Arthur Nights festival Oct 19-22 - more acts announced

http://www.losangelestheatre.com/media/dphome.jpg

"The Downtown Palace Theatre, at 630 S Broadway, was built in 1911 as the third Los Angeles home of the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit. It was originally know as the “Orpheum” and is the oldest remaining Orpheum theatre in the country. Renamed the Palace Theatre in 1926, it became a silent movie house and later added sound.
"The intimate scale of the Palace Theatre in concert with its elegant French details compares to a 17th-century European opera house. With garland-draped columns, a color scheme of pale pastels, wall murals depicting pastoral scenes, and ceiling murals of whimsical girls, the Palace offers an unusually charming and graceful setting. As an early vaudeville house, built without amplified sound, it is designed so that no seat is further than 80 feet from the stage. While the interior is French, the exterior is loosely styled after a Florentine Renaissance palazzo, with multicolored terra cotta swags, flowers, fairies and theatrical masks illustrating the spirit of entertainment.
"From its beginning in the late 1800s, the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit ruled the west coast. The most popular singers, dancers and comediennes played the circuit which extended from the Midwest through the West to the Pacific. The crowning stop for the most elite was to play in Los Angeles. The first Orpheum Theatre was built in Los Angeles in the 1880s.
"When the second L.A. Orpheum Theatre burned down, another larger more ornate palace was built. Opening in 1911 our theatre was originally named the Orpheum. It is the oldest of the remaining Orpheum theaters in the United States.
"Every major vaudeville star on the Orpheum circuit performed in this theatre. The names in light included: the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt, Bob Hope, Al Jolson and Will Rogers. When Harry Houdini performed his stage magic and death-defying escapes, an ambulance was kept parked on the curb in case of emergency.
"The principal architect was G Albert Landsburg, who later also designed the new Orpheum Theatre down the block. He was a principal theatre designer in the west between 1909 and 1930. His local work includes the Warner Bros. Theatre Building in Hollywood, and the interiors of the Wiltern and El Capitan theatres.
"While the interior is French, the exterior is loosely styled after a Florentine Renaissance palazzo, with multicolored terra cotta swags, flowers, fairies and theatrical masks illustrating the spirit of entertainment. The façade includes four panels depicting the muses of Song, Dance, Music and Drama (sculpted by Domingo Mora, a Spaniard whose work also decorated New York’s old Metropolitan Opera House.)
"G Albert Landsburg built the theatre with fire safety in mind. In 1906 there was a devastating fire in a Chicago theater during a children's matinee show. Because of the poor standard of fire-safety codes such as exit doors that only opened inwards--the patrons were trapped inside and all perished. As a direct response to new fire concerns and codes, the Palace was built with 22 fire escape exits and has one of the first sprinkler systems built in the city.
"This specific style of decor is indicative of G Albert Landsburg’s work. He loved to use recessed lighting that can be seen in the three mural domes in the ceiling. Reflectors were built around the bulbs to give a kind of "holy glow". As you look at the borders of the balcony you can see bare bulbs; this was not a cheap decorative technique. It was actually very exciting for a theater to have electricity at the turn of the century, so they showed them off.
"In 1911, the theater could house 2,200 people on the orchestra and two balconies, the mezzanine and the gallery. The gallery was designed for “Negroes Only,” in a rare artifact of the generally tolerant Los Angeles. There is some controversy whether it was used as a minority balcony for people who were not white or if it was a "third class" balcony for the poor with cheaper seating. Either way, the gallery had a separate entrance from the alley and separate restrooms. The gallery was closed in the forties when the theatre was renovated to be movie theatre. Today the theater utilizes 1050 seats in the orchestra and mezzanine only.
"The theater was built with beautiful box seating along the sides of the auditorium. When the primary entertainment shifted to film, the box seats were removed because they had ridiculously bad sightlines for movie viewing. They were replaced with two beautiful murals done by Anthony Hiemsburgen, a famous Los Angeles muralist. Later, these murals were covered with red velvet. They were uncovered five years ago.
"One interesting feature is the Women’s Lounge. It has glass doors that overlook the theatre entrance. In 1911 women were not permitted by custom to go to the theater unescorted. Women were also not permitted to travel with a young man without a chaperone. This room protects against these social pitfalls. The windows looking into the foyer were designed to help women watch for their dates.
"After a long history as a first run movie theatre, the history of the theatre declined with the decline of Broadway and its once flourishing entertainment district. The theatre continued with second run films and Spanish language films until it closed in the mid nineties. The theatre has continued as a featured location for films and television. In the coming year the Palace Theatre will reopen as a live performance venue, once again serving all of Los Angeles...."

