Well Thought Out Twinkles

silversun pickups | MySpace Music Videos

But if Aubert's voice is the first Pickups identifier then a close second is Chris Guanlao's monster drums. Perched high above his band on an elevated stage with a glowing spotlight on him for the whole show, Guanlao tore it up. Wild hair flowing, he moved his arms at what appeared to be light speed, half the time fully extended above his head almost in some sort of holy surrender. I still can't figure out how he managed to stay on beat with one arm always raised above his head.

The Silversun Pickups played a blistering 90 minute set in what felt like ten minutes that included every song off of their latest disk, Swoon as well as crowd favorites from Carnavas including "Lazy Eye" and "Well Thought Out Twinkles." It was the first actual hometown show since their sophomore release in April and you could see that the long time on the road had done them good. They started huge on the first number, "Growing Old Is Getting Old" and didn't let up until the last distorted notes of the encore "Common Reactor." There was absolutely no breathing space or chance to think during that show. You just climbed aboard and let it take you. It's such a joy to see such a promising band reach it's full potential. They are no longer just a good band live, but a band that people have to go see.

The one thing that they didn't seem to have down is the flow of the show. The last song they did in the set was "Lazy Eye" which was tremendous and for the encore they ended with "Common Reactor." Encores are a chance to play either something no one's heard before like a cover song or a chance to hear everyone in the place belt out one of your best known songs. "Common Reactor" just doesn't fit either of those descriptions and so fell a little short as a grand finale. Compared to the red hot reception "Lazy Eye" got, it felt a little lukewarm for a last number.

Also receiving votes: Stanford

Jimmy's Bowl Picks:

BCS Championship: Florida vs Texas
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Ohio State
Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. Oklahoma State
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. TCU

Adam's Bowl Picks:

BCS Championship: Alabama vs. Texas
Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Ohio State
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Pittsburgh
Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Boise State
Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. TCU

Jamie Cat Callan Reading/Signing French Women Don't Sleep Alone
Book Soup welcomes Jamie Cat Callan, who will be presenting and signing her book French Women Don't Sleep Alone: Pleasurable Secrets to Finding Love. Learn how French women attract men by not following any "rules" or heeding Dr. Phil's advice. Callan will explain how to be as romantic, sensual, playful, and intense as a French gal; her book "gives readers a personalized, guided tour through the corridors of French love." See her today and learn more from 2-3:30 p.m.

A good number of people have already written off the squad from Utah, but herein lies what may be the biggest danger for the Galaxy: overconfidence. Despite the Galaxy's star power, they were unable to defeat Real during the regular season, instead registering a tie and a loss in their two matches. Now that the stakes are raised, the Galaxy are likely to want to do everything they possibly can to change that trend, but Real are a tough group.

A great match is expected today and in front of what is arguably the most colorful soccer environment in the States. Don't miss it!

Game Details

MLS Cup Final:
Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake

Sunday, November 22, 2009
TV: ESPN, Galavision - Radio: 1120 AM, 1150 AM

And, like their music, their live show last weekend at UCLA's Royce Hall was something the whole family could readily enjoy. Channeling the band's belief that "kids are natural thrill seekers, and our songs are pretty action packed", TMBG seamlessly melded puppets, pogoing drummers, hand clapping, singing in the round, and multiple confetti blasts before ending with Flood's Istanbul (Not Constantinople), instantly bringing the over 30 set back to their college years. As the last guitar notes faded in the dark hall, you could almost forget you weren't flannel and Doc Martin-clad, getting ready to hit the bars post-show. That is, until the band shouted "NOW IT'S TIME FOR STICKERS!!!" But even that appealed to the masses. I mean, who doesn't love free stickers?

Or at least they were for the first three numbers, but somewhere around "Crystal Visions" Pink seemed to have run out of gas. What was once a towering beast of a show, suddenly became a whimpering shadow of it's former self. It was as if someone had knocked the wind out of the group and they were deflating at a painfully slow rate, which took the form of long stretches of droning guitar punctuated by half-hearted drums. By "Count Backwards From Ten" when lead singer, Robbie Furze begins singing the chorus "Better off dead/Better off dead," you could look around the room and see that the crowd felt the same way. A good chunk of them took off half way through that number. And their cover of Otis Redding's "These Arms Of Mine" was frankly, one of the worst things I've ever heard coming off of a stage. No one wants the great O. covered by a droning shoegazey/industrial mess. It's like peeing on his grave. Stick to Jesus and the Mary Chain, guys. Seriously, soul is not for you.

