Happy Dia de Los Muertos!

Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) has grown dramatically over recent years, with the skeleton faces and outfits of the holiday celebrating our lost souls being popular for Halloween costumes also. The darling movie Coco probably helped a lot with that, as well as things like the fantastic celebration put on at the Hollywood Forever cemetery each year. I almost like Dia de Los Muertos and all the altars and costumes and color even more than Halloween, as it puts the emphasis on people that you knew and loved and that are no longer with us ... or ARE they?

Venice got in on the action too, and I saw that some ladies are enjoying their morning tea (?) together out on a lawn party this morning ... and those are just the ones I could see. It's Friday, and the weekend is looming, and the week was exhausting, and people are probably ready to just chill and be done with all the hoopla, and I get it. But we should all try to take at least a moment today and think about those who we lost this year, and those who have been gone a while too. Thoughts and memories keep them alive, and I find comfort in that. Hi Dad! Hi Grandparents! Hi Aunts and Uncles! Hi Friends! Hi Prince! Hi Leonard Cohen! Hi Everyone!

CHEERS to you all out there! This is your day. (And for those of us who still get to run around in this astral plane - have a wonderful weekend!)

Venice Does Halloween '18 Right!

It feels like Halloween started like a month ago, but the real deal was last night, and it was so fun.
After all the parties and Electric Bike Parades and school Halloween events and theme parks and hay rides happening the last couple of weeks, Venice had the Halloween spirit down all over town, with yards and homes decked out with a ton of fake spider webs, lots of cemeteries, and ghosts, goblins, skeletons, and monsters of all shapes and sizes.

 

People were walking around in costume all day, at their jobs, in their cars ... folks were feeling it. It was a perfect day for trick or treating, nice and balmy even after the sun went down.

 It's always the cutest to see little ones out for their first Halloween trick or treat, and Miss Magnolia was out as a little lamb. The most darling little lamb ever, I mean, with her Chef mom brandishing a meat cleaver, for good Halloween measure (not pictured, but hilarious).

 A lot of people like to take their kids to the walk streets for trick or treating, but my favorite Halloween zone in Venice has always been Rialto Avenue.

Though a lot more sparsely decorated this year, it was still the best. Our headquarters was our longtime friends, Russ and Harry's house, where cocktails were served and we passed out candy to all the little kids out having a blast.

A highlight every years the Haunted House at Dillinger's house, and this year was the best one yet. I actually screamed a blood-curdling scream after one good jump-scare from a terrifying werewolf that jumped out at me (Hi Dillinger, if that was you!). Excellent work.

The Haunted House corner was kind of the main hub of activity for Rialto this year, as the street filled with kids and their adults in one costume better than the next. Baby Trump even made an appearance!

I didn't get a picture that turned out of the cutest little costume of the night ... a baby chick that was so tiny you couldn't stand it. That kid should wear that outfit every day, they could write their own ticket. This one little Hulk cracked me up - because look at him (or her) - but also because it had big mitts on that made it nearly impossible to get the candy out of the bowl without a little help. That kid kept on trying though!

Old friends and neighbors greeted one another up and down the block, even if sometimes you had to be told who was who, so well-costumed were many of the usually familiar faces. Like Dennis as Little Boy Peep.

Russ and Harry were kind of Eyes Wide Shut beaked creatures that were pretty scary, especially if you're a toddler. I love that they have their open house every year, keeping this Venice tradition alive. It was one friend's kid's first Halloween on Rialto, and I wanted them to see the house that turns into a big dragon every year, but I was sad to be told that they had moved away. I guess they didn't share the drill with the new people, because that whole end of Rialto closest to the post office was completely dead - and not in a Halloween way, but in a non-participating way. Lame.

Kids got so much candy that their bags were nearly bigger than them ... which soon meant meltdowns and tired parents. Once it was bedtime, the grownups got down to socializing over on the walk streets, which were also pretty decked out.  While hanging out over on Nowita, I got a call from my brother, who had an extra ticket to see Thee Oh Sees downtown at the Teragram Ballroom. I was in.

We raced downtown, in time to see Thee Oh Sees shred it up for a bunch of costumed moshers. I laughed every time I looked at the drummer (there's two) who was dressed up as Macho Man Randy Savage, fake muscles and all. The Smurf on bass was pretty good too.

