anniversary / birthday
So, I’m not the smartest guy on the planet — I freely admit this — but I have done two really smart things in my life: 1) I married my wife; 2) I did so about a week after my birthday, ensuring that I would never forget our anniversary, and that we’d always have cause to make that week unusually celebratory.
This proved remarkably fruitful this year. When the weekend before my birthday rolled around, Katie and I realized that we’d booked ourselves into a trifecta of incredible concerts in Los Angeles: PJ Harvey & John Parish @ The Wiltern on June 20; Femi Kuti & Santigold @ The Hollywood Bowl on the 21st; and Wilco, again @ The Wiltern, on my actual birthday (June 22). Seeing as how we’d planned a big triple birthday party with our friends Jill and Sunshine the following weekend (the weekend of our actual anniversary), we decided to combine celebrating our first wedding anniversary with my birthday, and treated ourselves to something special.
Awww … I love this woman.
We picked out an incredible hotel to stay at — The London in West Hollywood — and planned to spend 3 days lounging by the pool eating & drinking, enjoying room service, and venturing out in the evenings for our shows. This proved to be a phenomenal idea. If you’re a Southern California resident looking for a luxurious local getaway (and want to take advantage of some nightlife as well), I strongly recommend The London. Foodies will note that Gordon “Hell’s Kitchen” Ramsey runs the restaurant at the the hotel. We didn’t eat there, and have heard fair-to-middling reviews of the food. We CAN, however, totally vouch for the quality of service from the staff and at the pool. Both made us feel really welcome and special.
Katie lounges poolside at The London.
The London’s outdoor pool — our “home” for 3 days.
Our suite.
The view or the Hollywood hills out our hotel room window … the infamous Viper Room nightclub is below to the right.
The shows were all fantastic as well. I’m always a sucker for PJ Harvey, and she & John Parish tore through a set of their collaborative material that was far stronger than their records together would indicate possible. Saturday’s show at The Bowl (for which we were joined by our friends Sunshine & Gloria — who brought us delicious food from Greenblatt’s Deli) was flat out amazing … Santigold brought along a full band to accompany her and her two-woman dance team, while Femi Kuti proved he can stand firmly outside his father, Fela’s, shadow as the undisputed king of Afrobeat. And I couldn’t ask for anything more of a treat on my birthday than to eat at LA’s landmark Mexican restaurant, El Cholo with our friends Jamie & Ellen, followed by a 2.5 hour set by Wilco (one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time — and maybe the best band playing in America right now).
Wiltern marquee for PJ & John Parish.
PJ Harvey on stage … this was our first time snagging pit tickets at The Wiltern.
PJ Harvey, John Parish and band.
Santigold on stage at The Hollywood Bowl.
The incomparable Femi Kuti on stage at The Bowl.
Femi Kuti lights up The Hollywood Bowl.
Wilco at The Wiltern on June 22.
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