l.a. trip: the rest of it

It's been three weeks and I still haven't gotten to telling about my epic trip to see the Hotrats. I've only told the segment about Richard Simmons but I've had literally no time, and I'm not misusing the word literally. I've been either chasing buses (I do that to half of all buses I ride) in the predawn to get to work or being audited at work (they're in LOVE with having auditors come in and cross-examine our every move) and mommying and managing panic attacks via guided meditation (it's just as gay as it sounds and a hundred times more effective than it sounds) and cleaning and trying to fit in some Project Runway while I'm writing my other dumb blog. Right now I'm hopped up on Sudafed (neti pot just wasn't cutting it) and I have no Beliefnet posts due for a couple days so GO.

So my flight to LA was in a holding pattern because of a storm. The heck? Circled for an hour and my dread increased that I'd miss the show. Because I worried about it it did not happen, which is how you keep bad things from happening and that is why I worry a lot, because it works. We bypassed the line wrapped around Spaceland cause we had crew and backstage passes, yesssss. (The Hotrats are a two-piece, drums and guitar, with Gaz and Danny from Supergrass, in case that wasn't clear. Better get that out of the way.) Simone's friend Kent was there and he drew some pictures for Lolly and Judah since they love the cartoon The Misadventures of Flapjack, he animates for that show, see below! Very nice of him.


I walked past this guy that looked like Thom Yorke and I tried not to do a double take, his eyes were both wide open so that threw me, but I sat down to try to get a better look and then realized I was sitting between Colin and Jonny Greenwood. That was weird. I have no idea if when I try to act like I don't know who someone is if I am convincing at all but I am guessing probably not. But I tried. So, the Hotrats were the best show ever. Ever. I always say that after seeing anyone from Supergrass play in a small venue. I don't know how they can make sound pour out like that. David says it has something to do with their selection of amps but there has got to be something more than that because no one else I've ever heard even comes close. When they come onstage my mouth waters and when they start playing it's heaven heaven heaven, I know heaven is real because I've seen Supergrass play and I can't put it any less cheesily than that, sorry.





After the show we strained not to abuse our backstage privilege and tried to stay outside and we saw Danny, he was really friendly and I took this picture of him and Simone.

The afterparty was at a house nearby and Simone warned me it would be all LA assholes. The Hotrats manager always manages (get it) to staff the afterparties with the most otherworldly-caliber beautiful girls. I don't know where he finds them but it's a whole world I'm totally ignorant of. These girls...seriously. Just sitting next to mortals must make their skin crawl like Liz Phair says. We stood outside and everyone was pretty fucked up yet functional and conversant which I guess their profession demands they be able to do. I got this picture of Simone and Gaz
and a couple days later Gaz said he'd been coming up on e just then. There was this extremely polite, talkative and somehow impish British guy between Gaz and me and we talked about an hour before I figured out it was Nick Launay. In person he is how I pictured Willy Wonka from the way the book describes him, like neither of the movie Willys. Haha willys! Girls kept trying to drag Gaz upstairs and Simone and I were distraught by this. I told Gaz that Chris (manager) wanted him, I did that only to get him away from one particularly leechy and stupid girl. The Brits were so sweet and friendly but the LA vibe was still hanging over everything and we left before the party ended because there would be nothing worse than being the last ones there.


The next show was at the Troubadour and I won't bore you further with how fun and great it was but it had kind of an industry vibe, not at all like at Spaceland. Radiohead were all there again which was again strange. But we were told about an afterparty thing and all drove to that. Dime Bar somewhere in Hollywood? Simone got this pic of me outside


and we danced there till the lights came up and had to go. I remember dancing on a chair and being told to get down, and I remember apologizing to Gaz for telling girls to get off of him. Stupid tequila. He was really sweet about it but I hope I am not blacklisted from any future Supergrass shows. David says that's what I get for trying to mother rock stars. The lads said they were going to sleep since they had to fly to Mexico City early the next morning but who knows if they really did. Who cares! It was amazing. Thank you Simone for flying me down and thank you universe for not sucking ALL the time and letting there be music like the kind Supergrass and the Hotrats make. Amen.