Advance Notice. Jane Birkin at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex.

Serge Gainsbourg been in the L.A. mindset a lot lately, with the recent star-studded musical tribute at the Hollywood Bowl late last month and the release of the biopic Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. Come December, though, it's time to take the focus off the man.

Because now it's Jane Birkin's turn. The original muse, as far as I'm concerned, Birkin became well-known in the late '60s after duetting with Gainsbourg on the unforgettably sexy "Je t'aime... moi non plus," and also starring in the film of the same name. They collaborated again on Histoire de Melody Nelson and had a daughter together (the now actress/singer Charlotte Gainsbourg). Birkin became a cultural icon, and the Birkin bag by Hermes that was designed especially for her is now beyond classic.

And Birkin continues to perform. On Dec. 3rd, Birkin will be making her first appearance in L.A. in seven years at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex. It'll surely be a pleasant, sexy stroll down memory lane as you witness the beauty and talent of a true icon.

Jane Birkin will be performing on Sat., Dec. 3 at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex, located at 5151 State University Dr. at Cal State L.A. Tickets are $35-$45.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Luckman

Do It. St. Vincent at Space 15 Twenty.

All right, start planning now. You officially have an hour and a half -- or less -- until 10:30am, when you can officially buy St. Vincent's new album, Strange Mercy, at Amoeba in Hollywood, and in turn, receive a free ticket to see her perform live tonight at Space 15 Twenty.

Whew. Kind of a handful, but totally worth it. The woman is something to be seen live -- with her doe-like but always-in-a-daze eyes combined with her mad guitar skills. And Strange Mercy is already probably my favorite album of hers yet, getting more intellectually complex in her tunes and lyrics than ever before. Plus, who can beat a (sort of, considering you do have to buy the album) free concert?

St. Vincent's Strange Mercy will be available for purchase at 10:30am at Amoeba Music, located at 6400 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. It's one ticket per album, limit 2 to a person. The free concert will take place at 6pm tonight at Space 15 Twenty, located at 1520 Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood (basically across the street from Amoeba).

-- Chau Tu

Check It. LCD Soundsystem's "A Long Goodbye" farewell show.

It's time to say goodbye to a good friend. LCD Soundsystem is officially and gracefully bowing out this weekend, after nine years and three unforgettable albums. And although that sad farewell is set to take place this Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, we here in L.A. too have a chance to send our farewells.

Pitchfork will be broadcasting the at-least-three-hour show live on its website. So get dressed in all white (as was the requested dress code for the live audience), turn up the speakers and have a down and dirty dance show. It's the least you can do.

Thanks James Murphy and Co.!

"A Long Goodbye" will be taking place on Pitchfork at 6pm PST. For a primer before the show, be sure to check out Pitchfork's extensive history, track-by-track, of the band here.

-- Chau Tu

Advance Notice. Silver Lake Jubilee.

It's back. The arts, music, food and neighborhood festival known as the Silver Lake Jubilee will be returning to its spot under the bridge at Sunset Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. for a second year of fun festivities. Most of the special info -- the 50+ bands/artists and 60+ vendors and food trucks -- have yet to be announced, but the $5 (!!) tickets are already a steal, so you have no excuse to miss out. Get them here now, and mark your calendars for May 21-22.

The Silver Lake Jubilee is taking place the weekend of May 21-22 at 1070 Myra Ave. in Silver Lake.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Lykke Li at Amoeba.

Lykke Li's L.A. shows this week at the Wiltern and El Rey went on sale sometime last year and sold out quickly. And this was way before her latest, powerful and beautiful album Wounded Rhymes was even close to leaking (it was officially released last week). But the Swedish beauty is still giving you another chance to see her live.

We told you about the Mondrian Sessions a while back -- and hey! Guess who the special guest this Thursday is (you are probably still be able to RSVP to this, by the way)! -- but if you just can't wait, head on over to Amoeba tonight at 6pm (but you should get there way earlier) and see Lykke do her thing. The new record is darker, more sultry than her debut pop effort, but Lykke says that this is definitely more her style. So get ready to see her rock.

Lykke Li will be performing today at 6pm at Amoeba Music, located at 6400 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Silverlake Contemporary Ballet.

Thanks to Kanye West and Black Swan, we've got more than our usual share of ballet these past few months. But if you're still itching for some more (hopefully not in the growing black feathers in your back kind of way), it's time to get out there and check out some live, contemporary ballet in Silverlake.

Ballet smack dab in the middle of the Eastside? It's true. The Silverlake Contemporary Ballet is an non-profit organization set to premiere this weekend with a huge production combining all the elegance of contemporary ballet, with a Silverlake twist. The night will feature live dance performances paired with music from indie/alternative artists like Jeff Buckley, Bjork and Explosions in the Sky. Local band the Jenks will be playing live too. And there'll be art, photography, video projections and more. So even if you don't consider yourself a hardcore ballet fan, this would be a great way to work your way into the world. And at $6 a ticket (currently standing room only; seated tickets have sold out), what have you got to lose?

The Silverlake Contemporary Ballet debut is taking place this Saturday at 8pm at Studio A, located at 2306 Hyperion Ave. in Silverlake. Click here for more info.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. Broadcast at the El Rey [The Monday Download].

Music lost a wonderful voice and presence in the passing of Broadcast's Trish Keenan earlier this month. If you missed out on the band's dreamy electronic sounds, it's never too late to start; and hey, we've even got an L.A. twist for you.

