I Luv Largo, Part II

I made it to Largo again tonight to catch a benefit reading by Glasgow Phillips, the author of "The Royal Nonesuch." His reading was funny, he seems like a genuinely nice guy, and I highly recommend the book to my fellow ageing Gen X friends.

The musical guest for the evening was Fiona Apple. She is very petite, very dramatic, and blessed with a very good voice. She has become something of a jazz chanteuse of late.

The opening comedian looked so familiar... I couldn't quite place him... and then I figured it out! He played the hippie high school guidance counselor on that beloved cancelled TV show, "Freaks and Geeks."

No Joke

Last night I made it to Largo to see Patton Oswalt (celebrity sighting: Lisa Loeb). One of the comedians who opened for him was joking about all the rats in his New York apartment and how he would catch them running from the couch to underneath his refrigerator. I felt so relieved that at least I didn't have to deal with that problem in L.A.!

At about 1 a.m. I went down to my kitchen, flipped on the light, and a rat scurried under the refrigerator.

Another sleeping pill. I tried to calm down with the thought that at least the rat was downstairs. In the morning, though, I found two pellets in the upstairs bathroom.

I'm putting out glue traps tonight and barricading my bedroom.

I knocked on the door of my very cute neighbor and his girlfriend to tell them about the rat and ask if they could also call the landlord. I was still in my gym shorts, having gone to the gym and then driven to five different stores looking for glue traps. I was sweaty and stuttering and I dropped my mailbox key and then couldn't find it. If this was a movie, it would have been the moment my neighbor would have realized he was falling in love with me.

Alas, this is not a movie.

I Luv Largo

I'm very lucky to live within walking distance of Largo, my favorite club in Los Angeles. This month alone they are featuring the musician John Doe and the comedians Margaret Cho, Patton Oswalt, and Sarah Silverman. I feel more comfortable there than I do at, say, Spaceland, where I am perhaps a bit over-the-hill for the thrift store set.

I need to make a concerted effort to get to Largo more often, as I moved to L.A. for the number of creative people doing really sharp work here. Not the "People" people, but the actually interesting ones. I should put the job concerns on the back burner for a spell and try to get in touch with that part of L.A.