Our birthday month continued into its second weekend with us seeing a Sunny Day Real Estate concert on Saturday, October 10, 2009. This was actually my third time seeing them and my wife’s second time. My first time seeing them was at the Palace (now called the Avalon) in Hollywood with my younger brother during his visit in November 1998. They were promoting their third album, “How it Feels to be Something On”. I believe the opening bands were The Rapture and 764-Hero who sang the song “Calendar Pages”. My brother later put this song on one of the mix tapes he used to make for me. This show was Sunny Day Real Estate’s first in California though it wasn’t their original lineup. Their original bassist Nate Mendel had joined the Foo Fighters full time. At this concert all the members of the band were wore matching black suits and ties. Guitarist Dan Horner did the talking between songs. He described how they really enjoyed singing the song “The Prophet”. At another point he said, “I’m gonna be a cornball and say this is the best concert we’ve ever had.”

My younger brother had introduced me to Sunny Day Real Estate several years earlier. When I was in college he gave me a mix tape that included their song “Round”. He also got me an SDRE t-shirt. It was khaki-colored, had green and purple lettering, and had a sun-like circle on the back with these figures holding hammers on the outside of the circle. The front had the name of the band on it. Once I was at a grocery store and the cashier asked me about it saying he had never heard of the company, Sunny Day Real Estate. I said that they were actually a band. My shirt wore out after several years.

My second time seeing Sunny Day Real Estate was in July 2000 with my then girlfriend, now wife at the Troubadour on west Santa Monica Boulevard near Doheny. Getting there was a bit of a drive even back then when I lived in the Miracle Mile area of the “Trendy Rectangle” (made up by La Brea Ave to the east, Wilshire Blvd to the south, La Cienaga Blvd to the west, and Melrose Ave. to the north.) This time SDRE were promoting their new album “The Rising Tide”. They either had yet another bass player or the lead singer, Jeremy Enyck, played bass. Their opening act was the former band No Knife who I thought sounded pretty good. I remember we sat on benches on the balcony. It was a great show though the band didn’t come on stage until late and my wife got rather sleepy. They did have a couple of encores and played an early song, “In Circles” during one of them. Right before the show I bought a SDRE t-shirt at the merch table. Its color and image matched the cover of their new album, “The Rising Tide”. It was grayish blue with the image of an angel statue carrying someone. I liked that SDRE t-shirt, too, but unfortunately it only lasted for three years. I was wearing it when I had my auto accident in 2003. The EMT’s cut the shirt right down the middle to do tests for trauma one. I wasn’t quite as banged up as they thought but my shirt was totaled just like my car.

Sunny Day Real Estate had already broken up and gotten back together once by the time I saw them the first time. They broke up again not long after we saw them the second time. In 2002 or 2003 three of the original band members, singer/guitarist Jeremy Enyck, bassist Nate Mendel, and Drummer Adam Goldsmith formed a band called the Fire Theft and released a CD. Their music was a bit softer and more melodic than what they played as Sunny Day Real Estate. We enjoyed the CD. I’m not sure if the Fire Theft ever toured.

In 2009 Sunny Day Real Estate released remastered editions of their first two albums. I was familiar with their first album, “Diary”. My brother had made me a tape of before we saw them the first time and my wife got me a CD. I wasn’t as familiar with their second album that simply had a pink cover and is referred to as “The Pink Album”. My wife downloaded the remastered albums that included bonus tracks and had an actual track listing for the Pink Album. We then heard that they were back together with the original lineup and that they were touring. They were playing at least two shows in the L.A. area: one at the House of Blues Anaheim on Saturday, October 10, 2009, and another at the Music Box at the Fonda on Sunday October 11, 2009. We decided to see them again since it was the original lineup, they weren’t playing all the way out on Santa Monica Boulevard, and my wife wanted to see them while wide awake. We got tickets to the Saturday show.

The House of Blues Anaheim is becoming one of our “old haunts.” We saw three shows there in 2008: the Sunday Gospel Brunch on our cousin’s birthday, James on my birthday, and The Kooks during the week of my wife’s birthday (see earlier reviews). Still, it had been nearly a year since we went there last. We took the 210 east to the 57 south, excited at Katella going west and drove for 1-2 miles passing the Grove of Anaheim and the Anaheim Convention Center. We turned right on Disneyland Drive, passed the entrance to the Disneyland Hotel, and turned left on Magic Way. After taking a ticket at the parking booth, we turned left into parking for Downtown Disney and parked in section 4C. I think we had left home after 6:30 and arrived at Downtown Disney at 7:15 pm. It was very crowded there, I guess because it was Saturday night.

We made our way to the House of Blues Anaheim. They had opened the doors at 7 pm so there was no queue to get in, though we saw the poles and chains for a Disneyland-style queue. The staffers gave us green “House of Blues” wristbands, checked our ID’s, and scanned us with wands. We climbed up the stairs and stopped by the merch table on the patio just outside the door. They have several different t-shirts. The new SDRE one was a blue shirt with a print of a fly that I didn’t really like. They had a couple with images of cartoon people similar to the ones that appeared on their first album. They also had one designed similar to the one from their first tour. It was the same design as the one my younger brother got for me many years ago. But this new version was dark grey with the sun design on the back and the lettering in front all in black print. I didn’t like it as much as my original. My wife got a green t-shirt with a cartoon “Sunny Day Real Estate” agent, some buttons, and stickers. I didn’t get anything for me. But that’s OK because I already had and was wearing a “Sunny Day” t-shirt of sorts. It was actually the t-shirt I got from the El Monte Tour of Two Rivers a.k.a. the Emerald Necklace (see earlier blog). That t-shirt had a bunch of ads for sponsors on the back and one of them was for Sunny Day Adult Day Care.

After purchasing the merch we entered the venue. This time there were no stools set up around the upper level rail. The tickets said “standing only” and they weren’t kidding. The only seating was the stools in the restricted section of the balcony. Even without stools all the spots along the unrestricted parts of the rail were already taken. We went downstairs to the stage level and found a place to stand in front of the engineers’ light and sound station. As we waited the floor and everywhere else steadily got more crowded. I learned from the restroom attendant that I could have my parking ticket validated at the downstairs bar and get free parking for 4-5 hours. I went downstairs handed my ticket to the staffer on the other side of the velvet rope separating the concert venue from the restaurant/bar area and he had it stamped for validation. I then returned to the floor where my wife waited. The crowd was mostly Caucasian males. Most women were there as part of couples. There were a few Asians. Everyone looked to be around our age. They mostly wore t-shirts and jeans or shorts. Compared to the business casually dressed crowd at the Loggins and Messina concert the week before, the SDRE crowd seemed dressed down. Most of them wore dark colors: blacks and browns. I saw only two others in white t-shirts. One guy wore a white SDRE t-shirt with orange lettering. Many of the crowd were drinking alcohol, soft drinks, or Red Bull.

As we waited they played canned music of mostly 80’s and 90’s classic rock such as Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise”, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mama I’m Coming Home”, Tom Petty’s “Don’t have to Live like a Refugee”, and REM’s “Man on the Moon”. The curtains in front of the stage had the familiar angled panel quilt pattern that I believe I had seen at previous House of Blues Anaheim shows. At 8 pm the screens mounted on the ceiling near the bar counters showed the curtain indicating that the first opening band was about the take the stage. Soon the lights dimmed and the curtain opened to the band Dead Country. They consisted of a guitarist, drummer, singer/guitarists, and bassist. They played six loud and fast songs heavy on drum and guitar and were so loud I wished I had earplugs. After the first couple of songs the cocky, heavyset bassist asked, “What’s up Anaheim? We’re Dead Country from L.A.” Later the singer said that SDRE were “f---ing amazing.” One of their songs included the f-word frequently in the lyrics. Unlike their name, they did not play country music, but loud and fast rock. Towards the end of their set the singer said they were from near Dodger Stadium and we could get $1 3-song CD’s from the merch table outside. They finished at 8:25 pm. A man standing behind us saw me taking notes in my “manly notebook” and asked if I was a writer. He said all the Dead Country songs sounded the same.

The lights and canned music came back on. Over the PA system a woman’s voice announced that we could get tickets for just $10 tonight only for some of the upcoming shows. She then told us to “sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.” I don’t think it was possible for anyone there to sit back. The floor got more crowded. We saw a few kids at the show with their parents. The kids looked to be about as old as SDRE’s third or fourth albums. At 8:45 pm the screens again showed the stage and at 8:50 pm the curtain opened for the next act: The Jealousy Sound. Other than Dead Country’s bass player, the Jealously Sound weren’t as good looking as the first band, but they sure sounded better. Their sound was more balanced often with quieter verses and louder choruses. I could distinguish the melody from the loud and fast drum and guitar. Like the first band they consisted of a guitarist, drummer, singer/guitarist, and bassist. They all wore similar black polo shirts and at one point I think someone shouted, “You’re all wearing the same shirts!” Their songs had clearer lyrics such as “The Ambulance is Here”, “You have what everyone wants”, and “I thought this day would never come”. One of their songs was prefaced as a new one.

The Jealously Sound thanked SDRE for letting them join the tour. A big guy in front of us was waving his arms during some of the songs. A man near us was imitating him. The Jealousy Sound finished their set at 9:32 pm. Between them and the next act the floor got even more crowded. There was hardly any room to move and the worst were the people asking others to move so they could move up. I noticed that many in the crowd were taller then I. Many were drinking from these big cans of beer. We could hear guitar tuning and drumming coming from behind the curtain.

At 10 pm sharp the curtain opened to Sunny Day Real Estate and they launched right into their song “Friday” from the Pink Album. They were all wearing black t-shirts and black pants. Other than the original bass player, Nate Mendel, the others looked the same as they did nine and eleven years before, the first times I saw them. As with the first two bands, the only visual effects were colored spotlights. Their first song included the repeated line “This time . . .” and guitarist Dan Hoerner also sang some of the vocals. They followed this with “Seven” from Diary and the crowd went wild from the opening note sequence. Next came “Shadows” that’s also from Diary. It started slow and soft but got louder and faster for the choruses. They then did another from Diary, the louder and faster “Song about an Angel” as blue lights shined on stage. Jeremy announced the next song by saying, “This one’s called Grendel”. It was a quieter song and the last non-bonus track on Diary, but it got louder halfway through and ended with them really thrashing.

Before the next song Jeremy said, “Now we’re going to do one from (the album) ‘How it Feels to be Something On’.” They then played “Guitar and Video Games” that started quietly but got very loud with Jeremy nearly screaming. We could kind of relate to this song because we played The Beatles Rock Band during the first and fourth Saturdays of October. They followed this with one from the Pink Album: the subdued and surreal “Iscarabaid” with its haunting guitar and bass progression. The next song started mellow with Jeremy emphasizing the word “imagination” and red lights shining on stage. The song got loud and fast more than halfway through and had a loud and abrupt end. We believe it was “Theo B” from the Pink Album. After the song Dan Hoerner said, “That song is fun to play especially with Nate on bass.”

