Kristin's List: A Guide to Cultivated Los Angeles

The Avalon presents Great Northern and The Gutter Twins with Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan. Described as “pop coupled with poetry, crystalline melodies buoyed on symphonic strings, sugar sweet vocals, and a touch of playful psychedelia,” Great Northern is winding down its most recent tour at tonight’s show.

The Gutter Twins is the collaboration of friends Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees) and singer-songwriter Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs). Their most recent album “Saturnalia” evokes everything from Indian sitars to Appalachian folk to Delta grit in a series of unresolved and unpredictable siren melodies.

WHEN: 8pm Doors, 9pm Show
ADMISSION: $24
TICKETS: www.ticketmaster.com
WHERE: Avalon
ADDRESS: 1735 Vine St, Hollywood, CA 90028
PHONE: (323) 462-8900
WEBSITE: www.avalonhollywood.com

This month’s First Friday event at the Museum of Natural History focuses on “Love and Feeling in the Age of Mammals,” which explores the mammalian capacities for empathy and feelings using new neuroscience technologies. The evening will also feature live music from LA bands Castledoor and the Watson Twins, and DJs Small Town Talk.

At 6:30pm, Thomas Lewis, from the Department of Psychiatry, UC San Francisco, will examine how so many of our neural innovations began with the Age of Mammals. With the advent of new technologies in neuroscience that can image the living brain, the ancient aspects of human (and mammalian) nature are beginning to reveal their secrets.

DJs Small Town Talk will be spinning throughout the evening and bands go on at 8:30pm.

WHEN: 5:30pm tour of exhibit, 8pm-10pm music
ADMISSION: $9 Adult General/$6.50 Seniors & Students/$2 Children/Free Members
TICKETS: Buy at the door, or in advance at www.ticketweb.com
WHERE: Natural History Museum of LA
ADDRESS: 900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007
PHONE: (213) 763-DINO
CONTACT: www.nhm.org/firstfridays

“Allan Kaprow: Art As Life” traces the artists’ work with assemblages made from everyday objects to the creation of all-encompassing environments. In addition to Kaprow’s traditional paintings, sculptures and photography, the new MOCA exhibit includes reinventions of “Happenings,” a term he coined in the 1950’s to describe events which replace traditional art with actions.

Allan Kaprow (1927-2006) viewed art as a tool for expanding our awareness of life by prompting unexpected and provocative interactions. For Kaprow, art is a work-in-progress, with an unfolding narrative that is realized through the active participation of its viewers.

WHEN: 11am-5pm Mon, 11am-8pm Thur, 11am-5pm Fri,11am-6pm Sat-Sun
ADMISSION: $8 General/$5 Seniors & Students/Free Members
ADMISSION NOTE: Free admission every Thursday, 5pm-8pm
WHERE: The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
ADDRESS: 152 N Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013
WEBSITE: www.moca.org
ADDITIONAL INFO: The exhibit closes June 30

An inscription inside the entrance gates to the Huntington’s Garden of Flowing Fragrance reads “another world lies beyond.” The words allude to a well-known tale in Chinese literature about a hidden utopian land. Louise Yuhas, professor of art history and Asian studies at Occidental College, will discuss the many kinds of “other worlds” that are evoked in traditional Chinese gardens.

WHEN: 7:30pm
ADMISSION: Free
WHERE: Friend’s Hall @ The Huntington
ADDRESS: 1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108
PHONE: (626) 405-2100
WEBSITE: www.huntington.org
ADDITIONAL INFO: The Huntington grounds will be closed during the discussion

Unlike most Western democracies, the U.S. infuses religion into the political process. Candidates frequently speak about their personal religious beliefs and work to pass laws based on their interpretation of Christianity. The Rev. Barry Lynn will discuss why, as a legally secular republic, the U.S. must refrain from basing its laws on religion.

The Rev. Lynn is the executive director of Americans United, a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to the preservation of the Constitution’s religious liberty provisions. Rev. Lynn will explain why religious and secular nonprofit groups should respect federal laws that bar intervention in partisan politics.

WHEN: 11am
ADMISSION: $6 General/Free Members
WHERE: Center for Inquiry LA
ADDRESS: 4773 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
PHONE: (323) 666-9797
WEBSITE: www.cfiwest.org