Rock El Casbah

Now that James brought it up (in what will no doubt be his first and last post :P ), I'll share about our experience with "Rock El Casbah" this weekend.

Our evening started with some delicious sushi at R-23.
http://www.r23.com/
Our favorite was the Spicy Scallop.

We then headed to the Alexandria Hotel in the heart of Downtown LA.
http://www.thealexandria.net/
Walking in we felt as if we had flashed back to the 1920's; it had a haunting elegance to it. The hotel is undergoing renovation that will turn it into affordable housing. Apparently the hotel is haunted http://www.jeffdwyer.com/archives, I'm glad I didn't read these stories before I went, can you imagine me running into the Lady in Black?! Hell no!!!

At the Alexandria we were treated to SISSY, a play by Ricardo A. Bracho that explores many issues that Angelinos face. I had such a fun time watching it, not only was it inspired by revolutionary writers, but it also included great 70's song. I encourage you to support the play!
http://companyofangels.org/zencart1207/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_66&products_id=181&zenid=72f2c7b2222b42ba41ceb0d1b1f3065c

We planned to do some bar-hopping afterwards, but when we left the hotel we heard music and a loud audience. We realized that it was a Grand Performances show at the California Plaza.
http://www.grandperformances.org/
As we approached the venue we figured out that the music we heard was Middle Eastern, I hesititated, wondering if it was worth climbing the 100 steps to get there! We convinced ourselves to go and to our surprise discoverd a crazy party happening! The performer was Rachid Taha, I swear this man is the Juan Gabriel of the Middle Eastern community! Damn were they excited to see him. We naturally joined the party and ended up dancing in a huge circle, I haven't laughed so hard in weeks! When James mentioned "Rock El Casbah", he was referring to Rachid's biggest hit, which, I found out today from my students, is also a song by The Clash.

We ended the night at The York with Nicki...good times!
http://www.theyorkonyork.com/