Don't let me down

I keep forgetting to mention that last Friday, Patrick and I went to a bar in El Paso called the Riviera. Patrick's cousin Adrian's band Brown Betty played that night. Brown Betty is, I guess, a cover band, which - I know - doesn't sound promising, if you've had the same sort of bad bar band experiences I have (well, when I was in my 2os. Picture Gabe's bar in West LA, with a band that not only couldn't play what I requested [and they asked for requests] - "Rocky Raccoon," by the Beatles - or the song they suggested instead - "Dirty Deeds," by AC/DC; Gabe's was the favorite bar because it had foos ball - another thing in which I was not interested - but it was closer to home than McGinty's), but, with Adrian (truly a talented and inspiring player) on guitar and vocals, they made every song they touched (and they literally can touch thousands of songs) either sound as good as or better than the originals.

Three songs they performed that night that, for various reasons, really impressed me:

1. Don't Let Me Down, by the Beatles - they opened the night with this song, and I woke up the next morning, still a little drunk, with it in in my head, and even sang it in the shower - I never, ever, sing in the shower when I'm staying over someone elses house.

2. Ziggy Stardust, by David Bowie - I listened to "Crackle" by Bauhaus on the plane ride to El Paso, and had been discussing their version vs. Bowie's original (Bowie's wins, but the Bauhaus version rocks, too) with Adrian. They whipped this one out for us, and then Adrian's dad bought everyone a round of tequila, which almost made me miss...

3. Message in a Bottle, by the Police - the band had a bit of a personnel change for this one: different drummer and bass player, and Adrian sang and played guitar: I don't dance (more than I don't sing in the shower at other peoples' homes), but I swear to god, had I been able to set my feet on the floor without assistance, I would've been dancing to this one. This is strong praise, in case I've not laid it on quite thick enough.

Damn. I'm sleepy. Last night I got up at 2 a.m. with a hacking cough. I felt as if the whole inside of my chest had been spread with glue, and none of that glue was budging no matter how powerfully I coughed and attempted to dislodge it by smacking my hand to my heart. I was up for about 45 minutes, sitting on the lowered toilet seat in the dark bathroom with earplugs in my ears. One thing I can tell you for sure is, that kind of violent coughing, if done while wearing earplugs, will scare the shit out of you. Surprisingly Patrick slept through everything.

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Unplanned rhyme of the night:

"There's nothing worse than watching something boring with someone who's snoring."

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Here's an email I sent earlier today - it doesn't quite qualify as an "Ask Paul" feature, though, if you read carefully, you will see that I did indeed ask Paul a question.

Pauly, are we having shows both nights this weekend or is it just next weekend that's funky? I am confused [we are running "The Bald Soprano" both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, and only on Sunday, next weekend. That gives you three more chances to see it before it goes away forever].

By the way... Patrick installed the iPod cable thing in the Honda this weekend! I love it [Paul and I had been discussing this for months. He got his a long time ago]! More music than you could shake a stick at, all right there in my own car! Woo hoo!

Dear Email Gods: Please Do Not Deliver This Message Or Any Other Messages From Me To Paul Into Paul's Junk Folder Because I Am Starting To Get a Complex and For Me, That Is Just About As Bad As Psoriasis And/Or Bad Breath And/Or Dandruff And/Or The Dreaded Fatal Muffin-Top Syndrome. Thank You. Amen.

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By the way, City Garage has once again gathered up several nominations for LA Weekly Awards, which you can check out, here. I'm not sure if anybody over there reads this blog, but if you do, and you still haven't seen the wonderful work they do over there in Santa Monica, you should check it out. You won't be disappointed.

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Good night.