"Someone Told Me Its All Happening At The Zoo"

The Sunset strip circa 1964:



And a ride down Hollywood Blvd  and Sunset in the 80s:



Saw Paul Simon last night. He was great, the crowd, notsomuch. 
I would have rather of seen him at the music box the previous night, which is smaller, general admission, and standing, which I know would've been a much different energy. The Pantages show was a sea of the silver haired jewish Brentwood types , although the majority were strange people who didn't look like they were from LA, but more like they'd driven in from Ventura or somewhere of the like. 
The woman behind me with coke bottle glasses sang along to sound of silence while contributing a drum section on her purse. I was ready to turn around and wack her, and Steven grabbed me mid turn. The woman in front of me kept taking video on her ancient phone, which only recorded in a tiny thumbnail, and for 30 seconds at a time. The latter face caused her to constantly be turning it on and off.
Things like that kill me. What on earth are you going to do with 30 seconds of bad quality video of Diamonds on the Soles Of Her Shoes? Turn the damn thing off and enjoy the music.
 I was also out of my mind on chocolate bar pot. I know better, edibles make me feel like Im on mushrooms, but it was 4/20. It was a little overwhelming, but I had some breakthroughs mentally, which were needed and felt good. 

He did a very long encore, played practically every hit, sounded great, and we had a really good time. Just nice to have a break from salon centric stuff. We had fun too getting burgers beforehand at a place facing onto hollywood blvd and Ivar. I bitch and moan about condos coming in, and the loss of the L.A. of my childhood, but Jesus, Hollywood past Highland is so NOT gentrified. They were able to clean it up for a while, but the seedy contingent came back, with a vengence. People just....wandering. The most amazing people watching ever, pimps in red suits handing it down to hos, guys looking like they're between halfway houses pushing carts, mohawks, drunks, and families from the Midwest. Greatest show on earth.
We both needed a quick bite before the show, and ended up at a place called "Juicy Burger". Good burger, better view. 
The intersection of Hollywood and Ivar:

Hollywood Blvd, though I try to avoid it for a number of reasons, is one of the only places that feels like a city, in the way that only a grimy melting pot can. 
The crazy are drawn to it, as not only is the underbelly in the open there, with the stripper shops and unmarked buildings still heavily representing, but its also a place they can feel good in a way. 
They're not wandering just anywhere. Its Hollywood blvd! The other two equally notorious streets in LA (rodeo and sunset) they'd get kicked off of, but on Hollywood, they are embraced, and get a special kind of look of awe from tourists. Everyones part of the show.


 A favorite lyric (among many):


"Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself, how it's strange that some rooms are like cages, Sonny's yearbook from high school is down from the shelf and he idoly thumbs through the pages. Some have died, some have fled from themselves, or struggled from here to get there. Sonny wonders beyond his interior walls, runs his hands through his thining brown hair.”