thegthang simple

Busy month ahead

March is going to be amazing.  I have practically each day booked.  I have a 5 day stint in Anaheim for the World Baseball Classic.  Yes, I will tentatively be at each game of the series in Anaheim.  I still have some tickets available, if interested.  I also have my last day of class for this term next Wednesday (3/8), so suffice to say I have a ton of work to catch up on and finish. 

I even have more concerts than baseball games to attend this month.  I get to start off with Youth Group at the Troubadour (3/6), and mere minutes after my class is over on Wednesday I am off to the Silent Movie Theatre for Ben Lee.  The next week sees me in Anaheim rooting on Team USA (they better advance).  The following week spring begins and I am going to see David Gray at the Gibson Amphitheatre.  The next day, a Wednesday (3/22), my new term starts.  Yes, I only got 1 week off between terms!  That night I head out to the Troubadour for Snow Patrol, followed by a Thursday stop at the El Rey for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.  And for perhaps the most fitting nightcap, on March 1st I am spoiled with a Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins show at The Orpheum Theatre in downtown LA.

Wow, and to think I didn't even mention St. Patrick's day in this little blurb.  I have that night and the next day cleared on my calendar.  Anybody want to fill in the day.

With all this said, This may be the last post I drop on this blog.  I can potentially loose my friends, my room, my job, and my girlfriend this month.  All in the name of baseball. 

A Very Death Cab New Year

Happy New Year ye ol' fools. 

For me; Millennium Biltmore. Death Cab For Cutie (Joining him on the bill are Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set).  Flaming Lips.  VIP.  Giant Village.  Shannon.  2006.  Casey's Subterranean Irish Pub til' 9 AM (or whatever kind of mischief we shall find).  Cafe Pinot @ Maguire Garden 12noon til' my immanent death.  More Biltmore.  Gallery Bar and Cognac Room c/o Oscar.  Death be stayed off for another year.

Other music of interest for the evening includes Junior Senior, John Digweed, Black Eyed Peas, The Crystal Method, Junkie XL, Aoki, Architects... check the Giant Village Link, way too much to list.

Inking and Drinking

Tonight saw and impromptu party at my house.  I got back to my place a little bit later than usual from work to a barrage of calls from my roommate asking if he could dip into my "fancy" beers.  I have a lot of micro-brews and whatnot in the extra fridge.  I was glad to oblige my roommate.  Turns out we hosted a gathering of about 15 people.  Not bad for a Monday night.  Downing my beers was my roommates tattoo artist Dave.  My roommate is rather tatted up, both arms basically covered, one leg covered, back mostly done.  Dave once again tried to get me to go to him for ink work, but I ONLY go to my artist back in NY.  Dave brought a few friends of his(suffice to say they all had some ink) and we all just drank, bar-b-qued, ate, drank and laughed. 

In attendance were 2 Suicide Girls that Dave and his boss ink up.  I can't begin to tell you how awesome these chicks are.  Stunningly gorgeous with nice fresh ink.  Yum Yum. 

My roommate Steve went out to Laughlin for the weekend.  He didn't sleep Friday at all, got about 3 hours on Saturday and 4 more on Sunday.  He got back today to another party.  No sleep, drinking since Friday, and we force a party on his ass.  Aren't friends great?

Busy week for life, and work

I have a pretty full schedule this week which includes 3 different concerts.  On Wednesday I will be going to the Troubadour on Santa Monica to see Ivy.  Supporting Ivy will be Robbers on High Street as well as Astaire.  I am looking forward to seeing Ivy, but I am actually more excited about seeing Astaire.   I have their 5 song EP "Don't Whisper Lies" and am looking forward to their live set and hearing some other songs.  I have to thank my friend Tim for turning me on to this band, TimmyGunz!  I am probably most looking forward to this show, but the rest of the week should be pretty damn good.

On Friday I am going to see my friends band play a small show in Covina, about 20 mins from L.A.  The bar is supposedly a real shit hole (I've never been) called Rude Dogs.  More on this show to come later.

