OUT TO SEE: THE DOLLYROTS, THE COWBOYS, AND QUEEN CAVEAT
A recent night was spent at the Viper Room, catching The Dollyrots, Queen Caveat, and The Cowboys.
A potential indication that a band’s new set of songs will win over audiences? Two photographers/bloggers (your own blogger and Picksysticks) huddled over a camera shot of The Dollyrots’ set list after the show, pointing to all the new songs that they loved.
With a new drummer, The Dollyrots took to the Viper Room stage with an introduction from Rodney on the Roq. In the audience were a number of folks that were personal friends of mine or folks that I recognized so this night was definitely a Dollyrots love fest. None of us went home disappointed as The Dollyrots gave us an addictive set.
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THE DOLLYROTS
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Comment of the night: “If you’re not having fun, go home. I’m kidding . . .”
Moment of the night: My strange belief that a broken string means that you’re getting the best from a musician, Luis broke a string with two songs left in their set.
After their set, I walked outside, which was just a mass of folks. The first person I ran into was Rich, the drummer for The Mulhollands. He was picking up some of his gear. Randomness of life. Rich is playing in a new band called The Cowboys (pictured right). This was their first show ever. As was mentioned on stage within about four minutes, “We just finished our first song ever.” The Cowboys don’t sound at all like a band just learning the ropes. It helps that all three band members are veterans of the local Los Angeles music scene.
Closing out the night was Queen Caveat (pictured below). This band is being highlighted by ABC’s “20/20″ for an upcoming documentary. There was a camera gal recording their set. Perhaps partially influenced by a conversation I had with picksysticks, their set reminded me of Nico Vega. A female lead who uses the whole stage while also interacting with the audience.
OUT TO SEE: THE LONELY WILD AND HE’S MY BROTHER, SHE’S MY SISTER
I keep a shortlist of local bands that I’ve come across over the last two years that have really blown me away.
On a recent Thursday night at The Echo two of them shared the stage: The Lonely Wild and He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister. Lonely Wild’s songs are filled with beautifully constructed melodies. As for He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister, the band members play with such joy that you can’t help but enjoy their set. Also playing was Bad Weather California, a barefooted punk influenced band (you’d think a band with this name comes from California, but they are from Colorado).
The Lonely Wild (pictured left below) started it off. Highlight of their set has to be the moment when two trumpets made an appearance. I just love trumpets. Bad Weather California (pictured center below) hit the stage next with my noticed moment being when the lead singer kicked off one of his shoes and spent a few moments walking around with one shoe on and the other off. Why did I notice that? Because when I’m in a situation like that I feel like I’m about to topple over. He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister (pictured right below) headlined the night. From what I could see, The Echo was packed when they hit the stage. A handful of folks were standing on the wall seats that line the back of the floor. They played a 13 song set along with a demanded encore.
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Did I leave The Echo with the proverbial spring in mystep? You bet.
All three of them will be tap dancing their way into SXSW this week.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: MICHAEL VAN LONDON
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MICHAEL VAN LONDON. YOU MAY NOT KNOW THE NAME YET, BUT CHANCES ARE YOU’VE HEARD HIS MUSIC. CURRENTLY THE SINGER/SONGWRITER’S SONG “SOUND OF AN AMP” CAN BE HEARD IN THE TRAILER FOR “STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.” A FILM DIRECTED BY BRIAN DANNELLY (“SAVED!”, “UNITED STATES OF TARA”, “PUSHING DAISIES”) AND WRITTEN BY (AS WELL AS STARRING”) “GLEE” ALUMNI CHRIS COLFER. THE SONG WILL ALSO BE A PART OF HIS SOON TO BE RELEASED ALBUM “AMERICAN BLOOD & GUTS.” YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS MICHIGAN TRANSPLANT PLAYING LOCALLY IN LOS ANGELES WITH HIS ROCK N’ ROLL BAND THE BLACK BEVERLY HEELS.
WE RECENTLY INTERVIEWED VAN LONDON ON INTRAFFIKRADIO, AN INTERVIEW WHICH YOU CAN CHECK OUT A RE-BROADCAST ON MONDAY MARCH 05 AT 11 AM ON INTRAFFIKRADIO.COM
Q. When did you decide that music was what you wanted to do?
A: I think music sort of chose me, my first word was “tape” i used to walk around as a toddler and say “tape, tape, tape” until they would play KISS
Q. At what age did you pick up your first instrument and what was it? How many instruments do you play? Which is your favorite?
