An Evening With Kris Kristofferson - American Hero

If there is ever a chance of seeing Kris Kristofferson live, my friend Sweet D and I take it. He has been our main man since the 1970s, and at 80 years old, he is still as incredible as ever. After a week that seriously saw Donald Trump became our nation's President ("Elect") and dreadfully lost the legend that was Leonard Cohen ... hearing Kris Kristofferson sing to us was exactly what we needed.

The Rose in Pasadena could easily be a venue inside a casino like Morongo. We did not realize it was a dinner theater. Or that we would be the youngest Kristofferson fans in the house. Septua/ Octogenarians were chomping down on wedge salads and steaks, washing it down with martinis, and waxing poetic about all of the times they'd seen Kristofferson, and "Did you know he was a Rhodes scholar?" I did. He took the stage with no introduction or fanfare, taking the diners by surprise. They all leapt up and gave The Silver Tongued Devil a standing ovation immediately - and appropriately.

"Shipwrecked In The 80s" was the first number, and the listener is drawn in to the story of it all from the very first verse. Kristofferson has always been an activist and a philosopher, and his words are as on the nose in these times as they've ever been. Ok, and it must be noted - The Man is just as handsome as he's ever been ... just in a wiser, more seen it all way than he was when he first stole our hearts in A Star Is Born (which remains my favorite childhood movie). "Darby's Castle" was another from the illustrated storybook of this legend's mind, and then the retirees lost it when "Me and Bobby McGee" was next. As did we.

"Here Comes That Rainbow Again" gave us some of the hope that we so desperately need right now, and "Best Of All Possible Worlds" made us yearn for exactly that. Kristofferson was in fine voice, and his gently accompanying himself on acoustic guitar was all that was needed to bring these song stories to life. He was in high spirits, shouting little "Woos!" after songs, mugging to the lyrics and offering little asides like, "True story!" There were rare glimpses that he was really 80, like wearing a brace on his wrist to play, and when he said, "I had a clever ending when that was recorded, but I forgot it and I'm too old to care." Which only made us love and cherish him even more.

"Help Me Make It Through The Night" nearly killed Sweet D and I, and when I glanced over at her, I saw that she too had her hand over her heart, eyes glistening in full swoon. It couldn't be helped. We were already treasuring our memory while it was happening. I think everyone was. "Casey's Last Ride" was a vivid picture of outlaw love, and Wow - when he played "Nobody Wins" ... well, it could have been written that very morning. Give it another listen.

At this point an overzealous Busser was clanking dishes off the table right in front of us. Like DURING that song. Sweet D said, "Kris Kristofferson is playing RIGHT. THERE." to me after we shared our eye roll ... Kids today. They have no idea. This was followed by Kristofferson saying that a man up front had fallen asleep. Good thing I didn't see who. The venue was definitely beneath the absolute Mount Rushmore-worthy man that sings about our real America - and always has. The word I associate with him most (other than heartthrob) is "Freedom". To me, he embodies American freedom, and the struggle to preserve that sacred treasure.

"From Here To Forever" again made us wistful for the youthful Kristofferson, just so we could enjoy him longer on this planet. There were all walks of life in this audience, and I'm pretty sure we were all feeling the same way. "Broken Freedom Song" again spoke to my soul about that elusive freedom. "Loving Her Was Easier" ... Well, it really doesn't get much better on this earthly plane.

There was a brief intermission - where more dishes were cleared and more martinis were consumed - and then Kristofferson was back, again with no fanfare. "I'd Rather Be Sorry" was more of the hopelessly romantic genius that made us fall for KK long ago. Rita Coolidge was one of the luckiest women to ever live. I swear.

"They Killed Him" was a song that Kristofferson was proud to say had been recorded by Bob Dylan with a children's choir, and it was lovely. "Jody and The Kid" pulled on our heartstrings. "The Pilgrim" was perfect. "Jesus Was A Capricorn" earned shouts of approval, that we could all be more like Jesus right about now. "The Promise" made us love him even more, especially when he said, "It says I'm supposed to play harmonica here, but I don't feel like it. And I forgot the end. Too many blows to the head." Still ... fine by us. Kristofferson has chord changes that are very significantly his, and my heart swells at every one. And the minor notes - Ugh. They kill me.