On Saturday I'm heading out to the Long Beach Arena to see Taking Back Sunday and Jimmy Eat World.  This show is presented by KROQ and MTV2.  Since KROQ is sponsoring the event, I am sure that I will run into Jed the Fish once again (see previous post).

This should be a long but very fulfilling week.  I look forward to hearing a lot of great music from Ivy and Astaire to Taking Back Sunday.  I get to enjoy time with friends and sip on a few cocktails.  Doesn't get much better than this.

A long, incurable paradigm

It has been a whirlwind week or so for me.  I was recently commenting on the Dashboard Confessional show I saw last week and was planning on writing a concert review, but that didn't happen.  Too much to do.

On Friday I went to the Staples Center with a few peeps to see the LA Lakers beat the Dallas Mavs 108-103 (box score).  Kobe was able to rape his way to 40 points, but it was cool to see Dirk Nowitzki put in 23.  The game was spent damn near court-side with throngs of beautiful LA women surrounding us.  Very good times.  I drank many Heinekens which is an awesome thing at a Laker game. 

Went out on the town after the game and ended up at one of my all time favs in LA, the Three Clubs.  This is one of those hard to find LA bars/lounges that has no signs.  So if you're cruising down Vine one night and you see the sign for Bargain Clown Mart, you've just found one of the coolest lounges in LA.

Saturday came and went with much more to talk about, but according to the non stop barrage of TV commercials, I can't tell you much.  According to the Las Vegas Tourism Board "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,"  and I'm inclined to oblige.  A few of us went out to Vegas on Saturday night for one night and one night only.  Had a blast as usual and none of us made it back to our actual hotel rooms at The Hard Rock. 

Started out at the Hard Rock to check in and set the scene.  From there the whirlwind continued to New York New York, then to Treasure Island for the women and the lounge Tangerine.  Gets hazy after that but the next spot was The Palms to hit up Ghostbar.  Some more shenanigans happened after this but I ended up back at Ghostbar for the glorious Sunday Morning sun rise from the 55th floor outdoor patio.  Still drinking, dancing, and pulling chicks at around 6am. 

I love Vegas. 

I call it a rock show

Just a quick update about the Almost Acoustic Christmas.  The Killers played the best set of the night, but Muse stole the show!  If you have not seen this band live do yourself a favor and try and see them.  There aren't many chances left in 2004, but it is a must see.  This band is UNBELIEVABLE!  4 of the other bands at the show couldn't get off the Muse dick, including Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, and Interpol!  The lead singer of Jimmy Eat world saying "I look like bullshit doing a solo after Muse..."  "How fucking great were they?" 

I might be a bit jaded as the sound in the Universal Amphitheater is among the best in the US, but Muse sounded great.  Keane did a great set that does not include any guitars, not even bass.  The Shins came out ultra hyped but their set was okay.  Franz Ferdinand did a great job and was one of the best acts of the night.  Other than Muse, the only other band that really went off was Taking Back Sunday who tore shit up. 

Modest Mouse came out and wasted about a half hour of my time, to be followed by surprise guest Gwen Stefani, gentlemen, I am a convert.  Not so much for the music but she was pretty damn hot on that stage, and the entire crowd was into it. 

After Gwen Stefani it was truly lights out performances.  Franz Ferdinand followed by the Killers, followed by Interpol, closing with Jimmy Eat World.  This was two hours of absolute beautiful live music.  The Killers were just ridiculous, and have been each time I've seen them.  Interpol was pure brilliance as I've suggested before, and combined a great mix of old songs and new stuff.  Jimmy Eat World came out to perhaps the most ovation of the night, and proceeded to play their "greatest hits." 

Okay, not as quick as I had hoped, but there is just so much I want to say about this concert.  Hands down, the sound at the Universal Amphitheater is the best, as were the performances. 

See Muse!

Almost Acoustic Christmas, Night One

Getting ready to head out to Universal City and attend KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas, Night One.  If you are not able to attend the show I highly recommend heading over to the KROQ web site and watch the show with their webcast. Tonight is an awesome line up and this is a great opportunity to see it.  If anyone can capture the stream (I'm having problems with my video card) it would be great if you would do so and upload it to your favorite torrent site!  Suprnova is just the first that jumps out a me.