Sweaty, spent, and fully rocked, we made our way back to Venice, with another excellent community Halloween celebration on the books! Good job, Venice ... you're the best.

Two Sides Of Venice

There are a lot more than two sides to Venice, really, but when I was out walking to my friend's house yesterday, I saw two examples of some stark differences right by each other. The first was natural beauty that was so stunning, you simply had to stop and stare. I love a hibiscus, and this one was among the top ones I've ever seen. Pink and orange and perfect there in the sunshine, it made you think about how almost heartbreakingly beautiful Venice can be.

Then, right around the corner I saw a trash can out for pick up, and the people had written on its side just exactly how they feel: We do what we want. We don't care ... Fuck the System. It's hard to disagree with ... and kind of how I've always thought of Venice. We do what we want ... we don't care what others think ... and most of us moved here because we don't agree with the system everywhere else. Only now it's starting to BE like everywhere else here a bit ... and that's why I think people get so upset, and so protective, and so argumentative ... because you're either feeling the uniqueness of Venice slipping away - or among the ones making that happen. Both are at odds. And the new ones that are trying to make Venice like everywhere else just don't get it. There's a long history of beauty, and art, and rebels, and music makers ... and the dreamers of dreams who want to live somewhere special, like nowhere else. In our Venice. In our COMMUNITY of like-minded friends and neighbors.

Beauty. Rebellion. That's my Venice. For as long as we can make it so.

Munch Mural!

There is an absolutely gorgeous new mural in progress on the front of Munch that is nearly completed, and it's a traffic stopper. Located on the south end of Abbot Kinney, it is sure to become a selfie destination immediately.

The beautiful work was done by Stefan Thelen, aka Kid Super A, and it's wonderful. I also urge you all to frequent Munch (and not just stop for photos in front), either in their mellow restaurant location, or via their late-night - and delicious! - delivery.

Before it was Munch, it was Marla's ... and I hold them both dear. Support your local Mom and Pop and Sons and Daughters and FAMILY businesses in Venice! They're all too rare around these parts lately, and they're also awesome.

LOVE to the Munch Family, and Congratulations on a new landmark!

Happy Weekend, All! Maybe I'll see you at Munch.

Love On A Train

I was coming back to the Westside from downtown L.A.with my brother and by the time we neared our stop, the train was nearly empty. I turned to ask him something, and noticed this couple fast asleep across the aisle from me. It was so moving ...  I asked Paul to take a photo.

They are Los Angeles. I don't know their story - and didn't want to wake them to ask - but it was such an L.A. story without words that I wanted to remember it, even if I felt a little invasive taking their picture. Were they coming home from a long day of working several jobs? Were they riding the train because they didn't have anywhere else to go? Were they O.K.? It seemed as though they were, as long as they had each other for support. It looked like the definition of love and comfort to me ... and I wish them nothing but well. And more love.

*Photo by Paul Gronner.

Willie Nelson And The Outlaw Music Festival - Last Stop, Hollywood Bowl!

Oh, MAN! I finally got to see Willie Nelson live and in person! At The Hollywood Bowl! For the final stop of The Outlaw Music Festival 2018! Deadheads and Willie fans unite! And it was awesome.

The only drag was that it wasn't a true Hollywood Bowl event, but a leased one, which means you can't bring in your food and drink like you normally always can - and it started at 5 p.m., which also never happens, so we were late. We missed Particle Kid (Willie's son Micah's band), we missed Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real (Willie's son Lukas' band, which was a major drag we would find out later), but heard he played a song from the new A Star Is Born, which I'm not about. Kris Kristofferson version forever (and as it was the "Outlaw" Festival, I kept hoping KK would be a special guest at his good friend's gig, but nope. We ended up getting there for the tail end of the wonderful Margo Price though. We heard her singing "9 to 5" and thought it really might be Dolly singing (you never know - there are often surprise guests in L.A.), but it was Price belting it out in an uncanny resemblance. I'll be happy to see her whole set one day.

Sturgill Simpson was up next on the rotating stage, and came out wearing a t-shirt that read, "If you hear any noise, it's just me and the boys boppin'". I really can't tell you what his set list was, because he is one act I can never make out what he's saying. I've seen him before, and thought how much better he would be if he could just enunciate his words a little bit. His voice reminds me a bit of Waylon Jennings (high praise), but Waylon I could understand.

