First LA Show

So tonight Jim Carrey sang a duet with Conan, while wearing a Superman costume. The crowd of approximately 6000 was relatively tame compared to the crowds elsewhere (which were half that size). I'm told that LA is just LIKE that. For whatever reason, Los Angeles crowds aren't very inspiring. Artists often hate to play in LA. I've just gotten my first taste of that.

Here's a few pics from the show.

A Little More San Francisco

Hey everyone,
In the morning before our final show in San Francisco, I decided to grab a few shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. I hailed a cab outside the Hotel Monaco, and asked the driver if he could take me to a decent viewing spot. Jeff, the driver, then basically morphed into a tour guide. He took me to several viewing spots, and got out and walked with me to the places he thought I'd get the best shots. He even gave me camera advice. The next time I'm in San Francisco (which will hopefully be right after the tour) I'll be calling Jeff for another couple rides. And I'll bring a real camera- the light and fog conditions up in the hills overlooking the bridge are tough for my point and shoot to handle.

Jeff also took me to the famous "Crookedest Street," Lombard Street. Without an aerial view, it's tough to get a sense of how strange the street is in photos. For that matter, it's impossible to capture in photography the sense of being truly SURROUNDED by the sights, the hills, and the wind and rolling fog of San Francisco in general. It might help if I had any idea what I was doing with a camera, too.

Well we played our last show at the Nob Hill Masonic Center tonight. It's an old masonic temple with seating in the round. It's a soundman's nightmare. There are so many resonant frequencies in that room, it sounds like there's a loud organist playing along in the wrong key. But it's done. We're now on our way to Los Angeles, to play the Gibson Amphitheater. It's on the Universal Lot, where we shot the Tonight Show. Should be interesting. And I get to sleep in my own bed, do my own laundry, and do a better job packing for the next six weeks than I did for the first two.

See you in LA!

The Tourist

Hey all,
I've been pretty gung ho to see the classic tourist spots since my arrival in San Francisco. Unfortunately, though, I'm the only one in our group who hasn't been to San Fran many, many times on tour. So I couldn't get anyone else to join in my enthusiasm for, say, the cable cars, or the Haight. While my tourmates went to the Apple store, or some restaurant or pub they really like, I hit the tourist trail solo.

First I went to a couple galleries near the hotel. Very cool stuff. One gallery had tons of great paintings and highly collectible, large prints of classic groups from the sixties. Another had crazy trippy paintings by a husband and wife team (Kate and Eric) that call themselves "Kate Eric." You can check their stuff out at http://www.kateeric.com/images/10.

On my way back to the Monaco, I stopped at Napa Valley Winery Exchange, a fantastic wine store: http://www.nvwe.com/. Owner Don Gillette had me tasting different pinot noirs from the various producing regions of California. I asked him a couple of questions about California approximations of some of my favorite French white wines, and suddenly we were back in the tasting room sampling whites. Don knows what he's talking about, and was beyond generous with his time. It's nice to run into people who are truly passionate about what they're selling. I left with a few choice bottles. I expect more pleasant bus trips as a result.

Alright, enough boring wine and gallery stuff. No one wants to hear about that! What was I thinking?

I finally found the RIGHT direction to walk from the Hotel Monaco to see the nicer side of Union Square. Holy shit, San Francisco is very, very cool. Easily the most interesting and creative architectural city I've ever seen. I took a million billion pictures.

The hotel concierge gave me directions to the cable cars. I took the Powell-Hyde line, past the famous Lombard "Crookedest" Street, to Fisherman's Wharf. I was riding on the outer step, hanging on for dear life. At times my feet were actually hitting lane dividers! The hills and twists are incredible. It's like a slow-motion rollercoaster, with no safety bar.

I arrived at Fisherman' Wharf (last stop on the cable cars) and window-shopped a bit. I had a bread-bowl of chowder, served in a hollowed-out loaf of the area's famous sourdough, while watching street musicians perform on the plaza under the big "Fisherman's Wharf" sign. I stopped and had a pint at a blues bar on the water. Mostly, though, I just took pictures for hours. When I'd had enough of the brisk wind, I took the cable cars back to Union Square.

