Pam. Please call security!

So, as many people know, I'm a bit obsessed with The Office. I can't help myself. It's just so funny. However, that does not mean that I want to have real-life experiences similar to events on the show the very same week. I did not really appreciate some asshole spraying pepper spray into the intimate Henry Fonda Theater right when the band came on last night. Luckily, we'd been hanging out in the rooftop lounge area and were heading downstairs just as the Danish indie rock group Mew was hitting the stage. I saw several people rushing out of the theater, coughing and covering their mouths and noses. Once we got to the bottom of the stairs, it hit me too. Shit. My asthma is triggered by chemicals and I started coughing and wheezing, as my lungs constricted. When I have a bad attack, I tend to panic, which only makes it worse.

After hanging out by the open front doors for a bit and using my inhaler a couple of times, I could breathe again and we went inside, but on the opposite side. They had opened all of the doors and the air had cleared. I somehow felt violated though and pissed off that some jerk created such a scary situation. Security never found the guilty party.

Oh yeah, the band. I was not very familiar with Mew, aside from one song, "Comforting Sounds." Their Wikipedia ("the best thing ever") entry quotes them as saying they are "the world's only indie stadium band." They are loud, that's for sure and not necessarily a great match for the crappy acoustics at the Fonda. I can't say I have a new favorite band, but the performance was enjoyable (once I calmed down and could breathe) with some really interesting, and occasionally creepy, visuals. E describes them as having a very 70's prog rock sound, like early Genesis, which is I'm sure what drew him to them initially. Through in a dash of Metallica and you have Mew. Not to be confused with the Pokémon character.