January 22nd in LA... I can only say, why the hell did I not bring my camera?? I forgot it, and by the time I got to my friend's house out near Pasadena... actually, I didn't even remember then. I remembered when I was all ready in LA. Oh well. It was a seriously fucking awesome night. The start-Over Queen herself even made a cameo in my night, and it was not intentional! I love that woman. She's amazing...
So me and my buddy Isaiah started off the night at the Westin Bonaventure hotel in downtown. I have a problem: I like hotels. A lot. No necessarily staying in them(always a plus when it happens. But not often because I am poor ;_;), but just going to them and walking around. I don't think we got into as much mischief as originally intended, but it was just as well. I tried impressing Isaiah with the glass elvators that overlook downtown, but I think I was much more excited. It's weird being able to see everything as you go up, and we went all the way to the 34/35 floor to the BonaVista Lounge! It's a cylindrical room that revolves and you get this beautiful 360 view of downtown LA.
(phot credit to hotelmomma.com And yes, it looks pretty much as pictured. When it is completely dark it's lovelier. Also, we sat at a table JUST like that).
We wasted about two hours here just chatting and enjoying the view(s). I couldn't help but order something from the bar, and went into it knowing I'd be paying a fortune at the end of my stay. But I was, and usully am, in a not-giving-a-fuck mood and ordered four Bay Breezes, two for me and two for my friend. The drink was boozy enough to make me extra happy, so I have no complaints about too much juice. Service was meh; the lady was nice, but hardly checked on us and did two things that still make me feel sad: My first Bay Breeze had a maraschino cherry, and I love those fucking things. I used to eat bowls of them at restaurants when I was a little Green Randa (I'm too embarrassed to make that request now. Or, am I? I should try it). Well, when my friend got his it had no cherry! Not that he minded. He hates them. Whatever! But our next round of drinks also lacked the cherry, and I was confused, but said nothing (I should have complained...) Also, we got a glass of bar nuts/chex mix or something, which was complimentary but still a delicious companion to my drink. The server took the empty glass and specifically said "I will bring more snacks" and then didn't come back until it was time to go, like forty-minutes later. Which brings me to the bill: 50$ for four drinks! I was horrified, but like I said, didn't really give a fuck because I was in good company and the view was enough for me to forgive them. Next time, though, I'm going to bring my own booze in a flask and just order one drink, just so I can sit there and enjoy the lounge.
Buzzed, we went on the elevator and stopped at a random floor and left stupid notes on doors that had the little do not disturb signs (If I remember one was "Congrats on the sex!" and "They're waiting for you in the lobby"). It was exciting, haha. Then we went to the pool deck and I smoked a lot and then we went back inside and I got us lost in the lobby/restaurant/shops area. I really wanted to walk up and down Bunker Hill by that one bank building, but when we finally got there I was exhausted from walking! But it was still cool. Bunker Hill is just a lot of stairs, and when you get to the top there is a cute fountain and looking up at the buildings is a trip because they're so high up.
(Erica and Matt!)
I junked going to the Millenium Biltmore because it was getting close to the Blouse show, and neither of us were quite sure how to get to Echo Park from downtown. Again, I got us lost (Isaiah: you were incredibly patient with me! Thanks for tolerating all my stupid, heehee). So once at Echo Park Isaiah was craving burritos so we searched for someplace to eat, but everything was closed! Sad, and slightly discouraged (at least I was) from the major hipster crowd waiting in line in front of the Echo, we stood outside some pizza cafe and saw none other than the StartOver-Queen herself! She was with one of network's photographers, Matt, who I met that night. Cool guy! He flies planes. I told her I'd cover the show and we went in search of food. Only thing open was Burger King, but only the Drive-Thru. Matt was all: lets just see if they serve us when we order. I had no faith and stayed behind with Isaiah, but Erica and him tried it, and it worked! It was a major highlight that night, I took a crappy photo (two) with my phone, then took a picture of that with my camera when I got home so my evidence is extra ghetto. But hey, I think it adds to the charm of this whole ridiculous post, and that whole amazing night :)
(Erica and Matt ordering at the BK Drive-Thru! My heros...)
We sat in front of the BK and ate and talked about The whole Start Over project. Real bloggers! Real journalists! It's exciting to think about. I just hope I get better at something, and it's all been a real positive experience.
It was time for Blouse to start after we said our goodbyes's; Erica and Matt were covering another show/club, I think, so went about their bussiness. Went to the box office for Isaiah's wticket (I had mine) and the box office dude there was kind of harsh. But then he softened up when I think he realized I wasn't a hipster douche or very under the influence. Whatever. We got in and got to hear the last of the Violet Tremors set, which was real chill. The lead chick was all cute and dancey and made me feel calm. We were able to get very close to the stage! I have been to the Echoplex, but not the echo, and damn the echo is tiny, but cool because it's so intimate. Apparently I hadn't had enough Bay Breeze and ordered one at the shitty Echo bar. DON'T ORDER DRINKS HERE! MY BAY BREEZE TASTED INCREDIBLY SWEET, HAD TOO MUCH GODDAMN ICE AND I DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING AFTER DRINKING THAT SHIT. 16 bucks for fucking iced-up cranberry juice (I ordered for myself and Isaiah, so the drinks were definitely cheaper here than the BonaVista Lounge but it is not worth it!) Ahem, so waited a while for Blouse, who came on I think about 20 minutes after midnight.
(Charlie Hilton, vocalist. She was so close!)
I beleive they opened with Firestarter, or Controller. My mind is fuzzy. I believe they sound a lot better live than they do on recordings, so I was happy, because it's always dissapointing when I live show is dull or sounds bad. I just about hadan attack (well contained!) when they played Shadow. It was beautiful live! The set list as I remember it, and most definitely not in order:
Firestarter, Shadow, Time Travel, Controller, White, They Always Fly Away, Fountain in Rewind, videotapes,Into Black, and and encore with "Roses"
Most memeorable for me was Shadow, Roses, They Always Fly Away, and... fuck yeah, Into Black was amazing, but I love that song, so maybe I have a serious impairment whe I hear it... I dunno. Roses sounded oddly chipper as a live, and I like that song so much more now (but when I listen, it's definitely not harkening back to how it sounded live. I hope they do better, less lo-fi recordings in the future). I guess because this is their debut tour, the whole group was pretty subdued, and I feel like they could have been a little more enthusiastic about their performance. They were probably just nervous. I'm also pretty certain I was the only person singing along (rather quietly, of course!) to most of the songs. I hope they come back when more people get into them. That show would be a lot more lively, I'd hope).
And that was it. Didn't get to set up an interview or anything because of me being all short notice with Erica. I was also unaware that I could even get a press pass to do that, but now that I know, hopefully I can talk to some bands in the future. My night didn't exactly end there, but it was just Isaiah and I talking till 3 a.m. and then realizing we were hungry, and then driving to Pasadena in search of a bar, but Pasadena is an old bag that closes everything early before curling up with its 50 cats and Wheel of Fortune! We should have stayed in LA, but it was pretty damn late.
Green Randa is out! Until my next adventure, have a good one.
No comments:
Post a Comment