Feist in LA

To anyone who happens to still read this: so sorry. Please enjoy my babble about the Feist concert I saw last night.



So last night, I saw Feist.

She played at the Wiltern, a gorgeous theater near Koreatown. We got there toward the end of Grizzly Bear's set, and anxiously sat and waited for our beloved Leslie Feist to take the stage.

I'm going to preface the rest of this with the following warning: this was the most enjoyable concert I have been to in about a year, and there is likely to be some weird fangirl babble.

The theater got dark and a large disco ball spun faster and faster illuminating the stage and theater with long threads of light. The band took the stage and started playing the intro "Limit to Your Love." Then we saw her. Our lovely heroine pranced on stage wearing a red dress and red tights. She grabbed her red guitar and started in. Throughout the show she switched between her acoustic and electric guitar (that was almost as big as she was.) A few songs in, as things started really getting going, I was floored by something: Feist can rock. Feist can really rock. Listening to her cutesy-pop songs like "Mushaboom" or "The Park," you may not realize it.

She called us to be "A Choir of Strangers" and we were given notes by our seating areas and we sang along with her. I had a similar reaction to it as I did when Ben Folds had us sing the "ahhh-ahhhhs" in "Not the Same." That reaction was getting choked up. I can be such an emotional concert go-er.

She played one of her tunes Vaudville style, as they had been playing in very old theaters the entire tour, as "an offering to the ghost of Vaudville." Halfway through a tap dancer came out and performed along with Feist. It was really fun.

Leslie Feist has a beautiful voice, both in the studio and live. Her live presence is amazing, she gets the crowd excited, and then feeds off of that excitement. Everyone in that theater last night had a big-time crush on her. She was radiant.

As the show came to a close, she played favorites: "1 2 3 4" and "Mushaboom" (an amazing version) and also a new song that was loud and well crafted and absolutely wonderful. She also played "Sea Lion Woman," which is probably my least favorite song from "The Reminder," but one of the most enjoyable songs to see live. Grizzly Bear came out to sing the "sea lion" part. They presented her a rainstick as a thank-you for touring with them, and they stood upstage and danced and played the rainstick and clapped and were having a great time. And I was too.

As an encore, she stood on the upright piano and sang a lovely song, herself and the pianist, Kevin Drew. She played "Let it Die" with the help of her fantastic band, and then she left us. I could have sat for hours, mesmerized by her talent, but she had to go.

The drive out

This has been neglected for a long time. Now I will update the small reader base that I have on my current happenings.

Dad and I left Dayton around 6A on Friday, May 11. That day we drove to Tulsa, Oklahoma where we spent the night. Here are some notes that I took from the trip:

Saturday, May 12
10:40AM Ohio Time:
Dad and I stop about 80 miles outside of Oklahoma City at a Cherokee Gas Station. The gas station has been bragging for miles of live buffalo. There is a single buffalo in a fenced in field along the off ramp. At the gas station, there is group of about 20 Irishmen on motorcycles. They all speak with thick accents and have Ireland patches on their leather jackets. A few of them sat inside eating Subway sandwiches, while the other stocked up on M&Ms and bottled water. Some were friendly, others just stared at me. While paying for my coffee, "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes was playing behind the counter, I laughed to myself. We are 215 miles from Amarillo, Texas.

3:22PM Ohio Time:
We just crossed the New Mexico border. The scenery is amazing. On one side of the highway, there are big flat hills, ad he other side is fields spotted with grazing cattle and desert vegetation.

Texas was pretty beautiful as well. Mike and Grant had warned us not to stop in Shamrock, but I had to use the bathroom, so we stopped anyway. We got out soon thereafter. In I-40, the speed limit is 70 in Texas, and I got pulled over doing a cool 80mph. The Texas state trooper was friendly enough, and let me off with a warning. Oh gosh, I'm so charming. We also saw from the highway the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere.

We stopped to get lunch and gas in Amarillo, Texas. Where we stopped, there wasn't much--mostly chain restaurants and gas stations. Arby's doesn't really scream Texas, but it was a nice, quick lunch.

We've passed three wind farms since Oklahoma. I am still mesmerized by them, and I'm sure at one point in my life, it will cause me to crash into the side of the road, or possibly another car. Staring at windmills wouldn't be a terrible way to go, though. Dad said that we are going to drive through a whole valley of them in California. I begged to get out and take a picture, he said hat would be alright.

