Yes, It Is Too Loud and, No, You’re Not Too Old
Blew out my right ear at the new club the Ivar on Hollywood Boulevard. Although it had a series of grand openings, like many venues, it opened before it worked out all its kinks. If you’re going to play music at ungodly volumes, please pass out earplugs at the door. Take it from promoter-DJ Jason Lavitt, who suffers from a combination of permanent ringing and hearing loss, it doesn’t have to rupture an eardrum to be good.... Here’s what is good: Skylab at Boardner’s. Like a cross between Radiohead and the Smashing Pumpkins--now doesn’t that sound nice--the boys set hearts aflame last Thursday night. And Boardner’s outdoor patio, believe it or not, was the perfect spot....
Can you handle this? Seems the Bolthouse crew, the hottest promoters in town, are moving its Wednesday-night Las Palmas franchise to the Ivar. Bigger may mean better.... Scenester Steven Harlow tells us the hot Tuesday scenes are at Deluxe and Nacional, both in Hollywood.... Picked up a signed copy of illustrator Gris Grimly’s new version of “Pinocchio” at Golden Apple Comics in Hollywood. The young artist rolls with a mummy and a Frankenstein. Always crowd-pleasers....
Verdeen White of Earth, Wind & Fire turned out for the “Underground Poets Railroad” at the Greenway Theatre in Hollywood on Tuesday. One of the great things about growing up in the 1970s was Earth, Wind & Fire. The power of positivity yo.... We hear the hip-hop club Snatch at PaPaz on Mondays is a strippers-on-parade.... Got rocked by a reggae band at the Grove in Hollywood, where a double-decker trolley spun us around and rain had us running for cover at a faux-French bistro. It ain’t Europe, but it’s home....
Buzz flash: The Wiltern reopens tonight.... On Saturday, Dragstrip 66 hosts a hillbilly hoedown called “She Haw” at Rudolpho’s in Silver Lake. Boy howdy! ...
The Knitting Factory’s been the sight of cosmic convergences. First, rocker Linda Perry was joined by Pink and Christina Aguilera at a show at the Hollywood nightclub. Now we hear Robbie Krieger performed with the band Particle on Saturday, kicking down licks on his famed “Light My Fire.” Smoke she is a risin’....
Famed Coconut Teaszer booker Len Fagan says he’s mourning the loss of his dear friend Darryl DeLoach, the original singer of Iron Butterfly. DeLoach died of liver cancer last week in San Diego. Fagan, who’s watched them all come and go, says DeLoach was the greatest visual performer he’s ever seen. R.I.P. (Rock in Peace.)