A:I got a drum set when i was like 9 or 10. I was always a singer so eventually guitar found me and it has been an ongoing love story ever since.
Q. Growing up in Michigan, how did you encounter music (i.e. radio? tv? siblings? friends?)? What kind of music was around you during your youth?
A:I grew up on rock ‘n’ roll. We used to have these cool nights at my house when we would all sing and play air guitar (before it was considered air guitar) and just jam all night. I never thought about it, but i bet they were drunk– I just thought it was what people did.
Q. What made you want to move to L.A.? Have you lived in other parts of the country other than L.A. and where you grew up?
A: I moved to LA in 2005. I’ve lived all over the place and every city I’ve lived in (Paris, Boston, NYC) all gave me much to write about. Traveling is important for songwriters.
Q. What were some of the artists that impacted you early on (or specific songs/sounds)? Which of those artists grew with you (that you listened to in your youth and still listen to?
A:I grew up on Patsy Cline, Ace Frehley and the Bangles. I still listen to all of them. I also love Aimee Mann and Juliana Hatfield.
Q. As a singer/songwriter/musician what do you feel is the most important part of a song?
A: Well i think there are a few things to listen for, one being the melody, then the lyrics, the beat, and then the riffs.
Q. What do you hope those who listen to your music will walk away with or be left with?
A: A feeling. No matter what that feeling is. To feel is to be alive, so if i can provide that a little I’m succeeding as a musician.
Q. You’re music will be featured in the film “Struck by Lightning” which features an all-star cast (including Dermot Mulroney, Christina Hendricks, Allison Janney, and Chris Colfer) and is directed by Brian Dannelly. After learning more about the film, were you excited about this opportunity?
A:I was flipping. I’ve been waiting a really long time to showcase my songwriting in something major.
Q. Did you have any favorite movie soundtracks growing up or as an adult?
A: Oh god yes. “Clueless” soundtrack, “Empire Records,” “Lost Boys,” god what else. A few of them that I can’t really think of at the moment. That’s why this is such a cool opportunity for me. I’m the guy on the soundtrack now, i can’t believe it.
Q, With as competitive and saturated as the music market can be, what do you feel will (or can) set artists apart from all of the others?
A: That’s a tricky question. I think just continue to be who you are, even if its not considered “cool” you have to stay true to yourself in order to write something relevant and real.
Q. We always ask artists to recommend other artists that we should check out that play around L.A., who are some of your favorites to watch?
A: I really love Brainspoon. I also really love Ingenue.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MICHAEL VAN LONDON FOLLOW HIM ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AS WELL AS HIS BAND THE BLACK BEVERLY HEELS.
HERE IS THE TRAILER FOR “STRUCK BY LIGHTNING”
OUT TO SEE: FINDING THE MUSIC SCENE IN BUENOS AIRES (PART III OF III)
As you may be familiar from some of his past columns about his travels (Sevilla, Spain, Prague, New Zealand,etc.), Notes from Vivace always makes a point to try to locate the local music scene in each of the places he is exploring at one point or another during his trip.
Friday
My hotel really did it to me on my last night. The hotel must have realized I was going to give it a bad review on Expedia so it decided to slam me for being so mean in advance. At around 4 a.m. the phone went off. Okay, so maybe someone accidentally called the wrong room for a wake-up call. I stumbled out of bed and picked up the phone. No one was on the other end of the phone. I replaced the phone. It kept ringing. I picked it up again and put it back down. It continued to ring. I unplugged the phone and plugged it back in. It still kept ringing. I unplugged the phone again. It still rang. I started to get worried that this was the hotel’s fire alarm system. Eventually, the phone stopped ringing. I listened intently for the sounds of folks rushing out into the hallways, fleeing for their lives. I didn’t hear anything so I eventually fell back asleep.
I spent the first part of the day doing a little tourist shopping. Interesting encounter: I had learned that very few people in Argentina spoke English so when I entered a t-shirt shop I hardly expected to meet someone who spoke English. I pointed to a t-shirt I was interested in buying and the woman immediately started to talk to me in perfect English. After doing some shopping, I headed off to a park where I kicked back and did a quick vacation brainstorm writing session – which I then proceeded to ignore for over a month. (I also ended up taking a short nap.)
