Monday

Well here I am. Finally - I know.

Yours Truly sits here lamenting the absence of her very expensive bottle opener. It is at my old apartment, which is a block away. I've walked over twice, but received no response either time. I refuse to just buy another one because I justified the expense of the first as "an investment."

As a sign of these bailout times, I bought a bottle of wine from the 99¢ Store called "Thirsty Fish." It was either that or the Queen of Hearts. When faced with these two classy options I went with the one that appealed most to my inner lush.

All in vain.

Sorry I have been missing in action, but the good news is I am finally beginning to settle in.

I have a couple of adventures for you!

Last weekend I attended the Hot Chip after party at the Vanguard.

Vinyl does it better.







Then Wednesday I moseyed on over to Tribal Cafe after a two week NTG hiatus.

The terrible news is that Not The Government is ending their residency all together. Tribal Cafe was never Cafe Mariposa (May it rest in peace) and the turn out always faltered. The good news is the boys now have time to concentrate on bigger and better shows.

The band that opened for them - Vital Transformation - was some pretty impressive new jazz rock jam. Made me wish I'd had a jay tucked behind my ear.







I was told in a hush that this show was the second to last show of Not The Government's residency. I may have been projecting, but the atmosphere seemed fallen.

I'm a little heartbroken because the Wednesday night NTG shows had become a part of my weekly ritual, the cocoon of a metamorphic summer, and a beacon of friendship. This has been the ultimate summer of transition and as the Southern California autumn swallows up the sky with darkness, my nights in Echo Park fade into ephemera, collapsing toward entropy, scattered into the universe to gravitate together once again as something else.

I found myself resisting my own metamorphosis, terrified of shedding my former shape. But this is life. This is the grown up Liz Acosta. This is the grown up life of Liz Acosta. Nothing could have prepared me for the day I finally cut my own rent check.

I am not losing anything. I am gaining the opportunity for new adventures.

Last year around this time I would be returning to the cycle that has dictated my life for the past thirteen or so years. Now I go crashing into an alien life.

I am understandably anxious and apprehensive.

And very very excited.

Make sure you come to see the last Not The Government show this week!!!