The Cure and Pixies headling a music fest, puppy movies, a space music concert, comedian Maria Bamford live and more.
Dog Film Festival Los Angeles
Monday, August 26, 2019 / 7-9 p.m. / Laemmle Royal
Originating in New York, the Dog Film Festival makes its way across the country presenting short films that celebrate the many wonderful ways in which dogs are humanity’s best friend — i.e., their cute faces, silly antics and drooly, smelly kisses.
The films run from 2-30 minutes and feature stories about indigenous stray dogs in the Bahamas, a prison program where inmates rehabilitate unwanted dogs, a pup named Elvis who searches all over Long Island for a bagel, plus documentaries about dog athletes, over-the-top grooming competitions, a senior dog rescue and so much more.
Tickets: $12.50 / More Information
Maria Bamford’s Comedy for Charity Benefit: Freedom for Immigrants
Tuesday, August 27, 2019 / 6:30-9 p.m. / The Hi Hat
Stand-up comedian Maria Bamford brings together a wholesome set of fellow comedians for the second annual Comedy for Charity, benefiting Freedom for Immigrants, a non-profit organization dedicated to abolishing immigration detention.
The comedy portion of the evening will be delivered by Danielle Perez, Vince Caldera, Kira Soltanovitch and Jackie Kashian.
Tickets: $40 / More Information
Pacific Opera Project presents ‘The Mikado’
Wednesday, August 28, 2019 / 8-11 p.m. / The Highland Park Ebell Club
The Pacific Opera Project reprises its acclaimed 2013 production of “The Mikado,” an updated version of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most popular 19th-century comedic operetta. The Pacific Opera Project version features colorful, eye-popping Harajuku costumes, engaging choreography and a bit of wackiness in the libretto to add a fun, modern twist to this classic satire. The production is directed by Josh Shaw and music director Parisa Zaeri leads the chamber orchestra to accompany the show’s 28 singers.
Tickets: $15-$25 / More Information
‘Witch’ – A Play by Jen Silverman
Thursday, August 29, 2019 / 8-10 p.m. / Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater
Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney, best known for her roles in “ER” and “The Affair,” stars in the L.A. premiere of Jen Silverman’s comedic new play, “Witch,” alongside Brian George, Ruy Iskandar, Evan Jonigkeit, Vella Lovell (of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “The Big Sick”) and Will Von Vogt. In this clever retelling of Jacobean drama “The Witch of Edmonton,” Tierney plays Elizabeth Sawyer, a local woman who is labeled a witch and cast out of her village. When a charming devil arrives, tempting villagers to sell their souls in exchange for fulfilling their desires, the one soul he can’t seem to possess belongs to Elizabeth.
Tickets: $30-$120 / More Information
Ambient Church Presents Steve Roach
Friday, August 30, 2019 / 8-10 p.m. / First United Methodist Church of Pasadena
Space music master Steve Roach makes a long-awaited return to Los Angeles, where his career began 40 years and 200 releases ago. He’ll perform selections from his 1988 album “Dreamtime Return” as well as pieces spanning his whole career all the way up to his new album, “Bloom Ascension,” which comes out on the day of the show. The ambient electronic performance is accentuated by immersive, architecturally-mapped projections that will bathe this 132-year-old church in hypnotic moving colors.
Tickets: $40 / More Information
Pasadena Daydream Festival
Saturday, August 31, 2019 / 1 p.m. to 12 a.m. / The Rose Bowl
The Cure headline and curate this festival designed for those who love their music dressed in black. Representing the 1980s and ’90s, they’ve brought along alternative rock pioneers the Pixies and Throwing Muses; Scottish post-rock band Mogwai; and the metal-driven Deftones. Holding it down for the early ’00s are Welsch alt-rockers The Joy Formidable and Scottish post-punk band The Twilight Sad. Finally, post-rocker Emma Ruth Rundle; mistress of doom-metal folk Chelsea Wolfe; and Icelandic synth-punk trio Kælan Mikla round out the representatives from our most recent decade.
Tickets: $149-$299 / More Information
Crazy Woke Asians
Sunday, September 1, 2019 / 8-9:30 p.m. / The Comedy Store
Tired of being the only Asian American in every stand-up comedy lineup, Kiki Yeung decided to create a comedy event featuring the funniest Asian American comedians she knew. Since launching in 2018, Crazy Woke Asians has consistently sold-out performances.
Tonight’s lineup promises outrageous and outspoken goodness from KT Tatara, Atsuko Okatsuka, Robin Tran, Esther Ku, Isak Allen, Alex Duong, Peter Kim, Jason Cheny and Percy Rustomji. Between them, the lot have appeared on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Last Comic Standing,” Hulu’s “Comedy InvAsian,” “Let’s Go Atsuko!,” “Comedy Central Roast Battle,” MTV’s “Girl Code,” “Wild n’ Out, the World Series of Comedy, and Netflix’s “No Good Nick,” to name a few.
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door / More Information