Hopefully I'll have some updates from the show in the next few days.  Here is some more show info for tonight:

The KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas is this weekend at Universal Amphitheater.  Doors open at 4pm with the first band hitting the stage just after 5pm so make sure to get there early and give yourself plenty to time to park and walk to the venue.  Please read below for set times.

Saturday, Dec. 11th Set Times
Saturday, 11 December
Doors 4pm

5:10 The Music 
5:40 Snow Patrol       
6:10 Keane      - brilliance
6:40 The Shins 
7:10 Taking Back Sunday - enough said
7:40 Muse      
8:10 Modest Mouse - yeah, ok? 
8:50 Franz Ferdinand   
9:35 The Killers  -  This band is awesome
10:10 Interpol    -  Buy it, steal it, just get this music!
10:50 Jimmy Eat World - My Friend Tim loves this band, and he knows music!

Several More Weeks Until Christmas

What a time for a much needed restful weekend.  It was a well deserved weekend.  Saturday I headed with several others to Old Towne Pasadena for a night of revelry.  We hit up the ever so trendy and popular Villa Sorriso and represented the private bar to the fullest.  This was perhaps the night of the giants, as there were tall people all over the place.  Most chicks were even pretty tall.  It's rare that my 6 foot frame is one of the shortest in any place.  The night went well and the drinks were potent, as usual.  At around 11:30 the dance floor was packed (an outside dance floor no less) and a light rain began to fall.  This was perhaps one of the most lucid "dance floor" events I have ever experienced.  I was of course on the second floor watching from the privacy of the private bar, but painfully hot women dancing in falling rain is something to see.  I don't even want to discuss the rest of the evening, I'm caught up on my memories.

Sunday was pretty laid back.  Lots of NFL to watch, and movies to catch up on.  Got to settle in my warm bed and watch "House of Flying Daggars," which is pretty good.  If you're into "Hero" type movies, this is a must see.  I should preface my 'warm bed' comment on the grounds that LA is extremely cold these days.  Actually the coldest November on record and perhaps even December when all is said and done. 

That man's life

My friend Derek, who resides in one of my favorite cities, Boston, had a great weekend.  So great here is the link to his Super Blog so you can check it out.  My weekend wasn't bad at all, but Derek did a great job on this narrative.  He set up a great scene and provided the perfect amount of breadth to put you right in the mix.  Right on Digital, you're great weekend has not only influenced your creativity, but the moods of others as well.

I need Peyton Manning to go off tonight, I am depending on him in 2 different fantasy leagues.  Let's go Peyton!  I'll take some double love from Peyton to Harrison as well as Peyton to Stokely.  Here's to hopefully 5 more TD passes.

Why not today?

This is a very strange Saturday for me.  I feel like I really have nothing to do.  For the first time in a very long time.  I really don't mind one bit, but it is weird having time to myself.  I have paperwork and crap to do, but come on, that'll wait til Sunday night.  I remember when my time was all mine (technically it belonged to SUCO but that could be loosely interpreted), and I had so many free time activities which I enjoyed.  Now all my free time activities have to be scheduled in and usually get super seeded by the reality of adult life.  The only thing I really get to do on a regular basis is go out at night, but of course now involves work or people in the industry.  Not like it used to be.  And now my nights are being taken away by crappy birthday celebrations at even crappier restaurants, housewarming parties(yes, HOUSEwarming, as many people I know are now starting to buy houses), and meetings after work.  And now Happy Hour is taking out of my night schedule.  I remember the times Happy Hour meant a simple prelude of the night to come.  Now it's 2 - 3 hours at a crappy restaurant with shitty drinks that are overpriced for even happy hour deals.  And after Happy Hour everyone wants to go home.  End the afternoon.  Go to bed early. 

I am so damn tired in the morning.  I remember feeling great after a month strait of 3-5 hour nights of sleep.  One day a year or two ago I woke up tired.  I have been ever since.   Thought that would go away, but it hasn't yet.

Thought the nightmare of the Bush administration would go away as well, how appropriately scared do I feel now?