Friday
· "Night Conversations invites artists, poets, musicians, and members of the audience to continue the 'conversation' that resulted in the unique artist installations and soundscape for the Museum's Conversations exhibit." We're not sure we understand exactly what's going on after dark at the Natural History Museum tonight, but we hear it's pretty cool—a dude from the Postal Service is involved..
· If the words "Lemmy is God" hold any meaning for you, Motorhead is playing the Wiltern. If not, you can see the Dears for free at Amoeba.
Saturday
· The LA Indie Film Group is hosting a panel on distribution at Raleigh Studios, so grab your box full of DV home movies and get ready to harass reps from Lion's Gate, Netflix, and New Line.
· The Soundtrack of Our Lives continues the Swedish invasion with a show at the Avalon, with the Dears (again) opening to soften you up to their headliner's Scandinavian rock charms.
Sunday
·Speaking of invasions: Ralph Nader, everyone's favorite third-party election spoiler, brings his Stop the Iraq War and Bring Our Troops Home Tour to UCLA. Not expected to attend: the military-industrial complex.
· The great thing about LA is that if you wait a couple of weeks, someone's throwing a New Year's party. This time, it's the 2005 Thai New Year Festival on Hollywood Blvd.
· Bill Maher, The Dan Band, Teri Hatcher, Calista Flockhart, and Julianne Moore gang up to beat down tuberous sclerosis at the Comedy for a Cure benefit at the Henry Fonda. As much as we'd like to think that celebrities have the power to cure illnesses, they're going to need the funds from the ticket sales to battle the disease.