They also began the next song quietly: “5/4” from the Pink Album with lyrics such as “Rise and Shine” and “I know you’re coming back.” But it also got very loud by the end. Jeremy introduced the next song as a new one that they had just completed. It was loud and fast with the word “Glorious” featured prominently. Hot pink lights shined on stage and they played even louder by the end. The next song had a slow beginning and sounded familiar beginning with the lyrics “fear inside” and “against the sky”. The guitars soon got loud and fast and we figured out the song was “48” from Diary. The next song started even more slowly than the last one and never got very fast. It got louder, though, with Jeremy wailing the title lyric, “Sometimes” from Diary. After finishing the song they left the stage. It was 11 pm. We made noise for what seemed like several minutes. I remember earlier, during SDRE’s main set, a guy near us was shouting for them to play the song “Heaven”. We couldn’t remember a song with that name on any of SDRE’s four albums. Then we realized he was referring to a Fire Theft song. We didn’t think they would play it and they didn’t.

The band came back on stage to loud applause and played “In Circles” from Diary that nearly brought the house down. It seemed like everyone sang along with the chorus and the spotlights moved. SDRE then played “J-Nuh” from the Pink Album under red lights, another song that started soft and got very loud, especially the instrumental part. When they finished either Dan or Jeremy said, “We’ll be back!” and they left the stage for the night. Despite more loud cheering the canned music came back on indicating that there would be no more encores. We slowly made our way out of the venue with the rest of the crowd. I overheard someone say that they were going to see them the next day. We later learned that the show we attended was sold out. I believe that given the size of the crowd. We made our way back through Downtown Disney that wasn’t as crowded now, it being nearly 11:30 pm. We found our car, gave the attendant our validated parking ticket, and weren’t charged anything. We then drove east on Magic Way, south on Disneyland Drive, east on Katella, north on the 57 and east on the 210 to get back home.

It was a great concert. I’ve seen SDRE three times now but I never get tired of them despite their only releasing four albums. The first two times they focused on their latest albums from 1998 and 2000. This time they were comprised of their original lineup and they focused on their first two albums. So it wasn’t like I was going “In Circles” by seeing them three times. Each time was unique and great.

We saw the film The Runaways on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at the AMC Covina 30 in Covina. Before seeing it, we hadn’t seen a movie in a theater since seeing 17 Again at the Pacific Theaters at the Americana on Brand in May 2009 (see earlier review). The AMC Covina 30 is the second closest movie theater to our home after the Regency on Citrus Avenue in Azusa (where we saw The Soloist in April 2009, see earlier review). But we hadn’t seen a film at the AMC Covina 30 since we saw Blades of Glory there in April 2007 nearly three years ago. It seems like a long time ago now. I think I once read that at one point the AMC Covina 30 had the most screens of any multiplex in L.A. County.

I first heard of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts when I first start listening to Rock and Roll music in the early 1980’s. I remember the song “I Love Rock and Roll” that I learned much later was a cover. In the mid to late 80’s I remember songs by Lita Ford playing on the radio such as “Kiss Me Deadly” and “Close my Eyes Forever”, her duet with Ozzy Osbourne. But it wasn’t until the mid-nineties that I heard of The Runaways. My younger brother bought a book published by SPIN magazine that was an encyclopedia of alternative music. It included all the bands and artists that they classified as “alternative” and listed and rated their albums. I’ve always enjoyed browsing through encyclopedias and back then there wasn’t much on the Internet. The alternative music encyclopedia had an entry for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts that mentioned The Runaways and that Lita Ford was part of the group.

The idea of Joan Jett and Lita Ford working together seemed intriguing but I didn’t pursue this interest because the Internet wasn’t a reliable source for research, the music stores only carried the popular stuff, and my musical tastes were more current alternative. I hadn’t even heard any of The Runaways’ music. It wasn’t until late 2009 or early 2010 that I would hear of the Runaways again. I saw the early preview for The Runaways movie on imdb.com. It looked like the typical rock band biopic with young stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, a former young child star who is now a teenager. But the trailer also included a loud, rockin’, slightly silly and very catchy Runaways song “Ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry Bomb!” (I think the song is actually just called “Cherry Bomb”.) Stewart plays Joan Jett and Fanning plays Cherie Currie, the lead singer of The Runaways. Scout Taylor-Compton plays Lita Ford in what turns out of be a supporting role. It was hard to get the song “Cherry Bomb” out of our heads.

We decided to see the movie because the music sounded good and the story looked interesting. The Runaways were one of the first all-girl bands. The website for the movie, www.runawaysmovie.com, has a cherry bomb burning down and exploding for an intro and a cherry bomb wick for a scroll bar. But the best part of the site is that it plays the song “Cherry Bomb” in its entirety over and over: “Hello Daddy, hello Mom! I’m your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!” The website said that the movie would be out in theaters on March 19. This was earlier than the April release given for the film on imdb.com. It’s always difficult to catch a movie after the first few weeks that it’s out (as L.A. Downtown News would say, its “first-fun” period) because so many other movies come out to take its place. After March 19, we learned that The Runaways had only been released in a limited number of theaters and wouldn’t be released widely until April 9.

We figured we would wait until after April 9 to see the film since March was a busy month for us. But then the weekend of March 27-28 opened up. We looked up online to see what select theaters were playing the film and found that one of them was the AMC Covina 30. I guess they have so many screens that they can include limited release movies. We looked up the best times and prices and found that the evening shows cost $11, the afternoon shows cost $9, and the one morning showtime at 11:45 am cost only $6 per person. That was our choice.

On Saturday, March 27 we left home at 11:35 am and got to the AMC Covina 30 less than ten minutes later. There were other people there; many kids possibly there to see How to Train Your Dragon. The tickets really did only cost $6 each. We arrived at theater number 6 where the movie was showing. It looked like the previews had already started but they were actually just ads. I guess now they show motion ads rather than still ads that they used to show before the film started. It’s almost like watching TV commercials. There were ads for the Marines, the TV show “V”, Coca-Cola, the UFC, and a Black-Eyed Peas concert. Then they showed a scrolling ad for the AMC Movie Watchers’ Network before the previews. There were four previews, two of which I had seen before. The first was the screwball comedy Get Him to the Greek starring Jonah Hill. The next was the more sophisticated comedy, “Cyrus” also with Jonah Hill. The third was expected: the latest Twilight movie, “Eclipse”, starring Kristen Stewart and with Dakota Fanning in a cameo appearance. That one didn’t look very different from the other Twilights. The fourth preview was for The Joneses, another silly movie. So the previews consisted of three silly movies and a blockbuster.

Now to review the feature presentation itself: it begins by giving the year: 1975 and the entire film really captures that time period through the costumes, setting, attitudes, and the music. It takes place in the L.A area except for the parts where the group is on tour. The cars all look retro, the phones have dials (though the pay phones are touch-tone. Did they have touch tone back then?) My wife loved the costumes: the leather and polyester, and some of the space-age looking costumes the band wears while performing. Then there’s the resistance to all-girl rock and roll bands at the time. Even the Runaways have a male record producer calling their shots in the beginning.

The story covers about what’s expected in a biopic of a rock band: its formation, rise, and internal conflicts. The scene of their preparation for angry concertgoers is interesting. The story is paced very quickly, perhaps too quickly. I think Cherie Currie was in the band for a few years but it seems much shorter than that in the film. The story focuses primarily on Cherie Currie and Joan Jett. The band’s manager, Kim Fowly, played by Michael Shannon, plays a strong supporting role. He has some of the most humorous lines. The other Runaways play smaller supporting roles. I’m not even sure if the bass player has any full lines. Another strong supporting role is Cherie Currie’s twin sister, Marie Currie, played by Riley Keough. I didn’t think they looked like identical twins; sisters, maybe. Riley Keough looks more like her late grandfather, Elvis Presley, another Rock and Roll pioneer.

The movie is rated R for language, teen drug use, and sexuality and it contains all of these in abundance. There actually isn’t very much nudity, though they use strategic camera angles. Given the R rating and the rocker lifestyle, I expected some of this base activity to be portrayed but not to the extent that it was. I thought it got a bit monotonous and detracted from the story and character development. I would have liked to have learned more aspects of the characters. All the Runaways are young teens but we only see the parents of one of them. We see them playing music together, using drugs together, arguing, but very little conversation. Was there not much of that? Not much time with all the drugs, fighting, and debauchery? Perhaps so since the film was partially based on the autobiography Neon Angel but Cherie Currie and Joan Jett was an executive producer for the film. After building up to their success, the “lifestyle” gives the film a negative tone that it doesn’t quite recover from by the end.

What keeps the film going is the music. Not just The Runaways’ music but popular music of the time period such as David Bowie, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and even Don McLean. The film features a young Rodney Bingenheimer who looks and sounds a lot like the real one (who we saw at a Vines concert in 2002, I believe). Some of the music is what influenced the Runaways such as Suzi Quatro. Other songs such as “It’s a Man’s World” are a soundtrack to the story. But the best is that the song “Cherry Bomb” is featured prominently and even multiple times. We learn a story of the song’s origin. It’s such a silly-sounding song and yet they sing it so strongly and seriously. It strongly features Cherie Currie and Joan Jett but also Lita Ford with her guitar solo and the other Runaways. Kim Fowly is also involved. For me, “Cherry Bomb” is what makes the movie.

The actors all play their roles well, especially the two leads, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, along with Michael Shannon and Riley Keough. Kristen Stewart looks a lot like Joan Jett looked back then and I think the real Joan Jett couldn’t tell Stewart’s singing from her own. Speaking of Riley Keough’s family, as we exited the AMC Covina 30 we noticed an Elvis Presley pinball machine in the lobby. It had flashing squares for Elvis songs such as Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes, Jailhouse Rock, and All Shook Up. There was a picture of Graceland, and a little model of the “Heartbreak Hotel”. The best was one of the ball return paths that had the message “Elvis has left the building”. Maybe we’ll see a Runaways “Cherry Bomb” pinball machine someday.

We first heard about the show “Getting to Know You: Rodgers and Asia” a while or so before it took place. We had seen several shows put on by East West Players, most of them musicals in which our cousin, Marc Macalintal, had either played a part or, more recently, served as musical director. It was he who informed us of this latest show via mass notice on Facebook. It sounded interesting because it took place on my birthday. We didn’t have plans for my birthday itself but we had plans to celebrate a few days earlier with dinner at the Palace and the Loggins and Messina concert (see earlier reviews). The Rodgers and Asia show was part of a series of shows put on at theaters all over the L.A. area and produced by Reprise Theater Company. They each portrayed different aspects of the musicals composed by Richard Rodgers. These were all in response to the City of L.A. declaring October as “Richard Rodgers Month”.