Simpson and his backing band pretty much made up for the slurring with their excellent playing, with Simpson playing his guitar like it was on fire - and I think it probably nearly was. He mentioned that it would be his last show for a while, as he had his third son born just last Wednesday, and it was time to take some time off to be a Dad ... "But we have cool shit coming next year!" A song I COULD make out, was "The Promise", a cover of the old When In Rome song that Simpson country-rocks up.

I ran into a friend after Simpson's set, and he said, "Sturgill was ROCKING!" - which he fully was. The singing was actually kept to a minimum, and it was basically a guitar shred-athon. "You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til The Well Runs Dry)" was another one I could make out, and it was great. The guy facing us and doing air guitar for the crowd especially thought so. Good times.

After the break, Phil Lesh from The Grateful Dead was up. There were a whole bunch of happy Deadheads in tie-dye, up and dancing in that Dead style that is really hard to explain. Lesh and his band got down with Dead classics like "Althea", "Brown Eyed Woman", "Sugaree" - and that got even the Cowboy-hatted people happy and dancing. Lesh himself let his band (Jackie Green, Jason Crosby, Nathan Graham, and Cris Jacobs) take on most of the heavy lifting, seeming pretty frail of voice and body himself. When he did take over lead vocals, joyous shouts would go up from his faithful followers, acknowledging his legend status to them. It was touching.

When they sang "All New Minglewood Blues", and its line, "A couple shots of whiskey and I'm going back to Hollywood", it received self-congratulating yells from all of those here in Hollywood. Hollywood lines are always crowd pleasers at The Hollywood Bowl. "Candyman", "China Cat Sunflower", and "Shakedown Street" were all pretty good, especially if you ever followed the Dead - which I didn't. Some songs were like 20 minutes long feeling, and often a bit off and/or sloppy, so it was kind of easy to tune out and just enjoy the moon and stars, which I did.

Lesh welcomed back Margo Price to join them for "Turn On Your Love Light", and she elevated the whole proceeding with her gorgeous and powerful voice, and spirited tambourine playing. It was nice to have a woman there, as the whole Outlaw thing can definitely use some more women. And Price is great.

The house played Willie Nelson while we were waiting for Willie Nelson, which isn't usually done, but it got us hyped and ready for The Red Headed Stranger - who is a stranger to no one. When Nelson took the stage in his Dodgers jersey (Turner #10!), the whole place stood up and cheered. "How 'bout them Dodgers?!" he shouted, and all the Angelenos in attendance roared for their team that is going to the World Series for the second year in a row!  I wasn't prepared for how excited I was to finally be seeing the legend that is Willie Nelson - in person! With his famously beat up guitar, Trigger! I had chills and kind of choked up. They lit right into "Whiskey River", and all the faithful sang their praise along.

Nelson and his family band were backed by a giant Lone Star flag behind them, and "Still Is Still Moving To Me" was up next. I love that song because it was included in a reggae version on Toots & The Maytals True Love album, which I hold dear.  Nelson kind of sing/talks these days, and you can tell he's been doing these songs forever. I wore braids to honor the man, and he soon tossed off his cowboy hat to some happy fan in the crowd, revealing his trademark red bandana and two long braids. What a legend.

"Let's do one for Waylon!" shouted Nelson, and they got down with "Good Hearted Woman", which was as great as you'd expect. The man next to me kept just laughing, like he couldn't believe he was really there seeing this. I get you, buddy. People were SO happy to be there. Nelson introduced, "Little sister, Bobbie", who is a wizard on the piano (and recently inducted into the Texas Music Hall Of Fame!), with her waist long hair covering her face as she focused on the keys. She tore through a solo, accompanied by her brother on guitar, and it was super moving to see them still playing together after all of these years. And moving all over again to see Nelson play with his sons now, who he next introduced before launching into "Texas Flood".

O.K. This was the absolute highlight of the show for me. Talk about A Star Is Born - Lukas Nelson RULES. The entire house was mesmerized as Lukas soared over us all, with both his excellent voice and electrifying guitar skills on this bluesy number that left everyone speechless, with mouths hanging at how very close this apple fell under this particular family tree. Holy smokes. There was a little guitar battle between father and son that Willie ended with a little  twang that made Lukas smile and us laugh. Lukas would play so hard he'd have to push his glasses back up on his nose, and in that moment, I got a brand new crush. What a talent. I know I'm late to the game, but everyone needs to check out Lukas Nelson immediately if you haven't already. Whoa.

