Eastern Conference Champions and Glacier Hiking at Spaceland

I have this new band I really like called Eastern Conference Champions. I learned they were doing a gig at Spaceland so off I went to catch them. This was only my second time seeing them and once again I was not at all disappointed. What a great joy.

I was thinking of taking off right after their show, but then I noticed that Spaceland was starting to fill up. The next band up was Glacier Hiking. I admit that my first impression as I was seeing the band set up was, "These guys look a bit dorky." On the other hand, I couldn't help but see that Spaceland was getting crowded. "Okay," I thought, "I'll stick around for a couple songs and then take off." I didn't take off after a couple songs. I stayed for the whole set. My first impression was totally wrong. What I assumed as dorky simply wasn't true. As they went from setting up to playing their music, they turned into awesome musicians. I'm not sure I've had such a quick switch of opinion regarding a local band. I'll have to keep this band in mind for the future, because I'd like to see one of their sets again.

Eastern Conference Champions







Glacier Hiking

The New Fidelity at Old Towne Pub

As soon as Maxim Ludwig finished over at Hotel Cafe, I headed off to Old Towne Pub to see The New Fidelity at Mike TV's Church of Rock and Roll. One of those nights where you hang with a bunch of folks you know. I didn't stay for Get Set Go. The night was long. The New Fidelity finished their set a little after midnight and it was time for me to head on home for some sleep.

Duke Basketball vs. Baylor: 78-71

Duke is in the Final Four. Wow. I know, I had my bracket filled out with Duke getting to the Final Four, but this was a most stressful two weeks. Also, I know, this is the point in my bracket where I've ended Duke's run, but I do want them to continue. I will gladly give up any chance to finish in the money in my March Madness pool to see Duke cut down the nets on Monday.

My thoughts on the game.

1. In the early part of the game, Baylor played like a bunch of punks. Every time they made a shot, they took the ball and put it directly on the floor instead of tossing it to the Duke player doing the inbound pass. I felt that was just extremely rude.

2. Kyle Singler had his worst game in some time. Some say it was due to his playing defense on LaceDarius Dunn -- he picked up two quick fouls. Perhaps this is true, but I wonder if his wrist was bothering him. He took a nasty fall on it in the game against Purdue.

3. Smith was awesome.

4. Lance Thomas had the most amazing slam dunk.

Update 3/30: I'm thinking of the one with about 1:30 left in the game.

5. Andre Dawkins filled in nicely for Kyle Singler.

6. Brian Zoubek was limited by foul trouble, but he still pulled down 9 rebounds.

7. In my bracket, yes, I had West Virginia beating Duke in the Final Four -- interestingly how one side of my bracket survived while the other totally collapsed. After seeing that West Virginia really has only one point guard and how Kentucky was able to apply full court pressure on West Virginia when the point guard got into foul trouble, I wonder if this will be the Duke strategy -- try to get the point guard in foul trouble.

Maxim Ludwig and the Santa Fe Seven/Sister Crayon @ Hotel Cafe

I headed off to Hotel Cafe to see Maxim Ludwig and the Santa Fe Seven. My friend and I have this you pick, I pick music agreement -- though I think it is really one of those you pick and I never pick situations. My friend likes Maxim Ludwig and so it was off to Hotel Cafe.

I arrived early and got to see Sister Crayon. Actually, I showed up on time, 8:30 p.m. This was the time my friend set for us to meet up at Hotel Cafe. She didn't show up till 9:30 p.m. Interesting.

Sister Crayon had an interesting story. There vehicle broke down while they were heading to Hotel Cafe. Someone had to come pick them up to get them to Hotel Cafe on time.

Sister Crayon photos.





Maxim Ludwig





Update 4/6. Interesting note. This was the second time my friend and I saw Maxim Ludwig. The first time we saw them, she loved them and I was a bit more neutral. This time around, I loved them and my friend was more neutral. Interesting turn of events. Anyways, in my opinion, this is a band to check out.

Duke Basketball vs. Purdue: 70-57

That was a really pathetic 1st half. The half time score was 24-23, Duke up by one. Duke actually could have trailed at half time, but closed the quarter well. Purdue took a quick 4-0 lead, but then did they throw up four or five air balls? Did I hear that Duke had 11 turnovers.

