One of the Bad Things About LA

Last night I drove all the way into Hollywood to see the Gutter Twins at the Avalon. The band sounded great. Dulli roared and Lanegan growled. From "God's Children" to "Live With Me" to "St. James Infirmary" the band rolled along not missing a beat. They closed the set with one of my new favorite songs, "Front Street." Dulli commanded the stage like he always does. He said goodnight. So far a wonderful night of rock and roll. Then the house lights came up. That's right...no encore. I was a little bummed and felt a little stupid standing there clapping and cheering for an encore. Then I got over it because I knew why there was no encore. The audience was awful. Even by LA standards it was an awful audience, and I'm not one of those people who thinks encores should be standard. Were there people screaming their heads off, clapping and dancing? There were but they only accounted for about a fifth of the audience. So, yes those us got screwed out of an encore. I consider it like being Kevin Garnett on all those years on an awful Timberwolves team. You can put as much heart and soul into it, but sometimes it's those around you that keep you from making the playoffs. After blasting through Idle Hands and seeing mostly blank stares, I started thinking that we wouldn't get an encore. Maybe it was the rainy night, but I've better crowds on worse nights. Maybe it was the Avalon, but a year ago it was one of the best crowds I've seen at the same venue. So, I don't know what it is, but I am getting a little tired of it. LA crowds on the whole tend to act too cool for school. Maybe I need to start seeing concerts in other states.