But on their very last song, the Big Pink resuscitated their US debut, by throwing the musical equivalent of a Hail Mary pass in the form of their poppy single, "Dominoes." Like a patient who's just woke up from a seven year (seven song) coma, the Big Pink came back to life and shook the place down. Which made everyone wonder, "Where the hell was this for the past couple numbers? Why have you been torturing us with this uninteresting slop?" Perhaps they just don't have the stamina for a full set yet. Perhaps they need to go to the rock 'n' roll gym and practice hard. But man alive, if they ever get it together for the whole set, they will be unstoppable.

McClinton, a former personal trainer to the NFL stars who is now an actor and filmmaker, is hoping that this film will have the same sort of impact that that meeting in Florida had for Phifer. "We want let people know about this, it's an important issue that a lot of people feel very passionately about and we feel like something needs to be done." McClinton adds, "There's tons of money being made right now off of these guy's backs, they helped build this league, and they're being left high and dry."

The film features interviews with a wide range of perspectives. Ditka, a former Chicago Bears player and head coach holds nothing back while expressing his anger for the treatment, or lack there of, of his peers while sitting at the bar of his steakhouse while smoking a cigar. And then there's Baltimore Colts legend John Mackey. The five-time Pro Bowl tight end is shown in his assisted living home. The majority of the interview is done by his wife speaking on Mackey's behalf. The hardest hitting moment of the film comes when Mackey is shown having trouble recognizing family photos.

Ditka, who has lived a successful and lucrative life after football, doesn't need to be as vocal as he's been on the issue. He's still very much involved with the game and can be seen every Sunday on ESPN's "NFL Countdown" but is not at all afraid to rip the NFLPA. "He's like the Godfather of football, and you definitely get that from him when he lights up that cigar. These guys are like brothers, and he's just trying to speak on their behalf," says McClinton.

The film is full of examples of players reaching out to their peers and offering them help and support. "It really is like a fraternity with these guys," explains McClinton. At the center of the fraternity of player's anger is former NFLPA Executive Director, the late Gene Upshaw. The film was shot prior to Upshaw's passing, which is addressed at the end of the film with an update.

McClinton explains, "We didn't make this film to bash Gene Upshaw. It was more about the position he held. If you look today, under new leadership, nothing's changed."

One thing you won't find in this film, however, is footage from NFL games. McClinton explains, "The footage that NFL Films was going to let us use for the film wasn't what we were looking for. We were looking for the big hits you're used to seeing on Sundays, instead we were given shoe string tackles." To fill in for the lack of NFL footage, the filmmakers used hits from the college game. "You'll see even the college kids are taking big hits."

While the NFL and NFLPA may be at the center of this issue, McClinton would like us to know that he and his friend and business partner Phifer, still love this game. "Roman wouldn't be coaching right now if he didn't love the game. I still sit down and watch a game every Sunday. We both love the football and the NFL." He adds, "This is just one issue where we'd like to see some change from the league."

Catch Blood Equity this weekend at Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood

For Lodestone’s final production Chung has written a screwball comedy called Grace Kim and the Spiders From Mars, inspired by such screen classics as His Girl Friday, Annie Hall, and When Harry Met Sally. “I wanted to write something that would be accessible and funny,” says Chung. “But I also wanted the play to reflect our history. Whether you’ve been coming to our plays from the start or this is your first time, I hope you walk away with a sense of what Lodestone has meant to my colleagues and me.”

Grace Kim and the Spiders From Mars
Through Dec. 20
Grove Theater Center: 1111-B West Olive Avenue, Burbank (inside George Izay Park)
Thursdays (except Thanksgiving) through Saturdays at 8 pm ($12 and $10, $9 on goldstar.com)
(2-for-1 Thursday tickets if you say the code word “Ziggy Stardust” at the box office); Sundays at 2:00 p.m. ($1-minimum pay what you will, except on Dec. 20)

Our brunch cocktails arrived fairly soon after, and included a refreshing and brisk Bloody Mary for some, and other champagne cocktails for others, like a crisp Rose Kava, and a very understated (read: not really any flavor) Bellini. For the bargain price of free and unlimited however, we felt victorious and appreciative. Cheers!

