Have you always wanted to be famous, but know you don’t have what it takes to become a star (i.e. a sex tape where Ray-J pees on you?) Fear not — because on April 24th, we’re all getting famous. No, this does not involve guns, put those down. STOP THAT.

Full disclosure: I’m one of the guys throwing this event. Now here’s how it works: we meet at noon in front of the WME building, where we run a winding, three-mile obstacle course through Beverly Hills. Hidden throughout the course will be packs of photographers. Your goal is to make it to the finish line without them getting a picture of your full face.

Scattered along the way will be hidden caches of “identity concealers”, i.e. low-brimmed hats and those sunglasses that put a black bar over your eyes. (We were going to offer ski masks, and then remembered ski masks + sprinting through Beverly Hills in broad daylight = “Officer, these cuffs are too tight.”)

Got a camera and the ability to be sneaky? We want you. Got a pair of running shoes and a well-developed flight sensibility? We want you. (Costumes are also encouraged.) The race starts at noon, but paparazzi are required to show up at 11 AM so we can get you vultures in your respective hiding places.

Afterward, in a stirring tribute to something that would totally happen in real life, the celebrities and the paparazzi will meet up for a beer at the Writer’s Bar in the L’Ermitage Hotel.

Be sure to RSVP for the event on Facebook.

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WHAT: Celebrities Vs. Paparazzi footrace
WHEN: April 24th, noon-1 PM (Paparazzi to meet at 11 AM)
WHERE: Starting at the WME building
$$$: Free

Well Sunset Junction is over and the F Yeah Fest is a few weeks away. With one festival down and one to go, you might as well check out some smaller bands at smaller, more…indoor venues.

PICK OF THE WEEK
There aren’t that many, in my opinion at least, good straightforward rock bands anymore. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, however, are one of them. They can be considered indie or punk, and at times they totally are. But at the end of the day, a nice sounding rock song is all they seem to be after.

I’ve been a casual fan of Ted Leo for a while now. I wasn’t into punk/rock all that much for a while, so I wasn’t that into the band, but as my taste in music changed, so did my opinion of the band. But that isn’t really what put Leo over the top for me. In all honesty he was just another decent guy with a decent rock band to me until I started following him on Twitter…and that’s something I’m not ashamed to admit (even though I feel like I should be.). He just seems to be a cool, down to earth, funny guy who also happens to make good music. Oh..and he happens to be a huge Battlestar fan.

This Friday, the 28th, you can check out Leo and his Pharmacists at the echo. They’ll be playing their mix of punk, indie, reggae, and whatever else style of music they have to offer. I haven’t personally seen the band play live, but I’ve heard only good things about their shows. He’s a small time artist with a fan base that’s been steadily growing since the bands formation 10 years ago. Between the music and Leo’s awesome personality, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a good time.

wembley [at] boredla [dot] com. Yup.

OTHER SHOWS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
8/24: Local Natives w/The Parson Redheads, Red Arrow Messenger, Flying Tourbillon Orchestra, The Henry Clay People at Spaceland. 8:30PM. Free. 21+. (More Local Natives residency. And The Henry Clay People have been added to the lineup!)
8/24: Lower Heaven w/Magic Mirror, Chief Nowhere, Crooked Cowboy at Silverlake Lounge. 8:30PM. Free. 21+. (Another Lower Heaven residency show.)
8/24: Six Organs of Admittance w/Horse Thieves at the echo. 8:00PM. $10. All. (Cool, weird music.)
8/26: Deerhunter w/Blank Blue at Eagle Rock Center for the Arts. 8:00PM. $20. All. (You can’t really go wrong with Deerhunter.)
8/26: The Dead Weather at The Mayan. 8:00PM. $32. All. (Pretty good band. And I love The Mayan.)
8/26: Dawes w/Michael Davis with Lions, Andrew Lynch at the echo. 8:00PM. Free for 21+ and $7 for other. All. (The last of the Dawes residency shows.)
8/26: Fruit Bats w/Death Vessel, A B and the Sea at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $15. 21+. (There’s some buzz surrounding these Fruit Bats.)
8/27: Franz Ferdinand at The Palladium. 8:00PM. $35. All. (Should be a good show.)
8/27: Crocodiles w/PENS, Grafitti Island at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $10. 21+. (Go see Crocodiles. You won’t be disappointed.)
8/27: Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band w/Dungen, Kurt Vile at echoplex. 7:00PM. $25. All. (He was good at Sunset Junction.)
8/28: Gang Gang Dance w/Ariel Pink at Troubadour. 8:00PM. $15. All. (Two kind of different, but fun acts.)
8/28: The Warlocks w/The Morning After Girls, Gliss at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $12. 21+. (One of two Warlocks shows at Spaceland.)
8/29: Princeton w/Fol Chen, special guests at Pehrspace. 8:00PM. $5. All. (Princeton is fun to listen to.)
8/29: The Warlocks w/The Useless Keys, The Black Apples at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $12. 21+. (Show two at Spaceland for the Warlocks.)
8/29: Box Elders w/Audacity, Tijuana Panthers at the echo. 4:00PM. $8. All. (More Tijuana Panthers. Box Elders sound pretty good too.)
8/29: Akron/Family w/Howlin’ Rain, Lucky Dragons at El Rey. 8:00PM. $20. All. (Hear what the new Akron/Family sound like.)
8/30: Ted Russel Kamp w/Gina Villalobos, Paperplanes at the echo. 5:00PM. Free. All. (Grand Ole Echo.)

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WHAT: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
WHEN: Friday, August 28th @ 8:00PM
WHERE: the echo
$$$: $17
Ages: 18+