The Stage Whisperer

Take a loot at this shot on Flickr of Hidalgo and Perez, coming to Torrance soon.

Last week was an exciting time for fans of the South Bay’s own Riviera Village, an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, spas and salons, and other businesses — which all combine into the feeling of a small town’s downtown from yesteryear (whatever year is your favorite). (The Village’s handful of chains huddle around a Trader Joe’s and, like Jamba Juice, still convey that anti-chain feeling.)

Anyway, back to the excitement: two new restaurants opened, splendidly they both take on as different a part of the color wheel as they do the food chain.

Early in the week, Yellow Vase finally opened its doors on Catalina Avenue. (It’s not hard to find because the building is as yellow as the vases.) A lovely space to hang out in, the Yellow Vase prides itself on “Bakery & Flowers.” Morgan, the proprietress, sweetly laughs when we suggest that she should make her tagline “flour and flowers.” Besides the baked goods and magnificent bouquets, the assortment of Belgian chocolates is so beautiful it may bring tears to your eyes to equal the drool from your lips.

Just a half block away, on the corner, the much-awaited Turquoise Restaurant opened its doors on Friday night. Packed all night long, the “cafe by day, candlelit cuisine by night” offers natural and organic Mediterranean food, which includes some of the best hummus you’ll ever eat, several exotic kababs and way cool salads. Though the tables are just inside right now, Turquoise will soon join the array of sidewalk cafes on Catalina.

So, as the Redondo sunsets, apocalyptic last week from the fires, return to their usual magnificence in the weeks to come, two new hues will help Riviera Village live up to its colorful reputation. Something to see, indeed.

This week, Susan Estrich explains why in this election the VP candidate mattered, against conventional wisdom.

Meanwhile, Dennis Prager gives thoughtful consideration to all the good things about the election of Barack Obama.

The great debate between the two at the Armstrong Theatre in Torrance, CA, is Sunday, April 26. Get your tickets now!

There are some writers who are so enjoyable that you feel indebted to them for having the courage to start a blog just to post all their old articles. I say courage because most of us would look the vain fools that we are for doing what Jim DeRogatis has done: created “an online home” for his many past words.

Jim’s work, though, as pop music critic of the Chicago Sun-Times and co-host of NPR’s “Sound Opinions” is definitely worth several views. And though we don’t visit his namesake site, www.jimdero.com, as often as that of his colleague, America’s number-one critic, Roger Ebert, it’s definitely on file.

Recently, for instance, his four-year-old piece on the heads of Los Lobos, David Hidalgo and Louie Perez, popped up and, well, thank goodness for the internet!

Meanwhile, don’t wait to get tickets to the L.A. concert and discussion of Hidalgo and Perez, as part of Toyota Presents American Perspectives, at Torrance’s Armstrong Theatre. January 11 will be here soon.

Well, almost all… as Ms. Estrich writes recently about California’s voting for Proposition 8 while also voting for Obama:”Perhaps the hardest question, at least in the short run, is how a state that so overwhelmingly supported Obama for president, that on the same ballot supported more spacious quarters for chickens and abortion rights for teenagers, could vote for an initiative that is a cruel slap in the face to our gay friends and relatives. In the 21st century, we look beyond race but get stuck at sexual orientation.”

If you’re tired of hearing, watching and reading about politics, you should still take the time to soak up Ms. Estrich’s brilliant prose every once in a while.

Or, if the effort is just too much for you, you can wait until she appears in Torrance as part of “Toyota Presents American Perspectives,” in a discussion with another genius, Dennis Prager. Sunday, April 26, at 7pm.

An exciting exhibit is opening soon — November 15, to be exact –at the Torrance Art Museum. The “2008 Torrance Juried Art Exhibition” features 32 artists, culled from 547 entries by jurist Gosia Wojas.

The opening reception is Saturday, November 15, at 7pm. The awards presentation is at 8pm.

The museum is part of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, on the corner of Torrance Blvd. and Madrona Ave. Its normal hours of operation are tuesday through Saturday, 11 to 5. Admission is free.

If you had any doubts about the quality of one of the premier country rock groups in the nation, take a look at the hard-core country writers of Country Music Goodness and their review of Lonestar’s Detroit concert at MGM.

With new front man Cody Collins, it’s a more energetic sound and the band is still as together as ever. November 22 is the day they are coming to L.A. (Torrance’s Armstrong, to be exact) and if you miss the new and improved Lonestar, you’ll be… well, just don’t miss it.

Surely you remember ‘Hullabaloo,’ a piece of pre-MTV cultural history that is so emblematic of the ’60s that it belongs in the Smithsonian — or in your DVD collection.

Yes, now you can own a collection of shows from the television series that featured none other than Brian Epstein from The Animals, The Byrds, The Four Seasons, Marvin Gaye, Lesley Gore, Herman’s Hermits, The Mamas and the Papas, Sonny and Cher, The Moody Blues, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Dusty Springfield, The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, The Yardbirds, and so much more!

Struggling for a few more minutes of fame, Joe the Plumber has signed with a talent agency, The Press Office, out of Nashville. Does that mean his rates go up for appearing with John McCain, the guy who put him on the map?

The Press Office also handles Grand Funk Railroad and Eddie Money. Let’s hope Joe doesn’t have the longevity of these other clients.

It looks like the band Lonestar is going to be only one degree of separation from the actor Kevin Bacon, maybe one and a half. While Kevin’s and his brother’s band, The Bacon Brothers, plays in Ocean City, New Jersey, Lonestar will be across town headlining the famed Harvest Festival of Atlantic City.

Lonestar gets the bigger, better venue, of course. Though Kevin did a great job in “Footloose,” and the band has some five albums to its credit, it’s nothing like Lonestar’s nine number-one hits.

Lonestar performs at Torrance’s Armstrong Theatre, on November 22. We’re not sure where the Bacon Brothers are that night.