I got back to my hotel and sat around the lobby as I waited for a pick-up to the Buenos Aires airport. An interesting side note is that to get from the airport to Buenos Aires was $55 pesos, which included a ride to my hotel. For the same service back to the airport, it was $70 pesos. Admittedly, that is about equivalent to an additional $4 US, but I still found it strange, especially when unlike my trip into Buenos Aires, the wireless internet connection out of Buenos Aires wouldn’t work.
I was getting worried as the shuttle bus headed towards the airport. I was trying to get to the airport with two hours to spare and traffic was looking horrible. Others on my bus also appeared concerned. Miraculously, traffic cleared and we got to the airport right on time (literally). Then it was time for the long unexpected process of getting to my flight. The first part was easy. Check in my luggage. I’d already done an online check-in. Then I went up for their security, which started a somewhat chaotic process. The first check point was a passport/ticket check point. There was a long line that round around the airport. Then we went through another security line, which was torture because there were apparently two lines: one for Argentineans and one for others. The first line didn’t move at all while there was hardly anyone in the second line and folks practically jogged on past. Now a handful of us tourists just assumed that we were in the correct line. An airport employee eventually came by to inform us tourists that we were actually in the Argentinean line. Now why was the Argentinean line taking so long? Their luggage was being hand checked. The rest of us stood in another long line (which had been hidden from view) for the normal x-rays (for Argentineans, after having their luggage hand checked, they also had to send their luggage through the x-ray machine). The guy behind me was freaking out, worried that he wouldn’t make his flight. There was a more calm couple who stated, “The plane won’t leave without us. There are too many of us stuck in this line for them to just take off without us.” Eventually, I got through to the x-ray machine, setting off the body x-ray for a reason unknown (I made sure I removed my belt, which had set off the machine at LAX). From there, we hit another line for customs. I managed to get through the whole process in about 2 hours.
With my flight starting the boarding process, I went running around the terminal, trying to find the extra-large Toblerone bars that I love so much and always spend my last few foreign money on. I found them; however, I could only purchase the chocolate bars in US $. I’m still in Argentina and they refuse to take my Argentina pesos? I was just a bit upset. I went looking around to find another location where I could spend some of my remaining pesos. I found a stand, but they didn’t have those large Toblerone bars. Oh well.
And with that I got onto the jet.
When I got to my seat, I was asked if I would be willing to move so that a friend up front could sit with his friends where I was sitting. I was willing, but I wanted to make sure I was moving to an aisle seat versus a middle seat. Maybe I was going to be a jerk, but there was no way I was going to spend 10 hours in the middle seat. It was an aisle seat so I agreed to the move.
From the American Airlines pilot (American Airlines had just declared bankruptcy): We are delayed, because they refuse to fuel up the plane. We need $140,000. If someone can provide that money, you will get a bunch of bonus miles in Dallas.
Of course, perhaps because of the bankruptcy, there was no movie on the flight to Dallas. There is the possibility I slept through it as I swear I slept close to six hours. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to sleep that long on a flight. I guess that is what happens when you’ve spent six nights sleeping no longer than five hours.
Saturday
I will say that the landing was one of the smoothest I’ve ever experienced. And I will also say it was nice not being sick. In the past, I’ve been sick and gotten severe sinus headaches as the plane was descending. It was nice not to have such a headache.
I arrived in Dallas with about 1.5 hours before my next flight. Bathroom break first. Then Customs. Due to my 7:48 a.m. departure, I was given a special pass, which allowed me to jump the line. I was given the pass when I was near the front of the line anyways so I’m not sure it helped speed things up for me at Customs though it did help elsewhere. I was welcomed back to the US with no tough questions like I’ve gotten from other Custom Agents (maybe because I had the pass). It was then off to get my luggage. I went looking at the carousel, no luggage. And I saw no additional luggage coming onto the carousel. Was I going to have luggage issues again (like the UK)? I looked around and saw that it had gotten removed from the carousel.
From there, I rushed off to get myself x-rayed. This is where the pass helped as I was allowed to jump into the business line. Unlike in Argentina, I didn’t set off the machine. A rush was on for the plane with perhaps 20 minutes to go. I headed to the sky tram. An Argentinean family asked me if they were at the right place. They were also going to Los Angeles. Yep. We got onto the sky tram. The daughter was so eager to get to Los Angeles that she headed for the doors when our tram got to the next stop, but I motioned to them that this wasn’t the appropriate stop. We shared a laugh.
I got to the gate and just walked on in. Minutes later we were off and again I was asked to switch seats. I did and then promptly fell asleep.