But we were also hungry. As we sipped our drinks a few things began to happen as time wore on. First, we grew restless staring at both the menus that still sat before us and the pretty spectacular dessert buffet that faced two-thirds of our table. Then we grew indecisive about our eventual order. Then most of us decided we should start dessert first, since we'd long swallowed our tasty bread slices and gotten about halfway through our drinks, and had yet to order. Yes, it was nearly 40 minutes into our meal and we hadn't even ordered yet. There's leisurely, and then there's just plain long.

In order to get our server back to us we had to call over the older gentleman who seemed to be in charge of the shenanigans (we witnessed multiple times his frantic and dismayed walk from the hostess stand to the kitchen and his hand-waving chagrin when the ice cream at the dessert bar was down to a melty puddle). Eventually our server came over, and minus any sort of pleasantries or offer to help us choose or answer questions (and really, at this point that sort of good service would have been just for show since we could probably have taken an exam on the menu at this point, they'd been sitting in front of us for so long) took our orders.

For most of us the appetizer course was their seafood salad, which is a generously-portioned romaine salad mixed with bites of calamari, crab, and prawns and just a tiny bit too dressed in a mustard-heavy cream dressing reminiscent of a Caesar. Others at the table sampled a fresh tomato and mozzarella salad, a smoked salmon plate that had a perplexing tofu-based cream cheese, and a beet salad. The beet salad, mind you, was another Casa del Mix-up, when the diner was served an Eggs Benedict in its stead (an entree) as the rest of us were served our appetizers. First, find a server. Next, inquire why you didn't get your beet salad but someone else's entree. Then, wait for your salad. Luckily it didn't take too long, but, remember that entree. It might come back to the table later. In the meantime, good luck getting a twist of fresh-ground pepper for your salad; no one will come to your table to offer such a thing.

The pacing and taste of the meal proved to be on par and enjoyable when it came to the actual serve-and-eat segment. We didn't have to wait long after our appetizer plates were taken to be served our entrees. At our table were a few different selections from the menu's breakfast and lunch offerings, with a few of us opting to try the Eggs Benedict, a few the Lobster Club sandwich, one Skirt Steak and Frites, and one name-your-ingredients omelet.

Remember we asked you to keep that premature Eggs Benedict in mind? Well, we're pretty sure the Casa del Mar waitstaff and kitchen did, too, because it seems likely that the very same plate was kept aside for our table and returned to us at entree time. This is because it didn't take yours truly more than a moment to notice that piled upon the very hot plate was some very lukewarm-to-downright cold food. A tap of the yolk on the poached eggs didn't yield a warm, yellow gush, but rather a firm jiggle and a clammy feel. "Feel my eggs!" was the invitation to my friends and fellow-diners, who obliged and concurred. This was the same dish served erroneously a course before, or was at least plated and held on the hot plate too far in advance. Either way, as part of a $29 brunch it's not the kind of food that should be leaving the kitchen.

Our server, however, was not anywhere to be found. Or, rather, if we did spot him in the section he was tending to other tables and moving from them to other places, but never to us. No one came to ask us how we were doing, how things tasted. Once again, we called over the manager and asked for the wrong to be righted. (Mysteriously enough, when he entered the kitchen we soon heard a massive clatter, and for fun speculated his ire over the cold Eggs Benny prompted a Gordon Ramsay-style Hell's Kitchen-esque rant involving a thrown plate and a swift kick to the trash bin for good measure. More likely, someone dropped something. No matter, we all heard it in the dining room. Good times.)

A hot Eggs Benedict emerged soon (the yolks ran, hooray!) and was fairly tasty. The English muffin base was a bit too thin and well-done for my liking, but the eggs were nicely cooked, the Hollandaise not too thick, and the potatoes well-prepared and seasoned. Those dining on the lobster sandwich enjoyed the generous portion of lobster meat, but one had been given both the "ass" end and a mutilated center "piece" of tomato (sorry, but those wouldn't even make it onto a sandwich I made in my own home), and the potato chips served as a side were not anywhere near warm as promised. The omelet was enjoyed, and the skirt steak, well, "a skirt steak's a skirt steak," shrugged its eater. Brunch entrees: Good, but not great.

Ah, but dessert. The help-yourself table was laden with inviting sweets and goodies, including a sundae bar, a tiered cupcake tray bearing the goods from what our table's cupcake expert is certain is Vanilla Bakeshop, huge cups of butterscotch and chocolate puddings, small cake-like bites of cheesecake and tiramisu among others, crepes, and berry crumble. Most of us had indulged in mini-cupcakes and crepes pre-appetizer, but we all headed back for a course of sweetness to finish off the meal--now in its third hour, with many of our parking meters ticking impatiently outside. The desserts were the highlight of the meal.