When Marc first sent the link via Facebook we followed it to the Reprise Theater Company website. It said the tickets cost $50. Since this was above our budget, we decided not to go. We figured I would have a low-key birthday after all our celebrating on October 2. On my actual birthday I logged onto Facebook to thank people for sending me birthday wishes. When I did I saw that Marc had posted a notice that the Rodgers and Asia show tickets now cost only $20.00 with a special discount code he gave. This was more affordable than the original $50 and we still didn’t have any plans for that evening. We weren’t exactly sure what the “show” was, only that Marc was the musical director. The Reprise website described it as a “symposium including musical performances.” I think we also read that Jennifer Paz would be one of the performers. We had recently seen her in East West Players’ production of “The Last Five Years” (see earlier review). My wife had also seen her in the 2001 revival of “Flower Drum Song”, one of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals to be discussed at the symposium along with “The King and I” and “South Pacific”. Those are the three Rodgers musicals that feature Asia, Asians, and/or Asian Americans.

We got the tickets online through the Reprise theater website for only $22 each including the processing fee. The site let us just print them out. The show started at 8 pm at the David Henry Hwang Theater where we had seen all the other East West Players productions. Luckily, I had also taken a vacation day on the day after my birthday. We left home at 7:10 pm and arrived at the theater in Downtown L.A. at 7:50 pm going against traffic most of the way. As we drove northwest on the 101, we saw the new Gold Line light rail train track. Just before we went under it we saw the new light rail train slowly moving across it. I don’t think the train was actually running yet; they were still testing it. It didn’t actually open for use until sometime in November 2009. As we exited the 101 onto Alameda we caught a glimpse of one of the new Gold Line stations. It had these large shades that looked a bit like mushrooms.

When we arrived we had to pay $7 to park in the expansive lot near the theater. We entered the theater and climbed the stairs to the first level to get to the floor seats. When we bought the tickets online there were a few floor seats open and all the balcony seats available. We knew from the last time we attended a show at the theater that the balcony had a high rail that sometimes obscured the view. We got a couple of the last available floor in around the second or third row from the back on the left side. After we sat down we saw Marc’s wife sitting in the same row as us on the other end. This is probably the second time we happened to sit in the same row as her. An earlier time was when we saw the three Filipino Tenors in December 2007. The place was already crowded. The stage was set for the play currently playing at East West Players, “Art”, with a white backdrop and a white spiral staircase. For the symposium there were five folding chairs, each with a microphone on them and two mikes on stands for the singers. On the right side of the stage was a piano. Most people in the audience were dressed slightly formal or business casual.

At 8:10 pm, the panelists, singers, and Marc came out and took their places. A woman introduced herself as Susan Deitz, the producing artistic director for Reprise Theater Company. She mentioned that this symposium and the other Rodgers-related shows being held around the area are in response to the City of L.A. declaring October as “Richard Rodgers Month.” She then introduced David Henry Hwang (DHH) who would moderate the symposium. She mentioned that DHH was her student at the Harvard School (now called Harvard-Westlake). DHH was seated in the fifth chair from the left and said he hoped this show would receive high marks from his former teacher. Now I’ve seen the theater’s namesake. I thought he would be older but he didn’t look much older than us. The program said he won a Tony award for the play “M. Butterfly” that sounded familiar to me.

Jennifer Paz then sang “Getting to Know You” from “The King and I” with Marc accompanying on piano. The song begins with a quote about teaching. After the performance, David Henry Hwang began the symposium by describing how Rodgers and Hammerstein had six hit musicals and three of them involved Asians and/or Asian Americans and, as of present day, “King and I” was still banned in Thailand. He then introduced the panelists. First was Lucy Burns, assistant professor of Asian American studies at UCLA. The next panelist, C.Y. Lee, got applause at the mention of his name. He wrote the novel on which the musical “Flower Drum Song” is based. Nobuko Miyamoto was involved in early Broadway and film productions of “King and I” and “Flower Drum Song”. According to DHH, she went on to become “the inventor of Asian American art.” Christina Klein is a professor of Asian and English studies at Boston University. DHH then introduced the singers: Jose Llana who was in the original production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” and Jennifer Paz who was then currently in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater and had flown down for the symposium. DHH mentioned that he had worked with both singers in his revival of “Flower Drum Song”. We noticed that DHH did not introduced Marc at this point, though he was partially obscured from the audience by the piano.

Christina Klein was the first panelist to speak. She described how Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals were produced at a point when the Eastern and Western cultures were starting to warm to each other. The old view was contained in a quote by Kipling: “East is East. West is West.” (i.e. they remain separate). But with the U.S. involved in Asia in World War II, their involvement in the Philippines since the beginning of the 20th Century, and the Chinese immigration to the U.S. since the 19th Century, people from the East and the West were finding that they had more in common. Klein noted that the relations between Americans and Asians in “South Pacific” and “King and I” ultimately do not work out other than Nelly’s acceptance of the half-islander children of the Frenchman in the former. Now I know where the quote “East is East” comes from that went on to be the title of a T.C. Boyle book and the title of an unrelated film, I believe.

Jose Llana then sang and Marc accompanied “Appuzzlement” from “King and I” where the king of Siam expresses his frustration with ruling during challenging times. He got very worked up and expressive and the piano music corresponded to that perfectly. When they finished, Jose Llana gave Marc a thumbs up. Lucy Burns from UCLA spoke next and described works that were inspired by or retold the three Rodgers Broadway musicals that included Asians and/or Asian Americans. I think one work she described was called “Broadwasian”. They all seemed strange and obscure.

After Burns finished speaking, David Henry Hwang said they were going to focus on “Flower Drum Song”. Llana and Paz then sang the duet “Chop Suey” from that musical. It was a playful and silly song that I think someone later mentioned wasn’t even about Chop Suey. Marc’s playful piano playing reflected the song’s mood. DHH then turned the floor over to C.Y. Lee saying that he (Lee) still writes every day (making him DHH’s hero) and asked Lee to describe the path from experience to novel to musical with “Flower Drum Song”. Lee seemed to ignore this request and first mentioned that he was 95 years old, almost completely deaf, losing his memory, and afraid he would make a fool of himself. Reading from his notes he described the changing perceptions of Asians by Americans from a sideshow attraction in the early 19th Century, to cheap railroad labor in the mid to late 1800’s to more general acceptance in the 20th Century thanks to Pearl Buck, James Michener, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. Lee then told a story about when he was helping David Henry Hwang promote his production of “Flower Drum Song” in 2001 or 2002 in New York and they were giving a similar talk. Someone had asked DHH why he had removed the character Helen Chan from the story and what happened to her. DHH told the asker that they’d have to read the book to find out happened to her. He then asked Lee if he wanted to say anything about it and Lee said, “Helen Chan committed suicide.” Driving back to the hotel afterward to their hotel afterward, Lee and his daughter wondered how many more books they would have sold if he hadn’t heard incorrectly and said what happened to Helen Chan.

David Henry Hwang then talked about his experience producing “Flower Drum Song”. He mentioned that it was the first and only Broadway musical so far about Asian Americans. When it was made into a film in the 1950’s, it was the first film with an all Asian American cast. The next one, “The Joy Luck Club” did not come out until the 1990’s. DHH rewrote the musical “Flower Drum Song”, modernized it, and made it a bit darker and more consistent with the novel. His “revisical” of “Flower Drum Song”, as he called it, premiered at the Mark Taper Forum and did well there. It then went to Broadway, got mixed reviews, and lasted less than a year. Since then there have been productions of his version in places such as St. Paul, Minnesota, and more recently in Manila, Philippines.

The focus then shifted to South Pacific with Jose Llana singing and Marc accompanying “You’ve got to be Carefully Taught,” a fairly short song. After the song it was Nobuko Miyamoto’s turn to speak. She first indicated that the T-shirt she wore was for the 40th anniversary of the Basement Workshop in New York, an arts organization that she helped found. In the 1950’s, Miyamoto danced in the film version of “King and I” and in the original Broadway production of “Flower Drum Song”. She became dissatisfied with only Asian roles so she auditioned for “West Side Story” and got the part of Francesca. She spoke very expressively and dramatically though she wasn’t quite as expressive as C.Y. Lee. I think before she spoke DHH said it was an honor to finally get to meet her. After she finished, Jennifer Paz sang “Happy Talk” from “South Pacific”, a song that my wife was not familiar with. I knew it because, of the three musicals discussed, “South Pacific” was the only one I had seen: a high school production during my sophomore year. After “Happy Talk”, DHH acknowledged and thanked Marc, the musical director.

Both Jose Llana and Jennifer Paz sang the next song that included dialogue with piano accompaniment by Marc and separate solos. It was from “Flower Drum Song” and I hadn’t heard it before. It mentioned something about the story of a flower boat. After the song, DHH thanked the panelists, singers, and Marc, and then asked if there were any questions. Someone asked why Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote three musicals that included Asians and/or Asian Americans. Christina Klein said something about the U.S. taking more notice of Asia after World War II and China turning Communist. Nobuko Miyamoto mentioned that Americans viewed Asians as exotic and since Rodgers and Hammerstein were Jewish, they could relate to a persecuted culture. DHHH asked a question about whether present-day advances in Asian roles become the future’s stereotypes. Jennifer Paz mentioned something about an Asian-American group overreacting to a movie. Jose Llana said something about Asian Americans being more included because “more people know them” as friends and acquaintances. He gave an example of a friend that included a character like him (Jose) in his novel. His comments seemed to underscore that it’s more about “who you know” then “what you know”. Llana qualified his and Paz’s statements by saying, “We sing." DHH said he recently read a fictional story about a character who calls a suicide hotline that has been outsourced to India. The last question was someone asking DHH if he planned to produce another “revisical”. He said he had no revisical ideas but wanted to do something to revive interest in Pearl Buck who he felt had been neglected recently.

The symposium ended after that last question. We said hi to Marc’s wife who was there with a friend from high school. We all went to the stage to say hi to Marc. We noticed that his hands were sweaty from playing the piano. He was glad we came. We left soon after.

This was a fun and informative way to spend my birthday evening. I enjoyed the performance of the song “Appuzzlement” the best. Of the talks, I most enjoyed C.Y. Lee. Now I know who the East West Players theater is named after. For my past three birthdays, I’ve done something that required a printed ticket so I have a printed ticket for each one: the film Into the Wild in 2007, the James concert at the House of Blues Anaheim in 2008 (see earlier review) and now the Rodgers and Asia symposium in 2009. The question is: what will be my birthday ticket in 2010?

