My Own Private Greedy Yo

Last Friday Stella and I went to the Echo to see Pop Levi perform. We hadn't really heard of him before, but in our latest push to see local music, we went out amongst the hipsters to catch a listen. The guy is a strange amalgamation of Prince, Devo, and the complete 80s aesthetic. An entertaining act, although it was difficult to read very deeply into the show. Perhaps the water is just too dark or deep to see the bottom. But he was certainly worth more than the cover. His showmanship is great - someone needs to talk to him about getting more live musicians. For the most part its just him on vocals/guitar and one other guy using a Korg and a laptop to make really loud bass and drum loops that overpower Pop Levi's playing. Pop Levi very well may be a virtuoso on his many guitars. But I can't say for sure because his instruments were mixed lower than the electronic accompaniment.

The opening band, the Parson Red Heads, were a welcoming and laid back beginning. Generous and good spirited performers all.

The trip to the Echo was Stella's and my first foray into the indie music scene in LA, and we had a great time.

After leaving, a strange and embarrassing event occurred. As we walked to the car, Stella noticed a folded up 100 dollar bill lying on the ground. She picked it up to look at it and I took it out of her hands. Then we noticed a string of bills on the ground all folded up behind us on the sidewalk. About 700 dollars in all, just sitting there, no one around, except for three people 100 feet up the walk and across the street. I started picking the bills up quickly and putting them in my pocket. I didn't want anyone to see what I was doing just in case the person who dropped them noticed their money was missing. I was almost frothing at the mouth with excitement - FREE MONEY!

We hurried to the car, and as Stella started driving us away, I took the money out of my pocket. I kept saying "It can't be real, can it?" and sure enough it wasn't. I unfolded a bill and it was an ad for some music show or website. My heart sank. Not only was I disappointed that the money wasn't real, but I couldn't believe the gut reactions I had to a little green. I felt ashamed. I felt like Pavlov's dog. I'm sure someone was watching us, probably the person who put those fake bills out. Hopefully they weren't filming it!

Last night (Wednesday 8/19) we caught a performance of the LA Phil at the Bowl. Joshua Bell was the guest and he was pretty incredible. He performed Berlioz and Saint Saëns with magnificent aplomb. He even did a little encore - a short solo from The Red Violin score. After the intermission, the symphony played one of my favorite works by Stravinsky (or any composer) - Petrushka. When I heard this work for the first time when I was 17 it changed my life. I still get an endorphin rush while listening to it.

Sadly, this performance did not have the same effect. The Bowl is a horrible place to see a symphony if you can't afford the seats up front. Unfortunately, you have to rely on their speaker system which cannot possibly be tuned for every seat in the house. Sadly, it sounded like I was listening to a mono recording from the 40s. Still impressive, but a little disappointing. The Bowl is obviously a money making venture; I'm not sure they are concerned with pleasing audiophiles as long as they can get you to buy their tickets.

We have another set of tickets for this venue in a couple weeks in the same area of the theater (the very back, center). I will enjoy it, but I will not go to the Bowl to watch a symphony again... accept possibly the Tchaikovsky extravaganza they have planned for Labor Day. So addictive.