This Weekend at LACMA

August 6, 2010

Clearly, somehow, we have been suckered. The nefarious Rainn Wilson, known to some as the nefarious Dwight Shrute from The Office, has finagled the login and password of our Twitter account and has locked us out. In a dastardly act, he has promised to tweet today and tomorrow all about how he hates LACMA. We are powerless but to follow him and be outraged—and, okay, entertained too.

If you choose to love LACMA, we’ve got more free concerts and a new film series kicking off this weekend. First, the music: tonight, bassist Henry “The Skipper” Franklin will stop in for Jazz at LACMA. Franklin has played with greats including Archie Shepp, Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, and Hugh Masakela.

Saturday evening Cuban vocalist Adonis Puentes checks in for Latin Sounds before heading to New York for a performance at Lincoln Center. Puentes has shared the stage with Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, and other greats, so this should be a not-to-miss (and free!) performance. You can hear some audio samples at his website.

Sunday, South African pianist Petronal Malan performs works by Griffes, Haydn, and Liszt. Here’s a sample of what you can expect:

This weekend our latest film series begins—Fuller at Fox— looking at a handful of films by director Samuel Fuller. Tonight will see his 1953 thriller Pickup on South Street, starring Richard Widmark, followed by 1951’s Fixed Bayonets!, about a U.S. platoon trapped behind enemy lines in the Korean War. Saturday features House of Bamboo, the first Hollywood film to be filmed in Japan, and Hell and High Water, Fuller’s first color film, again starring Widmark. Now, I could show you trailers of these films, but I think this interview with Fuller, about Pickup on South Street, gives you a much better idea of what you can expect. It’s priceless.

Finally—don’t forget the exhibitions on view!

Scott Tennent