Buzz Bands has an amazing download of Broadcast playing at the El Rey on Nov. 1, 2000. The recording was ripped directly from the soundboard, so this isn't just a rough tape recording from the crowd. Check it out, and enjoy.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. She & Him on Conan [The Monday Download].

Although She & Him is one of those bands that's widely accepted as an exception to the actor-shouldn't-be-a-musician rule, I believe they're still pretty underrated for the most part. Yes, they do make great cute pop songs with a touch of vintage soul, but M. Ward does happen to be quite the amazing guitarist, and holy cow, Zooey Deschanel has an incredible voice that definitely doesn't get shown off enough, even in She & Him's music.

Need proof? The twosome's simple performance of Screamin Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" on Conan last week is just breathtaking. Do yourself a favor and witness it below:

Told you.

And for some holiday fun, check out this behind-the-scenes video of She & Him playing with Conan himself.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. LCD Soundsystem's "The London Sessions."

Anyone who's ever seen LCD Soundsystem live knows what an incredible experience it is. There's an added energy and fervor that come from James Murphy and Co. that just can't be felt through their recordings (lthough of course, those recordings are already amazing as they are). But there's just something raw and fierce and undeniably fun when the band gets out from behind the computers to embark on their instruments and get into it.

So now, in just another effort to completely blow our minds, the group's recorded a live session. Tracked in one day back on June 29, 2010, "The London Sessions" is a 9-song set featuring what could be called the band's greatest hits, from "Daft Punk is Playing in My House" to "All My Friends" and "Pow Pow."

Ever since Murphy mused that This is Happening will probably be the last official LCD Soundsystem album, everyone's been wondering if we'll see much of the group in the future. Make this your keepsake; you won't want to forget how much fun you had dancing to it.

"The London Sessions" is available on iTunes beginning today until Dec. 6.

Also, check out LCD Soundsystem's newest video for "Pow Pow" featuring Up in the Air's Anna Kendrick.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Jonsi at Origami Vinyl.

If you've ever listened to Sigur Ros, you know how angelic and wondrous the voice of frontman Jonsi Birgisson is. And (obviously) he brings that same beautiful falsetto to this solo stuff -- released under his first name only -- but with an extra breath of carefreeness and happiness. It's definitely a wonder to see in person; I saw him at Coachella and his music soared into the open air.

So I can only wonder how amazing it would be in an intimate setting. But Jonsi is actually offering everyone that chance on his current tour, performing acoustic shows at small stores. In L.A., he's hitting up the uber-cozy Origami Vinyl on Sunday, Oct. 17. It's a not-to-be-missed performance, for sure, but remember, the space is tiny, so get there long before the 5:30pm start time.

Jonsi appears at 5:30pm on Oct. 17 at Origami Vinyl, located at 1816 W. Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. The Moth StorySLAM.

If you've listened to This American Life recently, you might have taken note of the live storytelling segments they've started to broadcast as one of the acts, usually the last in the show. The often funny and reflective pieces are actually part of The Moth, a non-profit storytelling organization based in New York that aims to bring live storytelling to audiences all over the country.

The live sessions are sort of a mash-up of stand-up comedy and literary reading, without so much of the awkwardness or pretentiousness usually associated with the two. Usually it's just one person on stage, telling their personal story, so although it is a performance, there is a sense of intimacy. Just like TAL, the stories work to help people understand things in a new light. Listen to a sample of stories here. Past notable performers include Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, Lewis Black, Jonathan Ames, Tim Gunn (yes! That Time Gunn) and Salman Rushdie.

The segments on TAL are great, but seeing these stories told live takes the meaningfulness behind the stories and the people who are brave enough to tell them to a different level. And you've got your chance tonight, as The Moth sponsors its one of its three L.A. StorySLAMs tonight at Busby's East. The StorySLAMs consist of ten stories/storytellers, limited to five minutes each, that follow a certain theme. The stories are scored by three audience member judges, who at the end of the night pick a winner to face off in a later GrandSLAM. Tonight's theme is "Inspired," and who knows, maybe it'll inspire you to get up on The Moth stage to tell your own tale.

The Moth StorySLAMs occur at Busby's East (5364 Wilshire Blvd.) every second Tuesday of the month, El Cid (4212 W. Sunset Blvd.) every third Tuesday of the month, and the Air Conditioned Supper Club (625 Lincoln Blvd.) every last Monday of the month, at 7:30pm for $8.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Cirque du Soleil at the Grove.

It's amazing to think that Cirque du Soleil has been around for years now, and they're still captivating us with every new show they open. Haven't been to Vegas to catch a show yet? Luckily for you, they're bringing the crazy acrobatics out of the desert and into our neighborhood.

Get a sneak peek at the amazingness of Cirque as six of the famous circus shows will be heading to the Grove for a special live performance this Sunday. For Summer of Cirque, performers from Mystère, “O”, Zumanity, KÀ, LOVE and Viva Elvis will be on hand for fun activities and performances that are free and open to the public. And for some reason, Criss Angel's Believe show is also scheduled to appear?

Either way, it sounds like a fun excuse to get outside and see some great performances, without wasting your gambling money.

Summer of Cirque will take place this Sunday with activities at 11am and performances at 1pm. The Grove is located 189 The Grove Dr. in Mid-City.

**ALSO THIS WEEKEND:
- Sunset Junction in Silver Lake
- Bryan Lee O'Malley signing at Giant Robot
- Test Kitchen with Red Medicine's Jordan Kahn
- Down and Derby Roller Disco at the Echo (Michael Jackson night)
- Disposable Film Festival Bike-In in Santa Monica

-- Chau Tu