Retox in LA

TG - thanks for the great posts!

As usual, I am very distracted and unfocused. Here's what I do know:

ArtSeen 3 kicks off with their opening party tomorrow night downtown on Gallery Row. The galleries will be open from 6-10 and showcasing special exhibits for ArtSeen 3, all part of AIDS Research Alliance's effort to raise money for AIDS research. While the event is free, it sounds like many pieces will be up for auction. Oh, and Absolut Vodka is sponsoring an open bar. And the Standard Downtown will be hosting the after party. With more Absolut.

More art this weekend...the LACMA's Mid-Wilshire ArtWalk is happening on Saturday followed by an after party at the LACMA.

My Bloody Valentine is on sale now. They are playing at the SM Civic Auditorium October 1st and 2nd. I don't think they have played in the US in 17 years. Yeah, kind of a big deal.

Bay-to-Breakers is this weekend in SF. I'm quite excited for this wonderful gathering. It sounds like a bigger, badder and legal-er Urban Iditorad. Times a million. Geoffrey, Hubert, Gerkin and Diane von Hoodman.

Pinkberry has crack in it and it's deliciously addictive. "$5 for a small yogurt with one topping? Well of course, here is my money!" Today I discovered Yogurtberry at Wilshire and Western. They let you create your own fro-yo novelty. Then they weigh it. I'm glad I have more ways to waste my money. But it's just so good. Seriously, who am I?

For the last few months, I've been getting these messages on Facebook from some dude who evidently is the "man" when it comes to the Hollywood club and party scene. I'm not sure how I ended up on his list. Just as I was ready to figure out how to make the messages stop coming, I decided to read one and it turns out they are extremely entertaining. At least I think so. Here are some excerpts:

What a week we have coming up.Tonight: Villa (the last few Monday nights have been off the charts hot) "Quality over Quantity" - see ya tonight.
Tuesday: Grand Opening of STK's "Coco Deville Lounge" super tight list to get inside. see ya tomorrow kids
Wednesday: Crown Bar has been killing it.
Thursday: Foxtail - that's SBE celeb night (every table sold out)
Friday: Les Deux everyone called & texted me telling me that they were there.
***THIS SATURDAY NIGHT....The most exclusive event this year....at an undisclose location...open bar all night...GUEST LIST ONLY: THE WHITE PARTY. *You MUST wear all white in order to get in and the location has been rented out. They are being extremely tight at the door this saturday night.If you got the text a few hours ago...you know this party is going to be one for the record books (until my summertime kick party lol).Hit me for deals.See you at Villa tonight.~ p.s.,The Grand Opening tomorrow night...is going to be packed with celebs and the list is going to be tight....please don't get pissed at me if you don't make it inside
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Tuesday night in Hollywood blew major chunks...translation...it straight-up sucked!!! Went to Les Deux for a red carpet event there last night...very urban there on Tuesday nights now. Bartabz.com was there taking photos.. you be the judge folks. Left Les Deux and headed over to Crimson only to find out..it was a special Opera/Crimson "French Tuesday" night...yuck! French Tuesday events are for those who are 45 yrs old and can't get into a regular club on any given night...the worst looking people ever. If you don't believe me go take a look at the pics they post of their events in LA...see for yourself. Left Opera/Crimson and went to S Bar (Dean May's going away party)..it was cool..(if people would have came by...aka..it was D.E.A.D..and I stayed until 12:05am). Bounced from there and went to Area..I figured..after Kanye& Common killed it last week it had to be poppin off this week. Drove up...no one out front waiting to get in...but the lot was packed with cars. Walked up and walked right inside...it was cool..it wasn't packed, but it was cool...Sam Ronson was DJing in the middle of the dance floor. Walked around the corner to Villa and I have to tell yeah...they are straight letting anyone and everyone in the door at Villa because it looked worst than the French Tuesday crowd at Opera/Crimson..we did an aboutface and left after 5 mins. Villa is now a C-List venue to me. Left Villa and went to Hyde..walked inside and there was 15 people there..yikes!!! Talked to my door peeps and bounced. Winston's...now I must admit...Richie Summer's did a good job last night..it was sexy, but it was kinda light..but in
all fairness we walked in the door at 1:15ish. But it was the best place by far last night. From now on...stay home Tuesday nights folks. If you were out in Hollywood last night...let me know what your experiences were. ~A

So there. Now you know where to go and what to do for some off-the-charts HOT. Don't thank me...really.

It did not take me long to figure out I would be a huge fan of The Duke Spirit when I listened to Neptune for the first time. This London based band's hypnotic, dramatic tone haunted and captivated me. Their sound reminds me of something similar to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs meshed with The Kills and Sonic Youth, perhaps deeply inspired by the Patti Smith Group and Velvet Undergound. I'd been trying to branch into more strong, female-led, contemporary music and here I'd found it.



It was a blessing to be able to see them at such an intimate venue such as the Troubadour, where I could just easily walk right up to the front of the stage and be right in front of the beautiful Liela Moss.

She just absorbed the energy of the crowd and sent it straight back with her expressive face and animated movements. I couldn't get a wide enough shot of the entire band but what was striking is how much she contrasts with the rest of the band. Sure the lead singer will often stand out but here she was, the only female among the group and the only one with startlingly blond hair while the rest of the group consists of similar looking guys with brown hair.



So even though I consider myself primarily a fan of male-centric, Los Angeles based punk rock, I can confidently throw The Duke Spirit high up on my list of favorite bands, perhaps my very favorite among modern-day female-fronted bands. I left with the impression that in the near future I'd be bragging about getting to see this band at a smaller venue for really not that much money.

This was an excellent start of a series of about 10 more concerts I got coming up, most of them being with the primary author of this wonderful blog. Apparently we first attended an epic National concert at the same time at the Wiltern in October of 2007 before we even met, then later we meet at work and eventually see Cat Power in February 2008 and from then we meet another die-hard concert goer and before I know it most of all my income seems to goes to Ticketmaster.com. While I don't exactly love Ticketmaster, I don't think I'll be regretting any of these awesome experiences and I will keep at until I'm on the brink of bankruptcy.

Next concert coming up for me: REM with The National and Modest Mouse on 5/29 at the Bowl.