and sends us a shout out!
i like this song for so many reasons. its happy its sad its depressing its sweet.
i like that the animals help out the lil fella.
and i love it when girls sing this song, for some reason, i dont know why.
thanks sass for stepping up to the challenge, i know its a hard song.
theres a guy who stole a tow truck being chased by the cops
theres a screen shot of a map cuz there was a small earthquake
and as soon as they catch this dude, theres live video of a brush fire in ventura
but what they are failing to show you, which only the busblog is delivering, is SNOW in LA
yes at the show last night, hell froze over. there was snow in the parking lot of the AC/DC concert.
youre welcome.
musta been the hells bells.
coulda been the six cannons during the finale of “for those about to rock”
may have been the mexican dudes shouting in my ear throughout the show in their broke english. i didnt wanna say “WHAT?” because they would only shout louder but i had to, they both had tye-dyed AC/DC shirts and were singing along so cutely.
“she’s got the yak, shes got the yak”
my amigos had snuck down from the cheap seats and saw that i had a perfect line of sight and since i was in seat 1, right next to the aisle, one guy stood in front of me (the stage was 45 degrees to our left) and the other guy stood behind me, in a way, with one foot in the aisle.
not exactly the personal space i had counted on, but hell i was lucky even to be there, if i could help these dudes rock out, then fine.
later one of the guys, i think his name was Douglas, asked if he could borrow my ticket so he could run up and get us both a beer.
mais oui, mi amigos.
they asked me if i was gonna see Metalica next week right there at the forum and i said no but i would download the torrent. i dont think it translated well.
one of the funniest moments was the first time i peed. AC/DC opened with their latest single something about a Train. then they played the old chestnut “hell aint a bad place to be”, which segued real nice-like into “back in black”. when we heard the opening measures of another new song “Big Jack” all the dudes made a dash to the men’s room to recycle as it were. first a visit to the mens room, then a quick stop off at the beer stand.
in the mens room everyone laughed and said “new songs suck!” but when we could hear the muffled chant of “dirty deeds done dirt cheap” the fellas were all, “shake it, men, theyre back to playing the good songs!”
last time i peed was after the long trek back to my car after the show. so many people had come to the forum that they had us parked over at Hollywood Park. two dudes were parked next to my car and they were relieving themselves so i figured id follow the trend. one of the joys of being a man is to be one with nature for a quick second.
what was the crowd like? sorta older. definately into the jams. saw a few young kids. noticed lots and lots of AC/DC shirts and more than a few Iron Maiden ones, which made me happy.
longtime busblog reader Chris C. says he saw Slash there, I saw the dude from Anthrax.
only weird moment was when they broke into Let There Be Rock and all i could think of is the new Rock Band commercial, which (hopefully) has given that song a new life.
Angus looked older, they all looked older, but the guy who worried me the most was Brian. he can still belt them out, but for how long? Thats gotta be suicide for a guy’s voice.
photo of Angus Young by Joey Maloney used with permission – see his whole set here
because God loves me
i didnt have a ticket and hardly anyone was selling. but i had $180 so i figured id be ok
one dude was all, i can get you in for $150 and i almost took him up on it
but this other dude took the ticket from the scalpers hand while i was thinking
so i kept walking closer to the forum and this chick i kid you not was saying to her man
“i cant believe people would drive through all that traffic, pay $20 to park way over at Hollywood Park
“and not have a ticket. i mean, omg, why would you risk it?”
i saw this black dude and he said, i have 1 ticket and it’s great, it’s third row loge. right near the floor. $200.
i said i have 140 maybe 160. he said gimme 160.
and i did and he gave me one of those paper tickets the ones you print out of your printer. it said it was row c, seat 1, and i said God please let this be the real thing, and suddenly i really wanted to go to the show.
and the lady in front of me was asked by the ticket taker “are you sure you havent been in here yet?” cuz her ticket was having probs getting scanned.
and the dude next to me, he was having probs with his ticket getting scanned, they had to type in every number.
so i said one more final prayer.
and when it was my time, the scan didnt work at first, but she tried it again and the gun said GO and i said thank you Lord
and soon i had a $9 PBR and we were all singing along to Hells Bells
and i said, this is the song i want them to play at my wake.
and when it was all over, i turned on the ACDC station on Sirius and cranked it with both windows open all through the parking lot, up Crenshaw, across the 105 freeway, around that crazy 126 story loop in the sky to the 110
and past staples and past down town and onto the Hollywood Freeway and to my house.
