Composed Elements

While everyone was at Coachella this past weekend rocking out to Rage Against the Machine and dancing their hearts to LCD Soundsystem, I was getting in touch with a microphone, seeing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (not romantically), eating shish kabobs, dating 15 men, and playing DDR professionally. Was I jealous that everyone else was sweating, paying for overpriced food, and getting dehydrated in the desert? Okay, just a little bit… I mean, Tom Morello was there.

Amagi: Combine a dive bar and a cheesy karaoke stage in the Gower Gulch cowboy shopping strip and I’m there! For anybody itching to sing in Los Angeles at a place that isn’t too intimidating and where you can grab a Brewster and even feel like a man, Amagi’s the place to go. There is a small room in the back of the bar, where there is a stage fit for a low-budget 70’s movie with all the works – the red velvet curtain, the streamers and the disco ball. And the stage isn’t so high off the ground, so you can do your Mick Jagger impressions with ease while walking off the stage to dance with the alcoholics. Although the sound system isn’t the best sound system in the world and the voice of singers can be piercingly loud at times, the upside is that the place isn’t super trendy but hip in its own way and it’s a great place to embarrass yourself with your friends for a $1 each song. The best part about this room is that there are two men that sit in the corner of the mini-stage and are the DJs for the karaoke songs. They could almost be the next American Idol judges based on their body language alone. When I went on stage with my friend singing, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (my specialty), we showcased our turning around skills every time we sang “turn around…” One of the DJs sat there shaking his head at us the whole time while burying his hands in his face. And if you’re not planning on singing, you can watch Amagi regular, Steve, the Japanese Karaoke Ninja, do his Freddie Mercury and Axl Rose impressions nightly.

Amagi @ 6114 W Sunset Blvd (Cross Street: N Gower Street), Los Angeles, CA 90028

Speed-dating: When my friend and I drove down the street looking for the lounge that was housing this speed-dating event over the weekend, we knew it was going to be a classy night. It was the kind of street that was full of Wal Marts and CVS’s. The lounge was underground, next to a bowling alley. When we got out of the car, the first guy we saw was a portly, middle-aged, short man. Since this was my first time going to a speed-dating event, I didn’t know what to expect and tried to run back in my car to avoid a horrible mess. My friend convinced me that this would be a night full of laughs and I remember I enjoyed laughing so I continued walking. While we walked up to the lounge, a random man stopped us on the street to say, “Damn girls! You fergalicious!” What did that mean?? I thought only Fergie could be Fergalicious. I mean, it would even make more sense if we were delicious or supercilious.

The 1020 Lounge in Arcadia was surprisingly nice and it felt like I had stepped into some hipster lounge in Hollywood. The red ambient lighting filled the room and there were little stone tables that gave a nice touch to the decor. Upon first entering the room, there was even that big Buddha fountain that seems prevalent in many hipster Asian-themed bars.

There were a few duds out there and a couple of freaks as I expected, but the thing that surprised me was that there were some actually normal people there, just wanting to build their network of friends. So, for everyone to know – speed-dating isn’t that weird and actually pretty fun. You meet a lot of random people and if they’re not somebody you’d want to get to know any further, you can just write stories and post them on your blog instead. But by the end of the night though, I was so bored talking about myself and my job and my hobbies that I started thinking, am I boring? But if you say the same thing to 15 guys, you’re bound to feel this way. Here’ s a recap of some of the more memorable conversations I had with these suitors and conversations I overheard.

*My interview with this skinny nerd that tucked in his polo shirt into his jeans:
ME: Hi, how are you?
HIM: I’m good. I’m good. I love clubbing. What do you like to do?
ME: Oh well, I love listening to music and –
HIM: Well, I like clubbing because I love to dance.
ME: Oh really? What kind of dancing do you do?
HIM: Everyone thinks they like dancing, but I really like dancing. I’m at Garden of Eden every weekend clubbing. You should come see me dance tonight.
ME: Well, I’m sorry, I’ve got plans tonight.
HIM: I’ll be there and I’ll buy you a drink. (grabs my paper and scribbles his number on it) Call me, I’ll be there. I love dressing up for clubs.
ME: Don’t you already dress up for work?
HIM: Yeah, I do.
ME: Then how is it different?
HIM: It’s not.

*It was the most excruciating five minutes of my life.

*Here’s a conversation that took place between one of the guys and the bartender:
GUY: I’d like some fruit punch, please.
BARTENDER: We have a full bar here, man. Why don’t you get a drink?
GUY: But I really, really want fruit punch.
BARTENDER: We don’t have fruit punch. This is a bar.

GUY’S FRIEND: (whispering to the guy) Come on, man, just get a drink with alcohol.
GUY: But I really really want fruit punch. Okay, fine.

GUY: Can I have a Cosmo?
BARTENDER: Do you want fruit punch in that too?

The L.A. Times’ Festival of Books @ UCLA: Who knew that being around thousands of books could be so much fun? I did! Since I didn’t see as many celebrities as I thought I would like Ray Bradbury and Ralph Nader, just knowing they were there somewhere in the same vicinity as me brought me joy. I did see Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and I don’t know what I expected from him, but I was a little disappointed. He was speaking for a outdoor panel advertising his new book. Okay, now thinking about it, I really wanted him to just stand up and have a booming voice…and maybe do a kicking move like in “Game of Death”. It wasn’t as impressive seeing him sitting in a chair and speaking into a mic that was turned down. He’s the Captain! Anyhow, there were an amazing amount of booths and something for everyone. There was a booth that sold all of their books for 5 bucks each (and not crappy books that are usually on the “on sale” racks at used book stores), booths that housed information for aspiring writers, and booths that provided $4 lemonade. The only surprising thing for me was that UCLA students have to pay $8 for daily parking passes everyday.