Monday, April 07, 2008

SIR ELTON JOHN AND HIS MARIACHI BAND!

It's Monday, and traffic this morn was a nightmare due to a horrible accident involving some police cars on my freeway to work. But your positive and inspiring comments on my last post make up for today's mess! Thanks a million to all ye who take the time to read and share your thoughts!
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Saturday night, we took my visiting cousin from Oklahoma (she used to live with me, then got married) to La Fonda, a well-known Mexican restaurant on Wilshire Blvd. near Alvarado, very close to Downtown Los Angeles. The area is kind of scuzzy, but not too bad once you get into the place. It'd been at least over a decade since I last went there and their food is pretty mediocre and a bit expensive, but it's the live mariachi show one pays for really. I mean, DAMN; about 10 well-trained professional mariachi band performers, who all take turns singing one tune after another and each of them is well-versed and expertly trained in their respective instrument; a mariachi group typically consists of trumpets, violins, a giant bass guitar, and basic guitars. These guys know how to play and it is a real treat to hear them live! They are simply fantastic, and anyone living in or visiting L.A. must go see them! They're all in sync, the one girl in the band sings beautifully, and some of those young boys in their charro uniforms look rather handsome/hot I must say! They play so well, it was almost like listening to a perfectly produced recording! The crowd was loving them (Spanish and non-Spanish speaking alike), and the dancing and carrying on was very lively! I had a great great time, as did my whole family. I think I may upload some pics of this event soon.
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I watched a terrific movie that I'd like to recommend starring the always superb Judi Dench called Mrs. Henderson Presents. Bob Hoskins co-stars as well as does the very cute winner of British Pop Idol Will Young, and they, along with the rest of the cast are amazing! What an entertaining film this was, and pretty much based on true events that happened in London just as WWII was about to break out. I urge you to see this flick; a musical similar to Cabaret! The kid-friendly Alvin and the Chipmunks was light and fun to sit through. Yes I know, a grown man like me watching these children's movies, but they take me away from some of the dreariness of the world and uplift me really.

Charlton Heston was a very fortunate man and had an extraordinary life. A bit too wooden and over-the-top in his acting style for me, but he sure was in some truly unforgettable movies, and now he has left our dimension as an immortal Hollywood legend. Remember how controversial he was in his last few years for being president of the NRA?

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Last tidbit to share with you: I was lucky enough to find pretty decent seats to Sir Elton John's upcoming concert in Anaheim, CA on April 19th! I AM SO EXCITED! Ain't it freakin' sweet?!

9 comments:

The Art of Trey said...

Please post the pictures. Sounds like a lot of fun and pictures are worth a thousand words or something like that.
Great about the Elton John concert! Have fun!

molly said...

ugh i cant stand charlton heston. im not the type to wish death on anyone but i cant say i was saddened in the least when i heard he'd passed on. im only sorry he didnt accidentally shoot himself in the head from keeping a firearm under his bed.

ok that was harsh
some joker quotes to cheer us up?

"You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?"

"Can it truly be said that I have a bat in my belfry?"

dit said...

I love that part of Wilshire Blvd. The "seedy / dodginess" mixed in between old architecturally wow buildings.

Can we pry that gun from Charleton's "Cold Dead Hands" now?

Oh, do enjoy Elton's show. He is amazing. His show in Vegas is great too. Such an entertainer.

Anonymous said...

I expect a detailed review of your night with Elton. I'm jealous.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

I love kids movies and if they feature rodents all the better!!

terrific that you are getting to see sir elton in concert.

when I heard the news about charlton heston, my immediate reaction was "oh, I thought he was dead" ... but maybe that was only his sense of compassion that had died....once he was cool, but then around 1980 I his turn right pretty much killed any respect I once had for him.... once he had advocated civil rights but something happened to him, in the last 30 years he rallied against affirmative action, against gay rights, against the right of women to abortion, and for censorship of music lyrics. odd, very odd....

Bobby D. said...

I too thought heston died just a few years back. oh well. Soylent Green is people, people! other than that--didn't care for him on any level.

Hey Wat--did you see Fanny Ardant in "the woman next door" with Depardieu ? You had to have seen it.

I think that is some amazing movie-- powerful, and real.

M- Filer said...

congratulations on the elton tickets, I would love to see him perform. I love his stuff from the 70's...ah Levon!

Tiny Dancer!

Bobby D. said...

Wat, I love Judi Dench--did you see the film where she and Cate Blanchett are teachers? Notes on a Scandal might be the title--Pls give a mini review if you saw it--

LBIC said...

There's this mexican restaurant in Puerto Rico that has an amazing Juan Gabriel interpreter. I spent my 18th birthday there and don't remember the food but I remember that guy was awesome.