My early birthday celebration on Friday, October 2, 2009 continued. We had eaten a delicious dinner at The Palace (see earlier review) and were now waiting in the Dine and Ride shuttle van to take us to the Greek Theater.

I had heard of Kenny Loggins the solo artist before I had heard of the earlier duo Loggins and Messina. Loggins, or “The Log” as my wife calls him, has recorded many popular songs that were on the soundtracks of popular 80’s movies. The first cassette tape of music that my brother bought was the soundtrack to the movie Footloose that had two popular songs by Loggins, the title track and “I’m Free”. Later we got the Top Gun soundtrack with “Danger Zone” and “Playing with the Boys” by Loggins. A bit later I learned that Kenny Loggins was part of the duo Loggins and Messina in the early 70’s who recorded songs that were vaguely familiar to me such as “Your Mama don’t Dance” (later covered by the hair band Poison, the first version I heard), “Danny’s Song” and “Pooh Corner”.

My wife has a closer affiliation with “The Log”. Though Kenny Loggins was born in Washington State like me, he spent most of his childhood and youth in Alhambra, California like my wife. Also like my wife, he attended San Gabriel Mission High School (SGMHS). When he attended, SGMHS was co-ed and when my wife attended it had since changed to an all-girls school. I’m not sure if Loggins also graduated from there but he is one of the school’s most famous alumni, if not the most famous. Despite this affiliation and that Loggins has performed at many concerts in L.A. area since he lives relatively close by in Santa Barbara (on a bootleg concert DVD he referred to others from there as “Barbarians”), my wife hadn’t yet seen him live. During the past few years, his concerts such as the one at the cultural center at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, and a free concert in Alhambra, would always sell out too quickly for us.

Four or five years ago, Loggins got back with his former recording partner, Jimmy Messina. They played some live concerts and released a CD of their greatest hits from the 70’s. My wife got this CD and I became familiar with many of their early songs. While Loggins’ solo work was mostly straight soundtrack vocal pop, his work with Messina was much more varied musically. There songs had lots of instrumentation. Some had Blues, Country, Celtic, and even Caribbean rhythms. And Jimmy Messina isn’t just part of the supporting band for Loggins. He sings lead for many of the songs and, I would learn, played lead guitar on nearly all of them. Loggins is primarily a vocalist. In 2009 we heard that they were touring together again. We heard about it early enough to get tickets to their show at the Greek Theater well in advance. We wouldn’t miss it this time.

Back to Friday, October 2, 2009, sometime between 6:50 and 7:00 pm, we had boarded the Dine and Ride shuttle van in the parking lot of the Palace restaurant. A couple who we had seen in the Palace also boarded the van. There was also a group of eight, most of whom had come to the Palace later than us, that we overheard were also taking Dine and Ride to the Loggins and Messina concert. They were still working on their entrees when we left to board the van. We thought the driver was waiting for them to board the van but after a few minutes he left with just four of us in the van despite enough room for fourteen. We rode north up Hillhurst. The traffic got heavy after we crossed the always crowded Los Feliz Blvd. It felt good not to be driving. We rode up to where Hillhurst merges with Vermont Ave. The driver didn’t stop at any other restaurants to pick people up. We overheard that the other couple riding with us had seen Kenny Loggins and/or Loggins and Messina several times before. One of them said he had seen Loggins and Messina 30 years ago. He was probably a teenager at that time.

Despite the traffic, the ride from the Palace to the Greek took only about 10 minutes. Somehow, the driver made a u-turn just past the Greek Theater and pulled over at the curb right outside the venue, just as he had said he would. He reassured us that his shuttle or another Dine and Ride shuttle van would pick us up at that very spot when the concert ended. I think they had shuttle vans running all evening. We entered the venue and employees scanned out tickets. There was no security check like there was at most other concerts I had attended. There also wasn’t a queue to get in. Just inside was a counter where they were selling lots of Loggins and Messina merch. There were many t-shirts including one with the words “Your Mama don’t Dance and your Daddy don’t Rock ‘n’ Roll”. They had key chains and CD’s including the children’s CD “All Join In” from Kenny Loggins. We noticed that the CD included the funky Blues Loggins and Messina song “Long Tail Cat”. I was surprised to see that one on a children’s CD, but it is a funny song. My wife got a green long-sleeved women’s t-shirt with the Loggins and Messina logo.

We made our way towards our seats. We had “bench” seats that were all the way in the back. When we showed our tickets to an employee, he told us to talk to another employee who he pointed out who would move us up. We went to him and he gave us new tickets, moving us up some rows. They had covered up the back bench seats and several of the back rows with netting that looked like green leaves or ivy. They had plenty of seats and were moving people up to fill the closer ones. Our new seats, row R seats 106 and 108, were still pretty good with straight-ahead views of the stage. The backdrop of the stage appropriately looked like the façade of the Parthenon or other Greek building. There were large screens on either side of the stage and a smaller, circular screen above the middle of the stage. They showed ads for Loggins and Messina CDs, both as a duo and as solo artists such as Loggins’ “All Join In” and Messina’s “Under a Mojito Moon”. There were also ads for the opening act, the Gabe Dixon Band, and other acts that would be performing at the Greek Theater in the next couple of months.

The crowd consisted of people 10 or more years older than us and mostly Caucasian though there were some Asians. There were a few teenagers who looked like they came with their parents and some people who looked to be around our age or possibly younger. The people in the crowd more often wore polo shirts than t-shirts. I saw someone wearing a hat with the name of the band Poco on it. For canned music, it sounded like they were playing a Huey Lewis and the News greatest hits CD. But then that CD started skipping badly on the song “Cruisin’”, a duet with Gwyneth Paltrow. They then put on a Blues CD.

At 7:30 the lights dimmed and the spotlight turned on for the opening act: the Gabe Dixon Band. The band consisted of two men: Gabe Dixon on keyboards who would also play keyboards for Loggins and Messina, and Jano Rix on drums and percussion. This lineup differed from the ads on the screens earlier that showed three men in the band. Gabe Dixon said he was from Nashville and that the first song was about driving home from New York. It was a mellow song with the repeated lyric “Five more hours”. After that song Dixon said he wrote the next song while in Ashville, North Carolina and that it had some Bluegrass influence. Rix tapped a guitar and the song was faster and more rhythmic than the first one. Dixon got the crowd clapping. Before the next song, he said this was his first time performing at the Greek Theater and that the next song was featured in the movie The Proposal. He said that it’s played when Ryan Reynold’s character is frantically running through the streets of Manhattan. It was a fast-paced song called “Find My Way”. Pink lights danced on the stage as they played.

Dixon said the next song was called “Disappear” and was about Romeo and Juliet. It was a slower song without the drum accompaniment. After the first verse, Jano Rix tapped the body of an acoustic guitar as he had for the second song. In a high voice, Dixon sang lyrics such as “How can we disappear”. Before the next song Dixon described how this was a chance to expose his music and warm us up for the “L & M Show”. He asked us to sing along to the next song to a part of the chorus that went “Whoa whoa oh oh oh” or something like that. It was a fast song about “running on fumes” in the “orange light”. The singalong was only part of the song during the chorus. It also included some jazzy keyboard playing from Dixon. After the song Dixon said that “it couldn’t be a better night” and that he would do just a couple more songs. He described how he wrote the next one after “going through a tough spell”. It was called “All Will be Well” and was a slow soulful song. Jano Rix reverted to tapping the acoustic guitar. One line of the song went “you can ask me how but only time will tell.”

After the song Dixon introduced his bandmate, Jano Rix, as an amazing multi-instrumental musician. He thanked Loggins and Messina for letting him play before their show and he and Rix started playing a fast upbeat song with more jazzy piano. Dixon got the audience clapping and sang about a “yellow light” and “until you’ve gone”. They ended the song to loud applause, bowed, and left the stage. It was 8:05 pm. The lights and the canned music came back on and the screens showed the same ads for CD’s and shows at the Greek as before. The crew re-arranged the instruments, removing Rix’s drumkit and Dixon’s keyboards. For canned music they played 70’s classic rock such as “Take a Look Ahead” by Boston and “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago. The crew set out keyboards, drums, a steel guitar, electric guitars, and saxophones. Two chairs were set up in front of the stage along with microphone stands.

At 8:21 pm the lights dimmed again and Kenny Loggins and Jimmy Messina came out to wild applause. They sat down at the two chairs in front. Sitting on the left, Kenny Loggins had aged well looking trim in a black leather jacket and blue jeans with a full head of hair that was just barely turning gray. Sitting on the right, Jimmy Messina was more heavyset in a black shirt and black pants and a black cowboy hat covering the receding hairline between his long side locks of hair. But we would soon hear that his singing and excellent musicianship hadn’t aged a bit. If anything he had gotten better. Messina said it was “exciting to be home”. He explained at some point that though he lived in Santa Barbara, he was born in L.A. He described how this was the first song they played together and they started playing the soft but powerful ballad “Danny’s Song”. They had the audience sing along to the chorus and we obliged. They had a full band behind them: a musician who alternated between guitar and a violin that he played during the interlude in “Danny’s Song”, two musicians who alternated between guitars, flute, and saxophone, a drummer, a bass player, and Gabe Dixon on keyboards. Three member of the band including Gabe Dixon were wearing the same style of plaid shirt. Both Loggins and Messina played guitars with Messina on lead guitar for most of the songs.

For the next song, Messina described how “back in 1970, this guy (Loggins) walked into my house and played this song, the song about the bear.” There were wild cheers and they played “Pooh Corner”. Paired with “Danny’s Song”, it was kind of mellow start to the concert. But they were still sitting down and warming up. “Pooh Corner” had flute accompaniment and late in the song us in the audience sang the part the goes “count al lthe bees in the hive, chase all the clouds from the sky.” After the song Loggins described how during one of their early concerts at a club there was this big biker with long red hair who sat in front and gave them the stink eye through the first several songs of their set. Finally he said in a loud and low voice imitated by Loggins “Do the one about the bear!” “You never know.” Loggins remarked.

Messina described how he wrote the next song during their first tour together. It was the faster “Traveling Blues”. Messina sang lead and Loggins would join in for the choruses. The song featured a saxophone solo and the lighting effects created stars in the background of the stage. After finishing that song Loggins described in detail the origin of the next one. He had a weird dream in which he was trapped on an island where there was a convention of songwriters. In the dream he and the songwriters did this exercise where they passed around pieces of paper. Each time they received a piece of paper, they would write a line of lyrics that went with the other lyrics on the paper, pass it along and do this with the next one passed to them. After having this dream, Loggins suggested to Messina that they try writing a song this way and the result was “Watching the River Run”. When I first heard this song I thought it had a kind of “back and forth” conversation quality. Now I know why. They performed the song with only Loggins and Messina playing and singing on the first verse and the rest of the band joining in for the second. Towards the end two members of the band played what looked like flutes or electric recorders.

