Brush with celebrity

Last Friday, 11/24/06, the day after Thanksgiving, I went to Los Angeles with a group of family and friends to celebrate my cousin's 35th birthday. We had a FABULOUS time! After having a delicious dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse, where I had an excellent Chilean Sea Bass, and an array of delicious appetizers and side dishes, we went to Club Les Deux , an exclusive Hollywood hot spot. At Club Les Deux, the group of us (19 strong) danced to a wild mix of current hip-hop, nostalgic 80s tunes and 90s light pop. The DJ left much to be desired, as there was ABSOLUTELY no flow between the songs, but we managed to have a good time anyway.

What was most eventful, though, was that our party was crashed by two of the biggest celebrities in the world! At around 1am, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears ran into our private room (positioned above the main dance area) and started dancing with us. Unfortunately, they also started smoking immediately .. really strong, smelly cigarettes. I say unfortunate because the room was filled with non-smokers. So, despite the excitement of having these two very famous, wealthy and successful women in our presence, we were all rather put off by the cigarette smoking. Nonetheless, we continued dancing until around 2am, at which time we all left. Subsequently, we heard that there were radio broadcasts stating that Paris and Britney crashed a private party and drove out all the partygoers. Just to be clear, we left because we were all exhausted from a long day of frivolity and indulgence. We didn't leave because Paris and Britney crashed our party! In fact, I should have commiserated with both of them regarding hiring me as a musician for their musical projects! But, it wasn't the place or time. I just wish I'd had the presence of mind to at least take a photo with them. Oh well! Next time!

Passing Strange

I went to see the play / musical Passing Strange at the Berkeley Rep. My aim in going was to support my incredibly talented, brilliant and beautiful friend Eisa Davis, who plays the role of the Mother in the story. However, I was literally blown away by how fantastic the show is. Written by the amazingly talented singer/playwrite/musician, Stew, the play tells the story of a young man as he discovers himself. The story is told through some great songs, hilarious dialouge, and contemplative narrative from Stew. I laughed so hard that I had to keep wiping back tears. Passing Strange is one of the best plays I've seen in a while. If you have the chance to see it, don't miss the opportunity!