AC/DC was there the day i hit puberty, and there they were the day my dream job went chapter 11.
hell aint a bad place to be.
me: ok, happy birthday bree – what are you gonna do to celebrate tonight?
bree: Im going to see Fall Out Boy at the Troubadour! (hopefully)
me: whoah is this a secret show just for you?
bree: hahah i wish. no. just a small show, though. if they sang happy bday, thatd be pretty cool, though.
me: doesnt being the owner of those amazing shoes provide free entrance to any FOB show?
bree: it should, right?
me: speaking of that video, how long did it take you to make that thing?
bree: oh like half a day. if i honestly thought THAT many people would see it, i might have spent a little more time. and maybe would not have LICKED the shoes.
ok, well, thats a lie.
me: did the shoes fit perfectly or are they a little big?
bree: they fit perfectly 🙂
me: this year you got to travel the country during the Warp Tour – what band surprised you the most with their awesomeness that you didnt expect?
bree: I really loved Automatic Loveletter as a band that I didn’t really know about before warped
me: did you fall for my all japanese ska band of teen girls Oreskaband?
bree: oh they were so cute. but they also made the line for girls showers a little longer. so for awhile i would hit the showers while they played haha
me: speaking of… was it hard being a vegetarian on the road?
bree: ohmygosh, warped is the best tour ever for vegetarians/vegans, i dont even eat that healthy on my own. ta-da catering is like, the best thing about warped tour. haha
me: was it free / cheap?
bree: Buzznet hooked it up for me.
me: Buzznet was where you and I met. Back when you started you had a very different job than what you have now. Can you explain what a normal day is for you over there these days?
bree: A normal day. Hmm. Theres always so much going on. Usually I spend the mornings looking for content to feature, then i write some stories, QA some stuff, maybe write the newsletter, go to some meetings, try to activate the community
all while fielding various buzznets questions for the n00bs here
because im like, buzznet 411 apparently
im pimping this page right now:
me: ok that gallery is interesting, cuz theres quite a few bands ive never heard of
is that cuz im old, or becuase many of those bands suck?
bree: neither. theyre just not youre scene 😉 haha. i would probably only vouch for All Time Low and The Academy Is… though
me: isnt ATL the ones who have the tshirt that says ‘Sup Buzznet?
bree: Yep
me: do they actually rock?
bree: Totally. And they’re hilarious. We took them to Disneyland once. It was fun
me: ok good, so thats one band that rocks, and youre not gonna pretend that TAI rocks so heres my question… these kids grew up on classic and alternative rock, they have tattoos, yet they play such bs wimpy ass music. why? is it because hot girls like you allow it? wheres the next Motorhead, wheres the next Janes Addiction? Wheres the next guitar hero?
bree: ive never liked a band that really had any cred, so im not the right person to ask. haha. im a sucker for wimpy, nasal-voiced poppunk
me: so you Are to blame!
bree: probably.
me: ok not long ago you broke hearts everywhere by getting a bf, but the good news is he lives in Santa Barbara, and you enjoy taking the train to go up there
did the metrolink crash, and the Amtrak running out of gas scare you out of taking the train for your rendezvouses?
bree: no, not really. even though it was kinda freaky that THAT week i took the train on a thurs instead of the friday. Machines dont scare me. People do. creepy ass people on the metro
me: ok final question. this one for the ladies, indirectly. when we worked together it was hard not to notice that you loved makeup and all things girlie
so what makeup and hair products are you into these days?
bree: im pretty simple when it comes to hair products – i use redkin rewind and aveda thickening powder. sometimes this blue tigi goop – i dont know the name of it
bree: as for makeup, im a girl on a budget so its mostly drugstore stuff EXCEPT for Clinique… foundation, liquid eyeliner and bronzer. i have about 45 varieties of chapstick and lotion
thats probably my biggest girly thing
me: ok real quick, gimme 5 cds that came out this year that you loved
bree: the hush sound – goodbye blues, panic at the disco – pretty odd, The Matches… i dont remember the title. go ahead and tack FOB’s upcoming release and Britney’s ‘circus’
me: nice. any love for the Ting Tings?
bree: I had flings with several of their songs. but i dont listen to the cd in its entirety
me: ok fair enough. anything youd like to say to the busblog readers? any shout outs?
bree: shout out to all my favorite girls on buzznet. they make my job so cool
and thanks for interviewing me! that was fun!
me: any time!