Luckily the game didn't turn around for Purdue in the second half. As for Duke, they turned it around. Jon Scheyer, mired in a March Madness shooting slump, hit a three pointer (assist I believe from Nolan Smith.) Jon gave props. Coach K. was ecstatic. And then Jon Scheyer was able to figure out the defense and drive to the basket. Beautiful. The big three put it together in the second half and Duke took out Purdue with relative ease.

A Movie Review: She's Out of My League

She's Out of My League. I enjoyed this movie. The two main actors, Jay Baruchel (Kirk) and Alice Eve (Molly) were endearing – though I personally think Krysten Ritter (Patty) is hotter than Alice Eve and should have been the “She’s Out of My League” actress (blonds vs. brunettes shall we say?). Outside of the hotness question is rather Molly is dating an underachiever while the question for Kirk is will his self-esteem problems destroy his relationship with Molly. This premise could run out of steam, but I think the movie had enough going for it to get it over the finish line.

There are some indications throughout the movie that Stainer (T.J.Miller) and Patty had scenes that were left on the cutting room floor. There were some eye contact going on at a party and towards the end of the movie there was a conversation between the two of them that didn't seem to have an appropriate reference point.

A Movie Review: The Runaways

The Runaways. I found myself totally involved in the telling of this story. This is a true story about the rise and fall of an all-girl rock band. The band included Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart), Cheri Currie (Dakota Fanning), Lita Ford (Scout Taylor-Compton) and Sandy West (Stella Maeve). The band also included a bassist, but since the real band had multiple bassists during its short life the movie doesn’t focus all that much on this individual. Actually, Lita Ford is given rather little film time considering the fact that she had a solid music career post-The Runaways.

From my understanding, I got to listen in on a Q&A with Cheri Currie, the film is rather accurate. Obviously, when you are condensing two years into 90 minutes you have to take certain liberties such as not having a rotating bassist. Other disconnects that I learned in the Q&A: The film shows Joan Jett meeting Cheri Currie at Rodney Bingernheimer’s club. Cheri stated they met at an all ages club in the Valley. Also, Cheri left the band during a photo shoot, not during a rehearsal session as depicted in the movie. (Hopefully, that isn’t considered a spoiler as it isn’t like one doesn’t know that the band breaks up in the end.)

This film doesn’t back down from the drugs and sex of rock and roll. You see Joan Jett and Cheri Currie taking too many drugs throughout the film. It actually made me squirm a bit at moments as I am definitely not one to take drugs. You are also provided glimpses into the relationship between Joan Jett and Cheri Currie.

What did I enjoy about the movie?

I love seeing the band working out their sound.

Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) is just crazy.

You see how Joan Jett is driven and Cheri Currie is looking more for an escape.

I loved when Rodney Bingenheimer is interviewing Joan Jett. I’ve seen Rodney around various locations and the mannerisms were rather accurate.

Kristen Stewart is obviously awesome in this movie.

What did I not like about this movie?

Since the band only lasted a few years, they did rise to fame rather quickly, but I wish the various steps were more defined. You have them forming the group. You have them practicing. You have them going on road tours playing at skating rings. Suddenly you have them opening for bigger bands. Then they get signed. Then they’re off to Japan. You do have that progression in the movie, but I didn’t feel like there was enough explanations associated with each step. I don't think these steps even needed to be part of the film. They could have been quick notes sprawled on the screen.

March Madness Bracket: 2nd Chance

I shouldn't be so pessimistic, but I still can't pick Duke to win it all.

I'm going with North Iowa over Michigan St due to a key injury over at Michigan St.

I'm ending the nice run by Cornell, Butler and St. Mary's in the Sweet 16.

Kentucky looked strong, but I'm still saying the freshman will crack.

I had Syracuse going out earlier, but now I'm moving them to the top though part of me also wants to go with Ohio St.

Update: Change of heart. Just read that Onuaku is still injured for Syracuse. I figured he might be back for the second week of play. I'm going to have Ohio St. knock them out.

Sweet 16


Midwest
North Iowa
Ohio St.

West
Syracuse
Xavier

East
Kentucky
W. Virginia


South
Duke
Baylor

Elite 8

Ohio St.
Syracuse
W. Virginia
Duke

Final Four
Ohio St.
W. Virginia


Championship
W. Virginia

The Hard to Get, The Mulhollands, The Shakers @ Fox and Hounds

Off to Fox and Hounds I went to catch The Hard to Get, The Mulhollands and The Shakers. A nice night of hanging with friends. The Mulhollands introduced a couple new songs. The Shakers were rocking it like there was no tomorrow. Amazing night of music.


