You Don't Have To Be A Man-Ho

A few weeks ago, E was browsing the Largo calendar online and noticed an event called The 1st National International New Zealand Day. Knowing that Flight of the Conchords have played the venue quite a few times (none of which I'd been to, dammit!), including the weekend before when we were in San Diego, he had a feeling they might be part of this Kiwi celebration. I immediately called for tickets.

$20 souvenir mug. Proceeds went to charity. I got the last one too, suckas!

There's something you should know about E and that's the fact that he is usually right. I'm not just saying that-it's a fact. So, yes, the Flight of the Conchords were absolutely part of the Largo show and in fact were the hosts. They were on stage several times and treated us to many new songs that I can already picture as hilarious vignettes in the upcoming season of their HBO show. Let's just say that Jemaine may need to prostitute himself for some creme brulee.

Other acts included Bo Runga, Bic Runga, and Greg Johnson. We've seen Bic perform a few times and her sister, Bo, is just as talented. Greg was great too. One of the best parts of the show was Rhys Darby in his dual role of stand-up comedian (himself) and band manager (Murray). He played Murray off stage and did such things as call the guys in for an "emergency band meeting," complete with roll call. It was hilarious! He also did a small portion of his stand-up act, which is pretty side splitting.

All in all, we had a blast and are still talking about the show.

Boeuf

Flight of the Conchords were amazing in concert last night. We heard all of our favorite songs, plus some new ones, as well as witty banter in between. I feel bad for all of those people who couldn't get tickets, but there were some scalpers outside the theater if you want to take your chances on Sunday. It's probably worth it.

The show last night was my fourth night in a row of live music. Thursday night I saw The National, Modest Mouse, and R.E.M at the Hollywood Bowl. I wasn't very familiar with The National, but they were good. My friends G and R really love them and enjoyed it. Modest Mouse is probably better in a smaller venue, as there sound was kind of lost in the expanse of the Bowl, much like Ben Folds. It was my 5th R.E.M. show and they were incredible. Considering they have fourteen studio albums, plus a fair share of b-sides to build a set list from, they did a nice varied set. They also have a new album out, which I highly recommended.

I really wasn't planning on or expecting to go to a concert this past Wednesday, but we missed part of the Elvis Costello/The Police show on Tuesday, so E found a really good deal on some really good seats for their second show on Wednesday. That too was amazing. I'd never seen Elvis live and that was quite a treat. The Police have really come together on their tour and were even tighter than last summer.

The major complaint I have about the live music events this past week are the audiences. E was correct in saying that people at outdoor venues are just far more drunk and obnoxious, as that was made clear last night. The FOTC crowd was quite mellow with only the occasional shout-out of "Take off your pants!" or song requests. No one was talking on their cell phone during the performance. No one was having a conversation that they had to scream over the music so everyone could hear them. And no one was blowing stinky pot smoke in our faces.

I'm not just some old "get off my lawn" person. Wil Wheaton wrote about it on his blog, as did Ren, who is allergic to weed smoke. I endured the three people right behind me during the second Police show who were the only people not standing in our section. They complained the whole time about how they wish we'd sit down. Oh, and I didn't even mention the physical fight that broke out in my section at the R.E.M. show. Some random drunk guy was picking on the guy at the end of my row, so a guy in the row behind us reached forward and slapped him. It got ugly and a little scary. I just don't get paying so much for tickets and then acting like such as asshole. But, my guess is that these people are always assholes with no regard for other people whatsoever anytime.

Can't Think Of A Witty And/Or Clever Title

My photos from dog camp are finally uploaded. Yep, lots of dogs, trees, lakes, more dogs. Boring as hell for some of you. So don't look. Rusty and I have spent a lot of time together the past couple of weekends, doing some fun things. Hopefully, he'll write about it on his blog, which has been neglected for quite some time now.

Suddenly, we are going to lots of free movie screenings again. Last week we saw 3:10 To Yuma, which I thought was FANTASTIC. It was followed by a Q&A with the director, producer, editor, costume designer, and a few others. We also took in a new adaptation on Sleuth, which screened at the Pacific Design Center. That in itself was pretty cool. Even cooler though was the Q&A after the film with director Kenneth Branagh! I didn't hate the movie, but I think I enjoyed the conversation following more. Coming up this week is Eastern Promises. Viggo is not scheduled to be there, but David Cronenberg is. Skipping book club for that one. Oh yeah.

