Last night, I stood in front of the mirror as part of the pre-club ritual of self-examination. I analyzed my outfit briefly just to make sure that I don't look like a complete trainwreck. Then I came to a shocking realization. This outfit-- black sweater that is a little too large, black kilt, black leggings and black ballet flats-- might just be the same outfit that I wore the Friday night that my barely-teenage friends and I snuck into Pump Up the Volume at the Granada Hills UA. I can't confirm this, as I haven't seen any of those girls since high school graduation, but I am pretty sure of this. I am also fairly certain that the red lipstick and black eyeliner combo was part of the Liz package at that point in time. The hair is different, though. I had a perm then, something I will never repeat. The fifteen-year cycle of fashion is fairly frightening and something that is difficult to recognize before one reaches the latter-half of the 20s.
The day before, I stood outside of a building on Cahuenga (say it with me: kuh-wang-uh) with another journalist waiting for our producer and a girl walked passed me and smiled. We were wearing nearly identical outfits: black sweaters (the staple of the ex-goth wardrobe); gray skirts; black leggings and flats. She knows what I know, leggings are awesome and we should all rejoice in the fact that they are back in fashion.
Leggings are especially fierce when worn with ballet flats because you can feel like a dancer, even if your posture is terrible and you're nowhere near lithe. Dancers always look fierce. For proof, look up pics of Martha Graham. Ballet flats, however, are the worst possible shoes anyone can own, especially if you are like me and have weak ankles and flat feet. They are terrible on the back and fall apart quickly. If you understand this, then you realize that the best bet is to get your ballet flats from Payless for $10 and then wear them sparingly.
The girl who sang on 11hz Robot's Arcade Fire cover (re-composed on Gameboys) wore ballet flats. Hers were hot pink and looked great against her black-and-white striped tights. Striped legwear should be the next big thing (Rivka from Mad Happy was also wearing stripes, although hers were in an equally cool multi-colored pattern), but that probably won't happen. Back in the pre-Hot Topic days, a lot of my friends would drive out to Hollywood to spend $18 on a pair of striped tights. I had a secret, though. Since striped tights were only worn by teenage misfits, they hardly sold at the cheerleader-friendly mall store Contempo Casuals. That said, one could always find striped tights in a variety of colors for $3.
Shall we move on from fashion issues? I think the answer is yes.
Before the show, I hung around with Mad Happy and a few of their friends, chatting and listening to the jazz band play on the first floor of the Grand Star. One of their friends had just moved out to LA from Tulsa, so I gave him the lowdown on the city. They're all really interesting people and managed to spark an idea for a story that could possibly come to fruition in the future. I found out that Octavius, the promoter of Data Age, is also the new co-host for Demolisten on KXLU. That said, I ended up running into Fred, who has hosted the show for years, later on that night. He told me about Explogasm's gig the previous night. Apparently, the band was invited to headline a house party in La Puente. Midway through the first song, a police helicopter hovered above the backyard and several cars showed up to break up the bash. I tried to picture what a cop might think looking down from the helicopter to see a giant fake penis and a guy running around in tights and a Santa Clause beard, amongst other ridiculous costumes.
Data Age itself is a good time, fairly mellow with a focus on band performance, as opposed to dancing. Most of the performers were of the laptop and modified Casio variety, churning out music that was both fairly challenging and accessible. In case you didn't catch it earlier, I was quite taken by 11hz Robot's cover of "Wake Up," as the filtered vocals gave it a This Mortal Coil sort of vibe. Intercom and Moscow Coup Attempt also produced some fine music. I didn't get to see Letting Up Despite Great Faults.
As has become usual, I really enjoyed Mad Happy's performance. They write some incredibly catchy songs and have some killer beats. Plus, watching them dance with each other, shifting their intense gazes between each other and the crowd is really endearing. I hope that eventually they can put on a full-blown stage show with DJs and big lights. In the meantime, though, you can catch them Monday night at Il Corral. San Diego people can catch them Tuesday at Scolari's Office and Fresno folks will have the chance to get Mad Happy on Wednesday at Tokyo Garden. In addition, if there is anyone from Colorado reading this, the band will be opening for Dressy Bessy in Boulder on 4/22.