Thursday, May 23, 2013

LA Nights

So, I've given you the lowdown on my daytime adventures in Los Angeles in my last two posts.  Now it's onto LA nights...


Los Angeles really is a great place to visit ahead of Viva Las Vegas, as it is just a one hour flight away, and there are so many fun pre-parties in the lead-up to VLV!

On one of our first nights in town we went to one of the Reverend Martini's events at Viva Cantina over in Burbank, with music provided by our friend, DJ Rockin' Vic.  The Rev Martini also now runs the late night Juke Joint at Brendan's pub during Viva.


As far as DJs go, Rockin' Vic plays exactly the type of music that I like to listen to and dance to.  So, of course, we danced.  You don't even need me to tell you how I hydrated between dances, but I will anyway - with giant margaritas, that's how!


The following night, we switched up the rockin' music for a more gypsy, jazzy, swingy kind of vibe, downtown at The Gorbals.  Hidden away in low lighting, with live music courtesy of The California Feetwarmers, this place had a totally relaxed, speakeasy feel to it.  I say speakeasy, although, it took so long to get served, that I gave up on trying to procure myself a drink.  Talk about prohibition...


Saturday night was the big Viva pre-party at the School of Rock'n'Roll in Pomona.  Music was provided by Big Sandy and The Fly-Rite Boys, Ernie V and The Steady Rollers, and DJs T-Bone, Satoshi, Taka and Big Chuy.


Put on by Real Gone Prod, this monthly event is held at an American Legion club house and boasts a big hall with a fabulous dance floor and strong, cheap drinks!  We had an absolute blast - the DJs were spot on with their musical choices, and the bands were great (you can't go wrong with Big Sandy)!


We had a great time catching up with friends, and I also got to meet two vintage bloggers in real life that night - Dollie of Rockabilly Socialite, and Missy of Technicolor Cutie!


Loverboy and I danced....a lot!!!  The music was so jumpin' that it was impossible to stand still!  I have pinched the below photos taken by Miss Sailor Charlie who was the photographer for the event.  How sharp does my sweetheart look?  He is one cool cat!


The night ended with me serenading Big Sandy in the street, with my rendition of his song 'Pretty Girls Everywhere', and our sat nav conking out for some reason - luckily we were still able to navigate our way home, and in the dark at that!


The next night was spent in the luxurious setting of the Cicada Club.  This venue is LA art deco at it's finest, and Sunday nights feature live music and dancing.


Alas I did not have any era-appropriate outfits with me, but I enjoyed being amidst the 1920s decor, sipping on a fancy cocktail and being entertained by the musical stylings of Janet Klein.


It was this night that I met fellow European blogger Laurence (and her husband Sylvain) of Lost in the 50's.  We had a good chat and took some photos...


We ended our classy night out with a trip to the In-N-Out drive-through...


There's nothing quite like chomping on an animal-style burger, fries and a shake when wearing a cocktail dress, and tuxedo, respectively.

On Monday night, we headed back to Burbank, this time to Joe's, where there was a night of live music and DJ Turkey from Paris on the decks.  It was packed!  We didn't dance so much to the bands, but when Turkey came on at the end of the night, and the room opened up a bit, we tore up that dance floor, that's for sure!


DJ Turkey is another one who plays all the music that gets us dancing, and we are determined to go to one of his nights in Paris at some point in the not-too-distant future.


I also ran into fellow blogger Dollie again that night!


We had a really enjoyable evening at Joe's, which was put on by Mark 'Torch' Tortorici, and I'm sure that if I lived in LA, I would attend this night regularly.  Especially as the Mexican restaurant across the street celebrates 'Margarita Mondays' with happy hour prices on food and drinks.  Yum.


On our last night in LA, we met up with friends at the Monty Bar for Chills 'N' Fever.  This bar is big, with high ceilings, low-lighting and plush leather booths.  There wasn't too much dancing going on, but we were still compelled to get up on the floor numerous times, as the music was great.


What we discovered on this trip, is that clubs in LA really provide great music, which is fun to dance to.  By this, I mean that they play a lot of r&b, jump blues and rock'n'roll!  Granted, a lot of clubs on this trip played host to DJs from France, which means that the music must also be on point in Paris!


We managed to pack a lot of fun into our eight day stay in Los Angeles, and I just wish that we could return more often!

18 comments:

  1. Nice pictures! I have still not done my VLV posts... too much pictures...
    Do you plan to go back to VLV next year?

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    1. Thanks Laurence! I know what you mean - it took me so long to get round to doing these posts, as I had so many photos to edit and it was all very overwhelming!

      Yes we are going to VLV next year - hotel already booked! :) You?

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  2. Looks like you had lots of fun! I'm glad you enjoyed all that L.A. has to offer! love those pictures from the school of rock roll. They are my favorite dancing shots from that night! Too bad I didn't introduce myself that nigt-I was mostly stuck at the door- ;) Thanks for giving the show a good review! My husband Charlie cares so much about putting on a good show and he appreciates all the support he can get!
    Thanks again!

    Claudia

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    1. Thanks so much for leaving a comment here, Claudia - I wish we would have gotten to meet in person!!! We had THE BEST time at the School of Rock n Roll, and it's clear that Charlie puts in a lot of effort to make it a super fun night! We are so glad that it was happening whilst we were in town. I was also super happy to have the photos as keepsakes - I love it when clubs have their own photographers to capture shots from the night! :) xxx

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  3. Looks like you had a lot of fun!! Love the skirt you wore to the party in Pomona!

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    1. Thank you!!!! It was a really fun trip, and we made the most of it, that's for sure! ;)

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  4. I love, love, love your Saturday night outfit and accessories!

    I would pay to see you serenading Big Sandy. I bet he really got a kick out of that.

    You and Aaron both look so dapper for your night at the Cicada Club.

    What an absolutely great trip you had to L.A.!

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    1. Thanks Wendi!!! As much as I love wiggle skirts, I definitely love the whoooshhhhhhh of circle skirts when dancing!

      Hahahhah!:)

      Thank you! The Cicada Club was super fun, although I would like to go back when there is a more jumpin' band playing, so I can really get my dance on!

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  5. We were at all of the same places...just on opposite nights!!! Next year we need to party when you guys are in town!

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    1. Booooooooo! I really wish we would have gotten the chance to hang out! We will probably visit another city ahead of Viva next year....but you are going to be in Viva (RIGHT?!) so I'll see you there! :)

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  6. Wow you two always look amazing. It's so awesome that your outfits compliment each other so well. It looks like a great time. We usually high-tail it out of LA before nightfall. My hubby thinks we're all gonna get gunned down. I'm more afraid of getting mugged than shot.

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    1. Thank you so much Mariela! I'm a city girl, born and bred, so I am totally used to being in a big city at night. Plus, we were always driving everywhere!

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  7. More fantastic snaps of L.A., and you and your beau look terrific in every single one! You managed to do all the things that I love to do, but never seem to have the time for...Janet Klein...Big Sandy...dancing! *Sigh* I'm so glad you had such an awesome trip! Cheers!

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    1. Thank you very much Lis! We had a fabulous trip - you gotta make some time to do all those fun things too!!!

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  8. So much fun in your post. I love your skirt and hair accessory. Beautiful! It looks like you ran into alot of people you knew:)

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    1. Thank Joanna! Yes, we did get to see a lot of friends whilst in LA - and also make some lovely new friends too! :)

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  9. Ahhh both of your outfits are AMAZING!! I am jealous of all of your crazy night outs, you sure know how to have a good time :D

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    1. Awww THANK YOU!!!!! Yes, we can be quite the party animals! :P

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