They followed that show-stopper with "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys", and that classic had the whole place lit up and singing along. I say let 'em, Moms. Cowboys like this are exactly what you want. "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" slowed things down a bit, as this lovely ballad had people slow-dancing together in the aisles. Then "On The Road Again" got people back up singing and dancing together, then one of my very favorites, "You Were Always On My Mind", which was slow and beautiful and moving to tears. Nelson would raise his arm up each time he sang the title line, indicating that his fans are always on his mind - and you can feel it.

"Let's do one for Merle!" with another shout out to another lost friend of Nelson's. It seemed like the entire venue smoked along to "It's All Going To Pot", which rolled (get it?) right into "Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I'm Dead".  It was apparent that all were having a grand old time, both on stage and off. This was kind of the novelty song section, as those weed smoking tributes were followed by the ode to internet rumors, "Still Not Dead Today". Everyone laughed, but also threw up a silent prayer that this song can keep being sung by Willie for a very long time.

"Jambalaya (Fun On The Bayou)" made sure that we had fun in the Bowl, as did "Hey, Good Looking"  and "Move It On Over", which kept people dancing and singing along. The folks in the box next to us moved out their chairs and had their own private little dance floor, in an inspired move.

"It's almost that time again, and if you don't like who's in there, Vote 'em out!" implored Nelson, as they gave us the brand new song by that name. It was met with cheers and it seemed likely that the voters in the house (ALL, I hope!) will do just that. Nelson wrote it for the Texas battle between Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz that seems like an absolute no-brainer. Go Beto! Go Democracy!

The last song/s of the night (there was surprisingly no encore) was a medley of  "I Saw The Light/I"ll Fly Away/Will The Circle Be Unbroken" and hopefully all of our country will finally actually finally see the light. Nelson brought back up everyone involved in this Outlaw show (but not Kris Kristofferson, sigh), and once it ended, he waved and blew kisses to the crowd that never wants to see him go. A true Outlaw. A true Great. A true Legend. There will never be another dude like him, and I was filled with happiness that I finally got to see this great American treasure live ... and that with his great kids, the circle will remain unbroken.

Thank you, Willie! Thank you to Outlaws everywhere! What a night.

*Photos of Willie were not allowed (!) so the one you see is lifted from the L.A. Times. All others by  Paddy Wilkins.

A Venice High Weekend - Go Gondoliers!

In all the years I've lived in Venice, I had never been to the Homecoming game at Venice High, which I guess is fine because I didn't go there, but as a resident of its town, I think we should all support the local schools - and Venice High is awesome.

The whole place is under construction for a massive school grounds makeover, but that didn't stop any of the fun. The Venice High side of the bleachers was packed - standing room only. The Gondolier kids are great, with a ton of school spirit, and I even got to meet their mascot, Gondo the Mighty Gondolier! Adorable.

There was homecoming royalty, and a Hall of Fame induction. There were cheerleaders, a dance squad, and a marching band that always makes things more festive. I ran into a whole bunch of people that I knew, and it was almost more a community event than just a high school one. I also learned that the concession stand makes some great tacos! Maybe my favorite in town, probably because someone's Grandma is making them or something. They were delicious.

The Gondoliers were not victorious in their game against Fairfax High, but they were victorious in having the most fun, and making even folks well past high school that didn't attend their school feel welcome and included. I loved it.

Then, the very next night, Venice High (aka Rydell High) hosted the annual Grease singalong! Back to back fun events hosted at this awesome school! I was only there briefly, as Game 7 of the Dodgers game was happening at the exact same time, and my friends, the Halverson's were having a party a half a block away, so I split right after "Greased Lightning" this year. I was there long enough to see all the fun folks in costume, and the old hot rods - and to have another quick taco!

Thank you to all the great kids and families that make having Venice High a blast not just for the kids in attendance, but to the friends and neighbors that  live nearby. Thank you to parents who send their kids to public schools ... your resources help to make them better. Rowing, Not Drifting. You're all awesome.

Go Gondos!!!