PHOTO: YACHT @ The Smell by Steve Schroeder. This one too.

The drive from San Francisco to LA is always way longer than you remember it to be; maybe it's because you pass Cowschwitz,, which is a downer that transcends time and space, or because the landscape is so flat and strip mall-y for most of the way. It made us a little stir crazy, but a good couple "supergroup" jam sessions and some quality time with our hard-earned Annie's dip and Have-A-Chips, we made it there in one piece.

California, guys. More like CaliFUNia. Could more of our friends live in a dreamier place? Probably not, unless we all decided to pick up and move to Antigua or something. The shows were "exciting." They were also good, but they were mostly exciting: especially The Smell, since it was radically interrupted by a coke-fueled teenage aggro-rage slammer of a fight! We were all chatting by the merch table, when suddenly we heard Vice Cooler call out from the stage, "What is this, a Fugazi concert?" Before we knew it, a whole crew of teenage '77 punks came out of the crowd and started wailing on each other. It was crazy. Both Steve Schroeder and Rob Kieswetter made excellent fight-breakers, and the worst was resolved pretty quickly. Propers to Jim White, the owner of The Smell, for escorting the kids outside so calmly. Turns out a whole bunch of people at the show had seen them doing coke in the bathroom. Lame, y'all! Still, it was all we talked about for the rest of the night, and it was so exciting that Steve lost his computer. Here are our after-show group fight pose for when the coked out teens return. "WE'LL BE READY!"

Big thanks to the Me(a)gans, Yellott and Downey, and Evan "Hot Knives" George, for putting us up (and putting up with us) in their gorgeous craftsman home in Highland Park. They even laid out cereal for us in the morning! Kindest friends!

The second show in LA was at Il Corral, an ivy-covered noise joint right across the street from the World's Best Ice Cream Parlor, Scoops. We totally got ice cream. Luke (Lucky Dragons) and Rob (Bobby Birdman) also played the show, and Steve bought this fully dubious alcoholic carbonated Tequila soda called "Tequi Loco" that gave us a weird sugar-buzz. Maybe that's why we spent so much time playing on the weird rope swing inside Il Corral, or why the YACHT set was such a cool moshy time! Other notable things: Rob guesting on a YACHT song, cool high-wind skateboard sesh after the show, Rob Barber setting off the car alarm, and Luke's new dance moves.

BREAKFAST We tried to find Annie's Dip at the Berkeley Bowl, failed. Found it at the Berkeley Whole Foods.

LUNCH/DINNER Orean Health Express in Pasadena. This is one of my favorite places in LA! All vegan. Totally good chicken burgers and milkshakes.

LOS ANGELES DAY 2

BREAKFAST So many people in Los Angeles! So many friends! Steve left his computer at The Smell and Vice was sweet enough to pick it up and meet us the next morning at the M Cafe, an amazing macrobiotic place that has all kinds of crazy vegan pastries we had written off as "COULD NEVER BE DONE." Listen everyone, that is bullshit. Everything can and will be done! We had promised Ritchey and Andrew that we'd meet them in Santa Monica for lunch, so we only got coffee and pastries. BUT THEY WERE DELICIOUS! See you again M Cafe.

LUNCH Holy shit. Seriously, holy shit! There is a place right next to Muscle Beach in Venice called Good Karma and they serve some really incredible vegan fast food. I got a bacon cheeseburger, some chicken tenders, and a rootbeer float! I had never had such good buger-y food before. Also, it's Alicia Silverstone's favorite place to eat in LA. THERE YOU HAVE IT.

DINNER Epic family-style dinner at Green Leaves in Los Feliz. Green Leaves is one of many Thai/American style places in LA that has a lot of good burgers, wraps, plates, and Thai food all with crazy fake meats. This place also has some good french fries. The large menu is always overwhelming (especially after the burgers in Venice) and I panicked and randomly ordered the pepper steak plate. Turns out it's very good!

NEXT UP: TIJUANA!

Truly,
Jona

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