weekend wrap up.

by josh on November 3rd, 2009

ok, so as i stated on sunday, i really wasn’t in the mood to write a whole dealio here due to the copious amounts of alcohol still straining through my defunct liver.

but to quick wrap up the halloween weekend? first it started at venice beach. i hadn’t been there in a few years so i figure it’d be fun to go bum around there for the afternoon. i had to be at my buddy’s place in culver city later that afternoon, so….made perfect sense as he was just a shot down venice blvd. from the beach. if you saw the pictures in the previous post, obviously that can sum up venice beach that afternoon…..but just to touch on a subject that maybe can’t be seen. i forgot how friendly people were there. everyone was out enjoying the day and enjoying the people around them. it was refreshing in a sense that isn’t often seen too much in the ol’ orange county. it was a true melting pot of folks too. from the 60 year old white dude playing basketball with the ballin’ brothers to the sore thumb midwest tourists finally realizing what kinda “medicine” can be enjoyed in the 2 story green clinic. heh. it was a great day, and filled with nods of acceptance in a land that seems to sometimes forget how to be neighbors.

after that it was onto my friend laith’s place. a few pre-concert beverages and catching up was in order while were waiting for his lady friend that was stuck being our chauffeur for the night. it’s really great that we’ve been able to reconnect over the years. see, i always thought of him as a good friend back in high school….and add in the fact he is really the only one i know from 10 years ago that is braving the socal vibe….and well, it’s just nice some familiarity in the mix. even better, it seems as we’ve both changed over the years….we have done so on similar levels. well, i mean minus the fact he spends his time trying to cure HIV and i am fixing shitty photography. hahah.

on to echo park and the dead man’s bones concert. traffic sucked because of all the freaks trying to get into the hollywood gala….so we were a little late. however, it being saturday night in los angeles, the show conveniently waited for us rockstars before it got started. as i said to 2 other gals waiting in line, “it’s LA, everyone is fashionably late.” speaking of waiting in line….as i was standing there i saw a familiar face. walking right past me was this girl that i had just seen a few hours ago on venice beach. she was at beach doing a little dance routine to michael jackson’s thriller. was freakin’ hilarious because of course i belted out a half buzzed “hey! i saw you on venice beach today!” she nodded and her entourage shared a laugh with me. fuckin’ awesome…again, only in los angeles.

the dead man’s bones show was pretty much everything i was hoping for and expected. a small small show in a seedy bar with halloween costumes passing us by in a blur. the highlight was by far a cover of bang bang (my baby shot me down) that featured this little girl from the choir on vocals. i can’t find a video from our show, but here’s one from the chicago show: -click to view- overall though, they rocked it. a perfect choice for a halloween night boogie.

after that it was back to culver city….then to another bar….and then a nightcap of in and out burgers before crashing.

must say though, the more and more i spend time in los angeles….the more i am beginning to think a move is in order. the people are just more friendly. everywhere we went that day people had smiles and were full of awareness. in orange county? it’s like people are too wrapped up in themselves to even notice there are other people out in public with them. like they go out wanting to have private parties instead of embracing the mix of folks that maybe could surprise them. depressing. i keep telling myself i like it here because i can pick and choose when i want to deal with the congestion of los angeles, but fuck that….los angeles is where it’s at. i’d rather be wrapped up in it if the alternative is where i’m at. time to start looking at some options. stay tuned….

venice beach pics

by josh on November 1st, 2009

here’s some pics from the beach yesterday. -click to lauch slideshow-

concert was great too. i’d write more, but still nursing a hangover. so that’ll have to wait.