BEST BETS Sunday 8/6

10pm

Pop Music

Thelonious Monster, one of the most colorful, underrated and star-crossed bands to battle through the ‘80s L.A. rock scene, is plugging in again, in part to prepare the world for a Monster boxed set to come out next year. Leader Bob Forrest (whose other band, the Bicycle Thief, is still rolling) is joined by old mates Dix Denney, Zander Schloss, Mike Martt, Pete Weiss and Martyne LeNoble.

* Thelonious Monster, with Sangre de Toro and others, at Dragonfly, 6510 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. 10 p.m. $8. (323) 466-6111.

8pm

Jazz & Film

Not only was Duke Ellington a great composer and bandleader, he was the consummate showman. Documentary filmmaker Robert Drew’s 1967 film “On the Road With Duke Ellington” captured the maestro doing what he did best: bringing music to the people. The newly restored print of Drew’s 58-minute feature will be preceded by a performance from cornetist and former Ellington band member Bill Berry with an ensemble that includes onetime Count Basie saxophonist Herman Riley.

* “On the Road With Duke Ellington” at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2850 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 8 p.m. $15. (323) 461-3673.

7pm

Theater

With an epic-length title to match, David Grieg’s Space Age epic, “The Cosmonaut’s Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union,” has its American premiere. Strictly for adult audiences, it’s about two quarreling Russian astronauts in orbit, and their friends and lovers back on Earth.

* “The Cosmonaut’s Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union,” La Jolla Playhouse, Weiss Forum, La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla. 7 p.m. Regular schedule: Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Sept. 3. $21 to $39. (858) 550-1010.

7pm

Pop Music

In another culture-linking event on the Hollywood Bowl’s world music series, veteran funk saxophonist Maceo Parker shares a bill with rising star Femi Anikulapo-Kuti, son of Nigerian icon Fela Kuti.

* Maceo Parker and Femi Kuti at the Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. 7 p.m. $5 to $85. (323) 850-2000.

11am

Photography

The legendary John Gutmann chose 100 of his photographs to represent his documentary and experimental work for the survey “John Gutmann: Culture Shock,” opening Sunday at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The photographs will trace Gutmann’s career, from his native Germany to the San Francisco Bay Area where he later settled, capturing the culture shock of immigration as well as the social change that occurred during his life.

* “John Gutmann: Culture Shock” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. Ends Nov. 5. Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. $6; seniors and students, $4; children under 12, free. (213) 626-6222.

6:15pm

Blues

The B.B. King Blues Festival at the Universal Amphitheatre teams the patriarch with Chicago legend Buddy Guy and a couple of young players--Tommy Castro and best new artist Grammy nominee Susan Tedeschi.

* B.B. King Blues Festival at Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. 6:15 p.m. $34 to $69. (818) 622-4440.

Freebies

Artworks by Christo, David Hockney, Ed Ruscha and Frank Stella, among others, will be featured in “Contemporary Art From the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation,” opening Sunday at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ends Sept. 24. (310) 456-4851.

The Getty Center hosts the Henry Mancini Institute Combos, which include groups playing chamber music, jazz, traditional, pops and original compositions in several locales at the center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (310) 440-7300.