Let There Be Gwar is open at Beyond the Streets in Los Angeles through November 2. (All photos: Liz O.)
I’m not one for nostalgia, but, damn, that longing for what was hit me hard as I walked through Let There Be Gwar at Beyond the Streets on Saturday morning. Inside the La Brea Avenue gallery is a treasure trove of costumes, props and ephemera from the rock band/art collective. A massive anthropomorphic toilet and plunger stands near the front entrance. Decapitated heads line a wall, a recipe for DIY bloodbags beside them. On the TV screens are flashbacks to Gwar’s time on the 1990s talk show circuit. Joan Rivers! Jerry Springer! Wally George!
So I Married an Axe Murderer is playing this weekend too. Friday night at Vidiots.
If you’re not still recovering from Oasis-mania, there is plenty to get you out of the house and away from your screens this weekend. Thursday’s Desire and Johnny Jewel show at Hollywood Forever is already sold out, but there will be an afterparty at Gold-Diggers. Friday night is packed with concerts, including Anamanaguchi at The Wiltern and Cold Waves XIII at The Mayan. Retrospective exhibition Let There Be Gwar opens at Beyond the Streets on Saturday, while Jaws: The Exhibition debuts at The Academy Museum on Sunday. Plus, Eraserhead screens at Greystone Mansion on Saturday night.
Heading into next week, Swans play three nights at The Lodge Room, one of which is already sold out, and generative Brian Eno documentary, Eno, heads to Philosophical Research Society. There’s more too, so keep reading for the details on what’s happening in Los Angeles between Thursday, September 11 and Wednesday, September 17.