Staying out late on school/work nights is what separates the cool from the not. If you just wait until Friday night, Saturday night, or a night before some random holiday to do anything fun, you're lame.
To show you how cool I am, I went out on both Sunday night and Monday night! It also helps if you have random bouts of insomnia, and the alternative is staying up late praying that sleep comes your way.
It started Sunday with Thievery Corp with Los Amigos Invisibles at the Hollywood bowl. I can't even pretend that I really know anything about either of those bands, other than the fact that my stoner friends love it and the air had a bit of the smell of a joint being passed around, but to say you had to be stoned to enjoy it would be a lie, the music from both the openers and headliner are good enough to be enjoyed without any such illicit substances.
Los Amigos Invisibles did a great job of warming up the crowd with its highly energetic, otherworldly funk/jazz/disco sounds that I'll incompetently try to explain with this short paragraph that is actually a big run on sentence. Their sound was so lively and fun that it felt like no time until the sun was finally set on this luxuriously overlong summer daylight, and then the stage literally spun around and up was Thievery Corp.
It started out with just two dj's up there, and before we knew it there was random guest star after random guest star an suddenly a vocalist, drummer, and full band all nuanced by the outstanding stage lights and welcome addition of a competent sound engineer that must have been truant from REM's show the month before.
I started out knowing nothing more about Thievery Corp other than that one of my friends at work is a huge fan and they had a popular song on the Garden State soundtrack, but obviously that is half the point I'm going to all these concerts - to learn about random bands outside my level of comfort. What I saw was an eclectic performance of what felt like an electronica band that had ventured around the world several times, finding a comfortable home at many points all over the globe, and then deciding to share all of its outerworldly wisdom with us through their sound. The whole night left me feeling excited, relaxed, and somehow more cultured and I went home very happy, but still excited for the following night.
Next up on Monday was Death Cab for Cutie, opened by Rogue Wave at the Nokia Live in downtown. What really struck me first was this new venue I hadn't experienced. Right next to the Staples Center, the building had an almost exciting street-prescence with all of its decorative lights out in front that would almost deceive you to the fact that the building is 100% utilitarian. There is not an ounce of excitement or anything of interest to the architecture of this venue, it is about as drab and stale and corporate feeling as you can get, right down to its lame display of cell phones that not a single concert goer has any interest in looking at while out to see a show.
This isn't really all a bad thing, because when I said it was utilitarian, it pulls that off quite well - the seats were of serviceable comfort and every seat out there seemed to have a decent view of the stage, and the acoustic engineering was quite well done.
Hearing Rogue Wave and then Death Cab was a great experience too, and as with the previous night I hardly knew anything about either band before. One thing was for sure, as the almost surfer-looking type walking in I was badly out of uniform by not being pale, anemic, skinny, and with pair of jeans more than 2 sizes too small and some sort of ironic t-shirt. I was almost afraid of not being hipster enough to be even allowed into the venue based on the crowd I was a part of. Somehow I still made it in and loved the show. I may not look the part, but I now love both of these bands. Both were great, Rogue Wave had their gentle, accessible indie sound that was a bit more familiar to me. Then Death Cab for Cutie won me over with its intimately melancholy sound that cries of some sort of bittersweet reflection that begged me to go and get all their albums and give it a more thorough chance.
It is surprising that I'd gone so long without really giving them a shot as my music library is full of Death Cab's neighboring-sounding bands such as The Shins, the opening band Rogue Wave, Built to Spill, Dntel... and many others that I felt were quite similar and liked by me - but that is obviously the whole point I'm going to shows like this. Death Cab might not have been the most animated up on stage, but they sounded so clean and the singer's voice was so lofty and smooth to listen too that they didn't need to rely on any such antics.
And now I'm giving Los Angeles a break, I'll be out of civilization for about two weeks. I'll pretend that there are actually people that read this and say goodbye for now.
When I'm back, if my knee allows me to I'll be at Coldplay's show at The Forum on 7/14 - or if not expect a lengthy and bitchy post complaining about me and my poor torn ACL that prevented me from experiencing another concert and chance to hang out with fun people.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Zombie Joe
On a late Friday evening, right as I crossed some imaginary borderline a little bit north of the 10 freeway along the 405, I crossed between west LA and the valley and felt the incredible difference in heat. Why was I diving headfirst into this heat wave, straight into the heart of the valley when Marina del Rey was a relatively comfortable 75-79 degrees? It was partly because of the promise of Mariokart with my friends up north, but mostly to check out Zombie Joe Underground's theatre and see Micah Cover's magic show.
