Three-day forecast

ART

A trip to the urban woodshed

Hulking forms of office machines, sculpted out of discarded wood and found materials, sit before a backdrop of large cityscape prints. The idea of Hammer Projects: Rob Voerman, the artist says, is to unmask the “risk, uncertainty and decay that are concealed from daily life.” When combining the aesthetics of makeshift sheds and mass production, the result is a display of over-design and decay.

Hammer Projects, Rob Voerman, UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Opens Wednesday with the artist’s lecture at 7 p.m. Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday except Thursday until 9 p.m. and Sunday until 5 p.m. $3-$5; 17 and younger, free. (310) 443-7000.

THEATER

One family’s guilty ghosts

Veteran director-playwright Tony Tanner is staging his new look at a classic myth, “The Oedipus Tree,” a drama set in the afterlife, where the father of tormented Oedipus must examine events of the past, present and future to resolve generational guilt and find redemption for himself, his son and his wife, Jocasta.

“The Oedipus Tree,” Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Opens 7 p.m. Saturday. Runs 7 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays, except July 24, 3 p.m. only; dark this Sunday and July 30; ends July 31. $10. (323) 461-5570.

POP MUSIC

Beasties hop hip genres

Who but the Beastie Boys could jump straight from the alt-rock KROQ Weenie Roast to the hip-hop Power 106 Powerhouse three weeks later? The trio’s presence among the elite of the hip-hop world -- Big Boi, Ludacris, Kanye West, Too $hort and Xzibit are among the evening’s attractions -- marks a bit of a breakthrough for the group, whose single “Ch-Check It Out” is getting airplay on both stations but whose audience and identity have long been linked to the rock world.

Powerhouse 2004, Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 8 p.m. Thursday. $40-$95. (714) 704-2500.

MUSIC

Students get to strut their stuff

One of the premier summer music training programs takes place in Santa Barbara at the Music Academy of the West. The Festival Orchestra, made up of students attending the academy, plays four concerts July through August. Miguel Harth-Bedoya, associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, will lead the first program of the season this weekend, a program made up of Strauss’ “Don Juan,” the Suite from Copland’s “Billy the Kid” and Dvorak’s Seventh Symphony.

Music Academy of the West concert, Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido, Santa Barbara. 8 p.m. Saturday. $32. (805) 969-8787.

JAZZ

Raising the roof

The Jazz Bakery continues its Big Band Week with two shows per night through Saturday. Each night offers a different flavor of big band sound. Tonight, trumpeter-arranger Steve Huffsteter leads his large ensemble in a repertoire that’s both lyrical and swinging. Come Friday, it’s the big roaring sound of drummer Frank Capp’s Juggernaut with vocalist Pat Tuzzolino. And the week ends with the Latin big band beat of conguero Poncho Sanchez and company Saturday.

The Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. 8 and 9:30 p.m. today-Saturday. $20-$25. (310) 271-9039.

ART

Cultural potshots

Cheeky paintings poke fun at pop culture icons in “Hudson Marquez: Rhythm and Hues.” Marquez, a former member of the Ant Farm art collective, was the co-creator of the collective’s “Cadillac Ranch” project, in which 10 Cadillacs were planted in a wheat field outside Amarillo, Texas. Marquez also co-founded TVTV, a “guerrilla television” group that has won awards for its nonfiction television and garnered his induction into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

“Hudson Marquez: Rhythm and Hues,” La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 4633 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. Opening reception 8-11 p.m. Friday. Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-6 p.m. Sunday. (323) 666-7667.

DANCE

Tap troupe marks 25th

Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, Lynn Dally’s locally based, internationally celebrated Jazz Tap Ensemble presents an evening of old and new works at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. A video tribute to the late Gregory Hines is scheduled, along with performances by Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards, Channing Cook Holmes, Charon Aldredge and Josette and Joseph Wiggan, plus the ensemble’s professional youth company, the Caravan Project. As always, the resident four-member band will provide ritzy live accompaniments as well as impressive dance-free interludes. The company has been down on its heels as well as up on its toes during the past quarter-century, but there’s no denying its importance to the emergence of tap as a vibrant concert idiom.

Jazz Tap Ensemble, John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood. 8:30 p.m. Friday. $12 (children, students) to $35. (323) 461-3673.

FESTIVALS

It’s that time of year in Laguna

Two Southern California summertime traditions open for the season this weekend in Laguna Beach. The 38th annual Sawdust Art Festival, with more than 200 artists displaying their work, opens Friday. The festival also includes classes, children’s activities, food, drink and three stages of live entertainment. Meanwhile, the big hit of the first Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts in 1932 was its “Living Pictures” show. Today, more than 70 years later, it still is. The Pageant of the Masters (as it has been called since 1936), featuring human re-creations of classical and contemporary artworks, comes with a live original musical score, narration and professional sets.

* Sawdust Art Festival, 935 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Opens Friday; daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; ends Sept. 5. $2-$16;

5 and younger, free. (949) 494-3030.

* Laguna Beach Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Opens Monday; daily 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; ends Aug. 29. Festival admission $3-$5. Pageant of the Masters performances are at 8:30 p.m. and separate tickets must be purchased in advance. $15-$300. (800) 487-3378.

JAZZ

She’s born to be blue

Chicago-based singer Jackie Allen is known for performing a repertoire that’s a decidedly mixed bag, with selections from the Great American Songbook as well as more contemporary material. Her newest CD, “Love Is Blue,” was released in June and features such varied tracks as Annie Lennox’s “Pavement Cracks” and John Latouche and Jerome Moross’ “Lazy Afternoon.”

Jackie Allen, Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. 8:30 p.m. Thursday. $15. (323) 466-2210.

MOVIES

‘Before Sunrise’ sequel

In Richard Linklater’s 1995 “Before Sunrise,” a young American (Ethan Hawke) engages a young Frenchwoman (Julie Delpy) in conversation aboard a train and succeeds in persuading her to stop off in Vienna and spend his last night in Europe with him. Now, nine years later, in

Linklater’s “Before Sunset,” the two cross paths again in Paris, where they get a rare chance to discover what might have been.

“Before Sunset,” rated R for language and sexual references, opens Friday at the Sunset 5, Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 282-8223; and the Monica 4-Plex, 1332 2nd St., Santa Monica, (310) 394-9741.