With the bill came some lessons for us. First, never assume that when you're offered "flat or sparkling" that the "flat" option means tap. That glass bottle from which your water was served was actually labeled Evian, and your thirsty table may have been enjoying free cocktails, but you drank $27 dollars' worth of H2o--no wonder the joke goes that Evian is Naive spelled backwards. Consider us snookered! Second, never assume on a prix-fixe meal that the waiter can swiftly process credit cards for each diner (no matter that in this era of plastic as payment most restaurants have handled this burden with aplomb, patience, grace, and ease) because he will disappear with your payment for another long stretch of time. (You'd think by now they'd want to be rid of us, no?)

With the bill squared away, we emerged into the glinting late-autumn mid-afternoon SaMo sunlight, stuffed to the gills but not feeling satisfied. The flaws of the meal unfortunately outshone the merits, which is always a letdown, particularly when the outing was meant to be a pleasant weekend meal shared with the good company of food-loving friends.

The real kicker, however, came two-fold in the days to follow. First, the email informing me that @CasaDelMar was now following me on Twitter (so someone in the back office pays attention to customer service). Then, the text message reminding me that their text-for-free-booze promo ends Sunday November 22. So this is what I pass on to you, so that if you dare, you can at least drink for free for your possibly 3-hour mix-up meal. Just don't order the water.

ACOG has said that the reason for the change is that growing evidence has demonstrated that the risks accompanying medical procedures that follow an abnormal Pap smear -- many of which turn out to be for naught -- outweigh the benefits. According to the New York Times:

There are 11,270 new cases of cervical cancer and 4,070 deaths per year in the United States. One to 2 cases occur per 1,000,000 girls ages 15 to 19 — a low incidence that convinces many doctors that it is safe to wait until 21 to screen.

Since they're just guidelines rather than legislation, women still have the choice to get annual Pap smears (known as annual exams, and adding to the confusion) if they so choose.

If you're in possession of a uterus and you would like to get tested, Shirrell adds that Planned Parenthood offers Pap smears as well as "STD testing and treatment, birth control services, pregnancy testing and options counseling and much more."

SHAG: "Autumn's Come Undone"
Or, if you'd rather sip the traditional bubbly instead of a brew, check out the latest works by Josh Agle at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City tonight. So we read, this collection "represents a turning point for Agle, adopting darker themes and a deeper palette to explore life’s excesses." Get a sneak peak at the hedonism here. 8 p.m.

Want your event listed on LAist? Let us know!

An LA County Superior Court judge is "poised" to grant the district judgements against two employees--one who received $96,000 and another who got $52,000, according to a news release. A third teacher has settled for the full amount of $40,000. Teachers who owe smaller amounts--the average is $5,000--will be referred to a collection agency and if payment is still refused, ore lawsuits will be filed in 2010, he district promises.

10:00pm Crash Starz - During a blackout in LA Jocko Sims returns to help Dennis Hopper track down the drug dealer who may have murdered his daughter

11:35pm Late Show With David Letterman CBS - Actor Viggo Mortensen; comic Paula Poundstone; Lyle Lovett performs.

11:35pm The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien NBC - Actress Eva Mendes; Bon Jovi performs - see video at the end of this post.

12:00am Live at Gotham Comedy Central - Host Doug Benson; Moshe Kasher; Jarrod Harris; Brent Sullivan; TuRae; Harris Wittels; Donald Glover.

12:05am Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC - Actors Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner; Death Cab for Cutie performs.

12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Actor Neil Patrick Harris; David Gray performs

12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Elvis Costello performs.

Saturday

9:00pm Robin Hood BBC America - Robin tells the Outlaws Gisborne is joining them so he can honor his father's dying wish and save his half-brother.

10:00pm The Dish Style - American Idol Kris Allen guests

10:00pm The Graham Norton Show BBC America - Dawn French; Rod Stewart

11:25pm Saturday Night Live NBC - Host Joseph Gordon-Levitt; the Dave Matthews Band performs.

Sunday

8:00pm The Amazing Race 15 CBS - Tempers flare when a team breaks a promise; a stolen taxi leads to a team falling to last place.

