31 March 2010

Melissa Auf der Maur at the Viper Room

xMAdMx

The show rocked.  I honestly haven't paid much attention to Auf der Maur's career since the Hole/Smashing Pumpkins days.  I vaguely remember a single from her solo album a bunch of years back, but I always thought she was pretty awesome so it seems like a good show to hit up.  It was the album release of her new venture - which is actually more than an album, it's a whole multimedia extravaganza with film and a comic book and probably some other stuff.  Despite my ignorance, it was well worth it.  She rocked, her band rocked.. I really am such a fan of rock artists who just pour their whole heart into it and aren't trying to be hip or ironic or whatever.

Also, Melissa herself is tinier and more beautiful than I had imagined. She's not Kylie Minogue tiny or anything, but from all the music videos I've seen her in, I pictured her as a sort of towering amazon. One thing she does have in common with Kylie is a surprisingly gay (male) following.  Again, I claim ignorance of whatever career and personal factors have affected this, but it was a pleasant change of pace compared to my usual (but still generally awesome) experiences at the Viper.

I definitely plan to get some of her stuff and I hope she's also getting royalties from the Hole stuff that's stuck in my head now (and thus will inevitably be purchased soon).

24 March 2010

One Year On: An Embarrassment of Riches

Well, it's my one-year anniversary here in LA and I could not be more grateful for the past year.  I'm working for a company I love and the being in LA this time around had definitely helped me understand my company and my industry better - and given me more chances to put my fingers in every cookie jar around.  The change in venue definitely helped me mentally open a new chapter in my personal life, too.  On that level, it's also been such an experience of growth and change - meeting so many wonderful people who think and act and believe and work so differently from me.  Thanks to the fantastic weather, I have discovered running and hiking.  And, of course, I've morphed into a kooky Cali pseudo-hippie, drinking my organic free trade coffee with almond milk and going to vernal equinox mediation-yoga-dance parties.

I've also had the opportunity to rediscover live music - somehow the love of a good rock show that was bred into me by both nature and nurture got displaced when I discovered cheesy pop and dance clubs.  But now with the legendary Roxy Theater and Viper Room in walking (or, as if often the case, stumbling) distance from my house I've been able to see everything from hair rock to hip hop on a regular basis.

Then there's all the little things, like so many bars & restaurants with outdoor seating and the great weather to enjoy them almost any time.  Living in a state where Happy Hour is legal. Getting more Vitamin D from the sun than from pills.  A Trader Joe's on every corner.  If I could just somehow add Dunkin Donuts & the Sox to the mix, I'd pretty much be in heaven.

Los Angeles has been a real gift in my life, so I wanted to take a second to really tell the universe "Thank You!... and please keep it coming!"

19 March 2010

Yoga Booty Ballet

I think SoCal has spawns more "religious" and fitness fad than any other region in our fine country.  A lot of them (and I'm talking about both categories) and stupid and a little dangerous.  But it certainly gives one a good deal of choice.  And in amongst all the hay is a needle of awesomeness (now I'm only talking about fitness).

Yoga Booty Ballet is my needle.  I stumbled across the class thanks to Groupon and I am so grateful.  I try to go three times a week now and I chose not to sign up for a second session of bootcamp to have the time and money to devote to YBB.  It's the prefect mix of sweat, mindfulness and joy for exactly where I am on the cheerleader-hippie spectrum.  The first class I attended was Patty's Wednesday night and as she introduced herself and YBB to us newcomers, she exhorted us all to "dance like you're alone in your bedroom" and proceeded to lead us through a fantastic dance sequence set to Madonna, Lady GaGa, Ke$ha and The Heavy.  I leave class filled with love and appreciation for everything and everyone, no matter how I walked in and it seems to have a cumulative effect just like regular mediation.  It is so awesome, I have even started scheduling my personal life around it.

09 March 2010

PaleyFest: Seth McFarlane & Friends

If the Cougar Town panel was disappointing, then tonight's Seth McFarlane panel totally made up for it.  First off, the moderator was Bill Maher and the first panelist they introduced was Seth Green - both of which were unbilled "Additional guests TBA"  Score.  And from there, things just got better.  It was such a well paced a hilarious panel that actually covered a lot of topics about the shows (mostly Family Guy) and the process of making them - what the writers' room is like, dealing with the censors (apparently the show's biggest supporters within the network - go figure!), what, exactly, is a Muddy Ramirez.  I also liked that both Seths brought their cocktails out on stage with them.

08 March 2010

PaleyFest: Cougar Town

One of the great benefits of living at the source of all pop culture as that, for the most part, all the makers of pop culture also live here.  So it's not uncommon to have events like book signings that boast celebrity authors.  And one of the first events I was able to attend when I moved last year was a PaleyFest panel for Dr Horrible.  And it was fantastic.  I mean, I'm a Whedon fangirl, but the panel was fantastic and introduced me to the true awesomeness of Felicia Day and was my first visit to the ArcLight Cinerama Dome.

So I was pretty excited when PaleyFest rolled around again this year, this time in the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills.  I decided to go to the Cougar Town panel, even though it was on a Friday evening, because I think the strongest thing about the show is the fantastic ensemble cast.  Unfortunately, the panel itself seemed to go off the rails pretty shortly after Bill Lawrence announced he was 12 chardonnays in and never really got back on track.  Lawrence had a lot of amusing anecdotes that were great to hear, but it just seemed to be missing something and the majority of the cast really didn't get much chance to contribute.  Pretty much all I learned is that Christa Miller is insanely sexy in a way that somehow just doesn't make it through the camera.

02 March 2010

She Don't Lie, She Don't Lie, She Don't Lie

So, I've been mulling over whether to actually write this post or not, but it's one of the biggest "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore" things that still stands out to me.  I suspect is has something to do with my proclivity for dive-y rock bars, but "Do you party?" seems to be as frequent a pick up line as "Can I buy you a drink?"