I bought tickets for my freshly-arrived then-fiancee (and my parents) to the Hollywood Bowl's "Tchaikovskiy Spectacular" with fireworks. Since she is Russian, it was a case of "hand, meet glove".
We still have fond memories of the event. Ah, the early days!
I wish this was true for California, but they will only issue you a licence for a period while you are here legally. Once you apply for the AOS the DMV has no idea of whether you'll be approved or denied and when the USCIS will decide. Since there is no date they can get you the licence for, they just don't I wonder how they go around this issue in Colorado, though. How long is the licence valid for then?