The Hard to Get



The Mulhollands




The Shakers

Duke Basketball versus Cal: 68-53

Victory. A Sweet 16.

I was stressed until perhaps 3 minutes left in the game. Yes, Duke was dominating throughout with only brief periods of worry popping up, but I just couldn't help it.

At the start, Duke jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but Cal came back. I forget who specifically, but one of the Cal players set up a couple picks that just totally opened the lane for a Cal guard to slash in and score. After the second such pick, the announces mentioned that Coach K was furious. I don't blame him. The second one prevented both Brian Zoubek and Nolan Smith from chasing after the guard. I don't know, but I find it rather amazing that a player can set a legal pick that stops two players. Oh well, in the second half, this same Cal player got called for a foul on a pick. (It was either Theo Robertson or Markhuri Sanders-Frison.)

As for Duke this was a really solid game.

The good.

Kyle Singler is leading this team.

Anyone notice that Duke was pounding the ball into the middle? That Miles Plumlee back to the rim slam dunk was awesome.

Brian Zoubek rocked. 13 rebounds. 14 points. I loved that 10 foot sky hook jumper.

Lance Thomas also rocked it with 9 rebounds.

The bad.

Wish Andre Dawkins had gotten more minutes. I do like that 8 player rotation.

Jon Scheyer shot just won't fall. Hopefully, the next few days will give him some rest and time to work on his shot. Just think what might happen if Scheyer, Singler and Nolan Smith were hitting shots.

Next up is Purdue. After looking rather pathetic in the Big Ten Tournament, due to the injury to Robbie Hummel, Purdue has gotten some mojo back and has made it to the Sweet 16. (I'm not such a big sports fan that I watch every single game, but I did happen to catch a few minutes of the Purdue game and they just didn't look good.) We'll see what happens next Friday. I'm not sure which is going to be the most interesting game (assuming some level of competitiveness): Kentucky vs. Cornell or Baylor vs. Saint Mary's.

A March Night at El Cid: a Rob Z night

After heading to the Viper Room, it was off to El Cid to catch the Rob Z night. There were no specific bands playing that night. The bands were collaborations of various bands, mainly Underwater City People and Midway. The theme of the night was “Cartoons and Cocktails St Patty’s Day Edition.” It was a lovely night outside and there was a projector set up playing various cartoons. As always, it was a fine time to catch up with friends.

Derek Webb and Kevin Max at the Viper Room

I got an e-mail from a friend about going to see Derek Webb at the Viper Room. I’m always up to taking suggestions from my friends so I said I’d go. I didn’t know who Derek Webb was, but I did know the other guy that was on the set with him, Kevin Max.

Both are actually well known Christian artists. I obviously had heard of Derek Webb, because he used to be in a band called Caedmon’s Call. Kevin Max used to be in a band called DC Talk.

Since they’re professional artists, I’ll be a bit more critical of them versus my usual positive tone on local bands. I was a bit under-whelmed. Sorry. The back end of Derek Webb’s set was rather good. Kevin Max just didn’t bring it. I think he even knew it as he apologized towards the end of the set saying how his vocals just weren’t warmed up. I also felt that for artists that have been around for so long they should have had more stage presence.

From the face of things, Derek Webb seems like a great person. There was an uncomfortable incident during his set. The curtains closed when he wasn’t even finished with his set. He responded, “I thought we had 45 minutes. I was told we had 45 minutes, but that’s cool. We’d love to have an extra 10 minutes, but we’ll end our set now.” They gave him an additional ten minutes. I think the situation was that they were giving him from 7 p.m. till 7:45 p.m. He didn’t start his set till around 7:15 p.m. so I think that was the disconnect. I thought the way he handled it with his humble response was awesome.

As for Kevin Max, he had a bit of a sarcastic humor going on there. He made fun of the DUI roadblocks mentioning that wasn’t it amusing that many of the police officers were Irish – he then thought about it and said, “Well, maybe not here in Los Angeles.” He also thanked Derek Webb, “The only Christian who can use the word F!*k.”

Sorry, no photos from the night. The Viper Room has a camera policy and I wasn't able to get a photo pass.

My Official NCAA March Madness Bracket

I have various brackets out there, but here's the one I used for the March Madness Pool. Sorry, I just couldn't go with Duke to win it all.

First round

Midwest
Kansas
UNLV
Michigan St
Maryland
San Diego St.
Georgetown
Georgia Tech
Ohio St.