I'd never heard of Zombie Joe Underground or really ventured in North Hollywood before but the trip was very worthwhile. I knew I'd like the place alone when I felt the air conditioning hit me as soon as I entered. Next thing I know, the very friendly Zombie Joe himself greeted every single person entering, and the lobby was as lovingly decorated with interesting props and posters.
Any fool with great dexterity and practice can put on a magic show for mild amusement, but the theatrics and performance aspect are key. Micah Cover had all of this, topped off with a very charismatic and approachable personality that invited audience participation. He mixed his tricks with a narrative of two lost lovers, reunited in some ethereal realm while overlaying it all with some Edgar Allan Poe and kitsch 20's to 40's era music and props. He wrapped up all of these elements into a very enjoyable show, full of random audience members pulled up to assist with various parts of the performance. I even had the opportunity to help him tighten up the straitjacket which he would later free himself from while furiously reciting The Raven as a part of the narrative.
As a surprise bonus upon the conclusion of the show, every single member of the audience was granted an invitation to attend The Magic Castle.
I'd never heard of Zombie Joe Underground or really ventured in North Hollywood before but the trip was very worthwhile. I knew I'd like the place alone when I felt the air conditioning hit me as soon as I entered. Next thing I know, the very friendly Zombie Joe himself greeted every single person entering, and the lobby was as lovingly decorated with interesting props and posters.
Any fool with great dexterity and practice can put on a magic show for mild amusement, but the theatrics and performance aspect are key. Micah Cover had all of this, topped off with a very charismatic and approachable personality that invited audience participation. He mixed his tricks with a narrative of two lost lovers, reunited in some ethereal realm while overlaying it all with some Edgar Allan Poe and kitsch 20's to 40's era music and props. He wrapped up all of these elements into a very enjoyable show, full of random audience members pulled up to assist with various parts of the performance. I even had the opportunity to help him tighten up the straitjacket which he would later free himself from while furiously reciting The Raven as a part of the narrative.
As a surprise bonus upon the conclusion of the show, every single member of the audience was granted an invitation to attend The Magic Castle.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
A vegan evening of comedy and fro-yo.
Mondays can be lame and depressing. However, we can control our destinies and overcome this.
I'd been told by many that I'm one of the more annoyingly health-conscious people out there. Now that I got a knee surgery around the corner and can not exercise as much as I'd like to, this is even more true. I'd been eyeing Real Food Daily for some time and looking forward to trying it out.
I'm no vegan but if all vegetarian food was this incredible I would turn in a second. I started out with some lovely miso soup. I've grown too accustomed to soup in general being over salted, especially miso, but with this one I could not find much to complain about. It was full of vegetables, none of which were overcooked as is too often the case. All of its flavor came from fresh herbs and so forth and no corners were cut here. Next came some magnificently gigantic burrito. It was ready to explode into a fury of delicious seasoned Spanish rice, avocado, red pepper, sauteed onions, something that I could have sworn was delicious bacon but obviously couldn't have been, and probably far more varieties of vegetables and herbs than I could ever possibly hope to identify. It was sort of comical that this entirely vegetable-based burrito would have the nerve to arrive with a salad on the same plate, but it was delicious enough to not be unwelcome.
It was the kind of burrito that by sight alone you'd know that you shouldn't eat it because it will akwardly park in your stomach and never move like your neighbors ugly, hippy-looking, oversized RV on your suburban street where you grew up. But the trick is, there are no refried beans or meat or grease of any kind so it ends up being more like that sleek party bus that rolls up by your place and efficiently leaves so quickly that you wish you could have had a glimpse of it a little while longer and joined in on the fun some more. If anything, it was a tragedy to lose this meal to the process of digestion (as a character on King of the Hill once said of his neighbors cooking).
As this was the La Cienega location, we were a short walk to the new Largo where our seats were awaiting us for Sarah Silverman & Friends. There's a part of me that misses the overstuffed, as claustrophobic as it was intimate setting of the old location by Fairfax, but its spirit remains in the grander-yet-still homely La Cienega venue. As you enter the tucked away entrance after being greeted by the friendly staff at the door, you find that you've stepped into a beautiful, open-aired atrium flanked by the entrance to the Coronet up ahead and the lounge area on the other. You still have the dramatically archaic piano and lounge area, coated by the beautiful cranberry raid drapes and paint, and dramatically low, diffused lighting that invites you to slow down and chat with your company that makes it still date-friendly (as if I have any of that on my calendar!). It is in this room that the spirit of the old Largo is most strong. What is new is the theatre styled Coronet room, with its cinema style chairs and high-ceiling and grander stage and subtly placed art-deco prop lighting off to the side that takes you back an era of long past.