8:00pm 2009 American Music Awards ABC - Fans votes determine which musical acts are honored at the annual ceremony at Nokia Theater in Los Angeles; featuring performances by the Black Eyed Peas, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Adam Lambert, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and more.

9:00pm Dexter Showtime - Hungry Man

9:00pm Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO - A returned favor costs Larry quality time with Cheryl.

10:00pm Storm Chasers Discovery - Reed pushes too close to a tornado and finds no place to hide.

10:00pm Californication Showtime - Hank's exploits are exposed; Charlie struggles to keep Marcy away from Rick Springfield.

Jon Bon Jovi acoustic at Lincoln Center NYC 11/16/2009 from Thomas Attila Lewis on Vimeo.

"An Evening With Jon Bon Jovi and Friends" was a performance offered only to American Express card holders. Proceeds from the $50 ticket went to charity and after the performance (which included audience Q&A) everyone was presented with a gift bag containing Bon Jovi's new album, a DVD of a documentary on the band called "When We Were Beautiful", and a hardcover book to accompany the film. Perhaps you aren't a Bon Jovi fan, but you should be aware of this series that American Express is involved with producing as an artist you are interested in might be their next featured performer. Word was spread on Twitter via the @AmericanExpress account and sold out in hours. For you Bon Jovi fans, you'll have to enjoy the band on Conan tonight and/or be one of the 50,000+ at the next concert instead of being one in a few hundred like this last Monday.

Why did you switch to the trumpet?
My older brother played trumpet pretty much from second grade on, and I think I wanted to play because of him. I never liked clarinet that much anyway. Then in high school I was in a jazz ensemble class that needed a trombone, so I switched over to trombone. Then at sixteen I decided I wanted to play guitar.

So when did you decide to take on Old Canes as a side project?
Well, that was the first time that I had played it for an actual audience and people really dug it and were encouraging me to record it. So when Appleseed went on hiatus I started recording the first record. Old Canes was kind of be a an outlet for me to do whatever I wanted it to. There were definitely much appreciated contributions that my friends made but 95%of it was mine.

Why was there a three and a half year gap between your first album and this one?
Well, I wrote a song when I had time. It's not like I was huddled in my basement for three years, working tirelessly. Every weekend I would put in a couple hours until a year ago when I actually start getting everyone over and recording parts. I would say for the first three years, I worked on it about a month's worth a time a year.

Where did you record it?
In my basement on some cheap recording equipment. It sprung from having a budget. A really small recording budget. It was slightly bigger than last time, though. The last time the deal I had with the record company was, "Buy me an eight track tape machine. If you don't like what I give you then you can resell it. No risk to you." (laughs) So that's where it stemmed from. I really enjoy recording in my basement. I also enjoy not paying $500- $700 dollars a day for a studio. It's nice to be able to tinker around and not have to worry about achieving a vision in a week.

What lessons did you learn recording the first record that you applied to the second?
Well, I've been recording since I was fifteen, but it was the first time that I had really produced a record. It was nice to record a record just for itself and not because I was trying to achieve something.

Where did you get the name the Old Canes?
There is a band called Ten Grand and this guy named Bob, who's in that band, named it. I was pretty far along in recording the four song demo and I didn't have a name yet, so I was asking everyone what would they call their folky side project. I got a lot of really stupid names, but Bob came up with Old Canes. I made sure he was cool with me taking the name...twice and he said yes.

Chris Crisci I Photo courtesy of Cobra Camanda Publicity

What inspired "Little Bird Courage"?
I wrote it in my basement. There is a cute little story that's going around in a few different reviews that says that I was singing it to my wife when I wrote it. Which is adorable, but completely untrue. It is a lot about her, but it's not like I was singing to her as she was standing in the corner. She's on it, though.

She's singing in that song?
Yeah, she hates when I tell people that. She doesn't like the attention. She told me when I was writing the credits, "Don't put my name in there." But I was like, "You have to be in there. You're a singer. You deserve props for what you did."

"Trust" is a very dark song about how you can't trust anyone including your own family. Who did you write that about? What sort of day were you having?
I have a son. He just turned one last month and and I was writing the first few lines with him in mind. It's just kind of a warning. It shouldn't be taken too seriously. The song kind of took a very paranoid point of view. It's written by someone who is so paranoid that they missing out from the positive things in life. The song is a warning about not letting fear control your life. You've also got to understand that my songs are written with heavy dose of fiction.

