DO I HAVE "JACK ME" ON MY FOREHEAD? Yesterday the Coffee Bean cashier tried twice to sell me a muffin before taking my order, then threw my five cents change in the tip jar, three and a half inches from my open palm, which a lesser man might have not wasted on her face. Maybe she read Coffee Bean Is A Crock. Later that day at the 88-cent store where nothing is 88 cents, I gave the Pakistani (Bangladeshi?) guy a buck and a dime for a $1.07 purchase, and he slammed the register shut and looked at me with the kind of expression that usually marks the end of a transaction. Now I know why I started a Facebook fan group for Exact Change, although the reason why it languishes in obscurity with 20 fans while groups like The First Time I had A McFlurry, I Thought The Spoon Was Also A Straw have fans in the hundreds of thousands remains uncertain.
Any damn way, last night I caught Mad Planet's release party for their new album All Elephants. Mad Planet is a duo comprised of longtime Saints & Sinners bartender and current Thirsty Crow manager Cooper on bass guitar and vocals, and her boyfriend Greg on drums. The Portishead whiff was a tad overpowering last time I saw them live. What a difference a year makes. The Mad Planet sound trashes all but the essentials, turns them up to 13, and uses repetition and catchiness to engulf and melt you down like you're an ice cube in a drink. Greg captivates. Cooper captains songs effortlessly without trying to outshine them. They puke chemistry. Ditto the venue, Three Clubs on Santa Monica and Vine, a very dark, very loud bar that I may have to commandeer for a release party too.
Saints & Sinners tonight! 10899 Venice, near Sepulveda in West LA. I deejay ten till two. No cover, no non-drinkers, no Pitchfork. I'll have CD copies of the Saints episode of The Palms Weekend Radio on me. And surprisingly, I'm in a drinking mood, so lets barter.
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