Three-day forecast

POP MUSIC

Now famous but still Modest

With the resolutely optimistic hit “Float On” floating all over the nation’s airwaves, Modest Mouse is emerging as this year’s Flaming Lips -- a longtime indie-rock cult favorite that’s suddenly being embraced by a mainstream audience. With its summer plans to play Lollapalooza scuttled, the band comes to town to headline two concerts of its own.

Modest Mouse, Avalon Hollywood, 1735 N. Vine St., Hollywood, 8 p.m. Sunday. $22. (323) 462-8900. Wiltern LG, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 8 p.m. Monday. $22. (213) 380-5005.

DANCE

Careers on the move

REDCAT at Disney Hall prowls through the local dance and performance community in its provocative three-weekend NOW Festival, beginning tonight with performances by Hassan Christopher and the Company of Strangers along with Ken Roht’s Orphean Circus. Some 70 dancers, choreographers and companies submitted proposals for the series. Many participants are high-profile artists; others will have the opportunity to launch themselves into prominence here. Next weekend features Maria Gillespie, Deborah Cohen and Cheng-Chieh Yu/ Yu Dance Theater. The final slate of programs showcases Lauren Weedman and My Barbarian. And, in case you wondered, NOW stands for “New Original Works.”

NOW Festival, REDCAT Theater at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. 8:30 p.m. tonight through Saturday. Also 8:30 p.m. July 22-24 and July 29-31. $18; students and seniors, $14; $35 for all three programs. (213) 237-2800.

ART

Answering the open call

A show that accepted submissions from any Southern California artist -- providing the works weren’t unfinished, unsafe or still wet -- “Open Call L.A. 2004” displays an eclectic array of 1,000 paintings, works on paper, photographs, mixed media/assemblage pieces, sculptures and videos. Another incarnation of the gallery’s 50-year tradition of summertime All City Art Festivals, the show offers 10 cash prizes to artists in the exhibition, selected by curators from local arts institutions such as the REDCAT gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

“Open Call L.A. 2004,” Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. Reception 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays; 6 to 9 p.m. first Friday of the month; ends Aug. 15. $3 to $5; 11 and younger, free. (323) 644-6269.

MUSIC

A meeting of minds

Southwest Chamber Music opens its summer festival complementing the Christopher Isherwood exhibition at the Huntington Library with music by Stravinsky and Mozart. Stravinsky was one of the writer’s best Los Angeles friends; the two frequently shared food and conversation. The suite from Stravinsky’s music for the morality play “A Soldier’s Tale” and Mozart’s evergreen Divertimento No. 17 (“Robining”) are on the first program. The festival runs through Aug. 29.

Southwest Chamber Music, Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $25 and $25. (800) 726-7147.

JAZZ

Favorite things

Hearing John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” album for the first time in 1959 was a turning point in Sonny Fortune’s musical life. The saxophonist drew inspiration from Coltrane’s work that lingers today. Over the course of his career, Fortune has worked with many of the greats, including Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, who all also worked with Coltrane. His latest CD, “Continuum,” was released last year; this week, he’ll be working with pianist John Hicks, bassist Henry Franklin and drummer Steve Johns.

Sonny Fortune Quartet, the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. 8 and 9:30 p.m. today through Sunday. $25 to $30. (310) 271-9039.

THEATER

Poetic spot for romance

“Hildy Hildy in Three Feet Under” is the first in a series of plays about the ups and downs of a haiku poet and her live-in boyfriend -- set at a pet mortuary. Presented by Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner and the Evidence Room, the show is written by Hugh Palmer, based on characters created by Palmer and Patricia Scanlon, who perform in the show. Joanna Cassidy is also featured.

“Hildy Hildy in Three Feet Under,” Evidence Room, 2220 Beverly Blvd., L.A. Opens 8 p.m. today. Runs 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays; ends Aug. 8. $20 to $25. (213) 381-7118.

MOVIES

Metallica and life’s hard rocks

Work relationships can be tough: You labor alongside someone for 20 years and suddenly realize you don’t really know them. Such was the case for Metallica as the rockers set out to record their first album of new material in five years. At the behest of management, the quartet entered group therapy to sort out its interpersonal problems, and filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (“Brother’s Keeper” and “Paradise Lost”) were around to document what normally would be private proceedings. The result is “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster,” a documentary that goes beyond the stadium tours and the mega-selling albums, the thundering guitars and the furious lyrics, to portray a band in serious flux.

“Metallica: Some Kind of Monster,” unrated, opens Friday in selected theaters.

JAZZ

Floating on the breeze

The sounds of smooth jazz, R&B; and Latin jazz will fill the air this weekend at the Old Pasadena JazzFest at Brookside Park. Headlining Saturday’s show will be Lee Ritenour’s “A Twist of Motown” with Phil Perry, Kenya Hathaway and Richard Elliot. Sunday’s lineup is anchored by Guitars & Saxes 2004 featuring Warren Hill, Marc Antoine, Jeff Golub and Euge Groove. If you don’t like your music alfresco, catch trumpeter Chris Botti at the opening party at the Twin Palms restaurant tonight.

Old Pasadena JazzFest, Brookside Park, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena. Doors open 10:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday; music continues until 9 p.m. $10 to $75. Party at Twin Palms, 101 W. Green St., Pasadena, 6 and 9 p.m. tonight, $25 to $50. (818) 771-5544. www.omegaevents.com/oldpasadena/generalinfo.asp

MUSEUMS

The pulse of Mexico

In conjunction with its “Made in Mexico” exhibition, the UCLA Hammer Museum presents Mixed in Mexico, a series of four outdoor concerts that feature musicians and DJs from Tijuana, Mexico City and Los Angeles. The first concert introduces the music of Panoptica and Fussible, a.k.a. Robert Mendoza and Pepe Mogt, respectively. The Tijuana-based pair mix traditional Mexican music with electronic beats and will play remixed songs by the American band Calexico.

Mixed in Mexico, UCLA Hammer Museum, 1089 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Today, music starts at 6:30 p.m.; headliners at 9 p.m. Continues at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays through Aug. 5. Free. (310) 443-7094.

EVENT

Time to tune up that classic car

Dave Davies of the Kinks headlines Glendale Cruise Night, an annual free street concert, party and classic car show in the middle of downtown Glendale. Along with his older brother Ray, Davies formed the creative nexus of the British rock band that was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1990. Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys and the Neptunas also will perform.

Glendale Cruise Night, Brand Boulevard between Broadway and Doran Street, Glendale. 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Free. (818) 548-6464.