California capper

The final leg of my November on the go was the Beverly Hills business trip.  Despite weekend work hours that had me gone from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., I was too stubborn to omit any of my favorite L.A. activities from the program.  Without going into exactly how little sleep I got each night, I will say that turning thirty hasn't immediately turned me into an old lady.

And ah, how much we packed in!  Pinkberry at Farmer's Market, ogling New Moon fans at the Grove and ArcLight, a trip to Amoeba.  Friday night I saw my first official Jon Brion show at the Coronet.  A long main set (which included a Led Zeppelin collaboration with John Paul Jones) gave way to a long second set in the Little Room.  I've seen performances in the Little Room before, but never from one of the front tables.  It's certainly a unique experience to be mere feet away from these performers on their scarcely-raised platform.  The Punch Brothers were the Little Room guests that night, and the majority of the set took place with the only trace of Jon being his laughter and requests from the bar.  My favorite songs were Radiohead's "2+2=5," and "Lovefool" by The Cardigans.  I swear, I had no idea knew every word to that song ... especially after all these years.  Toward the end, the Punch Brothers, Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, and Benmont Tench all perched on the tiny stage at once.  I wonder what the record is.

Saturday night, we saw the always-great Paul F. Tompkins show.  His guests were Andy Richter and Paget Brewster.  (Andy Richter Controls the Universe flashback!)  There was even a surprise cameo by Maria Thayer ... or, as I think of her, Sexy Ms. Magoo.  After PFT, we tracked down the Kogi truck for a (very) late dinner.  Short rib burrito: always worth the wait in line.  One of these days I'll save room for dessert.

Sunday, U picked me up and we went straight to the Grove for the Christmas tree lighting.  However, it soon became clear that this would involve a huge crowd and lots of waiting.  We made a break for the surprisingly-busy Farmer's Market for coffee instead.   After a visit to the Urban Light display at LACMA, we ended the evening with much-anticipated meal from Mozza2Go.  It turns out there is no meat in a ginger pig.  Probably a good thing, as we ordered it from the dessert menu.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!