerly there were two telephone poles – one tall, one short – some local genius has added arms and eyes, transforming an everyday street scene into a hilariously touching moment between two poles (picture below). What does it mean? Absolutely nothing. But how much does it mean to me, at 7:55 am on a Tuesday? It means I laugh, and that means a lot.
One more note about my commute, whose relevance I hope will be clear in a moment: during my time in the office, I overhear a lot of talk about shows that are funny, but it’s the business of entertainment that’s happening there, not the entertainment itself – so, in reality, there aren’t a lot of laughs. That’s probably true of Los Angeles more generally: it’s a funny place, but not because it’s trying to make you laugh. And I suppose there’s a hint of that in the title for Netflix’s “Netflix Is a Joke” festival that’s happening here this month. There’s a ton of laughs here, but it sure takes a fair amount of blood/sweat/tears to make them happen.
But this is still a place where a lot of very funny people make their livings makin’ laughs. Sometimes they do it on purpose (as when John Mulaney described coyotes as “dogs that have lost all their money”), sometimes by accident (via vanity plates gone wrong or lawyer-boards), but either way, they’re putting smiles on our faces. And God bless ‘em for that. We need all the laughs we can get at the moment.
- Daniel Harmon
Cultural Events
Bottom Center Photo: Francisco Ramos (Clockshop’s 2026 commissioned kite artist and two-time kite competition winner) Photographs by Mary Costa.
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May 3 - Rebecca Solnit & Jessica Craven in Conversation (Santa Monica) Jessica Craven’s impressive newsletter Chop Wood, Carry Water, tirelessly champions ways to make our country better, offering up easy-to-achieve political action items, and helping us become activists one small step at a time. When I saw she will be hosting a conversation with the incredible Rebecca Solnit, I squealed. I have loved Solnit’s work since discovering her 2005 A Field Guide to Getting Lost. The two will discuss Solnit’s new book The Beginning Comes After the End, hopefully reminding us that all is not lost in “these trying times” and that hope is what we make of it. (MR)
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May 4-10 - Netflix Is a Joke Festival (Various) There’s always a lot of comedy happening here, but the boil is about to seriously burst. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’ll let you be the judge. (But yeah, it’s a good thing.) (DH)
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May 7-10 - Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair (Pasadena)The LA Art Book Fair is such a fun time! Founded in 1976 (with founding members including Sol Lewitt and Lucy Lippard), Printed Matter is celebrating 50 years as an organization dedicated to the support of artist books. What is an artist book, you ask? According to their website: “Unlike an art book, catalog or monograph that tend to showcase artworks created in another medium, the term ‘artists’ books’ refers to publications that have been conceived as artworks in their own right.” Over the weekend on ArtCenter College of Design's campus, independent sellers from across the country will set up shop selling artist books, special editions, merch, and more. There will be talks, music, community vibes, and surely snacks! Take an afternoon or two to flip through zines, multiples, or rare editions and enjoy the feeling of something real in your hand. (MR)
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May 9 - Intro to Brush Lettering (Frogtown) On a recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (a TV staple in our house), John made a joke about the absurdity of the written letter “G” in cursive. It made me laugh out loud, but it also made me think how I’ll never again be judged on my skill at writing letters. Or words, or writing anything for that matter! So when I saw this workshop pop-up while searching out a watercolor class, I thought it could be a good chance to reconnect with the alphabet as a completely non-productive exercise, a slight form of joyful resistance to our (increasingly creepy) digital world. (MR)
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May 9 -Popeye (Eagle Rock) Popeye, in case you weren’t aware, is a musical fantasy film directed by Robert Altman and starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall. It was a bomb at the time, and now it’s a cult-classic. Is there any more to say? (Yes: I’d lived my life in fear of it, but then I heard a demo track of Duvall singing “He Needs Me”—and now I need to check it out! (DH)
