Wiltern Theatre

Sonic Youth has traveled far with the sounds of beauty and noise, stretching out its repertoire to include no-wave, alt-rock and wild experiments with the music of John Cage. After nearly three decades together, the band's open-ended approach is essentially unchanged and uncompromised, fueled on harmonic intensity, not pop convention. At the Wiltern Theatre on Saturday, Sonic Youth again harnessed a storm of melody and feedback, opening its 90-minute performance with the hurried guitar riffs of "No Way," as singer-guitarist Thurston Moore sang urgently of pain and temptation: "Renounce your lies sweet succubi . . ."

Sonic Youth has traveled far with the sounds of beauty and noise, stretching out its repertoire to include no-wave, alt-rock and wild experiments with the music of John Cage. After nearly three decades together, the band's open-ended approach is essentially unchanged and uncompromised, fueled on harmonic intensity, not pop convention. At the Wiltern Theatre on Saturday, Sonic Youth again harnessed a storm of melody and feedback, opening its 90-minute performance with the hurried guitar riffs of "No Way," as singer-guitarist Thurston Moore sang urgently of pain and temptation: "Renounce your lies sweet succubi . . ."

John Evan Miller, 53, theater historian and preservationist who led the movement to save the Wiltern Theatre from demolition. A fourth-generation Californian from Ontario, Miller earned a degree in history from UC Riverside. He worked for the U.S. Treasury Department in its Internal Revenue Service and Customs Service. But he attained his greatest satisfaction through his avocation--old theaters.

Re "A Photographic Memory" [March 3]: Julius Shulman is truly a living treasure. Most architectural photographers would die before putting a human element in their sterile photos. Julius has people, dogs, even kids' toys in his photos. Nice human touch. Julius has been very generous with his time working with my volunteer group, Friends of Hollyhock House. One time he was showing us a photo of the Wiltern Theatre. I said, "Julius, it looks like you stood in the intersection of Wilshire and Wiltern to take that."

With her Ivy League roots and I-can-have-it-all stance, Mary-Chapin Carpenter is to traditional country music women what Hillary Clinton is to traditional political wives. Her songs of finding strength and fighting for personal independence are closer to "Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves" than "Stand By Your Man." But the mainstream country world has embraced her: Last week she was named the year's best female vocalist by the Country Music Assn.

What mysterious ailment afflicts so many brass groups, turning the players from straight musicians into would-be comedians? Take the Chicago Chamber Brass quintet, which played Sunday in the lobby of the Wiltern Theatre as part of the "Music in Historic Sites" series. The players--William Camp and Paul Johnson, trumpets; Robert Lauver, French horn; Michael Warny, trombone; Richard Frazier, tuba--have lots going for them: serious musicianship, secure technique and interesting repertory.

There's nothing complicated about Jean-Luc Ponty's approach to a performance. Turn on the amps, crank up the sound and get down to business. And that's exactly what he did at the Wiltern Theatre in a concert that provided a generous portion of his high-speed, fusion-style, no-nonsense violin playing. It is, of course, academic by now that Ponty's music has come full circle from the period in the '70s when he was viewed by many as the next great jazz violinist.

Kip Cohen, manager of the Wiltern Theatre, smiles when he recalls all the phone calls at the Wilshire Boulevard facility last month following U2's two concerts at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There had been rumors that the Irish rock band was going to do a special, surprise show in town--and many fans assumed the concert would be at the Wiltern.

The Joffrey Ballet's future in Los Angeles seems tenuous, following announcements this week that the financially troubled company is not performing "The Nutcracker" here this winter and that it is also involved in litigation with the Wiltern Theatre. The Joffrey has continued to consider Los Angeles one of its "bi-coastal" homes (along with New York), even after its ouster as a resident company at the Music Center in June, 1991.

Bob Dylan is pretty much guaranteed a standing ovation when he plays at the Wiltern Theatre on Oct. 15. That's because for the first time since the ornate Art Deco house opened at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue with the 1931 premiere of the movie "Alexander Hamilton," most of the audience won't have seats. Dylan's concert will kick off a series of events inaugurating the historic facility after a reported $1.5-million makeover that was begun July 1.

Passersby will notice something new this week on the marquee of the venerable Wiltern Theater. It's now the Wiltern LG. The 72-year-old theater joins the increasing number of buildings around the country that have added a corporate sponsor's name to their own, in this case, Korean electronics company LG Electronics. Ashanti will play a private VIP concert at the Wiltern on Tuesday to launch the new arrangement.

Bob Dylan is pretty much guaranteed a standing ovation when he plays at the Wiltern Theatre on Oct. 15. That's because for the first time since the ornate Art Deco house opened at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue with the 1931 premiere of the movie "Alexander Hamilton," most of the audience won't have seats. Dylan's concert will kick off a series of events inaugurating the historic facility after a reported $1.5-million makeover that was begun July 1.

The Wiltern Theater is a mood piece--intensely vertical, angled to the street, its terra-cotta facade as green as an algae-covered pier. Opulent, mysterious, it is filled with chandeliers and hidden rooms and crowned by a great plaster sunburst on the ceiling above the main stage.

Operators of the Wiltern Theatre have proposed an interior revamping of the 2,200-seat hall that would replace seats on the orchestra level with tables and chairs and add a kitchen to enable dinner service. The cost of the make-over is estimated at $2 million. The historic Art Deco-style theater at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles is primarily a pop concert venue, with occasional gospel musicals, comedians, dance and special events.

Although many view her as the very definition of the word, the title "diva" doesn't quite do it in reference to Nina Simone. It helps to add one of her earlier appellations, "High Priestess of Soul," and the picture becomes more complete if other descriptions--"griot," "sorceress," "singer," "storyteller," "composer" and "passionate social activist"--areadded.

Upon reading Ernesto Lechner's review of the Marc Anthony concert ("A Unilateral, Bilingual Success," March 8), I quickly noticed an error: "In his first Southern California concert after becoming a . . . 'crossover phenomenon,' Marc Anthony was received with hysterical fervor Monday at the Wiltern Theatre." The fact is that Marc Anthony was presented at Copley Symphony Hall in downtown San Diego the night before. We here in San Diego consider ourselves not only Southern Californians, but close cousins with Los Angeles and the Wiltern.

Clarification-- Sunday's pop music listings included a performance at the Wiltern Theatre on Saturday by singer Adina Howard. In fact, according to Howard's publicist, she will only perform an abbreviated set as an opening act for comedian Eddie Griffin.

Preservationist Wayne Ratkovich won the battle to save the landmark Wiltern Theatre complex from the wrecking ball back in 1981. But like many Southern California developers who have tried to preserve historic properties, he couldn't save his project from financial collapse. The green-ceramic-clad building that has towered over the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue since 1931 was taken back in foreclosure several months ago by lender General Electric Capital Corp.

* With their Dec. 14 appearance already sold out, the Black Crowes, with singer Chris Robinson, right, have added a Dec. 13 show at the Roxy. Tickets go on sale Monday at 7 p.m. at the Roxy box office only. . . . On sale today: the Hellacopters and Fu-Manchu, Dec. 19 at the Troubadour. . . . Jon B. has joined Faith Evans, Deborah Cox and Divine in the lineup for "92.3 the Beat's Holiday Cooldown," Dec. 13 at the Wiltern Theatre. Tickets are on sale now. . . .