http://www.smmirror.com/MainPages/DisplayArticleDetails.asp?eid=8519
September 4 - 10, 2008
Come gather round people from throughout the land, the arts are
popping in Santa Monica. Indeed, the first days of September might
well be declared "Bob Dylan Week." Dylan was scheduled to appear
live in concert Wednesday, September 3, at the Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium in this, the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Civic in 1968.
The next evening, nonprofit American Cinematheque's Aero Theater on
Montana Avenue was scheduled to screen two Dylan documentaries
released in 2007. The first, The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan
Live at Newport was directed by Oscar winner Murray Lerner and looks
at the first three years of Dylan's career. The second film, :Bob
Dylan '65 Revisited, is compiled from outtakes of Don't Look Back and
according to L.A. Times critic Robert Hilburn: "The greatest rock
movie ever – just got better."
True to form, the Aero Theater continues to provide Santa Monica with
a unique slate of provocative cinema past, present, and
preview. (Just a few weeks ago a remarkably lucid and engaging
Ernest Borgnine, 91 years old, attended a screening of Marty for
which he won the Best Actor Academy Award. He was welcomed by an
adoring sell-out crowd.)
Not only is 2008 the 40th anniversary of Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium (whose past acts have ranged from Elton John to Bruce
Springsteen), it also marks 40 years for Santa Monica icon McCabe's
Guitar Shop on Pico Boulevard. McCabe's intimate stage has hosted
hundreds of artists over the years. In recognition, Jackson Browne,
Odetta, David Lindley, and a long list of other musicians will
perform a tribute to McCabe's at UCLA's Royce Hall on October
2. (Note that Jackson Browne has also appeared in recent years at
school fundraisers at Samohi's refurbished Barnum Hall – a good
performance venue.)
As reported in the Mirror last week, the approximately
2,000-square-foot Pete & Susan Barrett Gallery just opened at SMC's
emerging arts complex at the former site of Madison Elementary School
at 11th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. In addition to the
Gallery, the anchor facility at the complex is the new Performing
Arts Center, a multi-million dollar high-tech facility that features
the 99-seat Edye Second Space and soon-to-be-christened 499-seat
Broad Stage (an opening gala will be on September 20). The larger
stage can accommodate a full symphony orchestra, musicals, and other
large-scale performances. SMC alumnus Dustin Hoffman helped fund
construction of the performing arts center and philanthropists Eli
and Edythe Broad have endowed the facility with approximately $10
million for programming.
Speaking of local art patrons, Tom Patchett's Track 16 Gallery has
anchored the emergence of Bergamot Station as a major West Coast fine
arts venue in recent years. Other tenants include the Santa Monica
Museum of Art. A smaller space, the Sam Francis Gallery at
Crossroads School is a cultural jewel. SMC's affiliated NPR station,
KCRW, and the station's art critic, Edward Goldman, give voice to
Santa Monica's arts persona. At a time when the Internet tends to
keep folks at home, Santa Monica took the plunge and built a landmark
new main library. It is heavily patronized and a beachhead in the
fight to keep people sharing alongside information sharing.
New and refurbished brick and mortar are great, but our city also
proves that the performing arts can thrive outside multi-million-
dollar venues. A few summers ago I was riding my bike along the beach
bike path and decided to bop up onto the Pier and catch the Thursday
night free concert. Headliner Richie Havens had just taken the
stage. Where else can you catch impromptu a vintage Woodstock
performer in your own backyard? On any given night, volunteer street
performers are hustling from the Third Street Promenade to the end of
the Pier – ranging from brilliant, yet-to-be-discovered to
awful. The city's recent all-night GLOW festival on July 19
attracted an estimated 200,000 visitors – in head count the "People's
Republic of Santa Monica" outdrew the People's Republic of China's
Olympics Opening Ceremony! (Okay, the Olympics had an extra billion
TV viewers.)
When it comes to culture in Santa Monica, the times they are a
changing. And the changes are huge!
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