West
Syracuse
Florida St.
UTEP
Murray St.
Xavier
Pittsburgh
BYU
Kansas St.

East
Kentucky
Texas
Temple
Wisconsin
Washington
New Mexico
Missouri
West Virginia

South
Duke
Louisville
Texas A&M
Siena
Old Dominion
Baylor
Richmond
Villanova

Second Round

Midwest
Kansas
Maryland
Georgetown
Ohio St

West
Syracuse
UTEP
Pittsburgh
Kansas St.

East
Kentucky
Wisconsin
New Mexico
West Virginia

South
Duke
Siena
Baylor
Richmond

Regionals: Sweet 16

Midwest
Kansas
Georgetown

West
Syracuse
Pittsburgh

East
Kentucky
West Virginia

South
Duke
Baylor

Regionals: Elite 8

Midwest
Kansas

West
Pittsburgh

East
West Virginia

South
Duke

Semifinals

Kansas
West Virginia

National Championship

Kansas

Up on intraffik.com: Back to the Sunset Strip

I'm up on intraffik.com. Up with an article on a night at the Viper Room.

Dreams: Chris Pine showing up at a restaurant

I had this interesting dream where I was eating with various friends. We were in a nice enough restaurant. I left one table and headed over to another table. I was talking to a couple friends there, sisters. And in walks Chris Pine. My two friends are obviously enamored with him. I over-heard a conversation at his table where someone yelled out, “He’ll cover our tab.” Chris Pine replied, “No, no.” He then relented, “Okay, but let’s not pile up a big bill.” Back to my friends, dinner is done and folks started to leave. I noticed a friend outside on the sidewalk. She’s a friend who recently left for Argentina. I was surprised I hadn’t noticed her before because it was really cool that she was around. And then I remembered Chris Pine. Wait, a friend of mine really loves Chris Pine. I started to send her a text message.

I woke up.

Duke Basketball vs. Georgia Tech: 65-61

I'm not sure how much you can take away from a game when one team is in its third straight game and the other is in its fourth.

Obviously, both teams should be rather tired.

The good.

Wow, Andre Dawkins had an awesome drive, slam dunk.

Mason Plumlee nearly had a more impressive dunk, but missed it.

Kyle Singler couldn't hit a shot, but got himself to the line where he hit 14 of 16.

A solid three man reserve rotation.

The bad.

Jon Scheyer has had some recent difficulties with his shot. Duke doesn't have to play till Friday so hopefully he can rest up and get his shot back.

Duke as the 3rd #1 seed.

I love Duke, but the 3rd #1 seed? I'm not so sure. We'll get to see if they deserve it soon enough.

Jared Mees and the Grown Children, Finn Riggins, Olin and the Moon, Correa Town @ Spaceland

Thinking of writing something up on intraffik so here are some pictures from the night. Great night.

Jared Mees and the Grown Children

Finn Riggins

Olin and the Moon

Correa Town

Dreams: Paying to get into the office!?!?

I had this brief dream. I was going up to my office. I was in the hallway in front of the door that led into the office space. I didn't have my key card to swipe -- forgot it at home. Since I didn't have my key card, I needed to deposit $0.60 to open the door. I didn't have $0.60 so I headed downstairs to an outside bar. I had a dollar and asked for change. The bartender refused. I begged him, telling him I needed two quarters and a dime to get into my office. He took pity on me and gave me the change. Back to the office I went and deposited $0.60 to get the door open.

A movie review: The Yellow Handkerchief

"The Yellow Handkerchief." This is a lovely though flawed film. The movie starts with Brett Hanson (William Hurt) getting released from jail. He ends up at a cafe where Martine (Kristen Stewart) is having a hard time dealing with a guy she'd met the previous night. Also in the cafe is an annoying young man named Gordy (Eddie Redmayne). Through circumstances, they join up for a few days. Brett has this desire to head towards his home where his wife May (Maria Bello) lives -- or at least he hopes she lives there. Gordy is on an adventure. Martine just wants to escape her life for awhile.

There are flashbacks where you go back six years or so where Brett and May got to know each other.

Flaws

I didn't buy the fact that Martine could fall for Gordy. I read one review where Gordy is described as cocky. I saw him as having a rather low IQ with a tendency towards the weird.

There are also two scenes of near sexual violence. Definitely not rape. Probably not sexual assault. But scenes of two men taking excess liberties and in both cases their "victims" fall for them.

Beauty

A slow movie that seems to give you nothing through most of the running time, but everything is slowly building until you come to the end where you get an emotional lift.