Loggins and Messina switched to different electric guitars for the next song. Loggins described how he would assume different characters that he had made up with different voices when he wrote each of his songs. As an example he said he assumed the character named “Billy” when he wrote song “Vahevala” and for the next song, he pretended he was “an old blues guy.” In response, Messina said something like, “Now you can just look in a mirror.” The song was the funky, bluesy, and slightly folksy “Long Tail Cat” and started with just Loggins and Messina singing and the sound of a loud, echoed bass. The rest of the band soon joined in. The audience got into it and Loggins had us sing along to the line “Oh my, oh my my. Your daddy’s getting older and the cow is going dry. So you go by, go bye bye on a Dixie holiday.”

There was a woman in front of us who stood up and danced to every song, cheered wildly, and sang along. At one point she asked if she could use my binoculars for a few minutes. Not too far away it smelled like some other people were smoking something other than tobacco. The weather had been sunny and clear during the day and even though the sun had gone down when we could still see the outline of the hills of Griffith Park behind the stage and across the street. The sun going down made it very cool, though, and we wished we had brought jackets like most people.

For the next song, Messina wore 2-3 instruments, holding one guitar on front and the other one or two on his back. He described how he had a CD for sale at the venue called “Under a Mojito Moon” and that he was slightly annoyed that Loggins also had a CD for sale that was $1 less in price. It was called “All Join In” and wasn’t coming out officially until 2010. Messina described how Loggins had asked him to “join in” for the next song that was on the CD. Loggins then said that the next song wasn’t one of theirs but a Lennon-McCarthy song. He said he could imagine himself and Messina as teenagers riding their bikes down the neighborhood street singing this song. It was the Beatles song “Two of Us”. The circular screen above the stage showed a scene of traveling through the countryside. During the song Messina switched to a different guitar and, finally, a mandolin.

Messina had removed his cowboy hat after the first couple of songs and said he had to put it back on to get in the mood for the next song. It was “Listen to a Country Song” and it did have a loud country beat accompanied by blinking bright yellow, orange, and blue spotlights. The song seemed to tell a story about the “Holiday Hotel”. Right after they finished, someone yelled, “Don’t ever break up again!”

The next song wasn’t one I’d heard them do before so I wasn’t sure if it was a cover or not. Loggins said it was inspired by the beginning of Rock & Roll. It began with the line “Georgia on my Mind” but still didn’t sound completely familiar. Only Loggins and Gabe Dixon played during the first verse and then Messina and the rest of the band joined in. It got very rockin’ and included the line “Back to Georgia”. We recognized the next song. Before playing it Loggins described how this concert was “a perfect setting”. Messina picked up a mandolin and they played “Be Free”, a laid back song that has a long instrumental interlude in the middle. Messina did a mandolin solo while another band member played a flute or recorder. The interlude included some Celtic-sounding music.

We didn’t recognize the next song but it sounded very bluesy with Messina singing lead. The line “Walking on out the door” was featured prominently along with piano playing by Gabe Dixon. The circular screen showed traveling through a tunnel and simulated stars made up the background of the stage. The music turned to more upbeat Blues (an oxymoron?) featuring the lyric “Give her the best that you got”. It showed down toward the end and then went right into the next song, the mellow and soulful “Have a little Peace of Mind.” This song featured one of the two saxophone players. Towards the end, Loggins put down his guitar, picked up the microphone, and sang loudly and soulfully. The audience really got into it and gave him a standing ovation by the end.

The next song, “Angry Eyes” was more rockin’. It featured another long sax solo, an impressive guitar solo by Messina, and then the sax player and Messina together. Red and blue lights shined on the stage and there was a flute or electric recorder solo. The circular screen showed landscape. Before the next song they introduced the band. This song featured both saxophone players. It was a loud Blues song that featured the lyric “You need a man.” The circular screen showed a slow dancing figure. It also showed images of Loggins and Messina when they were much younger and had very long hair. Loggins also had a long beard. The present Loggins said something like “Come on, we all had long hair.” There was also loud percussion and keyboards. One sax player did a solo and then the other did one. They played together and seemed to be trying to outdo each other. I believe Loggins said their names were Big Jim Wheeler and Steve Nieves. Towards the end Messina and the bassist played together. Red and yellow lights shone on stage. When they finished they said, “Thank you. You have been great.” And they left the stage. It was 9:50 pm.

Along with the crowd, we cheered for two minutes before they all returned to the stage to even louder cheers. The first song of the encore began with just Loggins playing. It was the raucous song about sailing “Vahevala”. The rest of the band soon joined in and Gabe Dixon played steel drums at one point. It had a long instrumental part and this time Loggins played the guitar solo. As they played, I noticed that the spotlights above the stage looked a bit like palm trees. They then played the more raucous “Your Mama don’t Dance” that brought everyone to their feet. They added an extended instrumental part and the circular screen showed old people dancing, in contrast to the song. I couldn’t see who said the part “Get out of the car, Long Hair!”

They left the stage and we cheered them back on. They did one more song, “Nobody but You”, a fast number, as yellow lights shone on stage. After they finished the song all the member of the band gathered in front of the stage and bowed. As they left to loud applause and cheering some of them shook hands with the closer member of the audience. It was 10:10 pm. A few people had stated leaving during the final song. It was crowded walking out of the venue passed the merch table. Once outside there was a long queue waiting to board the Dine and Ride shuttle vans. We had to wait for a van to fill and leave before we could board one. A blond man in a Dine and Ride shirt reassured us that more vans were coming. His voice sounded like that of Mark who I had called to ask about valet parking many hours before. We boarded a full shuttle and sat in the back seat. The driver was different from before. The van drove south on Vermont Avenue. Some of the other riders seemed disappointed that Loggins and Messina didn’t do any later popular Kenny Loggins songs such as “Celebrate Me Home”. I wasn’t disappointed. One rider also mentioned wanting to see the new musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, conduct. The L.A. Downtown News has since made his name the root of the words “Dudamania”, “Dudameloriffic”, and “Dudanomics”.

The van dropped off most of the other riders at the Dresden restaurant on Vermont Ave. It dropped off everyone else except us at a restaurant further south on Hillhurst and then drove north to drop us off at the Palace. It was 10:40 pm. We thought about taking the exact route back that we took to get there but we couldn’t easily turn to go south on Hillhurst. Turning left out of the parking lot was difficult and what looked like an exit onto Ambrose was blocked by a chain. We turned right to drive north on Hillhurst, turned right on Avocado, and right on Commonwealth to get back to the reverse route home: left (east) on Franklin, left (northeast) on St. George, right (southeast) on Griffith Park, left (north) on Hyperion, right (east) Rowena that turns into Glendale Ave, left on Fletcher Driver at a very confusing intersection and finally, onto the 2 freeway north.

From the 2 we got onto the 134 east that turned into the 210. But then traffic got very slow. At some distant point, two of the three lanes were closed for road work but the signs didn’t way at what point. The left lanes were very slow. The right lanes were faster but at some point they would be closed. It took what seemed like a long and frustrating time. Eventually we got to where the road work was taking place near the 605. Not until that point did the traffic clear up. We got home at 12:10 am the day after the concert.

Despite the commute home we enjoyed the concert very much. It made me see Kenny Loggins as more than a just a pop star on 80’s film soundtracks and Messina as more than a sidekick but rather a full partner in a duo and an excellent musician. He could sing well, too, even if his voice isn’t as well-known as that of Loggins and Messina could really play the guitar and mandolin. Both Loggins and Messina are accomplished in many different musical styles all on display at the concert. I didn’t miss Loggins’ later pop hits at all. Now I think I like Loggins and Messina better and now I know that it is possible to have a good concert experience at the Greek Theater thanks to Dine and Ride. We’ll definitely use them for the next time we see a show at the Greek.

You despite some “Traveling Blues” on the way home the “Two of Us” did not have “Angry Eyes”. Thanks to Dine and Ride we were about to “Find (Our) way” to the concert on time.

We celebrated my birthday three days early on Friday, October 2, 2009 with dinner at the Palace and a Loggins and Messina concert at the Greek Theater. The Palace was part of the Dine and Ride package where we parked our car at the restaurant and rode a shuttle van to the Greek Theater. We set that up through dineandride.com about one month before. For Dine and Ride to the Greek there was a choice between 2-3 restaurants in the Los Feliz area including the Dresden, a German restaurant. We chose the Palace, a Chinese restaurant, because I figured less of the food would have dairy. The website did show the special menu that came with the Dine and Ride package and I could eat just about everything but the ice cream for dessert. We got a Dine and Ride package because our experience is that traffic going to the Greek Theater can get very slow. When we saw the Prairie Home Companion live show there in 2002 we sat in traffic for over an hour between Los Feliz Blvd and the Greek. When we got there, the main lot was full and we had to park way up the hill near the Griffith Observatory. We missed 45 minutes of the 2-hour show. For Loggins and Messina, we did not want this to happen again.

Our payment to Dine and Ride covered the food, shuttle ride to and from the Greek, parking at the restaurant, and all the taxes and gratuities. We had to get our tickets to the concert separately. After paying for our Dine and Ride package, their employee, Mark, sent an e-mail saying to be at the Palace at 5:30 pm on Oct. 2. When that day came around about 3-4 weeks later we used MapQuest to get directions. I checked the Dine and Ride website that now said that Dine and Ride was sold out for the Palace-Greek for Oct. 2 and 3. When I first put the addresses into MapQuest, the directions included going on the I-5 and Los Feliz Blvd. We wanted to avoid both these routes because they get lots of traffic on weekday evenings, especially when there’s a concert at the Greek. We adjusted the directions until they worked out to something more feasible.

We left at 4:15 pm and drove west on the 210. There wasn’t much traffic going west. Most of it was going east. We took the 210 to where part of it becomes the 134 in Pasadena. From the 134 we got on the 2 south in Glendale that also didn’t have much traffic. We were making very good time. From the 2 we took exit # 14B that led to Fletcher Drive. We turned left on Fletcher, drove on a bridge across the Los Angeles River and turned right onto Glendale Blvd. We took Glendale Blvd to where it forks into Glendale Blvd and Rowena Ave. We kept right to take Rowena Ave and saw that the Silver Lake restaurant, Flor Moreno, had a different name and that Blair’s, the former Thai-American Café was still there. We turned left on Hyperion Ave. and passed the Trader Joe’s and Gelson’s where we used to shop when we lived in Downtown L.A. We turned right on Griffith Park Blvd just passed the Gelson’s and then turned left on St. George St. with John Marshall High School on the left corner. St. George St. had a few hills. It led to Franklin Ave. where we turned right. This part of Franklin was less busy, narrower, and more residential than the major streets of the area such as Los Feliz Blvd. We crossed what looked like a bridge with steeples on the corners and then crossed Commonwealth Ave., an extension of the street I lived on during my first stint in Los Angeles 13-14 years ago. There were lights at all the major streets including the one where we had to turn right: Hillhurst.