Don't Stop or We'll Die was up first, performing lovingly light-hearted songs with an underlying anxiousness and silliness. I didn't understand why parts of the audience were laughing right away at the start of the show but it became obvious why as I finally observed that their live performance and energy was just as playful and humorous as their lyrics.
2006 Stoner of the Year Doug Benson, who will delightfully interrupt various films over at UCB hosted the whole show and brought out lots of guest that I'd seen several times before but have yet to get tired of seeing live: Tig Notaro, Steve Agee, Sarah Silverman, and then concluding with Todd Glass (the one I hadn't seen before). I can definitely respect Todd Glass for having sharing my first name and first letter of my last name, but it also helps that he was extremely hilarious. His incredible intensity and rapid-fire humor made it seem like he was just bouncing off the walls, in stark contrast to the more mellow, reaction-based, storytelling type of comedy the first three comedians were setting the pace with. Given that I appreciate both types of comedy, I enjoyed the unexpected change of pace at the tail-end of the show and hilarious extended epilouge as Doug Benson and Todd Glass concluded the show.
As we made our trek back to west LA to call it a night, someone had to suggest some fro-yo and I had no intention of refusing. I dislike Pinkberry and their imbecilic no-photography policy that they proudly boast on the outside window of their storefronts. I get the idea that their frozen yogurt is supposed to taste a bit tart which I like in concept, but it tastes too bland for me. The alternative suggested to me was Red Mango and I was pleasantly surprised. It was like Pinkberry without all the things that annoyed me. We came late enough that there was no overly-trendy crowd of addicted attention-whores, the clerk working their patiently offered us ample samplage, there was no such "no photography" policy I observed anywhere, and the yogurt itself was in the same style of, yet superior to pinkberry. Here it just tasted more like yogurt to me, and with a better balance of tartness, texture, and flavor. Even its cute little upscale Ikea looking furniture inside looked more really inviting but with the store about to close it had to be enjoyed inside a lovely 2003 Jetta. There is no other way to end the evening.
I'd been told by many that I'm one of the more annoyingly health-conscious people out there. Now that I got a knee surgery around the corner and can not exercise as much as I'd like to, this is even more true. I'd been eyeing Real Food Daily for some time and looking forward to trying it out.
I'm no vegan but if all vegetarian food was this incredible I would turn in a second. I started out with some lovely miso soup. I've grown too accustomed to soup in general being over salted, especially miso, but with this one I could not find much to complain about. It was full of vegetables, none of which were overcooked as is too often the case. All of its flavor came from fresh herbs and so forth and no corners were cut here. Next came some magnificently gigantic burrito. It was ready to explode into a fury of delicious seasoned Spanish rice, avocado, red pepper, sauteed onions, something that I could have sworn was delicious bacon but obviously couldn't have been, and probably far more varieties of vegetables and herbs than I could ever possibly hope to identify. It was sort of comical that this entirely vegetable-based burrito would have the nerve to arrive with a salad on the same plate, but it was delicious enough to not be unwelcome.
It was the kind of burrito that by sight alone you'd know that you shouldn't eat it because it will akwardly park in your stomach and never move like your neighbors ugly, hippy-looking, oversized RV on your suburban street where you grew up. But the trick is, there are no refried beans or meat or grease of any kind so it ends up being more like that sleek party bus that rolls up by your place and efficiently leaves so quickly that you wish you could have had a glimpse of it a little while longer and joined in on the fun some more. If anything, it was a tragedy to lose this meal to the process of digestion (as a character on King of the Hill once said of his neighbors cooking).
As this was the La Cienega location, we were a short walk to the new Largo where our seats were awaiting us for Sarah Silverman & Friends. There's a part of me that misses the overstuffed, as claustrophobic as it was intimate setting of the old location by Fairfax, but its spirit remains in the grander-yet-still homely La Cienega venue. As you enter the tucked away entrance after being greeted by the friendly staff at the door, you find that you've stepped into a beautiful, open-aired atrium flanked by the entrance to the Coronet up ahead and the lounge area on the other. You still have the dramatically archaic piano and lounge area, coated by the beautiful cranberry raid drapes and paint, and dramatically low, diffused lighting that invites you to slow down and chat with your company that makes it still date-friendly (as if I have any of that on my calendar!). It is in this room that the spirit of the old Largo is most strong. What is new is the theatre styled Coronet room, with its cinema style chairs and high-ceiling and grander stage and subtly placed art-deco prop lighting off to the side that takes you back an era of long past.