More info (and pix) at
http://www.losangelestheatre.com/downtownpalace.html

* Tickets are $24/night, or $80 for a four-night pass.
* ALL AGES are welcome. (Ask about our senior discount)

more info at arthurmag.com website blah blah

i'm glad. i like seeing things happening downtown.

arthur nights 2006: Save your tabs.

what?! Bradbury Building! LA Conservancy! Hollyhock House! Runyon Canyon! Bzzt! *shakes; emits smoke*

Regrettably I don't think I can make Friday but Saturday, I'm pretty sure, maybe Sunday. Thursday alas is out.

http://www.arthurmag.com/images/news/ArthurNights.jpg

Friday, October 20
TAV FALCO & THE UNAPPROACHABLE PANTHER BURNS
BORIS
BE YOUR OWN PET
HEARTLESS BASTARDS
THE HOWLING HEX
CHARALAMBIDES
AWESOME COLOR
TALL FIRS
CHRISTINA CARTER
SHAWN DAVID MCMILLEN
SEAN SMITH

Sat., October 21
SUN RA ARKESTRA
OM
WHITE MAGIC
MONEY MARK
SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
MICHAEL HURLEY
JOSEPHINE FOSTER
FUTURE PIGEON
RUTHANN FRIEDMAN
LIVING SISTERS feat. Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond)
MIA DOI TODD
WOODEN WAND
RESIDUAL ECHOES
NVH (Noel Von Harmonson's solo proj, here with Ben Chasny)
Plus: Closing dance party DJed by THE NUMERO GROUP

Sun., Oct. 22, 3pm
COMETS ON FIRE
THE FIERY FURNACES
UNANNOUNCEABLE SECRET GUEST
THE SHARP EASE
ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
OCRILIM
SSM
THE COLOSSAL YES
THE NICE BOYS
EFFI BRIEST
C.B. BRAND

AXOLOTL on Thursday, Oct. 19
FORTUNE'S FLESH on Friday, Oct. 20
CHUCK DUKOWSKI SEXTET on Saturday, Oct. 21
RAMBLIN' SECRET GUEST on Sunday, Oct. 22

KYP MALONE of TV ON THE RADIO will be doing a special solo set on Sunday, Oct. 22.

WATTS PROPHETS are now playing Sat, Oct 21 instead of Thursday.

And CHUCK DUKOWSKI SEXTET are now playing Sun Oct 22. Their new drummer is Tony Tornay, best known for his work with Fatso Jetson.

And, here's a glimpse inside Clifton's Cafeteria, which is a few stores south of The Palace on Broadway... (yes there will be ins and outs)...

http://www.spaceland.tv/production/cliftons2.jpg

This is the best news yet...

good question, she's awful.

There will be regularly scheduled departures from NY on the Arthur magick carpet.

that is not saying anything, at all.

ALL SET TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE OF COURSE

Palace Theater Main Hall
featuring Brian Turner (WFMU) and Numero Group DJs between acts
6pm doors
7:25pm Buffalo Killers
8:15pm Espers
9:25pm Bert Jansch
10:45pm Devendra Banhart
~12:15am Jackie Beat

Palace Theater 5th Floor
featuring Dublab DJs between acts
6:00pm doors
7:30pm Axolotl
8:30pm Grouper
9:30pm Yellow Swans
10:30pm Belong

ALL SET TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE OF COURSE

Thurs Oct 19 Palace Theatre Main Hall
featuring Brian Turner (WFMU) and Numero Group DJs between acts
6pm doors
7:25 Buffalo Killers
8:15 Espers
9:25 Bert Jansch
10:45 Devendra Banhart
12:15am Jackie Beat

Thurs Oct 19 Palace Theatre 5th Floor
featuring Dublab DJs between acts
6:00pm doors
7:30 Axolotl
8:30 Grouper
9:30 Yellow Swans
10:30 Belong

Plus: Members of New Energy will be roaming the Palace…

Fri Oct 20 Palace Theatre Main Hall
6:00pm doors
7:20 Awesome Color
8:05 Howling Hex
8:55 Heartless Bastards
9:55 Be Your Own Pet
10:50 Tav Falco and the Unapproachable Panther Burns
12mid Boris

Fri Oct 20 Palace Theatre 5th Floor
6pm doors
7:30 Sean Smith
8:15 Christina Carter
9:05 Fortune’s Flesh
9:45 Tall Firs
10:30 Shawn David McMillen
11:15 Charalambides

Sat Oct 21 Palace Theatre Main Hall
3pm: doors
4:20 Residual Echoes
5:10 Future Pigeon
6:10 Watts Prophets
7:10 Money Mark
8:10 Six Organs of Admittance
9:10 White Magic
10:10 OM
11:20 Sun Ra Arkestra
~12:30 Numero Group dance party