I stepped off the cable car and hailed a cab to the famous Haight-Ashbury district. God....it's still the 60's there. It's, like, purple haze, feed your head, swirling kaleidoscopic madness, maaaan! I took many more pictures. I'm very glad I checked it out.

Let me say this about San Francisco: there are a LOT of fucked up, acid-casualty-type homeless people there. They're not the same as your typical NYC or LA down-and-out. They're CRAZY in San Francisco. And they're everywhere. It's interesting to be confronted by that fact while marveling at the unique, vivid character of the city streets they shuffle along, and sleep upon.

Also, people in general are kind of crazy here in San Fran. An awful lot of people look weathered, drained- like they've seen something really horrible that they can't put completely behind them. There's a hardened, almost yankee-style distance in their eyes. I can't quite put my finger on it yet. About one in four men could easily pass for Shaggy from Scooby Do. It's almost as though the entire population took too much acid in the 60's. Seriously.

First walk in San Fran

I've just taken my first solo walk in a 6-block radius of the Hotel Monaco, and I hate to say it, but there's definitely a sketchy vibe you get in this area. It's sort of Harlem-ish, where people are sizing you up. You just know someone is looking at you from somewhere thinking "mark".

Check out "Joey's." Where else can you expect one-stop shopping for laundry care, ice cream, espresso, and sausage? They're dead serious, by the way.

I saw the dirty piece of hippie fabric sitting abandoned in a doorway. Even the discarded homeless clothes show the persistence of 60's acid culture in this town.

A few Bus Pics

Here's a couple more shots from the bus from Seattle to San Fran. Note the distant Golden Gate Bridge.

Hotel Monaco

Good morning San Francisco!
I thought I'd share a few shots of the lovely Hotel Monaco. The lobby areas are super nice- a little bit Alice in Wonderland, but hey.... nothing wrong with that! When I stepped into my room, though, I instantly became an honorary member of the Jefferson Airplane. I'm trying to remember what the dormouse said, whilst chasing rabbits. That's right. Take it!

Went out last night with about a dozen people from the touring party. We were joined by a few friends of people in the crew- other roadies that happened to be in Frisco too. There's a very cool, welcoming community of people who make their living on the road. I guess it's because when you travel that much, and sometimes that "hard," you really learn to appreciate the simple comforts of decent food, a nice cushy bed, and the company of friends you don't get to see too often.

We went to the Stinking Rose, a San Francisco tradition wherein garlic is the primary ingredient in everything on the menu. It was good...but.... I may never eat garlic again. My breath could knock you out cold right now. It's like a garlic hangover. I managed to avoid over-celebrating last night, so I can take full advantage of my day off here today.

More on my San Francisco touristy stuff later.

Seattle to San Francisco

Hey,
I've loved Seattle. It has a very cool combination of features: walkable and drivable streets, surrounded by water, with a view of snow-capped mountains. It takes a lot of flack for its weather and nation-leading suicide rate, but it was beautiful this morning when I went out for coffee.

Last night was Conan's birthday party (he turned 47). After our four days of travel from Vancouver to Spokane to Seattle to Edmonton back to Seattle, most of us really made the most of it. Nothing like a cocktail party overlooking the Space Needle with sliders, Conan cake, and a decent pinot noir. I got to the Seattle Westin and slept like a baby for a good ten hours.

Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam were the musical guests tonight. It was a great show. Overall, they just keep getting better and better. I can tell Conan is starting to enjoy himself more and more.

As I write this, I'm about a little better than halfway through our 14-ish hour trip from Seattle to San Francisco. Currently we're in Lakehead, California. Some of the scenery we've driven through in northern California is the most beautiful I've ever witnessed. I can't imagine there's anyplace in the world with more inspiring natural beauty. I've been jumping around like a fool with the camera, from window to window, desperately trying to capture the stunning views of rolling brooks between misty, pine-carpeted hills. And horses and cows and logging trucks and large finger-shaped lakes. I feel like a little kid.

Next up: San Francisco, and the beautiful Monaco Hotel