For most L.A. Westsiders, the 25th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival happening this weekend in Venice, California, is like a little New Orleans Mardi Gras mixed with Austin’s South-by-Southwest Music Festival.

Abbot Kinney was a visionary and a conservationist, but he was also a businessman. More than likely he would be proud of the current gentrified state of affairs on the street named after him — Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

Abbot Kinney’s dream of a “Venice USA” beach recreation development opened on July 4, 1905.

Though Abbot Kinney tried to create a bohemian mecca for arts and culture, the residents were more inclined for social parlors and sports activities. Even with some of the most astute lecturers and performers of this era providing a cultural beacon, Kinney’s artistic endeavor was a financial loser.

According to Westland.net, “By December 1905, Kinney knew his dream of creating a great cultural Mecca had failed and, ever the astute businessman, he turned his attention to accommodating the wishes of the public. The character of Venice succumbed to the beach goers and summer holiday guests who frequented the community’s many amusement attractions and Venice came to be known as the ‘Coney Island of the Pacific.’”

“By mid-January 1906, an area was built along the edge of the Grand Lagoon that was patterned after the amusement thoroughfares of the great 19th and 20th century expositions. It featured foreign exhibits, amusements, and freak shows. Trolley service was available from downtown and nearby Santa Monica.”

“Visitors were dazzled by the system of canals complete with gondolas and gondoliers brought in from Venice, Italy. There were ornate Venetian-style businesses and a full sized amusement pier. Around the entire park was a miniature steam railroad along a 2 1/2 mile track. Kinney and some of the nearby residents were aghast at some of the low-class shows that Venice began to offer, but it was considered the best congregation of amusement devices on the Pacific Coast, and it made a handsome profit.“

Eventually Kinney gained control of city politics and had the name changed from Ocean Park to Venice in 1911.

Today, Abbot Kinney Boulevard has replaced the beach boardwalk as the center of arts and culture in this seaside community. The 25th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival is a celebration of the man from New Jersey and his dream for a Utopian arts and culture mecca.

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Los Angeles’ Topanga Canyon has a special venue for theater with
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

Thanks to FlavorPill‘s Tanja Laden for the info:

In the ’50s, blacklisted actor Will Geer opened a theater on his Topanga property for fellow performers ostracized during the McCarthy Era. After landing the role of Grandpa Walton in the ’70s, Geer officially opened the nonprofit Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, which remains one of LA’s most beloved professional repertory theatres.

This summer, in addition to a trio of plays by Shakespeare and The Miser by Molière, the outdoor theater stages a clever retelling of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Adapted by Heidi Helen Davis and the play’s leading lady, Geer’s daughter Ellen, the play is reset from turn-of-the-century Russia to the heels of the Civil Rights Movement in 1970s Virginia, highlighting the timelessness of Chekhov’s last play.
–- Tanja Laden

Theater’s cool. And socially responsible.

But not socialism. Just social. Societal GOODness.

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Another British band making a splash on this side of the pond is Band of Skulls, with their recent Shangri-La Records release, “Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.”

These guys (and a gal) are a cross between The Pretenders, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The White Stripes, with a little aggro-emo-soul.

After a touring summer ending with Lollapalooza, their tunes will be featured in the upcoming release of “New Moon” (Twilight 2).

Here’s a YouTube clip of their single, “Blood.” Blood and Skulls, yea. Rock on.

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Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the name of the fourth album from the French Disco Funk band from Versailles, named Phoenix.

Phoenix is Thomas Mars, Deck D’Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz. Their sound emerged from the 90s club-scene in Paris (think Air and Daft Punk).

Phoenix’s lead singer, Thomas Mars, is married to Sofia Coppola. Their hit single, “1901,” has been the heavy-rotation club remix of the summer.

Listen to the YouTube mp3 here:

Phoenix rising.

                          

Much like the “Man with No Name” played by Clint Eastwood, championship boxing’s Juan Manuel Marquez has been boxing’s quiet assassin.

There’s a scene at the end of Eastwood’s Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo where Eastwood (Blondie) faces off against Lee Van Cleef (Sentenza) and Eli Wallach (Tuco) in a triangular gun fight.

There’s a similar scene currently unfolding where Floyd Mayweather, Jr. faces off against Marquez and Pacquiao against the winner.

From the HBO Boxing website:

The boxing world received two gifts when the six-time world champion in five weight divisions Floyd “Money” Mayweather announced not only his return to the sport, but also that he was immediately putting his undefeated record on the line when he faces the dangerous and highly touted five-time world champion in three weight divisions Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez in MAYWEATHER vs. MARQUEZ “Number One/Numero Uno” on Saturday, July 18 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada which will be broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9pm ET / 6pm PT.

You can watch Marquez in action here against Pacquiao in his March 15, 2008, split-decision loss (take note of Marquez knocking Pacquiao silly…):

                          

Miles Davis plays a trumpet, but he does not sing written lyrics.

Miles Davis sings with his trumpet. Listen to his 1959 recording, “So What“

Miles Davis surrounded himself with musicians who could sing with their instruments.

Miles Davis was an authentic artist and original composer.

Miles Davis is an American idol.

                          

Great quote from Andy Warhol, who knew quite a bit about public perception, as he opined his thoughts on press and the art of manipulating your audience’s desires:

“Don’t pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches.”

Indeed, and I’m here to spill some more digital ink for the purpose of promoting a worthwhile project in its 30th year of existence: the 2009 Venice Art Walk.

As their website states:

“You’ve probably been to other ‘art walks’ in LA, but you probably didn’t know the Venice Art Walk & Auctions is the original, and this is its 30th anniversary. And here’s something else you might not have known: it benefits Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the country. That’s right, it’s a fundraiser, and a huge one at that, with more than 60 artists’ studios to tour, ten spectacular homes to visit, and 400 original works to bid on. So put on your most comfortable shoes and put to rest what you think you know about art walks. This is the quintessential Southern California art event… and it helps more than 23,500 people get the health care they need.“

There’s a Gandhi quote that relates the state of a civilization’s well-being to the way they treat their animals. Not to assimilate a comparison between artists and animals, but this bides similarly for the wretched, ink-stained creatives who slave mercilessly at their canvasses with hopes of gaining a bit of the ‘ole public perception.

In these tough times, we should take heed. If Warhol‘s measuring, I think I offered approximately seventeen-inches of screen space — yours and mine — for this year’s 2009 Venice Art Walk. Enjoy.