Thursday, January 19th 2012
8pm
FREE

The meeting of European Improvisers and American Hardcore. A duo of improvisers from Europe have come to the west coast to do improv battle with local musicians. Be prepared for metallic sound sculptures, electronics, traditional scottish music, cassettes, feedback, and things we found on our way to the show. Field recordings will be played from watering cans, and may or may not involve baked goods and carhorns.

ABODE is a duo by Caroline Pugh and Paul Stapleton. (Europe)
A BOAT is a duo by Chris Kallmyer and Casey Anderson. (Los Angeles)

Music by Dent-de-Lion, Last Nights of Paris, and Traditional

Monday December 12 at 8:30pm
Free

Dent-de-Lion

Dent-de-Lion is a project by French musician Aymeric Hainaux, who uses voice, mouth, some harmonicas, bells, accordion, and an echo pedal as the only effect.

Video
Audio

Traditional

Analog and granular synthesis through digital delay cascade.

Last Nights of Paris

Last Nights of Paris, solo project of David Eng, will be performing a work-in-progress entitled “Aeon/Chronos” influenced by Deleuze & Guattari’s ideas of “virtual, non-pulsed and floating unmarked time” and the “actual, pulsed metrical time of regular repeated intervals.”

Saturday, October 29
8pm
Free

Five Rounds of Brutal Mysteries!

MAGIC 8-BALL MINEFIELD

Will forces from the Beyond guide you towards your doom?
Signs Point to Yes!

PSYCIK PICTIONARY

The audience mentally beams a word at you!
Will you draw it correctly or will you be driven mad?!

SPEED PHRENOLOGY

Master this 19th century pseudo-science… OR ELSE!

COMPETITIVE OUIJA

With Olympic-Sized Board and Mega Planchette!
It is not “cheating” if you Win!

PARNORMAL TRIVIA

Q: Is your brain ready?
A: NO. IT IS NOT!

Also!

AURA PHOTO BOOTH!

With photographs of your REAL AURA!
As far as you know!!!

Special Appearance by:
DEAD AUNT JEAN!

Plus!

Master of Paranormal Ceremonies:

COLIN DICKEY and his Three-Eyed Cat Sweater

Sounds of the Invisible by:

DJ THE HAPACALYPSE

Capricious yet Final Judgement by:

THUNKER and the Council of Wise Ones

It does not matter if you Believe!
Paranormal Olympics is REAL!
IT IS HAPPENING!!!

Friday Octoper 21 at 8pm

Music by John Bischoff, Scott Cazan, GX Jupitter-Larsen, and Mark Trayle

John Bischoff

Scott Cazan

GX Jupitter-Larsen

Mark Trayle

Now in its third year, The Experimental Music Yearbook is a repository for composers, performers, and the public to glean the methods and styles of various artists working in the experimental music tradition. As the modes of experimentation in the arts change from year to year, the Experimental Music Yearbook’s annual issues will build into a comprehensive, and varied, database of experimentation in music/sound. An annual festival will accompany the online portion of the Experimental Music Yearbook.

Experimental Music Yearbook Concerts for 2011:

Concert 1: 10/14 8pm — the wulf., Los Angeles, CA
The music of Hans W. Koch

Concert 2 10/15 8pm — Presents Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Jessie Marino / On Structure

Concert 3: 10/21 8pm — BETALEVEL, Los Angeles, CA
John Bischoff, Scott Cazan, GX Jupitter-Larsen, and Mark Trayle.

Concert 4: 10/22 8pm — the wulf. Los Angeles, CA
Casey Anderson, John P. Hastings, Albert Ortega, and C. Spencer Yeh.

Concert 5: 10/29 8pm — Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles, CA
Tashi Wada with Paul Clipson

Thursday, September 29th
Doors at 8pm; movie at 8:30pm
FREE

Thursday wraps up this month’s installment of the Wasp & Orchid Martial Arts Film Series. We started off with Ip Man and we shall conclude with Ip Man 2 (if you have yet to see the first one, it’s streaming on netflix).

One wouldn’t think the combat sequences could have become any more elaborate, but, indeed, that is the case with this sequel (just peep the snippets from the trailer below!) The film follows Ip man to Hong Kong, where he attempts to start anew by opening a Wing Chun school. But first he has to earn the respect of all the local martial arts masters, which, as you can imagine, is no problem for Ip Man! But he has an even bigger foe to contend with: British colonialism (as pictured above). Action choreographed by and starring Sammo Hung in a role reminiscent of Apollo Creed (I shall say no more).

Check it out!

Friday September 23 at 8pm

Music by Casey Anderson, Jason Kahn, Scott Cazan

Presenting Live Dyadic and Triadic Arrangements for Live Electronics! Happening Live!

Thursday, September 22nd
Doors at 8pm; movie at 8:30pm
FREE

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself makes you fearless.” – Lao Tzu

Greetings. This is David, curator of the Wasp & Orchid Martial Arts Film Series. When I was but a wee little hapa kid, my father would tell me stories about how, as a young Chinese dude in San Francisco, he would spend time in between college and work watching kung fu flicks at various theaters in Chinatown. Little did he know then that, some decades later and in Los Angeles, he would have a son who ended up screening kung fu flicks in Chinatown.

