Anon01/29/26, 03:41No.2858482
born and raised Angeleno and unsuccessful indie musician here. Normally I gate keep more but this is a slow board and people have given me lots of honest advice. LA is a difficult city as a tourist, but you have a car so that's a great start.
>I want it to feel like I'm in a Mars Argo video or RHCP video
When RHCP was young and active they were a Venice act, but Venice is very different now. Use to be legitimately seedy but very gentrified now. Santa Monica has also gentrified a lot where it used to be the upscale cousin of Venice Beach. LA artists more likely to hang out in Silver Lake, Echo Park, or East LA. Personally I'd recommend looking for a show you're interested in at Permanent Records Roadhouse (don't spread our secret too far). Sometimes Fred Armisen plays there, but also lots of cool medium sized indie bands. Lodge Room and The Zebulon are the other two hot indie venues in LA right now.Avoid downtown. Unless there's something specific you're going there for, it's filled to the gills with fent heads and lacking in much charm.>early-2010s Lana del Rey vibes
I maybe associate her vibe with the Griffith Park, Laurel Canyon kind of thing. Griffith Park and the Observatory are cool and very old LA. So's the Getty Center. Alternate suggestion, the South Bay (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa, Redondo Beach) has better beaches and more of a white, all-American kind of vibe. It's where The Beach Boys were from.>And just general shit to see and neighborhoods to visit?
LA has a genuinely good Koreatown with some hidden gem restaurants.
Red Lion Tavern will make you feel like you're in an 80s comedy movie
Tortugo Brewery if you want to see blue collar latinos get into fights about football (beer's good too)
Getty Villa is a reconstruction of an Ancient Roman villa filled with ancient statues
The Formosa is an old school Chinese eatery that's very old Hollywood. Also worth going to Philippe The Original.
Catch a movie at Brain Dead Studios or the Aero