check out bree every day on Buzznet at breesays.buzznet.com
the sun was reflecting beautifully off the buildings:
while the lovers looked on, i struggled for survival and assumed my normal pose:
the thing that kills me about doing these hikes is– i used to be point guard of the basketball team, safety in football, and lead-off hitting shortstop in baseball. i was fast, if not the fastest.
years of sitting on my ass blogging has done nothing for my lungs and legs. its incredible how quickly one can get out of shape. karisa however was running up the hills like no problem. impressive, but also aggravating.
driving through hollywood so as to charge my iphone,
i drove past the party i was already late for
and saw the most interesting sight:
hundreds of santa clauses spilling out of jumbos clown room.
jumbos is a small bar that has a great jukebox and a few strippers
its not really a strip club, but it gives the dive bar a little something special.
courtney love danced there before she was famous.
i did a u-turn and parked illegally so i could take some pictures of the extraordinary sight.
got outta the car and took pictures of some of the santas, elves, and sexy santas.
there was a punk rock santa who had a mohawk made of candy canes, but the best santa was this hot babe santa who after she posed with her friend for me asked:
“have you ever been ho’ed before?”
i said, “i feel like i have, but something tells me i havent.”
her friend giggled, and she said, “would you like to get ho’ed”?
i said, reluctantly, for some reason, “why yes, yes i would.”
the young woman dressed as santa pulled out a thing of lipstick and applied it to her lips, slowly, and then dabbed her nose with the lipstick.
then she got close to me, put her arms around my head
and eskimo kissed me.
you, know, rubbed noses with me.
it was ridiculously exciting.
then she gave me the softest kiss on the lips.
me, a stranger in a cubs hat.
i said merry christmas and walked to my car with the goofiest smile.
and a red nose that i gladly explained to all who asked at the party.
yesterday after we ate sushi on vine.
the video that karisa is referring to would be this one, where it seems to me that i was close to dying, which is true.
what happened was i didnt respect the mountain. i made it up the first hill and i was feeling good and i thought there were 2-3 more, turned out there were 4-5 and the last one was a doozy. i also thought that my reward would be that i could sit down like i did last time
but karisa didnt think that would be my reward. she thought my reward would be a high five and thats it.
still, the next time she climbs that mountain i will take a picture of her because im gonna put a couch up there, for anyone who makes it up there deserves to lay down for a few minutes or years.
Gage: gimme a song lyric that describes your headspace right now. What about last year? 5 years ago? Is that too many questions?
now: Let’s get lost tonight / You can be my black Kate Moss tonight
last year: I need you to hurry up now / ‘Cause I can’t wait much longer. / I know I got to be right now / ‘Cause I can’t get much wronger.
five years ago: You should be honored by my lateness / That I would even show up to this fake sh*t.
Keira-Anne: What should I do?
pray, dream, do the things to make those dreams come true, thank God, repeat
Edward Padgett: Who will own the Los Angeles Times after the breakup of the Tribune Company?
tina: If you had a magical purple crayon with which to draw things in your life into fruition, what would you draw?
a screeching gibson sg of fire lust and righteousness, thirsty for truth, hungry for evil, and more than willing to be set aflame for art.
Kris: In a fist fight between a young Robert Plant and a current Axl Rose – who would win?
robert plant has never been anything more than a long haired lover more into chrystals dungeons and dragons and flower power. axl is from indiana who will jump into a crowd while wearing a leather vest and an oakland raider jersey. axl might not be able to write appetite for destruction any more, but he can beat down yr ass.
matt mills: just quit my soul sucking day job. where can I find a real photography job (doing good creative work)?
if i knew the answer to that, i would tell my buddies joey maloney and kogasnake who take the most beautiful rock photos and for some reason they dont end up in the pages of rolling stone or spin. my advice, keep clicking, give them to your local version of LAist or heck maybe even LAist themselves. and then pray to get discovered.
Edward Padgett: Caught a rumor on Twitter regarding the firing of Nikki Finke, is this true?
if you look at the chain of Nikki rumors on Twitter – first someone said that Nikki reported that Viacom had laid off lots of MTV folk. then someone said that Viacom fired Nikki (she doesnt work for Viacom, she is one of the stars of the LA Weekly), then someone said they wont miss Nikki due to her firing. so i think it was a typical game of Telephone and she is still writing like crazy for the Weekly.
sass: What is your favourite Christmas song? What should I wear when I record that for Sunday’s Sing-A-Long?
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Springsteen – but they play it way too much nowadays. You should record the Little Drummer Boy song, cuz when a hot babe sings it chills usually go down the spine of the audience.
Ali: How old do you have to be to not be described as “hot” anymore?
69, ironically.