"To Beat The Devil" showed off Kristofferson's wit, and "Sunday Morning Coming Down" showed off his history. That one was a real crowd pleaser ... but wait. They all were. Like "The Silver Tongued Devil" that is so perfectly his song. I'm well aware that I'm gushing, but when someone is your ALL TIME FAVORITE ... Oh, well. "For The Good Times" began the eyes welling, and "A Moment Of Forever" (my personal favorite) added the lump in the throat. "Why Me, Lord?" pleaded above for help, and again was completely perfect for a soundtrack of today.  People went nuts clapping and shouting as Kristofferson shouted a firm, "Thank you!" He left the stage, but came right back for "One more". Which was "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends".

As Kristofferson brought the song home, he SHOUTED the song's title, signaling that he's been thinking about all of it a lot. The state of the world, and his own life ... and how it all ends. Like Kristofferson, I'm not ready. Don't tell me. And until then, let's celebrate living legends, music, and the FREEDOM that we all still have.

Kris Kristofferson ... Thank you so much for this wonderful, classic, moment of forever with you. *Oh, and PLEASE make some mercy for us to remember these shows by! There never is any and we can never believe it. We want to wear you proudly. Thanks! xxx

**Top photo courtesy of Tasteofcountry.com because it's perfect.

The Rose - By Any Other Name ... Does It Smell As Sweet?

We've been eagerly awaiting the re-opening of The Rose Café (established in 1979) in Venice (now called "The Rose"), and got in there last night to check it out. I'll have to reserve judgement until they're totally up and fully running, but so far ... we miss the old Rose.

My friend, Nori, is currently using a cane post foot surgery. We pulled in to The Rose parking lot, and were told by the valet that the first hour is free, and after that it's $9.00 per hour. Even for hobbled people with canes. Gone is the kindly old valet that charged like $2.00 for all day or something. Yeah, no thanks. We parked on the street, and Nori limped along for two blocks.

The space inside is lovely. There is no gift shop now, and in its place is a big, full bar. That's great, though I did love that little shop and its unique cards and gifts.

I guess it's the same owners, but they clearly want to capitalize on being Google-adjacent, and the homey old feel of the former Rose Café is no longer. It's pretty slick, and obvious that they want to compete with Gjusta down the street, with the same various stations for pastries, to go food, and all that.

The servers (very nice, almost ass kissy - which I get, they're new) referred to new Chef Jason Neroni as "Chef", which I always find slightly off-putting. "Chef likes to serve ... " I get that hierarchy stuff in the kitchen, but let's cool it on the aggrandizing, because, frankly, we didn't really like the food so far. At all. They won't be serving the full dinner menu for a couple of weeks, but what we had from the bar menu was really not even ok. We wanted the pizzas we'd seen posted on Instagram, but were told those weren't available, and we could just get cheese pizza by the slice. Out came a super oily piece of what might have been a Stouffer's French Bread pizza. Thick. Overcooked.

The sashimi Nori ordered was really good, but a little, tiny plate of it. The sheep's cheese we ordered came in a soupy Chef Boyardee-style sauce, with a tiny hunk of hard bread on top all sticky from the gross sauce. We tried to get at the cheese without getting sauce on it, and there was not enough bread even for that. We asked for some more bread - as it wasn't nearly enough for two - and were later dismayed to find that that "side of tiny bread" was $5.00 on our bill, which was not relayed to us when asking. The parking costs two tiny loaves of bread! Ridiculous.

We had fried chicken with a lot of gristle and a sauce drizzled over it that when I scanned my taste memory, the closest thing I could come to in describing it to Nori (not a meat eater) was vomit.

The wine pours were tiny, and honestly, the only thing we liked was the coffee shop type lemon bar we had for dessert, because that was the only thing that sounded good or not like breakfast. Oh, we also liked the decor and the patio, but where we sat was right across the street from Google, who seemed to be hosting a YouTube kids show, and all we heard throughout dinner were little girls screaming like they once did for The Beatles. Times have certainly changed at The Rose.

We relayed all of our concerns to the servers, who were lovely and gracious, but the one probably set herself up when she asked us, "Is everything amazing?!" The long pause was almost answer enough, but Nori cracked me up when she replied, "Amazing might be a little strong." Speaking truth to power.

I hope The Rose settles in and works it all out, because it's always been a great meeting place for the People of Venice, and it's a gorgeous space. I just hope they don't forget that people loved their old Rose Café, and we're still here, Google be damned.

As we hobbled back along the two blocks to Nori's car, we just kind of had to laugh. And hope for the best.

The Rose
220 Rose Avenue
Venice