Haute Highlights
Cyndi Lauper
Friday at 7 p.m., Club Nokia will house one of the greatest ’80s pop stars.
From the brilliant mind who brought you the likes of “True Colors,” “Time After Time” and her greatest hit, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” comes an exciting evening of energetic tunes and bright, colorful outfits that are sure to push fashion limits. It wouldn’t be a Cyndi Lauper event without dyed hair, flamboyant clothing and crazy accessories.
The Memphis Blues Tour is promoting her latest critically acclaimed and Grammy nominated album, Memphis Blues, which strays from her typically bubbly and eccentric sounds and takes on a raspy, bluesy and sultry feel, particularly with songs like “Just Your Fool” and “Shattered Dreams.”
This album is unlike anything we’ve seen from Lauper; it just goes to show her diverse talents and capability for experimentation with different styles and energies. Here’s to an exciting evening with the one and only eccentric Lauper with a newfound bluesy feel.
The Drums Inside Your Chest
Though the concept of traditional poetry is something confined to textbooks and classrooms, innovative forms of poetry, such as slam and stand-up, have sought to extract the didacticism from the art form and make poems more of performance pieces.
On Sunday, actress-author Amber Tamblyn will bring her fifth installment of “The Drums Inside Your Chest” to Hollywood’s Largo with a stunning assemblage of spoken-word performers and stand-up poets.
Tamblyn’s event series, initially founded to bring the potency of poetry to live stages and diverse crowds, advocates for the continuation of oral tradition in modern culture.
Some of Tamblyn’s guests this year will include the stand-up poet Jack McCarthy, urban slammer Mayda Del Valle and charismatic and comedic co-hosts Derrick Brown (poet) and David Cross (comedian).
Tickets are available at largo.laughstub.com.
Comikaze
On Saturday and Sunday, the Los Angeles Convention Center will present an event with a number of enticing selling points: comic book icon Stan Lee; the horror-hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark; Nickelodeon’s All That cast; and Jhonen Vasquez, creator of cult cartoon show Invader Zim.
The event’s tagline sums up its premiere visit best: “Put your comic book down, there’s a new convention in town.”
Creators Regina and Mario Carpinelli have made sure Comikaze will be a convention not just for hardcore fans but for geeks of all different levels of dedication. Comikaze promises to have something for everyone, regardless of your obsession or affiliation with pop culture.
Come meet legendary TV personalities and dive into as many comics, anime, gaming, sci-fi, fantasy and horror related material as you can tolerate.
Purchase tickets for the Carpinelli’s multi-tiered comic extravaganza at comikazeexpo.com.
Los Angeles Transgender Film Festival
At long last, there is a festival that tackles a highly controversial topic.
The third annual Los Angeles Transgender Film Festival has expanded to a three-day event that includes a series of short documentaries, comedies and experimental films revolving around transgender themes.
This year’s event will run Friday through Sunday, with films screening at different locations depending on the day. Tickets are going for $10.
Friday night is sure to kick off the festival on a scandalous note with the “naughty bits” screening, a series of short sensual and erotic films.
Saturday will take a more jovial tone with its “get happy” themed collection of films as well as a screening of the love story Elvis & Madonna.
Sunday will close the event with its Truth to Power series that serves to empower and educate on the topic of transgenders. The family story Orchids: My Intersex Adventure by Phoebe Hart, in addition to an awards ceremony and a closing night party, will round out this informative event.
Get your tickets on tgfilmfest.com to indulge in this whirlwind of theatrical adventure.