Sunday Get It Done Day

What a great Sunday we just threw down. It was one of those days that was so nice out and so great feeling, that you just had to cram in as much good fun as you possibly could. After perfect coffee in the bright sunshine at The French Market, it was on to perfect Bloodies at very dark interior of The Townhouse. It was far too nice out to stay inside (though it was very tempting, George), so we blinked our way back out into the ideal beach day.

The water is so warm right now (almost tropical, I swear. You people that don't swim in the ocean because it's too cold, it's bliss right now, and one of the great pleasures of living near the coast. Go!) that we got right in - and stayed in. The only reason good enough to get out was that the ice cream guy was pushing his cart down the sand, and that hard work needs to be rewarded. And a Bomb Pop must be had to officially commence Summertime.

After that sheer delight, we dried off in the sun for a little while and then pedaled over to Mercede's Grille, where they were celebrating their Sweet 16th Anniversary with a proper Jamaican-themed party.

Cesario Montano was spinning all the very best reggae, and all the drinks that began with an "M" were half price. Moscow Mules, Margaritas, and Mojitos went down smoothly, and were the perfect accompaniment to the all jerk menu (the flavor, not the clientele). Yum.

The divine Miss M (Mercede Ahrablou) was the stunning hostess, and made the rounds of the place, accepting congratulations for keeping this end of Washington Boulevard so much fun for all these years.

The staff was in full rasta mode, sporting the knit hats with rasta dreads attached, and having a blast as they attended to the packed house of revelers.

I could have wiled away the entire afternoon and evening there, but we had a Devo show to get to!

The Wiltern was packed with the Devo faithful, and the old punk jams from the band's basement years were a special treat for the fans, many of whom (more Venice on the east side!) dressed the part.

I could have packed even more in, as this is that time of the year when there is always too much fun going on to do it all. Very good problems to have.

I hope your Sunday was awesome too ... and that the rest of our Summer Sundays keep topping themselves. Go!

Soundgarden in L.A.

I went to the third night of Soundgarden at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on Sunday night. I hadn't seen them live since 1997 at Universal Ampitheater in what might have been their last show of that decade. It was awesome then, like blow your mind awesome.

Sunday night ... hmmmm .... I don't know. It's not the same ... the energy just isn't there like it used to be. Chris Cornell possesses one of the all time greatest rock voices EVER, but he just seemed a litle bored. Which then made us feel bored. Also, it's always a plus for we ladies at a Soundgarden show when Cornell's shirt would come off ... this time he wore a turtleneck. A turtleneck!! Again ... I don't know.

We got a peek of the setlist before the show, and our collective favorite, "Black Hole Sun" was not on the list until the encore. We all looked at each other and knew we wouldn't be there still by then.

I got the gist of it with the "Spoonman", "Jesus Christ Pose", and "My Wave" classics, but the whole affair felt strangely low energy, even though it was being shot for an episode of The Artist's Den. The music was great as ever, with Kim Thayill, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd (the most animated, by far) bringing it like they always did - hard, and Cornell's voice was great as ever ... but I just can't quite put my finger on exactly why we all sort of shrugged  ... and then left.

The discussion on the way home was "Where is the joy? Why so dark all the time? People don't need to remember to be depressed, they need to remember how fun life can be!" To be fair, all the bald heads and baseball hats on the floor looked to be having a great time, beers hoisted ... but it just felt kind of forced. Or sad? Like when we saw a guy physically push his girl's head forward because she wasn't banging it hard enough for his taste. Oooooh. 

I got home, listened to "Black Hole Sun", and thanked Soundgarden for the memories from back in the DAY, when it felt like they really, really meant it, with a ferocity, and had something to SAY vs. re-live. I'll always love them, of course, but ... Shrug.