Yesterday, I was in LA for the Decemberist concert at the Hollywod Bowl and was reminded why La La land,while annoying and overbearing to many, never fails to be entertaining and completely amusing.
4:35 pm – Met up with Andy at Whole Foods in West Hollywood to discuss a couple of ideas to improve our respective blogs. I think they were at least 30 soap opera actors in the store at all times. It’s the only grocery store where more than 50% of the cashiers could be on the verge of landing a pilot or have a script in development. Andy got excited when he got to snap a pic of an Olsen twin wearing what seems to be the carcass of an ostrich and boxer briefs. After our meeting I made a decision to do more cardio at the gym.
6:15 pm – Had dinner with Kathleen at Cha Cha Cha. Great tapas and mojitos. Our waitress looked like she was straight out of the L Word. Kathleen thought she looked like a participant in America’s Next Top Model. The one they make cut their hair which inevitably causes a nervous breakdown and the world’s most annoying human aka Tyra Bank’s telling us about her confronting her fear of dolphins.
7:30 – Almost get into an altercation with a scalper who accused me of trying to steal his “leads” because I had two extra tics I needed to unload. Then he tried to broker a deal with me. I ended up selling to his leads. Felt kind of guilty at first, but then decided that capitalism was at work. The scalper looked like Bushwick Bill. I remind myself to never work his corner against out of respect for the man that brought us “My Minds Playing Tricks on Me” and “Damn it feels good to be a Gangsta”.
8:15 pm Band of Horses performs first. They are pretty good live, sort of like a Shins/My Morning Jacket sound. I don’t rave about many things however, I could enjoy myself at the Hollywood Bowl even if subjected to the horror of a Carlos Mencia/Dane Cook double bill. The place is nothing short of fantastic in the summer. Andrew Byrd comes on next and I am impressed. He switches between playing the violin, guitar and whistling. This dude has more talent in his clavicle than I have in my entire body. I kind of want to punch him. The Decemberist come on next and their sound blends perfectly with the LA Philharmonic. I thought the Arcade Fire were dramatic, but these guys are hardcore thespians. The type that sat at the end lunch table in the high school cafeteria and always seemed to be laughing and having more fun than anybody else while in school. I am pretty sure the organist teaches high school music in her spare time. (Actually Kathleen said that) Their artistic flair annoys these two guys sitting in front of us to the extent their immediately get up and leave. I loved these guys “Alice in Chains” retro look. I am pretty sure Eric Stolz would play the guy on the left in a TV movie. The best part was that they shared a bucket of popcorn the entire time.
11:oo pm – As we speedwalk in a desperate attempt to beat traffic, we see a brother and sister duo covering “Dark Side of the Moon” on the sidewalk complete with flashing lights and synthesized electronic audio enhancements. They are awesome and can’t be a day over 15. I think the dude is dressed like some sort of wizard. It puts a smile on my face. I give them a buck for their efforts.
11:20 pm – Hollywood and Highland is a nightmare. I can’t believe tourist get tricked into coming here and they end up taking pictures of Lorenzo Lamas’ star on the Walk of Fame. This deserves its own column. I truly think this area might be hell on earth.
12:00 pm – Listen to Ryan Adam’s new album Easy Tiger on the way home. (see below) It’s good, sort of “dad rock”, but good. Ryan Adams gets a lot of flack but anybody that dated Parker Posey is cool in my book. Man that kid in the wizard outfit was cool……
The Arrested Development of Chuch 
Two Items:
#1 We were actually discussing a dastardly business plot not really involving our respective blogs.
#2 that olsen twin gave me the dirtiest look for snapping her pic. I tried to pretend like i was just fumbling with my camera it didnt really wash.
#3 Bushwick Bill’s finest work is in the song “Ever So Clear” where he details the evening he got wasted on everclear (i’m guessing two tablespoons of it did the trick) and some bitch literally shot his eye out. Key Lyric: “But its fucked up i had to lose an eye to see shit clearly”
I just noticed I said two but left three, you don’t need to point it up. Thats called a gift.
That song came off the epic Bushwick Bill album, “little big man”, the video reanactment is awesome. Olsen would not have been that pissed if she could smoke meth or glass out of your camera.