Don't Stop or We'll Die was up first, performing lovingly light-hearted songs with an underlying anxiousness and silliness. I didn't understand why parts of the audience were laughing right away at the start of the show but it became obvious why as I finally observed that their live performance and energy was just as playful and humorous as their lyrics.
2006 Stoner of the Year Doug Benson, who will delightfully interrupt various films over at UCB hosted the whole show and brought out lots of guest that I'd seen several times before but have yet to get tired of seeing live: Tig Notaro, Steve Agee, Sarah Silverman, and then concluding with Todd Glass (the one I hadn't seen before). I can definitely respect Todd Glass for having sharing my first name and first letter of my last name, but it also helps that he was extremely hilarious. His incredible intensity and rapid-fire humor made it seem like he was just bouncing off the walls, in stark contrast to the more mellow, reaction-based, storytelling type of comedy the first three comedians were setting the pace with. Given that I appreciate both types of comedy, I enjoyed the unexpected change of pace at the tail-end of the show and hilarious extended epilouge as Doug Benson and Todd Glass concluded the show.
As we made our trek back to west LA to call it a night, someone had to suggest some fro-yo and I had no intention of refusing. I dislike Pinkberry and their imbecilic no-photography policy that they proudly boast on the outside window of their storefronts. I get the idea that their frozen yogurt is supposed to taste a bit tart which I like in concept, but it tastes too bland for me. The alternative suggested to me was Red Mango and I was pleasantly surprised. It was like Pinkberry without all the things that annoyed me. We came late enough that there was no overly-trendy crowd of addicted attention-whores, the clerk working their patiently offered us ample samplage, there was no such "no photography" policy I observed anywhere, and the yogurt itself was in the same style of, yet superior to pinkberry. Here it just tasted more like yogurt to me, and with a better balance of tartness, texture, and flavor. Even its cute little upscale Ikea looking furniture inside looked more really inviting but with the store about to close it had to be enjoyed inside a lovely 2003 Jetta. There is no other way to end the evening.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Concerts, Concerts...
So this year I dove off the deep end with concerts. Before I'd go to maybe three a year, but for this summer it is more like three a month. It seems that I constantly have a backlog of 9 concerts I got tickets for, and and with finding more colleagues at work who suffer the same temptation and lack of restraint the situation is only getting more and more out of hand. But I do not regret any of it, I'll be looking back at this whole experience and remember how it helped me refine my tastes in music and helped me discover which venues and types of shows I like best. Along the way, I'll have a lot of fun and get to know my new friends more.
5/29/08 was REM at the bowl. The National And Modest Mouse opened up for them and played to a barely populated crowd as people slowly shuffled in the closer it got to REM. Finally as the sun set, on came the headliner. It was a fun first experience at the bowl but the biggest complaint was the ridiculous lack of volume. It was far too quiet. A secondary complaint is that much of REM's set list seemed to be from Accelerate, the latest REM album and also far from my favorite. I suppose that was to be expected but oh well, still an enjoyable show and I am looking forward to the other 5 bowl concerts I have lined up.
6/7/08 was Los Campesinos at the Troubador. My third trip to the Troub in a row! The place is really starting to feel like home.
For whatever reason we scored some VIP stickers and I got to check out the previously unexplored bar and lounge upstairs and feel all important. The VIP room turned out to be quite critical as the Troubador quickly became far, far too crowded. Compared to the last two times I'd been there, it looked like they way oversold the show and if it weren't for the barely-inhabited VIP room, I think we would have been suffocated or something.
As for the show itself, it was quite surprising to me how young this band appeared to be. I guess the youthfulness is pretty much on par with the very energetic, bouncy, poppy album they put out but it looked like a couple of young college kids up there. Los Camp didn't quite come off as polished as some other bands I'd seen, but I gotta forgive it somewhat as they are a 7 member group with very limited stage-room to work with. In the end I was won over by the light-hearted, fast-moving, catchy lyrics that come so fast you can barely begin to digest what is being said before the song is about finished.
So what else do I got coming up? Here's the roster:
6/22/08 - Thievery Corp @ Hollywood Bowl
6/23/08 - Death Cab for Cutie @ Nokia in downtown
7/14/08 - Coldplay @ The Forum
7/20/08 - Feist & Sharon Jones @ Hollywood Bowl
7/27/08 - Gnarles Barkely @ Hollywood Bowl
9/13/08 - Brian Wilson @ Hollywood Bowl
9/17/08 - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds @ Hollywood Bowl
9/20/08 - Beck/Spoon/MGMT @ Hollywood Bowl
9/22/08 - Raconteurs @ The Greek
10/2/08 - My Bloody Valentine @ Santa Monica Civic Center
I've been giving thought to venues too.