Dad has gotten pretty much all control of the radio today, and we are listening to his iPod. We've listened to a lot of ELO, Johnny Cash, and some Simon and Garfunkel. I was able to strike a compromise and we have it on shuffle. That way, if Steely Dan comes on, I only have to suffer through one song at a time. Bob Dylan is serenading us right now as we cruise down the highway.

Sunday, May 13
10:55 Ohio Time
Dad and I got into Santa Fe yesterday around 4:00 Mountain Time. The drive there was gorgeous. We drove for about 50 miles on a two lane road with mountains and rolling hills, and it was amazing. I was expecting a little more from Santa Fe. It's very nice, but mostly populated by yuppie tourists who pop in and out of souvenir shops that all have the same sort of things: turquoise jewelry and Indian figurines.

We got dinner at a pretty wonderful restaurant called The Cowgirl. It was a little touristy, but the food made up for it. I got a Hard Core Cider (yeah Ohio!) We got a stuffed pepper of some kind for an appetizer that was to die for. I got huevos rancheros, and they were pretty good. They played old country music (Patsy Cline, Flatt & Scruggs) After dinner I took a nap, and then Dad and I took a walk and fought. By the hotel pool, there is a fireplace with some cushy lawn chairs, so we sat by those for a while. Then I passed out.

This morning, we were both up around 6, but were able to go back to sleep until 8ish. I think we are going to walk around for a while and then drive on to Laughlin and stay there for two nights. I'm really excited to get to California.

5:21 Arizona Time
I'm not sure how much longer until we stop in Laughlin...I'm not sick of riding along, but I do want to go swimming.

We stopped at the farthest west exit of Albuquerque around 11. It's been about a week or so since I've really dealt with a whole lot of strangers. Sometimes I forget how much of a freak magnet I am. The friend I made at the Flying J wasn't even someone I started talking to! Corey is convinced that it will help me if I ever go into documentary film making.

Megan thought that the fact that I got a ticket in Texas was pretty hilarious. Her brother said that he has never seen someone pulled over in that state, so I must have been going about 100. Nope.

The scenery today has been pretty great. We drove through quite a bit of desert, but also through a national forest. Now we are driving away from the mountains and back into the desert. I think I like the mountains the best.

I have not seen a single dead armadillo today. Other nature reports: We saw two prairie dog-like animals in Santa Fe. We also saw a deer farm. I guess people here don't have the same problems with over population of deer because of urban sprawl. The cattle out here aren't as pretty as the holsteins and jerseys and guernseys of Ohio. Many of them look a bit underfed and filthy. I have gotten to see lots of horses and baby colts today, though, and that makes me pretty happy. I only saw one farm with goats on it, BUT, at least I got to see a farm with goats on it! Oh how I love goats. They are so curious and friendly and they make the cutest bleating sounds, and they rub their faces on my pants and it's adorable. Fact: I am a goat superfan.

I finally understand the line from "America the Beautiful" that starts "For purple mountians majesty." We've been driving through desert for two days now, The land is gigantic--like nothing I have ever seen. I have no idea how far away the things I see are, it seems like we drive toward things for an hour and never reach them. The mountians pop up along the horizon and are a beauitfuly foggy purple. As we finally grow closer, the purple turns to a brown spotted with dark greens. As the mountians come into focus, I can see how deep they are. From far away, they simply seem to be a landscape painted on the sky ahead of me. The photos I have taken simply do no justice to the landscape. It is vast and diverse. Around every corner I see a new, wonderful view. I know that millions of people have experienced this drive, but I believe that each person takes from it something a bit different. Countless people have crested the same hills we have, but I doubt that they have all taken the same mental picture as I have. The west is amazing.

9:53PM PST
To be as eloquent as possible: Laughlin...sucks. It is tacky (but not in a fun way, in a depressing way.) On the way into the casino at the Ramada Inn, "Sweet Caroline" was playing over the sound of the slots, where dinosaurs sat as they put in nickel after nickel into the machines. I wanted to cry, but I laughed out loud instead.

We arrived to sunny Los Angeles, California around lunch on Monday, May 14.

Post-trip Updates

Oh geez. I neglected the LA blog. Sorry. Here is what happened:

Friday Evening
Amanda got home from work, and we got ready to go over to Devin and Swartz's apartment in Hollywood (Amanda lives in Van Nuys.) The boys apartment is very nice. We spend a little time there, then headed over to Whitney, Joe, and Brett's new apartment, which was also very nice. Apparently there is a homeless woman who lives in a storage bin in front of their house. We did not see her. Soon after that, three cabs came and picked everyone up. In our cab, Lisa joked around with the driver, and I laughed pretty hard.

