Happy Hump Day! Memorial Day Weekend is almost here! Road trips and BBQs will definitely be in full swing! Just make sure to invite #LAskeez for some good BBQ ;)
There's still time for #skeezies to pick up some tickets for tomorrow's shows liiiike...
+XXYYXX with the Opening Act of Jessy Lanza at the Echoplex! As you #skeezies already know #LAskeez is a big fan of Jessy Lanza so tomorrow's show will be an electronic match made in heaven or close enough to it.
XXYYXX
In case you forgot about our last Jessy Lanza's posts here's a quick little refresher of her sound
On a budget and can't afford any tickets? No worries +Little Dragon will be performing on the +Jimmy Kimmel Live show! It's a free event as long as you show up early and print out an rsvp which you can acquire from iota.com. +Little Dragon's new album is AMAZING so if any #skeezies can make it out to the Jimmy Kimmel show #LAskeez HIGHLY recommends it. Let's not forget #LAskeez checked out Little Dragon during Coachella Weekend 1 and minus the horrible sound system (hopefully someone got fired) it was a good show. Jimmy Kimmel is a professional so the sound system should be up to par.
Kicking off tomorrow and for the whole entire Memorial Day weekend is +Lightning In A Bottle!
Who is William Onyeabor? Diehard music fans everywhere rejoice on this old school funk/synth/rhythmic gem of a find. William Onyeabor's music was so clearly ahead of its time and noteworthy that the music equivalent of The Avengers team felt compelled to share his music Thursday night at +Greek Theatre. So who exactly was on this musical A-Team? Well-let's drop some names: former Talking Heads member David Byrne, Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip, Kele Okereke from Bloc Party, and Pat Mahoney from LCD Soundsystem. Other artists that partook were: Money Mark, Lijadu Sisters, and opening set by Wooden Wisdom ahem...Elijah Wood?! Yes and partner in crime Zach Cowie. Check out this amazing tune by the man himself William Onyeabor. Although recorded a few decades ago, this is music that could easily hold its own (and then some) next to any contemporary electronic music:
William Onyeabor - Good Name
William Onyeabor in his punk rock gettup. Get with it #skeezies! I might just pick up a white cowboy hat after Thursday's show.
#LAskeez decided to switch it up a bit over the weekend and headed over to San Diego.
Although I once considered San Diego to be nothing more than LA's small and boring stepsister of the south; I have to admit that it has grown on me over the years.
Were San Diego lacks in terms of big city excitement, it definitely makes up in natural beauty and sheer chill and relaxation. Cute Neighborhoods like North Park and Hillcrest along with beautiful sights like Balboa Park, make San Diego a good weekend getaway.
Saturday was a very patriotic day.
#LAskeez had an exclusive tour on the United States Coast Guard Bertholf Ship. It's typically in Alameda but they were in port in SD. The Bertholf can be found patrolling various parts of South America or up North near Alaska busting illegal fisheries among other cool stuff.
It was quite a memorable experience and it definitely makes me appreciate (even more) the men and women that serve and protect the United States.
The Bertholf in all it's Glory
#LAskeez behind the steering wheel
The little boats on the big boat
The whole ship looks like this. Very confusing to remember.
After our tour #LAskeez spent the remainder of the evening hanging out in Hillcrest and had the chance to watch the movie +Only lovers left alive at the +Landmark Cinemas. To sum it up it's about how present day vampires would be, without the whole glamorization.
The cinematography is awesome and the movie has a bunch of music related references.
It's definitely a movie to catch.
Here's a trailer so you #skeezies can decided for yourself whether or not you are interested.
Hillcrest Sign in the Evening
Sunday #LAskeez drove up to North Park to check out some vinyl at Off the Record. Then headed back down to relax at Spanish Landings before the drive in traffic back to LA.
San Diego was an impromptu adventure but it was a fun one nevertheless. #LAskeez is happy to be back in Los Angeles where the smog makes the best sunsets in the world and the traffic is always heavier.
As Ron Burgundy would say:
Sports recap:
Dodgers lost yesterday to the Colorado Rockies 6-1.
Clippers lost to the Warriors 97-118.
The Kings play the Sharks tonight for Game 6 of the NHL playoffs.
Clippers two cents:
#LAskeez has never been fully able to become a Clipper fan because of Donald Sterling. It's been no secret here in LA for MANY years that he is a racist. The NBA can no longer sweep his racist comments/allegations under the rug, thanks to +TMZ releasing the tape. The Clippers deserve a respectable team owner and the +NBA must take immediate action.