We turned right on Hillhurst and drove about a half mile north. The Palace was on the right side of the street just past the intersection with Ambrose Ave. We got there at 4:55 pm, over a half hour early. The Dine and Ride e-mail said to go to valet parking adjacent to the restaurant. But we didn’t see any valet in the parking lot just south of the restaurant. We parked in the lot in a space labeled “Old Man Parking” by informal graffiti on space’s tire stop. I called Mark B, whose name was given in the Dine and Ride e-mail to call if we had questions. He actually answered and said it was probably too early for the valet and just to park in the lot and secure the vehicle. There weren’t very many cars in the parking lot. The Palace was all in one building that looked to be about two stories tall. We climbed a few steps and entered a large front door with lion face knockers. The door opened right to the hostess. We told her we were Dine and Ride and showed her the confirmation e-mail. She seated us at a very well-located corner booth with a view of the entire restaurant. A waiter gave us the specialty menu that was exactly like the one we saw online.

The Palace advertises itself as serving “Authentic Chinese Food”. It’s a large restaurant with lots of seating including tables upstairs. The décor consists of black and dark red walls, dark red carpet, and black furniture. There’s a large fish tank near the entrance, a bar in the back with at least two flatscreen TV’s, and artwork of Chinese scenes on the walls, all done by what looked like the same artist. There’s also a gold-covered Chinese dress high on the wall behind a clear covering, decorative fans, tapestries of Chinese women in red dresses, and hanging from the ceiling are banners for each of the twelve Chinese year animals. There weren’t very many people there since it was three hours before the usual L.A. dinner time of 8 pm. On our table were decorative Chinese plates, chopsticks, and, we were glad to see, forks. My wife picked up a take-home menu from the hostess’s desk and noticed that it listed many dishes that weren’t on the Dine and Ride specialty menu, including some things we might like to try sometime.

The waiter first asked us whether we would like anything to drink. The Dine and Ride menu allowed us to order a glass of beer or wine. We said we just wanted water but the waiter insisted we could order a glass of orange juice in place of the beer or wine. We did that and it came in tall glasses with ice and it tasted sweet and refreshing. I couldn’t remember the last time I drank something other than water at a restaurant. We told the waiter our choices from the Dine and Ride specialty menu and our food started arriving soon after.

First, they brought our starters: vegetable egg noodle rolls and Chinese chicken salad. The former came in four separate sections and with a small tray of spicy mustard sauce and sweet dipping sauce. The egg roll sections were crispy. My wife preferred the mustard sauce and I preferred the sweet sauce. Though I’m not sure it was authentic Chinese food, the Chinese chicken salad was still very good. Both the lettuce and the small white noodles were very crispy. The dressing was the right combination of tangy and sweet. As we ate our starters, we noticed other Dine and Ride patrons come in and be seated by the waiters. We could tell because they mentioned Dine and Ride when they came in or they only ordered things from the specialty menu. There was a large group of eight that arrived over the course of an hour in groups of two or three. There was also a couple at the corner on the other side. They were mostly Caucasians that looked 5-10 years older than us.

Next the waiter brought our soup: one each of the two kinds: hot and sour and egg flower. The hot and sour tasted like its name but it was still flavorful and delicious. It had noodles and chicken in it. The egg flower soup only had egg in it but was still flavorful. After we finished our soups, they took our plates and bowls and brought our entrees along with new plates. There was the honey walnut shrimp with shiny walnuts and sweet white honey sauce; the roast duck Mandarin, all shiny brown with two small drumsticks; and there was a plate of sautéed vegetables compliments of the restaurants. They all came with two small bowls of rice. The vegetables consisted of baby corn, carrots, broccoli, peas in pods, zucchini, bamboo shoots, and fried tofu. They were all good, especially the pieces of tofu. The duck was also prepared with bamboo shoots and mushrooms all in a rich and flavorful brown sauce. The duck itself was crispy and had great flavor even without much sauce. The best entrée was the honey walnut shrimp with the walnuts sweet and crunchy, the shrimp cooked just right and the sweet white honey sauce was great for “dipping area”. It was a lot of food, but all very good.

As we ate we watched ABC News with Charles Gibson on the screens in the far corner near the bar. They showed Rio de Janeiro winning the bid for the 2016 summer Olympics and the disappointed people in Chicago. We were actually able to finish most of our entrees. For dessert, we had a choice of green tea, plum, and vanilla ice cream. My wife tried the green tea and plum flavors and preferred the green tea. We finished dinner at 6:30 and the hostess said our Dine and Ride shuttle would pick us up at 6:50 pm. While we waited we looked over a brochure given by the waiter that had all the Chinese New Year animals. We noticed that it recommended that someone born in each year marry someone born either four years before or four years after. We thought that this wouldn’t be very easy to do given that many potential spouses meet in high school or college where the greatest age difference is three years between freshmen and seniors.
At 6:50 pm two shuttles showed up, one nearly full and ready to leave and other empty. Each van held about 14 passengers. We boarded the empty van since we could sit where we wanted. The drive asked us who was playing at the Greek Theater. We said, “Loggins and Messina,” and he said, “It’s gonna be great!” We asked where we should catch the Dine and Ride shuttle after the concert and the driver said he or another van would stop at the same place he dropped us off: right in front of the Greek Theater. We couldn’t ask for much better service. With our dinner at the Palace, our evening was going very well and the main event was yet to come.

The Sandwich Joint opened in early to mid 2009 in the ground floor of the Medici apartment building across the street from the building where I work. It has a big, prominent, oval-shaped sign above the door. Other than the café in the building where I work, the Sandwich Joint is the closest eatery. On Thursday, September 24, 2009, I decided to try it.

When I exited the building where I worked I noticed that most people just jaywalked across the street to get to the Sandwich Joint. I walked west all the way to the intersection, crossed the crosswalk, and then walked east to the place. I entered and the cashier’s counter was just right there waiting. The cashier looked at me as if I should know what I wanted and how to order. I needed to study the large menu board above and behind the counter. First, I had to choose a sandwich from the 14 possible choices. They were all the standard kinds except the prosciutto. Next, I had to choose the bread between French baguette, multi-grain baguette, and croissant. Then, I had to choose toppings. The cashier didn’t say there was a limit to the number of toppings I could choose. Last, I could choose between having the sandwich hot or cold. The menu also had a list of the standard salads, drinks, and coffees.

The prosciutto sounded interesting, but, at $7.95, it was more expensive than the others. I picked the pastrami on a French baguette with a side of chips and my bill still came out to over $8.00 with tax. For toppings, I chose onions and peppers and I had them toast the sandwich. While they made my sandwich, I sat down and waited. The place is very small with four 2-person tables and a counter with 3-4 stools along the large arched window. There seemed to be many chairs, most of them stacked in a corner. The indoor colors were consistent with the outdoor sign: bright pastels such as yellow, red, and white. The floor was the concrete floor of a loft. It had high ceilings and there was the high exposed piping of a loft on the ceiling, though it was painted over in flat pastel yellow. There were many paintings on the walls, all of them by different artists, some of dark city scenes, others of musicians against bright backgrounds. Near the counter with stools was a shelf of reading material for patrons including a book of 50 years of Sports Illustrated covers and some art and travel books. It didn’t take much for the place to fill up because it was so small. I sat at the only open 2-person table near a group of four who had pushed a couple of tables together.

After about five minutes the cashier who had taken my order brought my sandwich to me. I had to get my chips from a shelf near the counter where I ordered. I think I just grabbed some original Kettle chips (from Salem, Oregon). They also had Dirty Potato Chips from Kettle. On the cashier’s counter there was a plastic display case containing the “Pastries, Etc.” listed on the menu. At that time the case only contained a croissant and a cookie. My sandwich was very large and I really didn’t need the chips for accompaniment. The pastrami wasn’t fried like it is at The Hat or for the “Metro” sandwich from the café in my building. The pepper and red onions on it were raw. It was alright, a lot of food, and not quite as good as the Metro sandwich. It was a bit bland and probably could have used some mustard, though I didn’t see mustard as one of the choices, just mustard vinaigrette. As I finished my sandwich, a few more people came in and ordered, some eating in and others getting their food to go. After finishing my sandwich, I left feeling very full.

I think the Sandwich Joint is trying to establish its own individual character that sets it apart from the chains such as Subway, Quizno’s, and Togo’s. It has done that with its setting but I’m not sure it’s quite there yet with the food. I usually just pack a lunch for work and I’ll continue to do so.

(Spoiler alert)

I’m now sure how The Hummingbird’s Daughter got on my reading list. I think it may have had a very positive review in the old L.A. Times Book Review section. I used to read that section when I subscribed to the Times several years ago before we moved to SGV. I don’t remember what they said about the book but I’ve enjoyed many books by Latin American and Latino-American authors since they were assigned reading in college. In college I also learned about the “Realismo Magico” genre of Latin American fiction. I’ve enjoyed reading many different books of this genre including Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits during first semester freshman year in college, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Cien Anos de Soledad in Spanish during a summer break from colleg, and, more recently, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima in 2008 (see earlier review). The Hummingbird’s Daughter is the most recent Realismo Magico Latino-American fiction I’ve read. It probably has the most basis in fact of any of these books I’ve read. Most of them have some basis in fact or history but The Hummingbird’s Daughter involved twenty years of research by the author, Luis Alberto Urrea. The main characters are the author’s great aunt, Teresita Urrea, and his great-great-uncle, Tomas Urrea, also Teresita’s father. But the book is still fiction. I’m sure some of the many conversations did not occur exactly as written. But much is also based on interviews and non-fiction accounts of his great aunt who was known as “The Saint of Calora.” With both its facts and fiction, the book made for a very enjoyable and edifying read.

