Here’s your last chance to enjoy some great music at one of LA’s best hidden venues. Grand Performances at the California Plaza is nestled in the open air watercourt, located just off Grand between 1st and 4th streets (right next to the Omni Hotel). I happened to catch Double G’s Brass Pass on a past Friday afternoon. They mix the music of J.S. Bach, Dr. Dre, Ludwig Van, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and Double G and the filter it through four members of the daKAH brass section.
It was a great show, coupled with a smokey BBQ Pork Shoulder sandwich that we picked up at the newly opened BBQ King. (Just a .5 mile walk from the station)
The last daytime performance is this Friday by Argentinian export Los Pinguos at 12 noon. They combine a mixture of Latin rhythms performed with Spanish guitars, Cuban Tres, Peruvian cajón (box-drum) and harmonizing vocals to deliver infectious and seductive music. Then next Friday (9/12) at 8pm enjoy Cine Mexico as they screen Dos Tipos de Cuidado (Two Mischievous Men), a comedic morality tale featuring brilliant music and romantic entanglements from Mexico’s golden age of film-making. Spanish with English sub-titles.
Then on Saturday (9/13) at 8pm get mishigas to ¡Viva Yiddish! The Yiddish World Of Latin America, an evening of music and dance will present Yiddish-language artists from the Spanish-speaking sphere as they share their unique heritage.
And finally on October 6th at 8pm, The North Atlantic Jazz Alliance, the German-American jazz collective, will entertain you with jazz adaptations of classical pieces and funk-infused, straight-ahead rhythms.
All performances are free, but a $5 donation is suggested. They allow you to bring your own food and booze, but ask that you don’t bring red wine as it can stain the granite if spilled. No glass containers allowed either. California Plaza parking rates are $7.50 starting 2 hours before evening Grand Performances events. The garage is best accessed from Olive Street between 1st and 4th Streets. Or take the Red Line to the Pershing Square exit.
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