We got to Key Club, and were told to tell the doorman that we were there with "Kim's Party." I'm still not really sure if Kim exists, but we got in for free. I'm so Hollywood. There was a 90's party going on at the club downstairs, and some band that was featured on an MTV show upstairs. We opted for the downstairs option. The DJ knew just hot to satisfy my 90's tooth--he played "Be With You" by Mr. Big, "No Rain" by Blind Melon, "MMMBop" by Hanson, and "Sure Shot" by the Beastie Boys, as well as a wide variety of other songs that I liked in middle school. I wish it was 1996. Bars still kind of freak me out, especially when I am not in the setting of a college town in Ohio. Also, it was very expensive. By the end of the night, my feet were so sore from wearing heels for about 14 hours straight that I could barely walk. Amy and I slept on the boys' couches.

Saturday
I woke up way too early (still on Ohio time) and read magazines while everyone else got a full night's sleep. After everyone woke up, we sat around reminiscing about someone's 3 mile jog home, and a nasty email he had received. Amanda took us back to Van Nuys, and we took showers, then headed back down to West Hollywood for lunch. We ate at Bosa Nova's, a really great Brazilian place. Our waiter was super nice, and the food was very good. I ate a banana and cheese sandwich. Also with my meal, I got fried plantains. I was in banana heaven. It's a nice change to just sit outside and have a meal...I wish it was Spring.

Amy had a coffee meeting with an OU alumni on Melrose, so I walked around while she chatted. I wandered in and out of expensive stores like Fred Segal and a paper goods shop that had greeting cards that cost $10, but I wanted to buy really badly. I also walked past Bobby Trendy Designs, as seen on The Anna Nicole Show. I wanted to go in pretty badly, but I figured it would be too obvious that I was just there to see how ridiculous Bobby Trendy is in real life.

After Amy's meeting, we went over to Jordan and Rachel's new apartment. We sat and gossiped for a while, and eventually Rachel and Jordan's puppy, Gizma came over. HE IS SO CUTE. (I don't get to play with enough puppies.) Amy and I walked to get some dinner at a sandwich place called Roman's, then headed back to Lisa and Adrienn's apartment. We were being loud, and for yelled at by a security guard...so we went to a place called St. Nicks. It was a lot more like the bars I am used to. There were lots of young people there, and it was dark and there was lots of wood. That bar was also expensive. Some drunk people claimed to know me, and I talked to them for a little bit, and turns out we were Cincinnati and Cleveland. I didn't know them, though. On our way out, I saw Nick Kroll at a table. He's on Best Week Ever, and recently Meg and I were talking about how funny we think he is. Otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed him. Amy and I slept on air mattresses at Lisa and Adrienn's.

Sunday
Amy and I woke up and headed back to Amanda's apartment. We put on our swim suits and packed beach bags and headed to Zuma Beach in Malibu with Mark and Devin. The boys played in the water, and Amy, Amanda, and I sat on the beach reading celebrity gossip magazines. I don't really like the beach that much, but it was nice to sit in the sun.

photos by amanda lenker

Sunday night we met up with ALLEN! We had not seen him since Christmas break 2004, and have missed him very much. We went to Santa Monica Pier for some Mexican food and walked around expensive stores. I'm sure Allen remembers now why he hasn't seen us in so long, and I'm sure is weary of us coming back into his territory...we are so obnoxious.

Monday
Amy and I had more interviews. Mine were with two bigger companies than the first two. I was offered an internship with one on the spot, and the other company would like me to do some script coverage and send that to them, just to make sure that I'm not a total flake, I'm assuming. We went to Neighborhoodies and got matching shirts made with our names on them, and stood in the store laughing for a very long time.

Amy and I went back to the Melrose area to get some Pinkberry frozen yogurt. If Lindsay Lohan eats there, it must be good. Amy had a dinner meeting in Burbank, so Amanda and I got some dinner at a diner that is supposed to look like one of those 50's diners. We watched the pilot for "The Riches," and I think that's going to be a pretty good show.

