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The mid-November weekend I had waited for had finally arrived! I was going to Southern California to see Red Elvises at Tio Leo’s in San Diego and Martini Blues in Huntington Beach! Woohoo! But November 17th didn’t start out well for me. There’s an art to setting an alarm clock...or maybe not; most are pretty basic. But I somehow failed to master it in the middle the night prior to my 8:05am flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Los Angeles. I’ve owned the stupid clock for years and it’s far easier to set than, say, a VCR is to program, but somehow – I figured out much later - I managed to set the alarm for PM instead of AM. Imagine my shock when I work up at 7:23am and knew that even if I lived next door to the airport there was no way I was making my flight. |
In the end American was great and got me on the next flight for only $25 more. Whew! New ETA in L.A. was 2:40pm, not too bad. All was well again… Until we got to St. Louis, where a fire had just happened in their airport’s electrical plant, knocking out part of the computer system. Our connecting plane landed and we boarded it on time but then had to wait for twenty-five people just coming into the airport system who had to have manually issued boarding passes – always a major pain for any airline with malfunctioning computers. So we waited. And waited. Then we taxied out to the runway and endured a long process of some kind of computerized weighing of the plane (to ensure it’s safe to fly) that apparently is always done but is rarely mentioned by the pilot. Our pilot was the talkative type; he told us all the dirt, including, after another while, the fact that after all that taxiing and sitting we had burned up enough jet fuel that they felt our aircraft should be topped off so we wouldn’t have to land in Phoenix or someplace and refuel. “Here comes the fuel truck,” he said merrily. Yay. I’m all for safety and having enough fuel to reach the intended destination, but damn if this wasn’t taking up valuable time and cutting into my L.A. mini-vacation! Not to mention that my seat on that plane was the very last one, next to a window totally obscured by a huge round jet engine, but hey, as I told the grumpy stranger seated next to me, I was just grateful to be there! I was still going to So Cal to see Red Elvises that night and the next; the airline could have put me on a flight that didn’t arrive in L.A. until 10:00pm or sometime, making it impossible to get to San Diego in time for the Tio Leo’s show. So I was lucky things had worked out as well as they had so far considering my screw-up with the alarm clock.
We finally took off, had a good flight and landed at LAX at 4:00pm, nearly an hour and a half late. I hurried to Baggage Claim. When LAX works it works, dudes (when it doesn’t, watch out!), and that day it was working – my bags were already on the carousel by the time I got there (with one quick stop for necessities along the way). I grabbed the bags and rolled them outside to the car rental pickup area, waited about five or ten minutes and jumped on the Avis shuttle when it came along. Turning on my cell phone I saw that I had a voicemail from Jamie so I called her back and we made plans for her to ride to San Diego with me later. I’ll spare you the details of my short wait on line at Avis and the multiple trips up and down the stairs at the hostel where I was staying when they gave me two consecutive keys that wouldn’t unlock my assigned room door. Once in my re-assigned room I changed tops, combed my hair, tried to throw on enough makeup to avoid scaring anyone and headed off to pick up Jamie. Being a graduate of the Oleg Bernov School of Highway Driving, I kicked ass on the freeway - we left Venice not long before 7:00pm and made it to Tio Leo’s in San Diego right around 9:00pm, before the show started, and that’s with lots of L.A. Friday evening traffic (rush hour in L.A. lasts from approximately 3:00 to 7:00pm most weekdays). Mapquest says that’s a two hour and ten minute trip, by the way. I had the advantage, with Jamie with me, of being able to use the carpool lane, although at times it was faster to get out of it and drive in the regular lanes avoiding slower drivers. The weather was nice but there was, strangely enough, patchy fog on the road, we were surprised to see. But we made it just fine.
Inside Tio Leo’s, a Mexican restaurant with a bar on one side and tables for eating food on the other (I’ve written about Red Elvises shows there before), I saw a couple of friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, Bev (who first introduced me to Red Elvises in 1998) and Renee, who was having a birthday that weekend. It was so great to see them again! Oleg had come over to greet us while Jamie and I were talking to the guy at the door, and we each also got a hello hug from Igor, who was sitting at a table with Hitome from Seattle (we met in Tampa in March of this year, she’s a cool girl) and some other people. I said hello to Elena and Adam too, and the energetic older gentleman who always attends Red Elvises and probably other shows at Tio Leo’s and dances with as many young ladies as he can came over to me and asked if I remembered him. Of course I remembered him! He’s quite a character, a cool dude! Igor and I discussed where to locate the merchandise and decided on the same spot where I sold the last time they played there, off to one side of the stage at one end of the dance floor. It’s a great place to be – you can see the show very easily and people can see the merchandise very well there too.
