6:15pm Pop Music
For its 12th edition, the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas puts the emphasis on newer acts, with Staind and Linkin Park headlining both nights, and such upstarts as Alien Ant Farm (see story on Page 35), Sum-41 and System of a Down rocking on Saturday and Coldplay and Remy Zero striking a gentler tone on Sunday.
KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, 6:15 p.m. Sold out. (818) 622-4440.
*
all day Art
"Pirkle Jones: Sixty Years in Photography" celebrates the work of an 87-year-old Bay Area artist who has often been dismissed as an Ansel Adams clone but who finally is being recognized for his independent vision. Opening Saturday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the exhibition surveys Jones' landscapes and views of San Francisco, along with his pictorial social commentary on laborers, hippies, the Black Panthers and a reclamation project that flooded a Northern California valley.
"Pirkle Jones: Sixty Years in Photography," Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara. Saturday to March 31. Tuesdays to Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Adults, $6; seniors, $4; students and youth 6 to 17, $3; children under 6, free. (805) 963-4364.
*
8pm Theater
Justin Tanner will direct the return of his offbeat comedy, "Happytime Xmas," a zany chronicle of a dysfunctional family during the holidays. The show features a cast of Tanner veterans led by Ellen Ratner.
"Happytime Xmas," Third Stage, 2811 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m. Dark Jan. 17. Ends Jan. 26. $15. (818) 842-4755.
*
noon, 2, 4 & 6pm Family
The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts reprises "Too Many Tamales," its gentle-spirited holiday comedy-drama about temptation and forgiveness, set at a Christmas Eve family gathering. Based on the story by Gary Soto, it's adapted for stage by Margarita Galban and Lina Montalvo.
"Too Many Tamales," Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, 421 N. Ave. 19, Lincoln Heights. In English: Saturday through next Sunday, Dec. 20 to 23. In Spanish: Dec. 13 to 16, 27 to 30. Curtain times: Saturdays and Sundays, noon, 2, 4 and 6 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 30. $12 to $14. (323) 225-4044, (323) 226-1170.
*
11am Music
