Malibu rallies round Midnight Mission

The Midnight Mission, the venerable downtown L.A. benefactor of the homeless, isn’t moving to Malibu, it’s merely getting some help from the affluent enclave that seems like it’s a million miles from skid row. This Friday, at the Malibu Performing Arts Center, Jackson Browne, Los Lobos, Richie Sambora and plenty of others will take the stage for the “Concert for the Midnight Mission: From Malibu With Love.”

The event is the brainchild of Norman Harris, the vintage guitar expert, author and world-class collector who for three decades has run Norman’s Rare Guitars, a hallowed showroom on Ventura Boulevard in Tarzana. Harris has also been a mission volunteer for five years.

As a music maven, Harris is enthused about the venue – the new, 500-seat auditorium is acoustically “tremendous, a gem,” he said – and the stars who will be onstage have a passion for the cause, promising a memorable night. “There will also be a number of surprise guests that will make things even more exciting,” Harris said.

Harris is a friend and merchant to many of rock’s heroes, and his ties to Los Lobos and to Sambora helped launch the show, which he hopes to expand eventually into a small festival.

“Part of it is to give a great show for a good cause,” he said, “but it’s also a little bit of a guilt trip for the elite Malibu-ites who live in the lap of luxury, to remind them that there are people in need right here in L.A.”

Sambora is the host for the evening and will also perform with Dave Amato (REO Speedwagon). Also taking the stage will be the Zen Cruisers, a collective that features Clem Burke (Blondie), Elliot Easton (the Cars), Doug Fieger (the Knack) and Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis (Slash’s Snakepit, Guns N’ Roses).

Reserved seats are $90 at www.ticketweb.com. And top tickets ($1,000 and $500) are on sale at the auditorium box office. There will also be a silent auction to benefit the 93-year-old mission, which provides goods and services to the men, women and children of skid row.

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– Geoff Boucher

 geoff.boucher@latimes.com