House of Blues Sunset Strip, I Will Remember You

Earlier this year, I drove out to Sunset Blvd to take pictures of what was left of the House of Blues before the demolition.  This place holds a special place in my heart because of all the memories I made here.  And to think that they were closing and just tearing it down to make way for luxury hotels and condos just made me sad.  

Rewind back to 2004.  It was an exciting time.  I got my first real gig as an Assistant Designer at a well known fashion company.  One fine day, I scored tickets to see JET at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip.  It was my first time at this venue.  We made the mistake of parking at valet because it took forever to leave after the show.  A good mistake, as we were able to learn, and after that we parked at a nearby lot every time we came to see a show here.  Sloan opened for JET.  Jet was amazing and had so much swag and style.  It was ridiculous.  I couldn't stop thinking about it on my drive home.

Another memorable show I saw there was in May 2005.  AP Magazine was having an anniversary show, and the lineup was: The Like, Transplants, and My Chemical Romance.  Yup.  I still remember this show so well, the outfit I wore, the way I felt walking to the venue.  One of my favorite memories.  Also, in 2010, I got to go to the MCR record release show for Danger Days.  This was wild and truly special.  I danced and moshed my way through the crowd so hard that my buckle on my boot was broken by the end.

Oh, I forgot to mention, this was the early 2000s and House of Blues had a very strict no camera policy!   Digital cameras were small, but still expensive.  Pre-iphone cameras and major social media. They would check our bags at entry and if you had a camera, forget about it!  If you were able to sneak it in, once you started snapping away, security was bound to make their way to you and throw you out.  So, in other words, there is no over-documentation of these shows.  They are in my head and in my heart.

Some of the other bands I got to see here were: Dashboard Confessional, The Lashes, Social Distortion.  There are more, but I can't think right now.  Anyways, what I want to say is thank you House of Blues for some of the best and most important shows of my life.

Nothing else matters

So close no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

Mister Blue Sky

 

A perfect sunny day in Los Angeles.  This was last weekend.  Today it's much cooler and feels like fall.  I'm wearing my hoodie as I blog.  Quick weekend recap.  Not much of a weekend.  I did manage to get out for lunch.  Went to Commissary because I love their Shrimp Po Boy.  Tried to take some photos for this blog that is just so quiet now.  Anyways, the rest of the weekend, I just worked.  I've been extremely exhausted and dreaming of a vacation and rest lately.  But no signs of slowing down yet.

Are you hoping for a miracle

I had a pretty busy week, working.  I kinda overworked myself sick.  I almost did not make it to this show.  I got sick on Friday, and used Saturday to try and recover.  Ended up taking Dayquil Saturday and Sunday.  I've been working non stop and hadn't seen my friends in a while, we usually do like a summer thing.  I know summer is officially over, but we decided to check out this concert, it worked for everyone's schedule.  I wish I took more photos for the blog, but I wasn't feeling that great.  Ok, on with the show.

It was super cute.  There was free rollerskating at the patio.  We even got free lemonade, and my friends won seat cushions from Acura.  Ezra Furman was ok.  Bob Mould was great.  Bloc Party was also great.  What can I say, Bloc Party, so nostalgic, right?  Takes me back to my younger days, the mid 2000s, when we were all less social media/smart phone crazy, and "Banquet" was the song that got me out onto the dance floor, 100%.  They sang a mix of old and new.  They sang "Banquet" pretty early in their set.  But made everyone wait for "Helicopter" and really wait for one of my favorite songs "This Modern Love", which happened to be the last song of the night, as in their encore.  It was a really hot day, so it wasn't cold at night at all.  I hadn't been to the Hollywood Bowl in a long time, it felt so peaceful and beautiful.  So lovely.  Thankful to have amazing friends that get me.

Bob Mould!

Bloc Party!

Saturday

The Guillermo Del Toro exhibit, At Home With Monsters, is now on view at LACMA, but please keep in mind that this is a specially ticketed event.  You will have to purchase a ticket for this exhibit, which gives you access to other LACMA exhibits as well.  I suggest buying tickets online, as you will have to pick a date and a time slot, since it is very popular.  More info here.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with clear blue skies, but not hot at all.  The weather in L.A. was cooler than normal, but it was perfect.  It definitely felt like summer was ending, but I am so excited for fall.  We got in line for the Guillermo Del Toro exhibit, but the line moved quickly and we were in.  It was pretty crowded, but we managed to check out the entire exhibit.  There was a lot to see.  Below pictures are just a small taste of what you will find.  Also, there are way more creepier works, but you have to go see yourself to really see all the details, etc. Overall, I really enjoyed it.  

We had lunch at the LACMA cafe.  It was delicious.  These were the lunch specials of the day.  Then we walked around to the other exhibits like contemporary artist Agnes Martin, checked out the Levitation rock, played with the spaghetti, and ended the day at the cafe (I had a Lemongrass Green Iced Tea, and my friend had a cappuccino).

It felt great to be about again.  This year has been a little weird for me.  I haven't really been out and enjoying life for various reasons.  But it did feel awesome to see my friend again and catch up and enjoy this beautiful weather and see lots of art.  I also really miss taking pictures and blogging so I hope you enjoyed this post.  Thanks for stopping by.