I mentioned before that October is incredibly busy and it is. This week alone we have at least one film, a concert, two theater events, and a museum exhibit.* We are also trying to get the house in order for an impending family visit. With so much going on, I don't even have time to tell you about who I met at an art event yesterday. I will say that she is on Flight of the Conchords and has an adorably bizarre internet series that I love. Now, I just need to meet Bret and "Murray."

We discovered our favorite pumpkin patch is open again this year (it was closed in '06), so we are going to try to squeeze that in sometime this month too. Bring on the candy corn! I need energy!

*The movie is free, one of the theater events is half-price, and the concert tickets were bought with some rewards points and were very inexpensive. Lest you think we are suddenly well off.

All The Boys With Their Homemade Microphones...

...have very interesting sounds.

It's kind of bad when I get this behind in blogging*. I go for days being really busy and/or thinking I have nothing to say and then all of sudden, I want to share what is almost now a week's worth of stuff. And mostly just the good things. However, I don't want to write one of those long and winding posts that I have trouble finishing in one sitting. (Let's hear it for ADD!) So, here are some highlights**, in reverse chronological order (sort of):

• After having a fairly crappy start to the week and having things almost not work out, not only did I get to see one of my favorite bands, The New Pornographers, play last night for free***, but I also got free ice cream and met Jemaine from my new favorite show Flight of the Conchords!!! Oh, and I bought the last live-and-only-sold-at-shows cd. It was the one taped to the merch counter. Oh, and did I mention that I MET JEMAINE!!!???
  

• I was able to score some half-price tickets, for pretty decent seats, to Ave. Q, which I loved! I'd read some shaky reviews and it's not for everyone, for various reasons (some people just don't get puppets), but it worked for me and really, that's what's important. At least to me. It's all about me.
  

• Wired NextFest was pretty cool. All sorts of new-fangled technologies were on display that will hopefully come to be used in health care, energy efficiency, entertainment, design, education, etc. Favorite exhibits of mine included the video game you play with your live pet hamster (!) and meeting a former soldier who is using two C-Legs. I took photos at the event, but have yet to post them.
  

• Pink Martini always puts on a great show and closing night at the Hollywood Bowl was no exception, even if the show went on a bit long. I blame Carol Channing for that though. Thomas Wilkins conducted and I confirmed that he is my choice to take over as the new director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Like I have a say in the matter. Oh, I wish I did!
  

• I only had to wait six months to see Ira Glass speak in person again. As usual, he was a joy to listen to and we got free t-shirts and tote bags from USC when the show ended!
  

• Due to the above event, we missed the actual performance of Puppets After Hours, which took place under a bridge downtown. We stopped by anyway to chat with the myriad of puppeteers we know who were either in or watching the show.
  

• Again, we missed a party some friends had, but they told to come over anyway for some midnight hot-tubbing and swimming in their gorgeous hillside Gilligan's Island-esque pool. We enjoyed the view of The Valley, which is much like the one E.T. saw.
  

• I was home alone for a night and decided to bake. It was from a box, but got good reviews when I shared it with friends the next day.
  

• Even though I'm not much of a baseball fan it was fun to take in a free Dodgers game with friends. Too bad the home team sucked (bases loaded, no outs, yet managed to strike out...come on!).
  

• We to a test screening of a horror film, which isn't a genre I enjoy. We did get to hang out with some friends for a late dinner and that was a good time and the best part of the night for me.
  

Wow, I actually do a lot and realize I keep complaining about not having a vacation in a long time. My life is often like perpetual summer vacation. I was also supposed to go to a film fest in the mountains among all that, but stayed in town to support a friend. I love my city and all it has to offer. Maybe I don't need to leave it to appreciate it after all.

*You can follow me on Twitter if you want more frequent (and far more nonsensical) updates.

**If you want more details, let me know.

***Thanks, Metroblogging Los Angeles!!!

Flight of the Crowded House

I'm amused by Neil Finn's similarity to Murray from Flight of the Conchords.

His voice and accent are similar and he also says some out-there things.

Like E said: "If only he had a goatee," to which I naturally replied, "Then he'd look like a goat," and E said, "And Murray."

I can just imagine the band meeting now.

Neil: "Nick."
Nick: "Present."

Neil: "Mark."
Mark: "Present."

Neil: "Matt."
Matt: "Present."

Neil: "Liam."
Liam: "Present."

Neil: "Neil?"
Neil: "Present"