I arrived in LAX and went to the carousel for my luggage. It appeared that most people had already retrieved their luggage. I waited. It never arrived. An American employee pointed me over to the baggage office. My luggage hadn’t made it onto the plane due to my late arrival from Buenos Aires, but it was on the next flight which was to arrive in ten minutes. Ok, not that bad.
I did my public transportation back. Everything was fine until I jumped from the subway system to the bus system. I waited for my bus on Hill Street. Bus numbers 90 or 91 take me very close to my apartment, but number 94 showed up and I decided to jump on instead of waiting around for the 90 or 91. It got me within comfortable walking distance of my apartment.
I took a seat towards the rear of the bus where three sections of seats face each other and there is an open area in the middle (good for my luggage).
At another stop shortly thereafter a woman walked on and made her way to our section of the bus. I immediately assumed she was an off centered homeless person.
She wanted an end seat and there were two available. She went to one guy who was sitting next to the open seat. She was over-weight and would need more space than just one seat.
Woman, “Can you move? I want to sit there.”
Guy 1, “No.”
She went to the other seat
Woman, “Can you move? I want to sit there.”
Guy 2, “ No.”
She turned back to guy 1, “Can you move? I want to sit there.”
Guy 1, “No.”
The woman took a seat next to guy 2, the back row of the bus. At the next stop she stood up and went to guy 1, “Can you move? I want to sit there.”
Guy 1, “No.”
She proceeded to turn her back to him, facing me. A look of comforting ecstasy came across her face.
Guy 2 caught his look and screamed out, “Driver, this woman is s*#tting in her pants. Throw her off. She’s crazy. She’s s*#tting in her pants. Bus driver. Code 50-51.”
I was thinking, he’s calling out codes, maybe he is a metro employee himself.
Woman, “No, I’m not. I’m not doing it in my pants. Look. (She proceeded to moon all of us.) I didn’t s*#t my pants.”
Guy 2, “Put your pants back on. We don’t want to see your fat ass.”
At this point, the whole bus is watching us in the back. The bus driver rushed over and so does her mother.
Mother, “My daughter is mentally disabled.”
The bus driver accepts this answer and goes back to his duties.
The mother and guy 2 start cursing each other out.
Guy 2, “Take care of your daughter. Clean your daughter. Dress your daughter.”
The mother proceeds back to her seat, which was at the front. The mother and guy 2 spend a few moments cursing each other out.
At the next stop, folks exit the bus and guy 1 takes the opportunity to get another seat, which means the woman finally gets her end seat.
Guy 2 to me, “I wouldn’t treat my daughter like this. She smells and is filthy.” He would probably know this as she did briefly sit next to him.
I didn’t want any part of this situation so I just shrugged.
I decided to put my hand to my chin for who know what reason. The woman waved at me as she mumbled gibberish, which didn’t sound like English to me. I remove my hand from my chin and she stopped waving at me. I then put my hand to my chin again. This time she got off her seat and walked over to me. She tapped my watch, mumbling gibberish. I had no clue what she was saying. I responded, “No hablo espanol.” I then realize how stupid this was because she had been speaking English before, but hey I had been traveling all around the world and wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind.
Guy 2, “Just tell her to stop touching you with her dirty smelly self.”
I still wanted none of this so I shrugged again.
I proceeded to put my hand to chin again. Up she goes. This time she spoke in clear English, “Don’t touch your face.” She took my arm and lowered it.
A guy who had set next to me said with a laugh, “She doesn’t want you to touch your face.”
Hmm. Now I felt like scratching my face as I was so conscious of the whole face deal. I resisted the itchy sensations.
Guy 3 got on the bus. He sat next to the woman who was now speaking about George Washington and strange science.
Woman to me, “Can I have a paper and pen?”
“Sorry.”
Woman to Guy 3, “Can I have a pen?”
Guy 3 started to look for one in his bag, “Sure.”
She proceeded to write on herself.
By this time the bus was on San Fernando Blvd and I’m watching the street signs. Where’s Fletcher? We got to Fletcher. Okay, where is Glendale Blvd? I just wanted off that bus.
When I got home I did five things: Took a shower. Did laundry. Got something to eat – burrito. Watched a Walking Dead episode. And this won’t be a surprise . . . took a nap.