Tuesday
Our final day in LA. We packed up our mess in Amanda's room, I said goodbye to the devil cat, and locked up. We went back to the Urth Cafe and had some iced coffee while we tried to figure out what to do with the rest of the day. We ended up going to a mall off of Melrose to kill some time and get some lunch. We dangerously ended up at H&M. I was somehow able to control myself, and only bought a sweatshirt, jacket, and gigantic hair clips. We got some lunch in the food court, and Amy got a call from Lifetime Television, and they wanted her to come in for an interview. We scrambled and got back to Beverly Hills just in time. I drove around for the first time during the rush hour traffic while Amy interviewed. I think I'm going to have to be sedated all summer to handle the traffic there.

I got in contact with a niece of my great-great aunt (yeah, we aren't actually related) who works on Boston Legal. She made arrangements for us to come on set, and we watched part of a scene with James Spader being shot. Everyone on set was very nice to us, and asked us all sorts of questions about what we wanted to do, and how our trip was. Very soon after getting on set, we had to hurry and get back to LAX to catch our flight. That airport makes me want to cry. After finally getting checked into our flight, we were shoved around like cattle to check out bags, but eventually got to our gate with no major problems. I fell asleep on the redeye, and arrived back in Columbus at 6:30AM.

The end. Thank you to everyone who has encouraged me about going to LA.

we're here

Amy and I arrived last night around 8:20pm PST. I was very tired, because as usual, I could not sleep on the plane. We were given two rounds of snacks (apparently 4 1/2 hours is a long enough flight to necessitate two different snacks.)

Highlights of the plane trip:
-At the airport, Amy and I got big girl drinks at the airport bar. I feel just like my mother! (Was that inappropriate?)
-The captain directed us to buckle our seatbelts, and as the flight attendants came around, Amy and I raised our arms in the air to show that we were fastened in, as if we were about to ride The Beast at King's Island.
-Amy realized that station #12 played 90's music. We plugged in and listened to Lisa Loeb together.
-No other highlights. I don't really like flying that much.

We got off the plane in LA, grabbed our luggage and got our rental car. We made it to Amanda's without getting lost, and spent the rest of the night preparing for today's activities.

Because I have this really amazing internal clock, I was up around 5AM this morning, and laid on the floorbed in Amanda's room until about 7. Oooh, I hope that happens tomorrow! (Nothing like being super tired at 7PM.)

Amy and I had interviews today. I had two: one in Beverly Hills, and one in Hollywood. Both went well, and I was offered one, and am waiting to hear back from the other. Amy had one on the Warner Lot, and was offered that, too. We rule.


we are so mature.

My favorite part of the day (other than being offered an internship) happened while eating a (overpriced!) hummus sandwich outside of a Starbucks on Sunset Blvd. A huge guy--a mountain of a man--was sitting outside drinking some sort of coffee drink, and on his lap sat a Chihuahua wearing a t-shirt that said "BITCHES LOVE ME." I was amused at first at this odd couple, but eventually he started talking to the dog and playing with it, and at one point, he looked up at two girls and said, "I taught him to dance. I once had a big poodle, and I taught him to dance, too." (I love people!!)

I already have an arch-nemesis. It's a big fat white longhaired cat. It spies on me from different areas in the apartment, and I have even caught it lurking in the bathtub waiting for me to go to the bathroom... It's gotten out the front door of the apartment twice, and I've had to retrieve it. I don't know it's name, but it belongs to Amanda's roommate... I hate it.

la: today!

Here we come...

I'm just about packed and getting antsy to leave. I'm finally excited about the trip! I can't wait to feel warm sun again.

We leave Columbus this evening at 6:30, and are expected to arrive in LA around 8:20PM. I have two interviews tomorrow, and three on Monday, and one more at a pending time. We are staying with a friend of Amy's who works for a casting agency (I think?)

I hope everyone in Bowling Green enjoys the 50 degree weather next week. I'll enjoy 70 degrees tomorrow.

LA: 3 days

I'm about ready to head out to California. I'm very very tired of the cold weather of Ohio, and I'm ready for sun. My legs are ready to be exposed to fresh air, and my feet want to feel sand. My body has never ached for the warm weather like it is right now.

I've bought some clothes for the trip. I know, I know. No one wants to read about the clothing I've bought. Anyway, I got a light blue dress shirt to wear with my "interview outfit." I also have gotten two new pairs of fun shoes, which I might just wear out today to start breaking them in. I really should pack everything up, but I'm afraid to take anything out of my suitcase that I packed at school because of the amount of dog hair that somehow ends up all over everything I bring into the house. Weeks after I visit home for a weekend, I'll find white wiry hairs in my things.

Tomorrow I turn 21. I thought I'd share that. Also my parents got me an iPod for my birthday, so I will have something to listen to while I'm away (mine broke.)