About a month ago Eagle Rock welcomed Max City BBQ to the neighborhood.
Before #LAskeez headed to the Dodger game, a local pit stop for some BBQ was a must.
What #LAskeez already knew about the place is that it was funded through Kickstarter.
Kickstarter is an amazing way to gain the funds to start a business or whatever type of idea it is that you have.
It was kinda awesome to see an actual kickstarter campaign materialize and experience it.
The inside of the restaurant is a little smaller than anticipated but there are two picnic tables outside.
If you're lucky not to encounter two families out there already eating than you must make yourself comfy and take in a little outdoor breeze.
Although it was hard to decided between the ribs and bisket; #LAskeez ordered and throughly savored the tri-tip sandwich with a side of mac n cheese and baked beans. If you like to drown your meat in bbq sauce you're in luck because there are two bbq bottles on every table consisting of one spicy and one non-spicy bbq sauce.
The Dodgers played against the Philadelphia Phillies last night and sadly lost 3-2 during extra innings. It was a chilly night at the Chavez Ravine but that wasn't a problem since all attendees received a Dodger Fleece Blanket giveaway!
+Los Angeles Dodgers Fleece Blanket Giveaway includes every city's name within the Los Angeles County
As #LAskeez was enjoying a typical morning cup of coffee today, one thing popped out of the LA Times: UCONN WINS IT ALL.
Really?
UConn?
March Madness truly is unpredictable.
No wonder Warren Buffet offered a BILLION dollar prize to whom ever could predict the winner from every single game.
Nevertheless Congrats to the Huskies and enjoy the moment.
I hope that viral Kentucky Fan with the "2014 national champions" tattoo knows a good Doctor that can remove it for him. Or maybe someone can hook him up with just "X"ing the 4 from the 2014 and add a 5. Although the odds of them returning to the National Championship Court again are slim to none, it doesn't hurt to update the ink to make it seem relevant.
Kentucky Bad Ink
LA Times--Front page
It's time to reveal that in 3 days #LAskeez will be in Coachella Valley covering the Coachella 2014 Weekend 1 Festival! If you can't make it out to Coachella this year, don't worry about #skeezies, #LAskeez will make you feel like you are right there in the mix. Expect a good balance of some day party coverage and lots of photos and reviews of inside the festival.#LAskeez knows the desert just as well as the city so this is going to be fun.
Coachella 2014 Line Up
Prepping Tips for Your Coachella Weekend: 1. Pre-Pick your outfits [day & night outfits] this is important because you can not look rachett out there. 2. Take your swim suit and flip flops to the day partays and keep it that way. Do not wear that inside the festival. Someone WILL step on your flip flops and it will hurt. It will hurt a lot.
3. Take and apply sunscreen and/or take a hat. No one wants to see your skin peeling after Day 1. 4. HYDRATE. HYDRATE. HYDRATE. Coachella allows you to take in empty water bottles to refill inside the festival. Time and time again I see HUNDREDs of ppl dehydrated in the Medic Tent and that's not a cute look. 5. Know who you want to see perform throughout the day and check the set-times! Looking lost and standing in the middle of a crowd is another not so cute look.
Memorize and Review these 5 tips until you understand. 5 more Coachella tips will be posted tomorrow.
What's today's #skeez?
#LAskeez will try to head over to Dodger Stadium to see the Boys in Blue take on the Detroit Tigers!
#LAskeez dropped the ball yesterday in pursuit to the American Apparel Factory Store. One word-- cicLAvia.
Yes, cicLAvia attracts everyone that owns a bike including friends you know don't even own one but are somehow out there riding. Not hundreds of bikers are out there, try a few thousand that managed to get the city to close down Wilshire Blvd. There were many unexperienced stray bike riders that fall off the path and were riding recklessly throughout the rest of the city. After a slight detour #LAskeez did make it to the American Apparel destination and found a few goodies.
A bike friendly city is awesome but perhaps beefing up an easy to use friendly public transportation system would be better ::sigh:: one day #skeezies one day.
CicLAvia MacArthur Park
One rule of thumb #LAskeez goes by is NO spoilers and the same goes for last nights premier of Game of Thrones. However, I will reveal that the Dragons get some screen time!!! If you don't have HBO, maybe you know a friend that is nice enough to hook you up with their HBO-go. Otherwise you may have to call your cable company specifically to get HBO to tune in every Sunday evening (it fills the void of my Walking Dead time slot). Great acting, consistent accents, and the filming locations are beautiful.
