UPCOMING CONCERTS THAT ROCK

Brad Paisley w/ Miranda Lambert, Justin Moore

Staples Center- Los Angeles, CA

Friday, February 19

Mariah Carey w/ RydazNrtist

Gibson Amphitheatre- Universal City, CA

Tuesday, February 23

Bon Jovi w/ Dashboard Confessional

Honda Center- Anaheim, CA

Friday, February 26

Cheap Trick

Agua Caliente Casino- Palm Springs, CA

Friday, February 26

Soundtrack of Our Lives w/ Nico Vega, Once

El Rey Theatre- Los Angeles, CA

Friday, February 26

Ozomatli

House of Blues- Anaheim, CA

Friday, February 26

The B-52s

Pechanga- Temecula, CA

Saturday, February 27

Lakers Fan Jam

Los Angeles Convention Center- Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, March 20

New Found Glory w/ Saves the Day, Hellogoodbye, Fireworks

House of Blues- Anaheim, CA

Sunday, March 21

Tears for Fears w/ Wainwright

Wiltern- Los Angeles, CA

Sunday, March 21

Devendra Banhart

Wiltern- Los Angeles, CA

Wednesday, March 24

John Mayer w/ Michael Franti, Spearhead

Staples Center- Los Angeles, CA

Thursday, March 25

She & Him

El Rey Theatre- Los Angeles, CA

Thursday, March 25

Copeland w/ I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business, Person L, Deas Vail

El Rey Theatre- Los Angeles, CA

Friday, March 26

Berlin

House of Blues- Anaheim, CA

Sunday, March 28

Eagles

Honda Center- Anaheim, CA

Sunday, April 25

Katie Cervantes

Live OC Magazine

www.LIVEOCMAG.com

Christmas Events in Southern California

Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration Dec. 24

www.lacountyarts.org

After 50 years of hosting the Holiday celebration, this year's event will be at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center in Los Angeles. It's a free six-hour concert with over 40 music groups, and is funded by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. It's all day on Christmas Eve, beginning at 3 PM to 9 PM. Parking is free in the Music Center parking structure.

A Christmas Carol Dec. 19-26

www.scr.org

Be entertained by one of the most popular Christmas plays by Charles Dickens. Performed on the Segerstrom Stage at the South Coast Repretory, this is the 30th season of it's production. This is a great way to relive the story of Ebenezer Scrooge finding joy in the holiday season.

Huntington Beach Smooth Jazz Series Dec. 31

www.bbjazz.com

Hosted by BB Jazz, a non-profit organization, this Smooth Jazz Series is at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach with tickets ranging from $135-$175. Artists like Nick Colionne, Maysa, Chante Moore and Kim Waters perform while guests are able to dine and dance to their favorite holiday tunes.

Gabriel Iglesias Christmas Comedy Dec. 25

www.thejonlovitzcomedyclub.com

Gabriel Iglesias will perform stand-up comedy on Friday, Christmas Day. At $30 a ticket, he'll be at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club in Universal City at 8:30 PM. Iglesias was a runner up onLast Comic Standing and is known for his animation, while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live,The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Good Morning America.

The Nutcracker Ballet Dec. 19-24

www.gwctheatre.com

Held at Golden West College in the Mainstage Theatre, this ballet is perfect for the family to celebrate Christmas. It honors the classic, full-length ballet and is presented by the Ballet Repertory Theatre. General admission is $16, with $14 for children under 12. 

Cruise of Lights Dec. 19-23

www.cruiseoflights.org

The Cruise of Lights is a narrated boat tour that looks at elaborately decorated homes and boats that sit on the Huntington Harbor. The cruise is 45 minutes long and tickets must be ordered online. Tickets are $9 for children and $15 for adults. 

101st Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade Dec. 19-20

www.christmasboatparade.com

With over a million viewers, the Boat Parade celebrates Christmas with this year's theme of "The Joys of Christmas Toys." Watch multi-million dollar yachts, small boats, and even canoes strut their stuff on the water for fourteen miles, starting off at Bay Island at 6:30 PM until 9 PM. 

Ice Skating at the Pike Dec. 19-31

www.raindbowharborholidays.com

Forget that you're in Southern California this season and hit the ice. This outdoor ice skating rink in Los Angeles is just $12 for an hour and a half session, and sits on the waterfront of Rainbow Harbor next to the Aquarium of the Pacific. They also host nights like Family Night and Pajama Night Skating. 

Stroll the Christmas Lights of Naples Dec.19-28

www.naplesca.org

Thousands of lights are displayed in Naples, Los Angeles along the windows of boutiques and homes. This community is known for going above and beyond, sometimes even called "gaudy", attracting many visitors each year who just want to enjoy over-the-top decorations.