Venues I got tickets for I haven’t been to yet:SM Civic Center
Greek Theater
The Forum
Orpheum
El Rey
Spaceland
Echo
Viper Room
Music Box @ Fonda
Roxy
Key ClubVenues I’ve been to:
Wiltern
Echoplex
Troubador
Whiskey A Go Go
5/29/08 was REM at the bowl. The National And Modest Mouse opened up for them and played to a barely populated crowd as people slowly shuffled in the closer it got to REM. Finally as the sun set, on came the headliner. It was a fun first experience at the bowl but the biggest complaint was the ridiculous lack of volume. It was far too quiet. A secondary complaint is that much of REM's set list seemed to be from Accelerate, the latest REM album and also far from my favorite. I suppose that was to be expected but oh well, still an enjoyable show and I am looking forward to the other 5 bowl concerts I have lined up.
6/7/08 was Los Campesinos at the Troubador. My third trip to the Troub in a row! The place is really starting to feel like home.For whatever reason we scored some VIP stickers and I got to check out the previously unexplored bar and lounge upstairs and feel all important. The VIP room turned out to be quite critical as the Troubador quickly became far, far too crowded. Compared to the last two times I'd been there, it looked like they way oversold the show and if it weren't for the barely-inhabited VIP room, I think we would have been suffocated or something.
As for the show itself, it was quite surprising to me how young this band appeared to be. I guess the youthfulness is pretty much on par with the very energetic, bouncy, poppy album they put out but it looked like a couple of young college kids up there. Los Camp didn't quite come off as polished as some other bands I'd seen, but I gotta forgive it somewhat as they are a 7 member group with very limited stage-room to work with. In the end I was won over by the light-hearted, fast-moving, catchy lyrics that come so fast you can barely begin to digest what is being said before the song is about finished.
So what else do I got coming up? Here's the roster:
6/22/08 - Thievery Corp @ Hollywood Bowl
6/23/08 - Death Cab for Cutie @ Nokia in downtown
7/14/08 - Coldplay @ The Forum
7/20/08 - Feist & Sharon Jones @ Hollywood Bowl
7/27/08 - Gnarles Barkely @ Hollywood Bowl
9/13/08 - Brian Wilson @ Hollywood Bowl
9/17/08 - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds @ Hollywood Bowl
9/20/08 - Beck/Spoon/MGMT @ Hollywood Bowl
9/22/08 - Raconteurs @ The Greek
10/2/08 - My Bloody Valentine @ Santa Monica Civic Center
I've been giving thought to venues too.
Venues I got tickets for I haven’t been to yet:SM Civic Center
Greek Theater
The Forum
Orpheum
El Rey
Spaceland
Echo
Viper Room
Music Box @ Fonda
Roxy
Key ClubVenues I’ve been to:
Wiltern
Echoplex
Troubador
Whiskey A Go Go
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
D'oh
A torn ACL has completely obliterated my summer sports plans, so now I have to work extra hard to find more to do. Goodbye West Hollywood Stay Puft League, I hardly knew you. Planetsocialsports touch football and kickball? So long. All the friends I would have made and girls I would have hit on? Oh well! I'll return after I recover in 3-4 months, and I'll do my best stop complaining but no promises.
There are a few things on the horizon:
6/14/2008
6/20/2008
Thanks to my friend on the dodgeball team I had to quit who told me about this. I was promised an evening of haunting, magic, live performance, and drama. This would be a nice counterbalance to the millions of concerts I have tickets for.
6/21/2008:
The crew of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 will be live, in person to riff some classicly horrible movies. Now this I simply must see, however:
The only problem is it falls the same night as the June Crank Mob (biking is still ok on a torn ACL).
There are a few things on the horizon:
6/14/2008
Sure this is a typical weekly performance but I haven't been back to Asscat at the UCB theatre in ages. I'm a huge fan of Matt Besser and Matt Walsh and the rest of the crew, and Asscat was the first performance I saw at this theatre.
Or maybe Meatballs at Angel City Drive-In theatre.
I've never been before, nor have I seen this cult classic.
Or maybe Meatballs at Angel City Drive-In theatre.
I've never been before, nor have I seen this cult classic.
6/20/2008
Thanks to my friend on the dodgeball team I had to quit who told me about this. I was promised an evening of haunting, magic, live performance, and drama. This would be a nice counterbalance to the millions of concerts I have tickets for.6/21/2008:
The crew of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 will be live, in person to riff some classicly horrible movies. Now this I simply must see, however:
The only problem is it falls the same night as the June Crank Mob (biking is still ok on a torn ACL).
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