I was already running late in the morning, then I got stopped by a transit cop. Apparently unlike every other transit system I’ve been on (and at this point I’m closing in on 20 in five different countries), the one way ticket I assumed covered my trip from the hotel to the convention center only covers you until you board another train (so if you had to connect twice you’d pay three times). LA, this is the stupidest idea about transit ever – no wonder it hasn’t totally caught on here.
I had to grab a hard boiled egg and a yogurt on the way to my first session – happily it was the most informative one yet. And the whole day was full of win, found lots of good information and the lunch was decent (Caesar salad and beef tenderloins with pasta and Gorgonzola). One fail – I tried several times and in different locations to access the Microsoft wireless, but never succeeded – good thing it works nicely at the hotel.
Before my last session I called Jill, and that worked nicely, since it was about 7 her time, and I wasn’t in a rush to get somewhere. Which I was as soon as the last session was over, on my way back to Hollywood and Highland, and soon eating a juicy In-N-Out Double Double. I had to eat on the go, as I had to quickly get eight blocks east, but I will say it was very good. I couldn’t compare it to the previous night’s one, but I would say it at least equals Five Guys (which I think very highly of for a fast food burger).
I finally got to the Hotel Cafe minutes before the first act. They do things a little different there – the cover is usually $10 for the whole night, and you just need to tell them which act you came to see. I was there to see The Bittersweets, who’d opened for Catie Curtis a couple weeks earlier and we missed most of their set. When I saw they were performing here I was determined to catch the full set, and I wasn’t disappointed. For one thing, they had their third member with them on pedal steel and harmonica adding more textures, plus I was more familiar with their music (you can download a free cd’s worth of music here). Again the high point was their off mic finale of “When The War Is Over” with “Falling Slowly” woven in the middle. Unfortunately word of their prowess had not reached the beautiful people in LA, and there was only about 10 people there by the end. I went and talked to (lead vox) and she was amused I had seen them in Vienna and now here, plus I picked up their first CD (already have the new one).
After that I decided to check out the next act, Michelle Malone, whom I decided was Chrissie Hynde, if of course Ms. Hynde was a southern raised blues player. I enjoyed her (and my favorite cocktail), but it was getting late, so I headed back to the hotel to relax (and web surf, of course).