Grinchmas Winter Wonderland Dec. 19-31

www.universalstudioshollywood.com

Universal Studios puts on 13 Days of Grinchmas each year, having real snow to play in and a whole area of the park devoted to Christmas. Grinchmas is decorated like Whoville, from Dr. Suess's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. There's also celebrities who attend and read the classic story each of the 13 days. The best part is that if you buy just a day pass, you get the whole year free (a great Christmas gift).  

Katie Cervantes

Live OC Magazine

www.LIVEOCMAG.com

TV Review: The Hills


Season five of MTV's The Hills has officially arrived this year, says Lauren Conrad. Although it's ratings are drastically lower since LC was replaced with Kristin Cavallari, the show is still thriving off of scripted material and ritzy drama.

The show lost viewers because Lauren was always more of the girl-next-door and Kristin has already stolen her friends' men in just a few episodes. Although the show is entertaining, not much has changed since September. For a show that's not really reality television, you'd expect a little more from it. Kristin has gotten in an (almost) fight with Audrina over Justin Bobby, but Audrina's moved on now that Kristin is officially with Justin, since he doesn't want to grow up "a lonely, old man."

Speidi just bought a new house, and the couple's latest squabble is over whether to have a baby or not. Heidi's new BFF is the little boy next door, Enzo, who she plays Wii with and bakes cookies for. Although the pair is sneaky and seem to have grown up faster than the rest of the cast, it's a little endearing the way they're happily married.

Now that Kristin is the star of the show, it's a toss of the coin guessing how much viewers will continue to tune in. She's extremely hard to like and seems to only be on the show to promote her acting career. She even admitted in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that the show was scripted saying, "I pretty much do anything they have me do because I don’t care…I mean, we’re filming a TV show. Let’s make it interesting. Let’s have a good time with it."

Although it can get dirty and annoying watching snobby people steal each other’s boyfriends and drive away in their BMWs, it’s what we expect from Hollywood. I still find it a joke that MTV hosts a "Cast Confessions" episode where the cast "tells all," but I guess if we're all willing to play along that this is really reality television, then MTV will give us what we want.

Katie Cervantes

Live OC Magazine

www.LIVEOCMAG.com

Must See Concerts of the Season

A Fine Frenzy

El Rey Theatre- Los Angeles, CA

Tuesday, Nov. 17

Atticus Metal Tour

Glass House- Pomona, CA

Wednesday, Nov.18

Chris Brown with New Boyz

Avalon Hollywood- Hollywood, CA

Wednesday, Nov. 18

A Fine Frenzy

House of Blues- Anaheim, CA

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Onerepublic

Troubadour- West Hollywood, CA

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Snoop Dogg

Grove of Anaheim- Anaheim, CA

Wednesday, Nov. 18

The Fray

Galen Center- Los Angeles, CA

Thursday, Nov. 19

Deftones

Avalon Hollywood- Hollywood, CA

Friday, Nov. 20

Ray Lamontagne

Orpheum Theatre- Los Angeles, CA

Friday, Nov. 20


The Misfits

Galaxy Concert Theatre- Santa Ana, CA
Friday, Nov. 20

Hollywood Undead & Atreyu

Wiltern Theatre- Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, Nov. 21

The Misfits

Keys Club- West Hollywood, CA

Saturday, Nov. 21

Say Anything

Troubadour- West Hollywood, CA

Sunday, Nov. 22

Papa Roach & Jet

Club Nokia- Los Angeles, CA

Monday, Nov. 23

Thrice

Avalon Hollywood- Hollywood, CA

Monday, Nov. 23

Switchfoot

House of Blues- Anaheim, CA

Friday, Nov. 27

Rockaliforniafest

Los Angeles Sports Arena- Los Angeles, CA

Sunday, Nov. 29

DJ Quik 

Key Club- West Hollywood, CA

Sunday, Nov. 29

Dashboard Confessional

Troubadour- West Hollywood, CA

Monday, Nov. 30

Less than Jake

House of Blues Hollywood- Hollywood, CA

Friday, Dec. 4

KIIS FM's Jingle Ball w/ Taylor Swift 

Nokia Theatre LA Live- Los Angeles, CA

Saturday, Dec. 5

A Rockapella Holiday

Smothers Theatre- Malibu, CA

Sunday, Dec. 6

Morrissey 

Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City Walk- Universal City, CA

Thursday, Dec. 10

Metallica

Honda Center- Anaheim, CA

Thursday, Dec. 10

Katie Cervantes

Live OC Magazine

www.LIVEOCMAG.com