Wednesday, August 16, 2006

The perfect storm.

(I wrote this post in LA on Saturday morning following the Largo show)

I need COFFEE!

The downside to vacation for me is the waiting around for people to wake up. I don't really sleep for long stretches of time. I sleep in little 4-6 hour intervals and that is it. So I have been up for a few hours now trying to tiptoe around the beautiful home of our host and hostess without waking anyone up. Lucky me there is a computer!
(We didn't bring our laptop due to the stupid airline drama.)
Speaking of which... it took us less that 15 minutes to get through the lines and get all set. Jon has MVP cards. Seems if you have those you wait for no one. The scary part to this? The guys who did the whole 9/11 thing, they flew first class and would have been able to skate through just as fast and easily as we did. Nice.

LA is interesting and familiar. I think I have seen so much of it in movies that I almost know what is around every corner before we turn. It is pretty dirty, but what are you gonna do? Everyone told me it would be. I might wear my glasses today because my eyes are not having it. It is so smoggy I feel like I have been smoking cigarettes or something. How every child in this city doesn't have Asthma is beyond me.

Largo is a really cool club. I love the sound and the feel of the place. Everyone who played did a fantastic job. I wish I could list off the names of the people who played before Jon, but I don't know right now (I am so bad with names) I will have to make that list later. But there were a couple of girls who sang who I will definitely be looking up their stuff when I get home.

The Largo show is now one of my top 3 all time favorite shows, just after Elliott Smith at The Crocodile and just before Lou Barlow in Bellingham. It was by far a perfect night.

Jon played a great set, one of his best. He told stories and sang beautifully. He even play Beyond Belief which I have not heard him do in quite a while. The crowd was responsive and stayed quiet through it all. It was like they were waiting to breath until after the song was over.

Harvey Danger did a slightly quieter/stripped down version of their set. They did Jack The Lion which made me get all misty eyed (always does) and a version of Pike Street/ Park Slope that got to everyone else in the place. Everyone was Emoting on 12. :-) I think I actually like them better without the cello on some of those softer numbers. There is so much talent there, I think it is good that they strip it down and showcase it in that way from time to time.

I met someone from myspace who shares a name with me in the line to the ladies room, right after that I met a girl who reads my Blog in the bathroom line! (It was a very busy bathroom line) She has never commented but she says she reads it. So if you ladies are reading this, HELLO!

Largo doesn't allow photos so I didn't take any of the show, but I did take a few pre-show.

I am super hungry and I want coffee but I don't know where I could go to get it from here. The only thing outside is a studio lot. It would take me 20 minutes to walk anywhere and I really don't have the foggiest clue as to where I actually am right now.

I'm really looking forward to tonight's show especially after how great last night's show was.

Oh, and I wish someone could turn off the crickets around here. I thought my ears were buzzing last eve, turns out it was the crickets!

Did I mention that I need COFFEE?!?!

So far, New York wins.

6 comments:

Kate said...

This post makes me homesick for LA (I lived there for 5 years). I used to see Jon Brion at Largo quite frequently. Definitely a cool club!

Deb Hardman said...

Buzzing crickets? I thought they chirped! I enjoyed the flicker photos. Love that ceiling! Can I use it?

Michelle Auer said...

Mom- They chirp was so loud it turned into a buzz, and I swear when I talked to them they got louder! :-) You can use whatever photos you like! :-)

Earl said...

It's really difficult to compare L.A. and NYC isn't it? I LOVE NYC as the saying goes, but there is also something about the vibe in L.A. Two totally different kinds of cool. Maybe NYC is more hectic and L.A. is more mellow? That's probably more perception than reality...like NYC is dark and dangerous while L.A. is sunny and fun.

Mrs. Wells said...

Hello Michelle!
It's Christine, the gal from the bathroom line at Largo.
(That sounds so funny-) I enjoy reading your blog, you write so well! It was nice meeting you.
My hubby and I really enjoyed Jon's set, and we hope to
catch him again soon.

Anonymous said...

Hi Michelle - I came across your blog while doing a search for the Largo show. I had fun; glad you did, too. The women who played earlier in the evening were Carolyn Edwards (me; I played first, on piano), Lauren Hoffman on guitar, Shana Levy on piano, and unfortunately I don't remember the name of the woman with the dark hair & the bangs, but I think she was in a Harvey Danger side band. Cheers! :)

 

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