Old Canes - Trust


What was the worst show you ever played?
That's easy. Baltimore, 2004 right when the album was coming out we played at this place called Autobar. The two other bands that played didn't promote the show at all. They didn't bring anybody and they were local! There's no excuse for that. So I got very drunk and it was just me and Junior playing drums. At one point Junior threw a stick at me because I wouldn't shut up.

What were you saying?
I told everyone to turn around and play pool. I got really surly for no good reason. It was ugly.

What is the weirdest thing you ever seen in the audience?
Does the shows I've played with Appleseed count?

Sure.
We played a show in Utah. It was pretty early on in our touring days. We had just finished playing and there was this kid that collapsed on the floor screaming. Apparently his girl had just left him and he was so distraught that he lay on the floor and starts screaming. So we stop playing, because we thought he was injured. He was making the most bloodcurdling noise you've ever heard and writhing on the floor. It was horrible.

Jesus. No wonder she left him. Do you have a favorite local band at the moment?
Muscle Worship. They sound somewhere between Polvo and Braid and surf rock.

Okay final question, if you were going to book a gig in Heaven and in Hell who would you have headline?
For Hell I would have Glenn Beck headline, just because I want him there. Him and his whole crew. They can do whatever they want down there. And for Heaven? My family can play that...and everyone else. Fuck it. Everyone else in the world can come to that gig minus Glenn.

Fair enough. Well thank you for talking with us.
Thank you!

Be sure to catch Old Canes at the Viper Room. Tickets are $12.

Set Times:
Boom Boom Satellites at 12am
Old Canes at 11pm
I Will Never Be The Same at 10pm
Sol Giant at 9pm
The Salutation at 8pm

New Moon
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
The Blind Side
Planet 51
Defamation
Red Cliff

Reviews

New Moon
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
The Blind Side
Planet 51
Defamation
Red Cliff

Previews

New Moon

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

The Blind Side

Planet 51

Red Cliff

There is typically one player that represents a championship team. With the Lakers, this is Kobe Bryant. If Kobe was out for 11 games and came back, he'd get the roars of a returning Roman emperor. Gasol might be the most important general, but he is not the emperor.

The Lakers have won four titles this decade and are looking to start off the 2010s on the right foot. There will be a time when the Lakers come back to earth when these years are dissected and analyzed. At that time, Gasol will be exalted. He made the team great. He's the only player I have ever seen that Kobe seems to enjoy playing with (or passing the ball to). I agree with Bill Plaschke when he referred to Gasol as the "glue" holding the Lake Show together.

Down Figueroa and a few blocks west on Sunset sits Chavez Ravine. It's empty and Dodger fans everywhere are wondering what the future will bring them. Unlike the Lakers or the Trojans (or even to an extent UCLA in basketball), the Dodgers haven't won a title in over 20 years. They don't expect to win the World Series every season. They hope to. They dream to.

The Dodgers and Lakers fan bases are the same people, but lately the Ravine and Staples are two very different prisms through which to watch sports.

I recall a warm night in June when Pau Gasol came to Dodger Stadium to toss out the opening pitch. The Spaniard wore a white Dodgers home jersey and towered over everyone shaking his hand. He was cheered. Gasol watched most of the game with the same intensity and joy he exhibits when he plays his own sport.

Sometime late in the game, Gasol stood up to leave early in the oldest of Dodger fan traditions. That's when it happened. A deluge of applause. The world stood still for the Spaniard. I was so close it was impossible not to notice. This was his personal victory lap. Dodger fans know what Manny did to change the culture of his young team. They knew Pau did the same thing in the most subtle of ways. Pau crafted the contenders into champions.

Maybe Pau noticed his subpar receiving last night at Staples Center. Maybe he didn't. I'm not sure it matters. He was at Dodger Stadium that night when fans of a different team playing a different sport rose to let him know how much they cared.

Believe me when I say it: Gasol knows how Los Angeles feels about him.

DANCE

Reggie Wilson and His Fist & Heel Performance Group premieres The Good Dance tonight and tomorrow at UCLA’s Royce Hall. “Created jointly with Congolese choreographer Andreya Ouamba, The Good Dance-dakar/brooklyn examines the metaphoric, historic, and real-world parallels between the Mississippi and Congo rivers and their respective cultures.” 8 pm. Tickets $24-$48. ($15 UCLA students).

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