Best Saturday Night Rock Show

Saturday evening I saw Liars perform inside the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I believe it had to do with the Punk fashion exhibit currently on display there.

Do you know about the Temple of Dendur?  I lived in New York a long time before I ever visited it.

I first saw Liars open with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in Salt Lake City in 2002.  Their set shook up my rock n roll sensibilities and clued me in on the sound of the next ten years. Over that decade I did not always remember to listen to Liars, but when I did, I was always rewarded.

Menacing dance punk among the Ancients.  Book of the Dead disco.  A perfect show.

And after the rock ended: stillness and quiet returns to the ruins.  It's like permanence vs. the fleeting tyrants.  Look on my works and despair, indeed.

Hipsters and elderly museum members exit via the rest of the ancient Egypt exhibit.

Would you believe it if I told you these paintings are over a thousand years old?

They look like three dudes that could have been with us at the show.

Lobby flowers.

Do you see that man in white sneakers and a yellow cap?  Right by the car?  It's Michael Stipe, from REM.  Liars have a distinguished fanbase.

Also of note: the Thai embassy has a new Husky puppy from Alaska.  Four or five months old.  Good looking fellow.

Best This Is What We Did in California When Collin Wasn't Getting Married, pt. 2

Friday evening Jeff and I picked up Jeff from the temple. He'd been dropped off there by his Indiana family. It was Jeff's birthday.

After a long lap around the temple property (and an encounter with this tranquil place's vicious guard dogs) we hit the road without an exact plan of what to do.

Good old old logo.

We wound up at Pink's. I had The Lord of the Rings dog.  That's a hot dog with onion rings and barbecue sauce on it.

Insert here: Collin's Wedding. Collin's reception.

Late Saturday night I met up with my old high school buddy Lucas after the reception.  Hadn't seen him since Christmas 2005. He took me to the Bellevue Steakhouse for tacos. I took him to Von's for grocery shopping.  I'll spend the rest of my life regretting not taking pictures at the Bellevue Steakhouse, but I was too deep inside taco heaven to do anything.

Sunday. El Cinco de Mayo. A dream came true. I had friends over to Grandma's for tacos. Tacos after the manner of an old school down home taco night. 

Après tacos: backyard games!

Myself, Sarah, Grace, Leslie.

 

Lauren, Jeff, Noelle.

I got to know young Grace and young Milton a little better.  My excellent friends have ensured their excellence will continue with this new generation of excellent humans.

Milton got to know the hippo.

And Keith and Leslie got to know the powder room.

(Last three photos were lifted off Keith and Leslie's Intagrams)

Grandma's driveway looked like Fast and the Furious 7.

Okay.  One more California post left.  It's going to have Grandma in it!

Best This Is What We Did in California When Collin Wasn't Getting Married, pt. 1: Thursday to Friday Afternoon

Two Thursdays ago it was time to go to California for Collin's wedding. I flew EWR to LAX via Virgin American.

A Jersey Mike's Sub and my Thursday night comedies. What more could I need?

Ahh, LAX. I met up with Jeff there who had flown in a little earlier from BNA and Collin picked us up. 

A short discussion ended with us deciding to go to Del Taco for dinner. Might not strike you as the place you would have chosen, but I'd argue that there aren't many places on earth offering a more competitive cost:deliciousness ratio than Del Taco.

In the car I boasted I was so hungry that I was going to spend $25 on my dinner...I followed my heart and ordered like jazz and still only spent $8.

You know how some homes have a sign hanging that says "Love is Spoken Here"?

It seems Jeff has a new photo-face.

But this is his honest advice-giving face.

Pasadena Freeway tunnels. Held my breath well into the Avenues.

Upon arriving at Grandma's house we invented a new game: You run in the dark all the way to the back wall of Grandma's backyard and back. It's a scary and exciting bravery challenge. 

You know what you NEVER see in New York? Slugs!

The next morning we had Iron Man plans, but I suggested we visit San Marino's Lacy Park before our 9:45 show.  The freshly watered early morning greenness did us good.

Relax! It's Friday.

Carol, having flown in from DC, met up with us in Alhambra for the movie.

After the show we went shoe shopping for Collin on Alhambra's Main Street. Because that was something Collin needed to do on the day before his wedding: Get shoes to wear to the wedding.

I wonder if my Great Grandparents knew Ben Prober.  Probably.  That's my guess: that they probably knew him.

Despues: Lunch at Mom's Tamales (this would be a photo taken from Mom's doorstep).

Bless this place, its sopes and Collin for taking me there in 2011.