I haven’t been living here long, and didn’t go there that many times, but I went as often as I could, as long as I’ve lived here, and I’m sad to see it go. Here’s to the Largo at the Coronet, we’ll see how it goes.

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It was a beautiful night for a concert last night at the Hollywood Bowl, and R.E.M. put on a terrific show, pulling out some obscurities and letting loose with the songs from the new album that sounded as good as I had hoped. We had some great (fan-club) seats, undoubtedly the best seats we’ll ever […]

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It may seem strange to feature a photo of an English rock musician in this post about Texas, but it’ll all make sense. My first trip to Texas was a brief one, on the road trip route in 1997, a little out of our way, as we made our way from Arkansas up to my […]

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We had a few minutes before our last concert of the season at the Disney Concert Hall this past Sunday – finally, the organ comes to life! – so I took some photos of the exterior, making my way around through the labyrinthine passages and staircases that seem to lead to nowhere.More photos here.

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Yesterday had a bit of an R.E.M. planet alignment; I got up a little early to grab some pre-sale tickets for their Hollywood Bowl show next month, and then popped out at lunch to get the new album on its release day. And the album is good, though I haven’t decided whether it’s good because […]

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Spring seems like it’s on its way this weekend, as it got pretty warm out, but everything’s relative, I guess. Our weekend started with a little after-work drink with folks from work at the Bowery – love that baked mac and cheese there – and then a screening of Lars and the Real Girl, which […]

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Our weeks of living in limbo are almost done; Friday morning, the movers come and we’ll be out of our old apartment by the end of the day. It’s been a strange few weeks, with most everything packed up now, and we’re living with two bowls, two plates, two spoons, etc. My back has been […]

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Last Thursday, we enjoyed another amazing performance from Jon Brion at Largo. Tickets to his shows seem like they’re getting more and more difficult to get; I saw that Friday and Saturday night shows had been posted on Largo’s all-Flash, un-RSS-able site, and the tell-tale pint glass icon letting us know the show was sold […]

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We had a super-brief trip to Seattle last weekend, with just enough time for a delicious brunch with Amanda, some wandering around the Saturday Market in Redmond, and a stateside wedding celebration for an old friend from high school Saturday night. Gavin and Heather got married in Korea last month, and three of his high […]

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R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People was released fifteen years ago today, October 6, 1992. Sometime in between the release of Out of Time in March of 1991 and the fall of 1992, I had become a massive R.E.M. fan, and Automatic was the first album of theirs that I was fully fanatical about and whose […]

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It’s official, this time: we went to the Los Angeles County Fair yesterday, the last of the fairs in the area this summer, and enjoyed a long day of deep fried Oreos – one was one too many – fish tacos, beer samplers, and photobooths. Lots of pigs, goats, sheep, and breakdancers on roller skates, […]

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It’s been a busy week so far, beginning with Lucinda Williams at the El Rey on Monday night, the fifth night of her Los Angeles residency, during which she played shows consisting of an entire album of songs, in order (what’s the deal with that these days?), followed by a second set of other material […]

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Things are beginning to get back to normal. I finally got my boot off two weeks ago, and am enjoying walking around again, unimpeded. I’ve begun walking and taking the bus to work again, just in time for the super-hot weather, but it feels good, and it’s reassuring to see the same gentleman with the […]

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When I heard a pre-release copy of Wilco’s latest album Sky Blue Sky I was underwhelmed, disappointed, and somewhat relieved, at the same time, happy that they had finally released a pretty mediocre album and I that I could stop following what had been an ever-changing and fascinating trajectory in the ten years since I’d […]

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Southern California certainly wins hands down when it comes to outdoor concert venues: we just enjoyed Diana Krall last week at the grandaddy, the Hollywood Bowl, and this Wednesday, we’ll be seeing Wilco at the more intimate Greek Theater in Griffith Park. In between, we headed up to Santa Barbara this past weekend to catch […]

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