Monday, April 9, 2007

Next time wear a vintage baby doll dress...

I am a day late I guess, but I just caught this story from the LA Times called Sunset Strip's hip are go-going elsewhere

The article starts by saying that the hipsters of the sunset strip are heading EAST... at first I feared the author had identified a migration stretching as far east as downtown. Phew! not to be, the article notes that the hipsters of LA are moving east from WeHo to Hollywood.

Then I read on and caught this:

"
"We avoid cologne dudes and button shirts," said Ana Calderon, describing who she lets into the parties her record label holds Tuesday nights at the Hollywood Boulevard club Cinespace.

The scene on a recent night at the club was definitely a departure from the Standard — hundreds of young adults sported styles that evoked rock, punk, hip-hop, new wave, techno and glam. No one looked much older than 21. On a sticky dance floor, DJ Aoki — the son of the Benihana restaurant chain founder — was rinsing out a song by British rapper Lady Sovereign when a brawl erupted and twisted its way around, knocking over drinks and felling several people.

Of course, the brawl just underscores what West Hollywood boosters say about their night-clubbing neighbor to the east."


Which takes me back to my original bad reaction to West Hollywood hipsters (we already have downtown hipsters and we like them just fine) moving into downtown. About a week ago a friend of mine, who is also a bit of a rockstar, took me to meet a friend of hers, who in turn took us to Cinespace to see his favorite band The Deadly Syndrome. I can't really comment on whether or not I like the Deadly Syndrome because the sound at the show was caught right between horrendous and atrocious. But distorted, crackling sound aside I think I actually did like the band. The lead singer had a good voice and it seemed like a band worth getting to know better, not however, at Cinespace. We got in on the guest list -- missing the line stretched down the block (*amen). Once in you go up a flight of stairs, covered in gnarly dirty carpet and set off by weirdly bright lighting; inside there was mayhem at the bar and outrageously drunk men everywhere (it was a Tuesday night). It felt like what I imagine an American Apparel photo might turn into if everyone at the end got really wasted, extra high and then got stuffed onto a miniature dance floor with thumping bad house music. Needless to say it was loud beyond control. My friend said it was the most outrageous bathroom of any club she'd been in - I couldn't bring myself to find out.
I couldn't leave fast enough. On the way out we saw one woman in low cut lycra lap-dancing a sketchy looking guy and next to her a guy lap-dancing a woman wearing low cut lycra. Grim. Very grim. We left agreeing it was last place we wanted to be on Tuesday night. Or any night actually.

Maybe I'm taking the long way around to get to my point which is this -- first I am still trying to understand why all these hispters are willing to spend so much time standing in a line to get into Cinespace. Second my friend and I - rockstar or not - confirmed that we are certifiably unhip and/or very old. Third, I love that downtown - for the most part - has avoided this level of hipness and I cringe at the thought of its arrival. I might trade cologne and button down shirts for the under-age trainwrecks trashed and crashing at Cinespace.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the sound was horrible... come out to the show I am throwing this Saturday at Spaceland...
The Deadly Syndrome
The Happy Hollows
The Parson Red Heads
Tandemoro

Anonymous said...

Have you checked out the Edison yet? Friday or Saturday, expect to wait in a long line and then get insulted by the "doorman" who trained at Skybar and apparently is given full freedom to decide who is in "code" or not. Ask what the "code" is and you won't get an answer. Then, look inside the smoking area to see torn jeans, t-shirts, baseball hats, etc. Also, it helps to be a woman because the doorman also prefers to let women in ahead of the line. Forget it if you are with men - you will stand in line with 'em! Yes, the obnoxious Hollywood bullsh*t has arrived in Downtown. Also - I heard David Beckham and Posh Spice are looking to buy a loft here. God help us all.