4rilla: Your thoughts on the NHL Winter Classic taking place @ Wrigley Field on New Years Day.
as you might recall, i was about 20 minutes away from Buffalo last new years day with a beautiful stripper/blogger and i said hey lets go see this craziness, and ended up watching it on tv and saying “why did i let her say no to me???”
this year i will be in chicago but i wont be there thru new years. but if i did find myself there i wouldnt go. even though i like the idea of playing hockey outside in a football or baseball stadium, Wrigley Field is a holy place. it could be one of the most sacred places in all of North America. because of that they shouldnt play football games there unless Pappa Bear is roaming the sidelines, they shouldnt let Jimmy Buffett do concerts there, hell they shouldnt even be playing baseball there at night. so no, they shouldnt play hockey there. send that crud to the southside.
Alys: If you could remove one word from the English language forever, what would it be, and why? (Would it be “Moist”? ‘Cause that’s such a gross-sounding word.)
terrorist. because we’ve misused that word for far too long and now we’ve overused it to the point that it doesnt mean anything any more.
timmay: saturday or monday show? how will you prepare? how will you recover?
probably monday because i dont have tickets and it will probably be easier to get a seat monday than saturday. i will drink in the parking lot, as i should. but not to extreme because i have to drive home. theres no recovery from an AC/DC show at the forum. your life is changed forever.
Dan: did you get the facebook virus?
no, im pretty lucky. but i wanted to make it so that more people didnt have to rely on luck to save their precious computers and the priceless materials within.
miguel: Knowing how sh*tty it feels when I hit on a girl I really like and she blows me off I have a hard time on the rare occasions when it’s my turn to turn down advances from females I’m not interested in, especially because I appreciate so much the courage it takes to make the first move. Being a blogging superstar I’m sure you’ve had to deal with this issue. How do you put them down gently?
i have never encountered a polite rejection. by that i mean, every rejection that i receive stings just as badly as the next one. no matter how sweet they are or how not sweet they are when they say no to me, i dont like it. mostly because romantic rejection, unlike any other sort of rejection (job, poetry submission, hot or not poll, etc) is a complete rejection of YOU – literally body soul and mind. and worse, your love machine.
with that said, when i break up or if i dont even wanna go there, i will usually say “you should run from me, im evil, and when im at my worst im Christian. and im gonna wanna make out with your friends and then blog about it. so run.” if your blog is any good, they’ll gladly follow your advice.
adriel: why does money change people?
because money is the most unnatural part of human existence. money has no place in the animal kingdom and none in Heaven. its purely a mundane concept that even Jesus himself rejected “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”. it puts employees in the awkward position of biting their tongues because they dont wanna get fired, it puts employers in the awkward position of sometimes firing the best people because they get paid “too much”, it makes ridiculous men attractive to women who should know better, and it tempts people to take on professions that they would otherwise have no interest in if it didnt pay so much. rarely does it lead people to achieve their dreams or to act in a purely honest, holy way.
one of the more interesting things that i have discovered living in LA for as long as i have, is that children of very rich parents usually turn into the most f-ed up adults. there are exceptions of course, and sometimes those kids can get out of the death spiral, but compared to children of middle classed parents, rich kids are almost always bonkers for a much longer time.
it drove my mother insane that i resisted jobs that could have paid me double or triple than what i could have made. when i was first laid off of my (relatively) high paying job at the dot com, i begged to return to the company at a significant pay cut ($12/hr) because i believed in the company (its still around today) and because i loved the people (like karisa and others). at $12 an hour my shift started at 6am, i had very little power, and i had to deal with angry customers who didnt understand technology. but i enjoyed that job way more than if i had been paid tons more than that and it led to a chain of events that led to where i am now, which is a great place that i still cant believe.
its that journey thats valuable. not any bank account, and certainly not any stock portfolio. whats important about the journey is you learn (especially when youre broke) what truly makes you happy and satisfied. rarely is it fancy gadgets or the “security” of a wad of cash. usually its faith, love, and charity, as corny as that sounds.
David: are you a fan of either entourage or its always sunny in philadelphia? if so, do you think the latter’s a good outlet for danny devito?
big fan of entourage because i love perpetuating the myth of hollywood and i think its one of the few shows out there that does that. never seen asip but i hear good things. but i dont think its a good outlet for danny cuz not enough people (myself included) watch F/X or whatever channel its on.
theres a sale today in the OC
ten dollar tshirts, good prices on jackets, dress shirts, wallets, jewlery, lots of stuff
i even wrote about it on our shopping blog.