The Hummingbird’s Daughter spans from the time of Teresita’s birth on the same month and day (though in a much earlier year) as my mother through age 19. It’s a rather long book at over 500 pages with large pages and small type. So much occurs in the book that it seems to span longer than 19 years, perhaps as many as 30. The characters change, grow more mature, learn a lot, and grow much closer. In fact, the story seems to contain just about all possible elements: change, love, death, war, persecution, fun, humor, insight, etc. In addition to Teresita and Tomas there are many major characters and even more minor characters some of whom are still important such as Caytenya, Teresita’s mother, also known as La Semalu or The Hummingbird because she’s so small. Hummingbirds also have important meaning in the book. Another character who makes a cameo is Rudolfo Anaya, the first who calls out a “piropo” or poetic admiring praise to Teresita as she walks through the plazuela at the Urrea ranchero with the other girls in their nice cloths. Is this Anaya related to the real-life Rudolfo Anaya who wrote Bless Me, Ultima? Both that book and The Hummingbird’s Daughter feature curanderas or healers as major characters. The book also had many subplots, most of which are not settled by the end. But Teresita’s and Tomas’ stories are complete. As I reader I got to know them well and even felt like I changed along with them. There’s a lot of foreshadowing but also many things I thought would be important that weren’t. That’s how it is in life, I guess. I never know what’s going on now that will most affect the future.

The story takes place in rural Mexico in the late 19th century. I checked my atlas and many of the places mentioned in the book are real such as Orotoni, Sinaloa, Sonora, and Calora. In addition to the two main characters, many real life people are characters in the book such as President Diaz, General Bandala, and Tomas’ friend, the engineer Lauro Aquirre. The book is in English but still includes many Spanish words, especially slang. In a letter to Aquirre, Tomas lists all the words for “fool” in Spanish. There are about 13 of them. He meets a priest who speaks with a Castilian accent, pronouncing the “s” sound as “th”. “Zaragoza” becomes “tharagotha”. But not only Spanish is featured. Teresita and many of the People (as the peasants are called) are Mexican Indian. Some tribes are named specifically such as the Yaquis and the Apaches. The Indians call the white people “Yoris”.

In addition to language, the book presents many aspects of Mexican culture. There are many different regions of Mexico: Sinaloa in the south; the drier Sonora in the north; and the mountains where the rough people known as the “tigres” live. One minor character is from the town of Parangaricutirimicauro, a mouthful of a name. Tomas’s ranch hands (also called cowboys or buckaroos) give the man a round of applause after he says the name of his hometown. There’s also the food that the People and the Yori’s eat such as salsa borracha (drunk salsa?). When the Sinaloans move from Sinaloa to Sonora, they learn that the Sonorans indulged in the unspeakable atrocity of eating flour tortillas. “Flour! Any human being knew that tortillas were made of corn.” (p. 104-105)

The book contains a lot of humor and the characters and the author don’t take themselves too seriously. Early on, Tomas writes limericks for fun with first lines such as “There was a young man from Guamuchil/ Whose name was Pinche Inutil” or “There was a young man from Parangaricutirimicauro/ Oh, to h*** with it.” The funniest parts of the book are exchanges of dialogue between characters. Tomas’s friend, the engineer Lauro Aquirre describes how he went to a department store in the city, a new concept in urban shopping at the time. He describes them as “Germans selling coats and underpants and pots and toys all in one great store.”
“No meat,” Tomas answers.
“No”
“What kind of store sells no meat” (p. 88)
Another exchange is between Teresita and Huila, the curandera or healer who takes Teresita under her wing. Huila tells the 6-year-old Teresita a story of how Mary, the Mother of God flew down toward a group of Indians and landed on a cactus. The Indian warriors shot arrows at her, not knowing what she was. They all missed and she spoke to them.
“What did she say?” Asked Teresita.
“She said – ‘Get me a ladder!’” Huila answered.
“What?”
“Get me a ladder, that’s what she said. Holy be thy name.”
Teresita burst out laughing. So did Huila.
There’s also a humorous exchange between Cruz Chavez, the self-proclaimed “Pope of Mexico” from the mountains and Segunda, Tomas’s right hand man.

There’s a lot of humor in the book and, at times, the story seems almost light-hearted. But there’s also an underlying seriousness. The coming Mexican revolution and the hidden persecution of the Indians and political agitators eventually spread to the relatively idyllic and isolated life on Tomas’s ranch. But the serous lessons appear from the beginning. As a child, Teresita has dreams of a hummingbird staring at her and then flying to her left. Huila tells her “Left is the direction of the heart. Did you know that? The heart is on the left.”
Teresita answers, “I thought the heart was in the middle.”
Huila: “On the left. That’s why wedding rings are on the left hand, you see, the heart side.” (p. 96)
Much later in the book Teresita has a vision of Huila showing her the stars that become silver globes. Within them, Teresita sees herself riding on a train in one, as a child in another, grown up and holding a child in another, at her wedding in yet another. She asks Huila what this is and Huila answers, “It is you. Every you, every possible you. Forever you are surrounded by countless choices of what you are to be. These are your destinies.” (p. 486-487)

The Hummingbird’s daughter is an epic novel about destiny, change, and just about everything else. Its events are unpredictable just like a day for Tomas on his ranch. He doesn’t know what the day will bring: good luck, visitors needed help, something that will change everything. The humor makes for fun, almost casual reading of a story that is deceptively not casual at all but very serious. There’s a lot of referring back to previous actions and conversations, though not all of them are important. In life it’s difficult to know what will affect you greatly and what won’t have much effect. Like Huila’s silver globes, our destinies are as countless as our choices.

We went to Gyu-Kaku for dinner on Thursday, September 3, 2009 to celebrate my wife passing an exam and finishing school. It’s a chain restaurant and we went to the branch at Victoria Gardens shopping destination in Rancho Cucamonga. Another reason we went is that my wife receives e-mails from Victoria Gardens and one of them announced that Gyu-Kaku was having a deal from August 2 to September 7 where the garlic filet mignon was only $3.95 rather than the usual $7.95. The e-mail also had a coupon for free s’mores with a $10 purchase, a $2.95 value. We had been to Victoria Gardens several times and eaten at several restaurants there but we hadn’t heard much about Gyu-Kaku. It was advertised as a Japanese barbecue and it looked like we would have to cook the food ourselves or have the food cooked right in front of us. In the week or so before going we referred to the place as “that $3.95 filet mignon place.”

I went to work early on that Thursday and got home at 4:45 pm. I figured it would take us about an hour to get to Rancho Cucamonga from home given the afternoon traffic. We left at 5 pm and drove east on the 210. We hit some traffic in spots and on the way we listened to a CD of the Jackson Five and early Michael Jackson recordings. His funeral and burial took place that day. We exited at Day Creek Blvd and drove south. Normally when we go to Victoria Gardens we turn left on North Mainstreet and park in the structure on the north end. But my wife was still recovering from a broken toe so we drove past North Mainstreet and past Versailles Street where we couldn’t turn left. We turned left on Victoria Gardens Lane, then left on Monet Avenue, right on Versailles Street and left on Waterland Place. Our final turn was a left into the small parking lot.

Gyu-Kaku is in the same building as the Flemings Steakhouse near the J.C. Penney. The parking lot was full, probably of people starting the Labor Day weekend early. Luckily a car left leaving us a spot. As we walked toward the building we could already smell the barbecued meat. It looked like the restaurant had some back doors but they appeared to be for employees only. We walked to the large front door along Monet Avenue. We gave our name to the hostess soon after we entered at 5:50 pm. She asked if we had a reservation and we didn’t but we still only had to wait for three minutes.

Every table, including ours, had a circular hole with a grill, a circular metal grid of half-inch squares. It looked like it had a gas-powered flame that they turned on after we sat down. Our server gave us a couple of multi-page menus. He was willing to answer any questions we had. The menu had several pre-set menu options of many different meats and side dishes. These cost $40-$50 per person. There was also an all-you-can-eat option that was $10 off or only $34.95 per person for a limited time. We saw from a couple near us who ordered the all-you-can-eat option that it’s actually “all-you-can-cook”. As for the individual items, there were many different kinds of meat including cuts of beef, pork, chicken, Japanese sausage, even bacon-wrapped asparagus. The menu said to order 2-3 meat options per person. They cost around $4-$9 for 3-4 ounces. Our plan, of course, was to get the discounted filet mignon. There were also vegetables for grilling both wrapped in foil and without. There were also many options that didn’t required cooking on the customers’ part including appetizers, rice, and noodles. We placed our order without much help from the server. He seemed to be steering us toward the more expensive preset meals and all-you-can eat options.

Along with the grills on each table, the décor consisted of dark wood tables and paneling, spherical Japanese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and slightly dim lighting. The place was actually quite large with multiple rooms. Over the speakers they played 80’s music including The Ramones, Paul Young, Depeche Mode, Prince, and Michael Jackson.

The first thing they served was the calamari appetizer that was crispy and golden. It was cooked just right: not at all chewy, and it came with a light red dipping sauce. The rest of our (non-dessert) food came nearly all at once. Our garlic fried noodles came in a large black bowl that the server warned us was hot. The noodles were thick, flavorful and quite substantial. Our assorted vegetables came on a white platter. Unlike the calamari and garlic fried noodles, the vegetables would require cooking on our part. They consisted of two large cross sections of onions, zucchini slices, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, small ears of white corn, and green chili peppers. We grilled everything except the chili peppers that we skipped. We halved the mushrooms before grilling. The ears of corn were done first and, slightly blackened, they tasted sweet. The grilled mushrooms, zucchini, and tomatoes took a few minutes per side to grill and they were also good. The onions took the longest: about 4-5 minutes per side, but they were worth it with them retaining just a bit of their raw flavor mostly dulled by the grill.

The two 3.25 ounce servings of $3.95 garlic filet mignon all came together cut into chunks on a narrow black platter. We had wanted to order more servings but we could only get one serving per person at that price. Our server told us to place them in the middle of the grill and cooked them on one side until the juices started to run out the top. Then we had to turn them over and cook them until the juices run out or until desired doneness. We followed his directions. There were about 10-11 small chunks of meat. My wife didn’t mind having her share being a bit rare and I could keep mine on the grill until the meat was well done. I think it took about 10-15 minutes to cook all the pieces. When done my pieces were blackened and fully cooked but not chewy at all and they had delicious garlic flavor.

After finishing dinner we had to wait a bit as our server was busy tending to the couple at the table next to us who had ordered the all-you-can-eat (cook) option. We gave him the printed coupon for the s’mores. Another server came by and removed our grill grid with a forked instrument and replaced it with a clean one. Then our main server brought us our s’mores, not yet assembled. They consisted of two marshmallows, two small slabs of Hershey’s chocolate, and four square graham crackers. They came with two metal skewers with wooden handles and forked ends. We roasted the marshmallows by holding them 1-2 inches above the grill with the skewers. This involved toasting them until golden on the outside. I had my s’more without chocolate, so it wasn’t a true s’more. To melt the chocolate for my wife’s s’more, we held it over the grill for a few seconds, using both skewers. The s’mores were good.