In honor of my pops, who raised me with a particular love for martial arts movies, I’m going to keep it “mad Chinese” this month and contunue screening some of my favorite films from the motherland. This Thursday we’re going to watch Ronny Yu & Yuen Wo Ping’s Fearless, made in 2006 and starring none other than international superstar Jet Li. Similar in many ways to Ip Man shown earlier this month, Fearless is inspired by the life of martial arts master Huo Yuanjia (1868-1910), one of the founders of the Chin Woo Athletic Association. It’s a story of redemption, but more importantly, it’s a story of kicking some serious colonial ass (see photo above). Because if there’s one thing I’d like people to take away from this month’s Wasp & Orchid Martial Arts Choreography Film Series, it’s that Chinese people are amazing (and not to be fucked with!).

Check out the trailer:

Tuesday, September 13th
Doors at 8pm; movie at 8:30pm
FREE

The inaugural movie for the Wasp & Orchid Martial Arts Choreography film series started waaaaay back in 2005 was Shaolin Soccer by Stephen Chow (which a younger, superlative self described as “the hottest, fastest, most mind-boggling sports / martial arts action flick you will ever see. EVER.”)

On Tuesday at 8pm, six intermittent years later, we will be screening Chow’s subsequent film as both director and star: Kung Fu Hustle. What to say about Kung Fu Hustle, as it is so many things? A highly-referential burlesque comedy. An edifying drama about redemption through unlocking one’s inner power. A sweet and heartfelt story of the love between a boy and a girl who rediscover their lifelong bond.

But those aren’t the primary concerns of the Wasp & Orchid Martial Arts Choreography Film Series.

While extravagant in many ways, Kung Fu Hustle shows some serious love for the fight scenes. Elaborately composed from a combination of totally over-the-top choreography, cartoonish slap-stick, wirework, editing and CGI, the movie also casts the talents of veteran Hong Kong action stars who were highly influential in Stephen Chow’s work. Although initially choreographed by the legendary Sammo Hung, Chow eventually brought in the incomparable skills of the Absolute Master himself: Yuen Wo-Ping (Iron Monkey, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Matrix, Kill Bill et al). Two-thirds of the total filming time was spent on shooting the combat sequences alone. We think that pretty much says everything.

Peep the trailer:

Tuesday, September 6th
Doors at 8pm; movie at 8:30pm
FREE

After a lengthy hiatus the Wasp & Orchid Martial Arts Choreography Film Series makes a kick-ass return for the month of September!

We’ll be starting things off again in style by screening 2008′s Ip Man, starring one of the most talented actors of martial arts cinema Donnie Yen. Taking place during the Sino-Japanese war, the film is a semi-biographical account of Ip Man, the Wing Chun master who rallied resistance against the Japanese occupation in the city of Foshan and eventually became mentor to Bruce Lee. With martial arts coordinator Kuang Hsiung and action director Sammo Hung, the combat sequences are nothing short of visually astounding.

Piracy – Karaoke – Conviviality
Friday, August 26
10pm until late
Free

We were going to say something about how it wasn’t enough that those Washington socialists are always trying to redistribute our wealth, now they’re redistributing our seismic events… We were, but then we kind of got sleepy in the middle of even thinking about that and decided instead to write about panda bears. Then we realized that panda bears are cute and all, what with their penchant for doubled names and their reproductive difficulties, but that we actually don’t know anything about panda bears except for their penchant for doubled names and their reproductive difficulties. And we also, of course, had to admit that neither panda bears nor even Washington socialists have much, if anything, to do with singing karaoke in a basement.

So we thought about it some more and realized that there were all sorts of things we could say about this week’s Swap Meet, reasons why this one will be special: First, we are once again graced with the presence of our friend Mr. Ben Miller of the fine state of New York. He was actually the person that originally got us interested in karaoke. Second, it is Betalevel member Heather Parlato‘s birthday this week. We’ll raise a glass to that. Third, another ‘Leveler, Colin Dickey, is imminently leaving town for a while, so we shall send him off in song. Fourth, yet another member of thee sacred order of Beta, Dave Eng, managed not to die this past week. And we are super psyched about that.

So come on down to our basement of karaokeosity, and celebrate all those things with us — and, heck, celebrate panda bears and Washington socialists too! Why not?

Swap Meet is an aperiodic celebration of the cultural commons organized by The Royal Academy of Nuts + Bolts and Superbunker. We have a poorly-organized music exchange, enthusiastically amateur karaoke, and an overall Betalevel open house with snacks and drinks for all.

What to Bring?

• bring: your singin’ voice and dancin’ shoes (optional)
• bring: some storage media and/or some music filez and/or your personal music device of choice (optional)
• bring: drinks, snacks, or a kindly donation (optional)
• bring: a defiant sense of joy in the face of our eroding cultural freedoms (required)

What to Sing?

Here’s the house karaoke list