Music Selections
Bomba Estereo - “Fuego”
La Bomba De Tiempo - “Camino Abierto”
Ojas – “Como Rebeldes”
Violet Castillo: “La batalla del movimiento”
Posavasos - “Muy Loca”
La Practica de las Llamas - “Te Amo”
OUT TO SEE: FINDING THE MUSIC SCENE IN BUENOS AIRES (PART II OF III)
As you may be familiar from some of his past columns about his travels (Sevilla, Spain, Prague, New Zealand,etc.), Notes from Vivace always makes a point to try to locate the local music scene in each of the places he is exploring at one point or another during his trip.
Monday
I went to La Tigre, which is a river town. I went via the train. It was packed with teenagers. I was told it was a holiday. The majority were not heading in that direction to hang out by the river. They were all heading to a small amusement park in the area. It didn’t look that large so maybe afterwards they did hang out by the river.
I walked around La Tigre, checking out the museums. I then purchased a ticket for an hour boat ride. That was a mini-adventure that highlighted my lack of Spanish skills. I went to the ticket counter area and stared blankly at a monitor that listed what I assumed were departure times. There were four windows that sold tickets. I figured most of them probably sold tickets for boat trips around the city, but I also wondered if any of the windows sold tickets for boat trips to say Uruguay or back to Buenos Aires. I noticed an upcoming scheduled departure that was cheap and indicated that it was one hour. I decided to go to Window 1 to purchase a ticket. There was a total inability for the two of us to really communicate. In the back of my mind, I wondered if I was perhaps buying a one-way ticket to another coastal town. I was the lone person buying a ticket so I couldn’t exactly come to an assumption such as, Oh look, all the folks in this line look like tourist. I walked around trying to find someone with English skills to make sure I had purchased a river trip. No one spoke English though I got a couple hand motions to the appropriate departure dock. I finally ended up at a tourist office where it was verified that I had bought an hour river ride.
My lack of Spanish skills came back to haunt me a couple hours later when I was trying to get back to Buenos Aires. I walked up to the train station’s ticket counter and asked in really awful Spanish/English: “Uno ticket, Retiro.” Retiro being the train terminal in Buenos Aires. I was met with a slightly rude reply, “No entiendo. No entiendo!!!” Great. I got myself out of line to rethink the matter. I decided to just go to the other ticket window. The young lady working that window seemed to understand my request better and sold me a ticket, which was far cheaper than what it cost me to head to La Tigre. Maybe that was part of the confusion with the first woman. I had handed over a couple peso bills that were far more than the cost of the ticket back to Buenos Aires and perhaps she didn’t understand why I’d hand over so much money for just one ticket.
Anyways, after getting back to Buenos Aires, I headed over to a small museum that was filled with toys and games. Actually a rather cool museum.
Then it was off to my hotel room where I took a shower before heading to Ciudad Cultural Konex. My music source had suggested checking out La Bomba De Tiempo, a 17 piece drum band. Konex looked like a warehouse converted into an art facility (ArtWalk time in Los Angeles) versus a place where bands played. There was a courtyard with a stage on one end and a steel staircase on another. I thought they would play in this courtyard. As I wandered around, however, I saw folks in line for an inside theatre (what I’d described as a converted warehouse).
I would say that well over a thousand people were there for La Bomba De Tiempo. Also, of all the foreign music venues I’ve visited during my various world trips, this one felt just slightly like a tourist trap. A tourist trap for those who’ve done some deep dive research and can then brag to their friends that they discovered something unique. Why did I come to this conclusion? I was surrounded by English speaking individuals. I’m just going to assume they were American college kids. There was one really cute young woman in front of me who I happened to figure out was visiting from Columbia.
La Bomba De Tiempo put on a show that had the crowd bouncing around all night. A mosh pit even formed for awhile. Some fans got a little too excited towards the end of the set. A couple started pounding on the stage as if it were their own drum instrument. This was a big no-no. One of the support staff looked them straight in the eye with a you-better-stop-that look. I’m guessing it caused problems with the musicians keeping their rhythm. Another individual (I’m guessing European) moved through the audience and jumped on stage, dancing to the beat. He was quickly chased off, but appeared very pleased with his moment on stage. The band itself had a rotating lead drummer who directed the band (including fun drum waves) and drove audience participation. There were also a number of guest artists. As I was leaving Konex, I noticed a familiar sight: food vendors selling food to exiting music fans. I also saw an ambulance parked, waiting for potential hospital visitors.