Sat Oct 21 Palace Theatre 5th Floor
3pm doors
5:30 Wooden Wand
6:25 NVH/Ben Chasny
7:10 Mia Doi Todd
8:05 Ruthann Friedman
8:55 Michael Hurley & Josephine Foster
11:00 Living Sisters with Van Dyke Parks

Sat Oct 21 Palace Theatre Fourth Floor: 4pm-on
SCHOOLHOUSE DROP-INS
Fritz Haeg writes: “Visit our gracious geodesic tent as the 9 Sundown Schoolhouse residents present projects to partake in, forums for engagement, acts of interaction, thoughts for collective inquiry and general happenings.”
More info at www.sundownschoolhouse.org

Sun Oct 22 Palace Theatre Main Hall
3pm doors
4:40 SSM
5:30 The Nice Boys
6:20 The Sharp Ease
7:10 Archie Bronson Outfit
8:05 Kyp Malone
9:15 Fiery Furnaces
10:45 Comets on Fire

Sun Oct 22 Palace Theatre 5th Floor
3pm doors
5:30 C.B. Brand
6:15 The Colossal Yes
7:05 Chuck Dukowski Sextet
7:55 Effie Briest
8:55 Ocrilim

I also dug Forture's Flesh, and I liked the last few songs I heard by Heartless Bartards (bought their CD afterward on the 4th floor).

Also - the Hex sure did own - it was funny how Hag seemed miffed by the earliness of the hour ("Good afternoon..."). Wish they could've played longer!

Why was WM a disappointment? We bailed super early - tour stress - but I regretted not seeing them.

I'd actually not heard a note by White Magic beforehand, barely knew the name, so I was going in with no expectations either way. I guess the simplest way to put it is that they didn't connect with me -- they had plenty of elements going on that I normally wouldn't mind in whole or in part but nothing gelled. The only thing that stands out is the Cure-circa-The Top flute action. Now this said they had many people cheering 'em on so they weren't without support.

1) great t-shirt ned
2) great time was had yda yda...Arkestra killed it, Om - ditch the singer and you'll go places. good set overall. NVH was awesome, they're lazybones for playing for like 15 minutes though
3) white magic - don't want to trash them unless prompted, but suffice it to say they had their own heckling section (ned doth protest too much)

Residual Echoes

Wooden Wand

NVH/Ben Chasny

Six Organs of Admittance

Om

I felt like security was a little more "visible," all over the place... they were holding people off from walking from the 4th floor up to the 5th, saying they were "at capacity" up there -- but then once they let you up there, it was just the usual sprinkling of people in that vast space. It all left me wondering if something "went down" on Saturday...

Otherwise -- THE SHARP EASE = TOTALLY MOTALLY AWESOME!! The best I've ever seen them (and I've seen 'em a lot)!

The Fiery Furnaces = ACID-FUNK POLYRHYTHMIC ACTION!

Probably. I was up front for Om and about five minutes in they hauled off this big guy for the rather obvious green leaf he was inhaling. Then they made us collectively step back from the stage at about twenty minutes in.

the balcony balcony, or the second floor? because i think the third-level balcony is permanently closed.

I felt like security was a little more "visible," all over the place

there was definitely a security presence on friday. it made me a little uncomfortable, to be honest, but i've always had a weird discomfort with security guards. and being watched. friday night i got there early and was chillaxing and reading a magazine and there was this security guard four feet away, arms folded, WATCHING ME READ. guh. i'm obviously a threat to our national security.

they were holding people off from walking from the 4th floor up to the 5th, saying they were "at capacity" up there

they did that on friday too. i wonder if it might have to do with the strength of the floor up there, whether it can handle more than a sprinkling of people standing/sitting on it.

now i'm sad i didn't go on sunday. they're hit-or-miss live. how was their sound this time out?

Ha - I had jokingly wondered if that was the reason; I guess it really may be.

The guards up there were making me a little uneasy, too, with their stalking around.

(It was the second floor balcony that was closed on Sunday...)

Ned - was it cops or security that hauled off the guy? (Weird that either would care; I've never seen that happen at a show, and I've seen plenty of pot smokers...)

No worries, Shakey, for the first time in a long while my height and long hair was de rigeuer for the crowd. ;-)

Still kick-ass, though!

i actually had one security guard use the stock phrase "may i help you?" when i poked my head into a doorway. i think next time i see a security guard giving me a staredown, i'm gonna say "may i help you?"

well this looked pretty good.

Yeah, how awesome. I really like what arthur magazine does.

I had an awes time at the o.g. arthur fest. first time i ever traveled out of state to go to a music festival.