 Jamie with a happy shirt-buying fan |
 Oleg with Hitome from Seattle |
They were soon ready to start the show. I was able to multitask – selling merchandise (with Jamie’s help), taking pictures, dancing, drinking my beer and writing down the songs. They started with “Gypsy Heart,” played “Love Rocket” next, followed by “Ticket to Japan,” Ukrainian Dance #13,” “Memoirs of a Phuket Geisha” (or “Memoirs of a Hooker” as Igor usually says these days!) and “Sad Cowboy Song” – which got a real conga line going!
A conga line! Like real cowboys!
Then Igor announced that it was Renee’s birthday and she was persuaded to get onstage while they played and sang “Happy Birthday” to her. She then took the mike and announced that for her birthday she had one wish, and that was to “dance with a MAN!” Igor said “Are there any men here?” And Renee saw the older dancing gentleman and pointed and said “Him!” So they danced during the next song, which was “Natasha Loves Reggae” or “Winter Reggae,” depending on which version you’re listening to or what you prefer to call it.
 Happy Birthday to Renee! |
 Renee dancing with a man, her birthday wish! |
“Belly Dance” closed out the first set and got girls dancing onstage. I danced by the merchandise table. The band sounded great and looked great too, by the way. I feel I don’t even need to mention that, because they always look great and sound amazing, but I thought I’d mention it all the same because this band is just so freaking, “fuckin’ A” awesome, you know?! Yeah, you know, I know you do.
 Oleg during "Sad Cowboy Song" |
 "Belly Dance!" |
During the break Jamie and I sold merchandise and I’m not really sure what the guys did. I only had the one beer the whole night so I wasn’t even drunk (nice change, heh heh). It’s always interesting for me to talk to people, drunk or sober, so if you’re at a Red Elvises show when I’m there selling and want to have a look at the merchandise, buy something, or just ask questions about it, come on over, don’t be shy! I’m sure anyone selling their merchandise would say the same.
They soon got back onstage for the second set and started off with two of their new songs, “Sweeter Than Champagne” and “Drinking With Jesus,” both of which went over great with the maniacally dancing audience members. They did “Harriet” next, first time in a while I’ve heard that one live, and then another new one, the exact title of which I’m sure yet: “Rock Me Baby” or “My Baby Likes to Rock and Roll” – whichever one it is (or it could even be called something else...and actually the following night the lyric got slightly changed and it was renamed by Igor, so I suppose now it’s “Rock Me Sally”), it is an awesome song anyway, as are the other new ones I’ve heard. This was followed by another classic I haven’t heard them play in some time, the ever popular “Flaming Cheese.” The one I was dying to hear, “Burning For You” wasn’t played this time, sigh. Hopefully it will be played either in Tampa on December 16th or at the New Year’s Eve show...(hint, hint, guys!). This crowd would NOT let Red Elvises off that stage, not for long, anyway, and they were convinced to play four encores! “Closet Disco Dancer,” “Juliet,” “Jerry’s Got a Sqeezebox” (without making us get down on the floor for once!) and the final song of the night that they came back out especially to do, after Igor had already changed into his t-shirt, “Rocketman.”
After the show there was the usual hanging out, selling a little more merchandise, talking to enthusiastic people and so on. Once we got the merch packed up I gave Renee her birthday present and hung out over there at their table for not long enough, then I waited outside by the van till the guys got it all loaded up. Jamie was going to ride back with them since she, Igor and Elena were going to the same place (for anyone who doesn’t know, Jamie is Igor’s roommate and Elena is staying there while in L.A.), and I was going to follow them, even though I knew the way. On the road back to L.A., I was very very sleepy. My body was still on East Coast time so 1:30am seemed like 4:30am. I tried not to drift all over the road or get too close to the van because my sleepiness was freaking me out - I once had an accident from falling asleep while driving on the 101, and I certainly didn’t want to do that again! When Oleg went to the 73 toll road I just stayed on the 5 freeway, which leads to the 405 anyway, because I’m just more used to going that way. And at some point I had to get off the freeway, after I got on the 405, I think, and find a well-lit spot and just lock the car, put the seat back and sleep for about an hour! I was a little nervous about it, alone in the middle of the night, but I was in Orange County by then, I’m pretty sure...it’s a fairly upscale place. If I hadn’t done that I doubt I would’ve made it back to Venice in one piece, to be honest.
The next day I spent on non-Red Elvises activities...I went to Hollywood and took an old friend to lunch in Burbank. It’s wonderful to know your way around L.A. from having lived there nearly nine years. We had a nice time and then I headed back to Venice for a walk on the beach and to get ready for that night’s show. Oleg had said I could ride down to Huntington Beach with them, so I went over to his place, where I also saw Sasha and Oleg’s great neighbor, Martin. Hitome, the fun cool girl from Seattle, also came over there and we and Sasha (he went with us for fun) got in the van with Oleg to go pick up Igor, Elena and Jamie. Adam was driving there with his wife, Dawn, who had also been at the Tio Leo’s show the night before. When we got to Igor’s he happily said “We have a van full of girls!” We had four girls and the three guys, a full van. I changed shoes in the van, to put on my heels (same ones I wore in Orlando, actually...feeling girly again). What’s it like to ride in the van, you ask? It’s awesome...makes you feel like you’re traveling in style...or sort of like you’re in any type of vehicle, except with more fun people. I feel really lucky and happy each time I get to do it (thanks once again, Oleg!).