Tuesday
The plan was to head to La Plata. I took the Subte to the Retiro stop where the train and bus terminals are located. I figured I would go to a tourist info center first and ask questions on how to get a ticket to La Plata. I could have just looked it up in the tourist book, but I decided to be safe and talk to an actually individual. I couldn’t find the street where I knew there was a tourist booth so I asked for directions. After walking in the general direction, I determined that the tourist office I was heading towards was just too far away. I looked at a map and realized that the bus terminal also had a tourist office. So I back tracked and headed over to the bus terminal. As I entered the terminal, I saw an info booth. The guy didn’t speak English, but he hand-motioned me in the general direction of the tourist office. Unfortunately, I thought he told me to go upstairs and to the left versus just going to the left. I wandered around the terminal for awhile, trying to find a tourist booth. I passed by what felt like hundreds of bus companies selling tickets to various counters (based on post-Internet research, there are around 200 bus companies).
I finally stumbled across the tourist info office. The lady at the office verified the bus company and then indicated where I needed to go. I then spent a few minutes tracking down the specific bus company’s ticket counter. I eventually came across the appropriate ticket counter. Luckily, the lady behind the counter had some basic English skills as did a couple of individuals that were also in line with me. I was told that the bus to La Plata didn’t stop inside the bus station. Instead, I would need to go out on the street and the bus would be there. That got me a little concerned. In my mind, the bus could be anywhere around the terminal versus at a specific designated numbered location. My concern didn’t last long as the bus was easy to find as it was right outside the exit of the terminal. I got in line and was the second to the last person to enter the bus, which meant that I ended up having to sit on the floor. No joke. I spent one hour and 15 minutes sitting in a very cramped position.
I have to say that La Plata wasn’t that big of a deal. The only advantage of heading to La Plata was that the weather was cooler when compared to the heat of Buenos Aires so I suppose that alone might have been reason to take the trip. It does have a nice cathedral. And there is an old train station that was converted into a museum, but the museum isn’t that significant.
What I did find interesting about the city was how the streets were laid out. The city is sectioned in a grid with streets that run parallel and perpendicular to each other in perfect squares of perhaps 50 yards each. There are also streets that cut diagonally through all of this. I’m sure it made perfect sense in 1880, but I’m not sure it makes perfect sense now. What amazed me was the total lack of stoplights or stop signs. I stood on a corner a few times observing cars passing through intersections. Somehow it all worked out with cars slowing down and maneuvering past cars coming from a perpendicular street. (more…)
OUT TO SEE: FINDING THE MUSIC SCENE IN BUENOS AIRES (PART I OF III)
As you may be familiar from some of his past columns about his travels (Sevilla, Spain, Prague, New Zealand,etc.), Notes from Vivace always makes a point to try to locate the local music scene in each of the places he is exploring at one point or another during his trip.
Pre-Trip
On this vacation, I focused my pre-vacation planning in three areas. The first was to buy a computer tablet. I was tired of always going to an Internet café. I got super jealous after seeing my fellow travelers in Edinburgh surfing the web on their tablets in the hotel lobby. Now I could have gone with an iPad or a Samsung Galaxy tablet, but doing so would be contrary to my cheap nature (though I suppose my cheap nature disappears when it comes to camera equipment). I ended up purchasing an Amazon Kindle Fire at Best Buy. My second focus, as always, was to do some research into the local music scene. I came across a blog called “Going Local Travel” by Vicky Baker. She appeared to have a good grasp of the local music scene in Buenos Aires so I shot her an e-mail. I got a response with a nice list of bands to check out. I ended up checking out two of her suggestions along with a venue. So if you’ve come across this travel post, you just might enjoy Going Local Travel, as well. Also, finally for the first time on my various trips, I was planning on meeting up with a friend who was attending school in Buenos Aires.
Black Friday
As is my recent norm, my trip started on Black Friday — yes, I skipped the whole Black Friday shopping day (however, this didn’t prevent me from driving past a Best Buy on a Wednesday to look at folks camping out two days in advance of Black Friday, I find certain things amusing). My public transportation travel was rather mundane. The boring was observed such as just like my United Kingdom trip, I got to the Blue Line just as the train was pulling away (PLEASE WAIT FOR ME!!!). When the next train pulled up, I ended up in a car that had a plaque dedicated to Glendale, CA. When I got to the shuttle bus to LAX, it was filled with TSA employees.
I got to the airport in about two hours. And as I went through security, I was given an irate grunt when I forgot to take off my belt before going through the x-ray machine. When I got to the gate area, I decided to take out my new tablet and see if I could get any use out of it. I powered it up and came to the realization that I had to pay for Internet access at LAX. Forget that. I put it back into my carry-on.
An elderly gentleman approached, “Is that your computer?” (more…)