Gogol Bordello and The Mars Volta

Watching the sunset on Ocean Avenue, in the small park on the top of the cliffs that separate Santa Monica from the ocean and the Pacific Coast highway... that just opens your soul and makes you think: life is so beautiful. The same emotion came when I saw the city of Los Angeles from above in the night, standing at a scenic view point on Mulholland Drive (that is closed at night, actually - but we climbed the fence)... Or being at the top of our road - Paseo Miramar - during dusk, also overseeing the whole city plus the other direction - Malibu. It's similar to the feeling you have when you lie on your board and ride in front of a wave towards the beach and you just see the world speeding by on either side. Or inhaling the eucalyptus scent when you go running through the canyon. Or standing in front of a stage and dancing to very good live music. I had this happen on Saturday night. I went to the "Detour" LA downtown music festival. 4 stages around the town hall of Los Angeles. A very young and very individual crowd, very stylish and/or dressed up, some wore outfits - man what a people watching opportunity!!
I saw great new bands, music that I have to research and get onto my brandnew ipod (that came out two weeks ago - but I have never possessed an mp3 player before, so I thought now or never) and two awesome headliners: The after dark concerts with the biggest crowds where Gogol Bordello (gypsy punk) and The Mars Volta (experimental rock, very 70s, very crazy). I was in the middle of the crowd and loved it. Eugene Hutz, the singer of Gogol Bordello is a real show off and he just made the show. The two Go-go(l)-Girls did stage diving and kept on dancing on their big drum over the heads of the crowd!! I spotted Elijah Wood on the backstage side of the open air stage when I climbed a wall on the side of the crowd, actually climbing over the fence to the backstage area. I wasn't surprised because the singer was in Elijah Wood's film "Everything is illuminated", at the set of which I met Elijah, too. But I was thrilled because .. well .. he is my favourite actor, believe it or not, and such a great person. I did not get to speak to him this time, though.
The Mars Volta, uhm.., the first half hour it was QUITE interesting. They improvised and it was just thick noise more or less. When I was about to leave to meet Lena at the "LA Burning Man Afterparty", they started to play their songs that everybody knows. So I stayed a little longer and upset Josh, someone at whose garage I was able to park my car at noon, very kind of him and lucky for me, just three blocks from the event. In between I had lost my camera and was panically looking for it in the crowd and on the ground when someone tapped at my shoulder and asked me what I was looking for - he had found it. How lucky is that?! The guy who helped me searching invited Lena and me to a nice bar in downtown to have another beer or two after the festival. They played "99 Luftballons", in German, and Lena and I just danced and decided we love the place and will be back some other night.

Some nice music we also heard the other night in the Roxy. The friend of a friend's album release concert was going on and we were invited. The band was called "Volumen Zero", actually a little paradox for a good band, but the music was great and the singer worth looking at :-). It was mostly Spanish rock songs, but often very melodic. Before that we had been to a gallery opening of one of Lena's acquaintances where we met a friendly and outgoing Polish actress who invited us to her home on Hermosa Beach. wow.

And I wanted to write something about how I got used to the American rules of driving. By now I do pay attention at the intersections where all 4 sides have a stop sign and whoever arrives first, drives first, and second and so on. It is a good solution indeed. And I love just turning right on every red traffic light if the street's clear. I hope I won't forget not to when I'm back in Germany. And I remember to collect quarters for the Parkuhren so you can always get rid of your car somewhere for 15 minutes or for 2 hours, whichever you just need.