Count on some sort of liquid being present at most any concert venue you enter, whether it is the craft beer on tap at the bar or the sodas sold in the lobby or even the H2O you use to lather up, over the bathroom sink, after pumping your sweaty hand in the air, over and over, to your favorite ditties.
It's a rare day, however, when the liquid involved is sticky tar with prehistoric cred. Unless, of course, the concert you're attending happens to be TARFEST, the annual early fall free party located at the world-famous La Brea Tar Pits.
Well, located at Hancock Park, more accurately -- we suspected holding any sort of show directly at or in the tar pits would get sticky pretty darn quick.
The annual shindig from 88.5 FM and Launch LA is all ages and a daytime thing, or mostly: Hours run from 1 o'clock in the afternoon right through into sundown, so about 8 at night. Date? Make mammoth plans for Saturday, Sept. 26.
Yes, we said "mammoth," and there it shall stay, like fossils deep in tar, for all internet eternity.
Gavin Turek is one of the many headliners, a bevy of bands'll also rock out, and seeing painters paint before your eyes is one of the treats of the day. TARFEST is, after all, billed as a Music & Culture Festival, and the things to look upon and ponder, outside of the sound show, are plentiful and meaningful and whimsical.
As for the "all ages" part? Look for kid-nice to-dos around the grounds, too, sponsored by the Japanese Foundation of Los Angeles, as well as Orchard Hardware and the Petersen Automotive Museum just down the street. (Check out its BIG exterior changes if you haven't seen them yet.)
The Scene
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And, yes, there shall be beverages for sale. Just because the tar is the most famous liquid stuff at this particular concert venue doesn't mean there won't be refreshing libations: Lagunitas Brewery is setting up a biergarten and there shall be wine and other non-spirited drinks for sale, too.
Update: Saint Motel was a headliner in 2014.