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May 9 - Clockshop’s Kite Festival (Chinatown) Is there anything more magical than a kite? Seriously! I probably won’t make it to this event, given May 9th’s full docket. But you should! Imagine an army of beautiful anthropomorphic creatures flying through the air, children laughing in conversation with the wind, a world of possibilities. This is my fantasy version of the event. The actual event will feature Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader’s newly commissioned inflatable sculpture taking flight, a kite competition, artist-led kite-making workshops, and (in a twist!) a cumbia dance lesson. Sounds pretty dreamy to me. And in case you’re wondering,: “What should I do if my kite becomes stuck in a tree during the event?” look no further than the website’s helpful FAQ. (MR)
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May 14 - Improvised Shakespeare Los Angeles (West Hollywood) Generally speaking, one should not seek out improvised comedy; however, one should absolutely seek out Shakespeare. What is one to do then, when improvising comedians attempt to create Shakespearean dramas out of audience prompts? Run, one would think. But apparently one would be wrong. One of my favorite podcast participants (one Dana Stevens) recently endorsed a NY performance from this group, and I immediately bought a ticket for the next LA show. My favorite detail (aside from the fact that the prompt they chose was the single word “meanwhile”)? The group assiduously reads and studies Shakespeare in preparation for their performances. How else could you do it!? (DH)
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May 16 - Chiso Cafe Pop-Up at Dada Market (Echo Park) I’m not going out to eat much these days—owing to some combination of the economy, a gut-related condition, the economy, etc. But then this cool pop-up coming to the window at Dada Market caught my eye. Chiso Cafe is the brainchild of Japanese-born, recent NYC-LA transplant Kiki Kudo, a multi-disciplinary creative who blends her love of music and food into something she has at one point referred to as Kitchen Wave (I love it.) Known for her clean, simple flavors (inspired by the healthy convenience store novelties of Japan) and done with an experimental panache, the menu will feature gems like Dashimaki Egg Sandwiches, Lotus Root & Celery Salad, and Mochi Corn Shiso Rice Balls. The residency kicks off with a stellar line-up of DJs. Check IG for forthcoming deets! (MR)
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May 17 - Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival (Calabasas) Few things scream “family friendly” more than a folk music festival. That said, few things scream “family friendly” more than Chuck E. Cheese – and we all know how that turned out. Even so, I think that, if you have a family, and seek or have friends, this sounds like a good event to attend. I, for one (party of four) will be there. (DH)
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May 20 - Primary Trust (Downtown) Primary Trust was the winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was a NYT Critic’s Pick. And it’s here now at the Mark Taper. (It’s also a tight 95.) I understand that it’s always a risky endeavor to pony up for theater tickets, but few bets are less risky than this. A bookstore employee; mai-tais; a midlife crisis; and: boom. (DH)
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May 22-25 - Festival of Sail at LA Fleet Week (San Pedro) Things Los Angeles has that you may not have fully appreciated in a while: coyotes, tar pits, mountains, an ocean, and the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere. I’ll take any excuse to drive down to San Pedro, because it’s just such a great reminder that this place is hugh-effing-mongous, but I can’t think of a better reason to go, at the moment, than the opportunity to hear some sea shanties. Even if you missed the basso boatmen belting bangers bit from 2020/2021 (and too bad for you if you did), that’s a genre of song that deserves more than a flash in the pan. Also, there’s gonna be “cannon battles”. Also, it’s free! (So no refunds if you get hit by stray cannon-fire.) (DH)
The video itself couldn’t be less oblique. It’s there in the title; it’s there in the imagery; and it’s definitely there in the vibes. Randy Newman is singing about Los Angeles, and he’s doing it because he loves it. But I think what’s most interesting (and most relevant to our own scrappy interests here) is the humor. Because although this video plays all the hits, LA-wise, it plays the non-hits (the boulevard rundown is my personal favorite) with the same enthusiasm. And I mean Randy (if the shoe fits) was way ahead of his time in terms of embracing LA’s bad reputation as a shallow city of superficial strivers – to say nothing of its big nasty redheads.
Just to reiterate: this was 1983! Woody Allen and Steve Martin had barely begun their cinematic denigrations of LA’s traffic and vapidity, and Randy Newman was already singing right over them! Yeah, it was still a big dumb lump of highways overstuffed with beautiful (and sometimes vapid) people. But he was right: who cares! The living was good. The living is good. And it’s nice that even our anthems are in on the joke. So here’s to Randy Newman’s inability to celebrate his hometown without also lampooning it. It’s a ridiculous place, but it’s not that much more ridiculous than anywhere else, really, if you can just keep your side-eye firmly in place.