It's not blurry, it's ART! My camera on the wrong setting...
We got to Martini Blues in Huntington Beach in spite of the fog on the road and Oleg drove around back (it’s in a shopping center) to unload. We all got out and there was Kat! I last saw her when I was in L.A. for a weekend in October of this year (for another reason than Red Elvises, who were in the midwest at the time). It was great to see her again. I helped take some stuff in, mostly merchandise, and then got set up on a table in the front of the club. The stage is at the back and there are tables and a dance floor. The place is a little more “upscale” than the usual bars the guys play, it has more of a supper club ambiance, and they serve excellent cosmopolitans (vodka drinks with cranberry juice) too, I have to say. I have to say that because I had three of them during the night and they were all very good. There was a problem with major, LOUD, feedback at first...it had something to do with which ports(?) or whatever the amps were plugged into, I think, maybe...just guessing on that, from what the people working at Martini Blues said. I know nothing technical about such things. They finally just about fixed the problem, thank goodness, and they were able to get the show underway.
They started the show with “Lovepipe,” then continued the love with “Love Rocket,” following that with “Ticket to Japan,” Sweeter than Champagne,” Drinking with Jesus,” “Memoirs of a Hooker” (sooo appropriate and hilarious right after a song about drinking wine and tequila with Jesus, heh heh!), “Sad Cowboy Song” and the much loved “Belly Dance.”
 Igor during "Blue Moon" |
 "Elena at Martini Blues" |
Hitome helped me out by watching the merch table several times while I went to the dance floor to take some pictures and dance a little. I would’ve gotten some great pictures except that my camera somehow got switched to a wrong setting on the little dial, so they were coming out blurry and I didn’t realize, thanks to my close up vision with my contact lenses not being the best these days (I can see fine to drive, it’s okay). Oh well...I guess I finally saw the problem because I did get some good ones of Igor at least and one of Elena. It was a great show and everybody there had a lot of fun. I saw some more people there I hadn’t seen in a while – Valerie, Scotty and Brent, to be exact, in addition to Kat, all super cool people from the Orange County area.
The second set began soon with “A Kegga Beer and Potato Chips.” Next was “Juliet,” Natasha Loves Reggae” (or, if you prefer, “Winter Reggae”), “It’s a Wonderful Night,” “Ukrainian Dance #13,” “Closet Disco Dancer” and the newly retitled and lyrically-changed “Rock Me Baby,” now known as (or at least called that night) “Rock Me Sally.” For a change of pace and our thrills and chills, they did “Blue Moon!” Haven’t heard that one in ages! That was followed by “Harriet,” “Gypsy Heart” and the “Rocketman” brought the show to a close.
Another great show from the best band in the world!
Afterwards we were heading back toward L.A. and were amazed at the incredibly thick fog on parts of the road in Orange County! There were one or two places where visibility in front of the van was barely twenty feet ahead! We all went “Whoa!” I’ve never seen fog like that in So Cal before...I didn’t even know there was ever fog there except possibly in the mountains (you can actually see the fog in some of Jamie’s and my photos taken behind Martini Blues, elsewhere in this issue!).
 See the fog?! Jamie and Dawn... |
 No fog! (Jamie and Kat - photo taken earlier) |
But after we’d been on the road for a little while it seemed to clear up and Oleg was able to drive fast again like he likes to do. Our trip back to Venice was a nice way to unwind (it’s always good to not have to drive). Igor decided we’d have a vodka party when we got to his place, so we all piled out of the van and went inside for a while, where we drank little bottles of flavored vodka and compared notes on which ones tasted good and which tasted not so good. I particularly enjoyed the mango flavored vodka, mmm mmm good! The pineapple...not so good. There was much laughter and merriment, and Elena and Sasha even doubled up on the keyboard and made some music!
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My cell phone alarm is even easier to set than my home alarm clock so I had no problems with that, thank goodness. I think I actually woke up before the alarm went off. I gathered my things and reluctantly went to return the rental car, then made my flight easily. Another L.A. weekend, another tiring but very happy time.
Overall, I had tons of fun with Red Elvises in So Cal and will be going back again for New Year’s Eve at Rusty’s! I highly recommend going to that show if at all possible, because it will be absolutely incredible, I can guarantee it! I can hardly wait! For that trip I have a 7:00am flight... I think I'll set two alarms!