After seeing 'Twilight: New Moon,' it was nice to see Kristen Stewart in a good role. The movie was made in 2008. I don't know when it was actually filmed. She was probably somewhere between the ages of 16-18.

A Book Review: Angels Flight by Michael Connelly

Angels Flight. Time for some Michael Connelly. This is another Harry Bosch book. This one occurs for a period slightly longer than 72 hours. This book comes in just under 400 pages and is jam packed with clues, leads and investigations.

Bosch has a broken marriage. A civil rights lawyer with a negative history with the LAPD is murdered. The city explodes into violence after hearing the news. There are clues left behind in the case the lawyer was working on that leads Bosch on his investigation. He and his team must investigate the crime while at the same time dealing with an LAPD that needs to protect its image.

Does this sound like an intriguing concept? Hopefully so. I found this a well crafted book. I could have read it in a couple days if it wasn't for my music addictions and the fact that the 2009-2010 television season is in full swing.

Potentially considered a spoiler. I did have some slight problems with the ending. Justice was handed out in a zombie, horror flick style ending. Just a tad over-the-top, but unless the book was going to go on for another 40 pages working through the aftermath of the investigation I suppose the ending worked as a climatic point instead of just dragging the book on to the point of leaving us disappointed.

Interesting note:

From the book: In the long run, Frank Sinatra got ripped off. Decades ago, when the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce put his star down on the sidewalk, they put it on Vine Street rather than on Hollywood Boulevard. The thinking probably was that the Sinatra star would be a draw, people would come down from the boulevard to see it, to take a picture. But if that was the plan, it didn't work. Frank was alone in a spot that probably saw more hypes than tourists. His star was at a crosswalk between two parking lots and next to a residency hotel where you had to convince the security guard to unlock the lobby door if you wanted to go in . . . By the time Bosch got to the star Garwood was already there.

I believe this is the star he's talking about. Frank Sinatra actually has two stars on Vine.



The book was written in 1999. I'm not sure the exact year the book is set in; however, a lot has changed since 1999. This area of Hollywood has cleaned up.

The first major change in this area was the Sunset+Vine apartment complex.




This is one of the parking lots mentioned in the above passage.



This is a view of one side of this crosswalk area that is on the old side, but there is a theatre there that you can see.



This is where the second parking lot used to be. This is the second major improvement in the area: 1600 Vine. The W Hotel is on the other side of the building. You can see part of the "W" in the first photo.






Not sure what is getting built here, but it is probably going to be nice.



I'm not sure if that hotel that Connelly talks about is still up, but here's an example of a building in the general area that probably has a similar look.




This is his second star, which is on the other side of the street, closer to Hollywood Blvd.

The One Mile Radius Project

This walk was around Bronson/Sunset/Cahuenga/Hollywood.


Sorry, photo came out a bit over-exposed. All those homes are boarded up. An individual brought this up, saying that there were all these new apartment complexes and then this row of houses.



Here's an example of a nicer complex. I believe these are condos. I suspect those homes were bought out. They'll get torn down and replaced with something like this.



Amoeba Records.



We stopped here for some coffee, tea, juice. I had a vegan pastry. Obviously, not as good as a sugar filled pastry, but it passed the taste test.



Arclight.



Cahuenga.



Down this street is where the Hollywood Farmers Market is. This is where I hang out on Sunday mornings.



Someone in our group mentioned they had dinner at The Valet Margarita once when waiting for a show.



Hotel Cafe behind iron. If you read my blogs consistently, you know I head here every so often. It isn't on my standard rotation of music venues, but I do enjoy this place none the less. I caught Diane Birch here.



A movie shoot was going on. The familiar snack bar. This was outside Cinespace, another music venue that isn't on my normal rotation, but I do go to on occasion.



A view of the W Hotel. Next to the W Hotel is the 1600 Vine Apartment complex. I went to the website. Prices are beyond what I'd want to pay for an apartment. Why anyone would pay those prices, I have no clue -- unless you make $250,000 a year then maybe . . .



Pantages.



Music Box. You know, I've never been to this venue. I noticed once that a friend sent out an invite to see a movie screening here, but it was a horror flick and well . . .



I wonder how business is going right now.



Museum of Death. The Los Angeles Times wrote up an article on this museum back in October 09.



Hollywood Sign. I wonder what's up with my camera and these pictures that seem slightly over-exposed. I guess I only know how to take photos where the only lighting are stage lights.