Perform Chinatown, Jobriath, and much Wildness this weekend

Jobriath

A pretty ridiculous amount of exciting performance stuffs happening this weekend.

I have mixed feelings about tonight’s Benjamin Millepied dance experiment in the galleries of MOCA. On the one hand, it sounds cool, on the other, I don’t want to even step foot near the toxic mess that is MOCA these days. There are no reservations whatsoever when it comes to Simone Forti however, who performs another of her News Animations tonight at Barnsdall Park. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make either of those events, as I’ll be at OCMA listening to Cal Arts dean Thomas Lawson give a talk about Jack Goldstein.

Forti will also make an appearance in Slanguage’s spoken word and experimental music fest at LAXART on Friday night, which promises to deliver the World’s Worst Words. The same night, Ann Magnuson will present a special glam rock performance at REDCAT in tribute to David Bowie and Jobriath, a tragically forgotten, openly gay 1970s glam rocker. Magnuson’s performance will be followed by the premiere of the Jobriath documentary (both are presented as part of Outfest).

Saturday is going to be a bit over the top. Perform Chinatown returns with new organizers Mat Gleason and Charlie James at the helm. The two definitely seem to have their shit together–they have snagged performance art legend Karen Finley to be the headliner in her first Los Angeles performance in over a decade, and they’ve put together a great-looking schedule that winds all over Chinatown and includes many of my favorite artists. At the same time, Wu Tsang, who’s had an amazing year being featured in both the Whitney Biennial and the New Museum’s triennial, will finally premiere his much-lauded Wildness documentary at the Directors Guild in West Hollywood, followed by what promises to be a wild after-party at Rasputin. Also on the west side, David Levine presents a performance at Blum and Poe. To really make this night a performance bender, head over to Pieter in Lincoln Heights after 9 to check out experimental music with Little Wings, Tara Jane Oneil, and Bouquet.