Okay so let's start with a tip from the wise. Do not be intimidated by the nearby commercial parking lot prices of $9-20 outside of the venue and assume the actual venue is going to cost double. Parking inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall parking structure last night was only $5--that's a bargain these days considering you can pay that much for a two hour meter.
Alright let's get down to business. No matter who you're watching perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall-just know that the show will be amazing and make sure that you dress up! I can't stress the dress code enough. You really don't want to be the sloppy chump in the crowd.
As for last night's performance, Rhye was prompt to get on stage (once again, #scenestar thanks for the handy set times). They slightly extended all of their songs in order to give the crowd a full 90 minute set. This 90 minute set also included a happy birthday song that the band and crowd sang for the lead singer's wife who happened to be sitting in the front row. Totally cute moment. #LAskeez was fortunate to have Front Orchestra seats so it felt like I was sitting right in front Milosh (singer of Rhye). The concert hall was designed to provide THE best acoustic experience possible. So hearing the vocals last night, along with the violins and other instruments was very pleasing to the ear. The Walt Disney Concert Hall proved to be quite an appropriate venue for this artsy fartsy band. As you will quickly begin to realize, #LASkeez is always looking out for neat mementos and last night we were able to snag 1 of the 50 hand signed concert posters (signed by Milosh himself). It turns out that Milosh and his wife collaborate in creating a unique poster for each concert. So here's another tip for my #skeezies if you ever see Rhye in concert, make sure that you look out for one of these posters. Overall this was a memorable concert. It's all about ambiance at the concert hall. This is not your typical crazy concert experience.
Waiting for Rhye to hit the stage
Rhye performing @ The Walt Disney Concert Hall
1 of 50 hand signed Milosh Limited Edition Posters
Walt Disney Concert Hall after the show
What's the #skeez today?
The season premier of Game of Thrones starts TONIGHT! Hopefully this season the dragons get big and start breathing fire on stuff.
Let's quickly recap on yesterday's activities. Baseball: The Dodgers sadly lost their game opener to the Giants. Puig showing up late to the game was the first step in the wrong direction. It was also as if the Dodgers forgot it was opening day and didn't show up to play the first two innings. By the time they snapped out of it the game was over and they lost 8-4. I'm confident they will get it together today and beat the Giants. The season is still young and no hope is lost.
Let's keep the patriotic theme going here and now talk Captain America. #LAskeez caught the 8:00pm showing over at the Arclight. If going to the Arclight wasn't a treat already, add watching it inside The Cinerama Dome. In case you #skeezies aren't familiar with the Dome, it is one of Los Angeles' Historical-Cultural Monuments. lt's shaped like a "dome" for acoustic purposes and it is THE best place to watch any action packed film. The movie is 2hrs and 15 mins long but felt more like 60 mins. The action was nonstop and I would not mind seeing it again before the weekend is out. DO NOT LEAVE after the movie, wait for the credits to end to see the teaser trailer for the sequel!
~ 2 story high poster @ The Arclight Hollywood
Outside view of the dome
What's the #skeez tonight?
#LAskeez will be headed over to a highly anticipated sold out show at the Walt Disney Concert Hall to see Rhye. Stay tune #skeezies a new review awaits.
There must be something special about Wednesday night crowds or maybe it's the fact that Wednesday is one day closer to the weekend--whatever it was last night, the vibe at The Echo was nothing but ENERGY.
We're talking so much energy that Kelela almost broke down into tears of joy and gratitude! (She repeatedly expressed how greatful she was for everyone in attendance and that she was glad she performing in a venue full of fans as opposed to just 10 or 20 folks)
Here's what I think happened: On her first night the audience was shell-shocked and couldn't comprehend how AMAZING of a performer she is. After all, anyone can sound good in a recording but "bringing it" live is a whole other story. And let me tell you--Kelela brought it! After her first performance at The Echo, the buzz quickly spread throughout LA like wildfire. When last night's show started the fans knew exactly what to expect and they were absolutely pumped. There were more arms up in the air, dancing, chants (when she wasn't singing), and many "I LOVE YOU's."
After two back-to-back shows, Kelela clearly left LA fans wanting more and we are likely to get more Kelela--soon--probably very soon and in a bigger venue. Alright #Skeezies consider yourselves warned.