Our total bill, including the tip on the undiscounted total, came out to not much more than the discounted all-you-can-eat price for one person. As we left I noticed there was a dial on the side of the table for controlling the heat level of the grill. We drove home satisfied.

When I was in high school many years ago I participated in the school musical production of “West Side Story”. I was part of the chorus, a nameless member of the Sharks, the Puerto Rican gang. I guess that counts as my only gang affiliation. It was fun even though we didn’t get to sing very many songs. There was some choreography but I think the Shark girls and Jet boys have bigger roles than the Shark boys and Jet girls. I preferred participating in the school musical “Anything Goes” the year because there were more songs sung by the entire company. In “West Side Story” we only sang part of the “Tonight” quintet.

After my involvement in the high school production, I didn’t hear much else about “West Side Story”. My wife had gotten a CD of instrumental music from the musical a few years ago. Still, I’d nearly forgotten about it until sometime during the first half of 2009. We were watching the Tony Awards and learned that there was a revival on Broadway of “West Side Story”. They had revised some of the lyrics to be sung in Spanish and made the gangs look more thuggish and authentic. I believe the actress who played Anita in this production won a Tony. I also think I heard that the actress who played Maria was discovered by the casting directors when they saw her on YouTube. This all sounded interesting. When I was in the high school production I wondered how come the Sharks didn’t have more Spanish lines. The only one I remembered was Bernardo saying, “Vamanos, chicos! Es tarde.”

We got the CD of the New Broadway Cast Recording. The production came to Broadway in early 2009. I think it opened in March of that year. During the first track, “Prologue”, the Jets and Sharks have some skirmishes. The Sharks banter among themselves and yell Spanish insults at the Jets. The next song sounds identical to the original. “When You’re a Jet” serves to introduce us to the Jets: Riff, the leader; Action; A-Rab; Baby John; Big Deal; Diesel; Snowboy; 4H; and Anybodys, the tomboy. The next track, “Something Coming” sung by Tony, is also unchanged from the original. I remember the choreography for the next track, “Dance in the Gym”, a mostly instrumental number. It begins sounding like swing but soon changes to a Latin beat with everyone calling out “Mambo” at different points. In this new version both the Sharks and the Jets call out “Mambo”. I only remember the Sharks calling it out in my school’s production.

The next track, “Maria”, also sung by Tony, is also the original. But when the spoken lines are also included I could clearly discern Maria’s Latin accent. During the next song, “Tonight” sung by Maria and Tony, Maria speaks Spanish at the end: “Te adoro, Anton.” I don’t remember if that’s part of the original production or not. The next song, “America”, is sung by the Shark girls, principally Anita and Rosalia. Their Latina accents are very apparent but they don’t sing in Spanish. It’s still a fun song. The Jets sing the next song, “Cool” and I think some of the Jet girls join in for a few parts. Tony and Maria then sing “One Hand, One Heart” that’s all in English. The use of Spanish doesn’t become very apparent until the next song, the “Tonight” quintet. The singing alternates between the Jets, Maria, Tony, Anita, Riff, and the Sharks. This time the Sharks sing only in Spanish. They use a wide vocabulary with several words I didn’t know such as “impondremos”. When I was in the high school production, I think we just sang the same words as the Jets or, at least, words in English. But in this production, the Sharks get their own story in their own language. For example, the words in the earlier version were:

Jets: “Well, they began it.”
Sharks: “Well, they began it”

In the new version they are:

Jets: “Well, they began it.”
Sharks: “Son los cupables.” (It’s their fault.)

I also learned some more names of the Sharks from the CD liner notes. In addition to Bernardo, the leader, Chino, and Indio there are Bobo, Inca, and Pepe.

The next track is the “Rumble” that’s an instrumental and similar to the prologue. There’s not as much banter in either language. The only discernable word is Tony shouting “Maria!” The next song is all in Spanish and sung by Maria and the Shark girls. Previously it was the cheesy-sounding “I Feel Pretty”. Now it’s “Me Siento Hermosa.” Like the “Tonight” quintet, it has a complex and wide vocabulary with a couple of words I didn’t know: atolondrada and faz. It just sounds more natural in Spanish, like it’s more about celebration than vanity. It even has what sounds like a Latin rhythm.

The language is back to English for the next song, although not entirely. “Somewhere” is Maria and Tony’s fantasy about getting away from all the troubles around them. I think there was a dream sequence at this point in the high school production. In the new Broadway production, they added the character Kiddo, a Jet who’s young enough to be a child. He sings one verse of “Somewhere” in a choirboy voice. This adds to the fantasy of a safe and innocent place. At the end they sing one line in Spanish that I think greatly improves the song. Previously, the lines seemed a bit repetitive:

Maria: “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there.”
Tony: “Hold my hand and I’ll take you there.”

Now the lines are more original:
Tony: “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there.”
Maria: “Llevame para no volver.” (Roughly, carry me in order to not return)

The next song is unchanged from the original and it doesn’t require improvement. It’s the song that “lampoons the legal system” as my former English teacher wrote. “Officer Krupke” remains very funny and very witty. Action is the Jet on trial, 4H is Officer Krupke, Diesel is the judge, Snowboy is the head shrinker, and either A-Rab or Baby John is the social worker. I believe in our high school production they had the social worker sing in falsetto voice for some reason. Wisely, they don’t do this in the new production.

The next song is in Spanish. Anita and Maria’s former song “A Boy Like That” becomes “Un Hombre Asi”. Note the direct translation, “A Man Like That”, matures the subject from a boy to a man. But a man makes more sense. Again, the song includes a sophisticated Spanish vocabulary with lines “y este amor te sale caro”. The line “your own kind” from the original becomes “los tuyos” so it’s more like “your crowd” or “your group”. The last song is the finale, a recap of “Tonight” in instrumental. At the end this time Maria sings “Hold my hand and we’re halfway there,” and Tony answers “llevame para no volver.”

Overall, I think the New Broadway Cast Recording is a big improvement. The tragic story, excellent songs, and mixture of humor with the predominantly serious drama are all still there. But the use of Spanish lyrics and lines give the Sharks their own culture and identity, making them more than just foils for the Jets. It’s also more realistic. People that aren’t very far removed from their original cultures tend to bring them along, including the language. It makes the musical overall that much richer. I wish this version was around back when I was in high school. It would have given me a chance to practice my Spanish, maybe learn some new words. Then again, the directors might have thought it too difficult because my school had few Spanish-speaking students at the time, if any. Still, this new version would be great for high schools in Southern California, most of which have many Spanish-speaking students. Perhaps the musical itself will appeal to the growing Latino population in the U.S. West Side Story is about the clash of culture and the new version gives both cultures their proper respect.

(Spoilers)

My wife got me the book How to Get Fat from the store Sidecca that’s inside the Montclair Plaza to help me gain weight and because the title sounded funny. It doesn’t have a specific author but rather was produced by Knock Knock Productions who are based in Venice, CA. How to Get Fat is a small, short book with a colorful cover and illustrations for each chapter. Knock Knock has produced a whole series of “self-hurt” books including this one along with How to Get into Debt, How to Drive Like a Maniac, and How to Tramatize your Kids. But this isn’t just a book of jokes, but rather a book of practical advice on how to get fat. It does contain a lot of humor along with information and encouragement and some surprisingly important lessons.

How to Get Fat is split into many chapters on the different aspects of gaining weight. It covers what to eat, where to eat, how to eat, and the proper mindset or “fattitude”. It includes formulas to determine how many calories to eat and how much weight to gain. There’s so much more to gaining weight than simply eating more unhealthy food and not exercising. There’s shopping for food correctly (when you’re hungry), and making sure to buy bulk so you never run out. There’s the proper way to order at restaurants such as getting more fattening tempura instead of sushi when eating Japanese. One of my favorite foods, fajitas, is actually listed among the foods to avoid at Mexican restaurants because they’re too healthy. They recommend ordering chimichangas instead.

I learned some things from the book that I didn’t know before such as the fact that once you’re full, leptin is released in your brain and makes you feel full. However, the common sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) inhibits leptin secretion and your brain never gets the message that you’re full. I also learned that the ingredients listed on food labels are in descending order and the first item given comprises the greatest percentage of the food.

The book contains a lot of humor along with all the useful information. It is written in a fun, comical tone. It doesn’t make fun of itself or devolve into sarcasm or parody, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, either. One part describes how a sedentary person burns fewer than 1,750 calories per day while an active person burns 2,200 calories. The book goes on to say “that 450-calorie difference equals roughly nine Oreos. If you’re sedentary and you eat the nine Oreos, that’s like a 900-calorie gain.” (p. 52-53) Another part indicates how exercise is unnecessary. Modern transportation means we only have to walk a few feet to get anywhere so there’s no functional reason for physical fitness. “Toning your muscles and increasing your endurance is therefore a waste of valuable time that could be spent eating.” (p. 167)

Much additional humor and information can be found in boxes separate from the main text. One box describes how “decades of American farm bills have reduced the cost of staple commodities such as corn, wheat, and soy with $25 billion in subsidies.” (p. 110) As a result, healthy foods such as lettuce and berries are 40% more expensive than they were in 1985, while the cost of soda, that’s rich in high fructose corn syrup, is 23% cheaper. I’m not sure whether that’s all true but it sounds interesting. Another box describes how all branches of the U.S. Military have weight restrictions and if you exceed them and conscription is reinstated, you won’t be drafted. Many of the boxes contain funny and profound quotes from famous people including:

“When we lose 20 pounds, we may be losing the best 20 pounds we have! We may be losing the parts that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty.” –Woody Allen

“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” –Orson Welles

With all its humor and interesting information, the book also presents some important lessons that aren’t just applicable to getting fat. It describes how when you try to get fat, you’ll have two types of detractors: those who disagree with your goal of gaining weight and those who don’t want you to succeed in anything due to their own issues with self-loathing, lack of discipline, and jealousy. The book advises to agree to disagree with the former and drop the latter because they’re toxic. An earlier passage describes how thin people have to fight off unwanted advances and never know whether people like them for who they are or what they look like. Once you’re fat, you don’t have to worry about that. You can base your self-worth entirely on your character and know that people like you for the right reasons. Towards the end, the book describes how “the true accomplishment is recognizing the control you’ve taken over your body and your life and knowing that you can achieve anything that you set your mind and mouth to.” (p. 179-180)

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The only drawback was that it seemed to gloss over the potential health effects of getting fat. It actually offers at least one health benefit. In my opinion, society pulls us in two directions: one is the “cult of thin” and the other is all the best-tasting, fattening food we can eat. How to Get Fat is refreshing because it just focuses on one direction.