Beach Bum Mini-Tour
Thursday, August 17, 2006
What: Ercoles, Abbott’s Habit, Inti-Illimani.
Where: Manhattan Beach, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier
Cost: $36 for food, drinks, parking, and music CD
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars
I love tours. On Thursday I took a mini-tour along the coast, from Manhattan Beach to Venice to Santa Monica. This one was less extravagant than the hipster tour of Silver Lake.
I started off at Ercoles, a local dive bar in Manhattan Beach. I was at least half the age of all the people there. Regardless, it was interesting listening to all the regulars chat it up with the workers about baseball. The cook had a little window that opened up to the street through which he talked to his homies chilling outside. I ordered a Stella and a juicy, delicious 1” thick burger. It was dripping with mayo, ketchup and mustard, but the juiciness of that thick ass patty catapulted it to my top five list of best burgers ever.
- Howard’s Bacon and Avocado Burger
- Friend BerkCruzer’s made-from-scratch beef and onion burger
- Ercoles juicy burger
- The Counter burger with grilled onions, roasted peppers, avocado, Dijon balsamic dressing
- Original Tommy’s chili burger
Then I made a quick stop in Abbott’s Habit, a local Venice café, for an iced chai. So bourgie of me. The place was decorated like a small middle-school cafeteria, but the rich bohemian crowd seemed to enjoy kicking it there. A couple parties of older ladies sat in the tables near the front and a couple guys on laptops sat in the back. The waiting area was full of stylish women.
Then I drove over to Santa Monica and like a true tourist, I went to the Pier. Every Thursday this summer they have a free concert on the Santa Monica Pier sponsored by Amoeba Music. The performing act for this Thursday was Inti-Illimani, a Chilean band. From the Washington Post taken from the Cal Performances website:
Inti-Illimani stands today as Chile's ambassador of human expression, its unique sound a mantra for peace in the world and within ourselves. Springing from traditional Chilean roots and playing on more than 30 wind, string, and percussion instruments, the group's combination of instrumentals and vocals captures the spirit of sacred places, people's carnivals, daily lives, loves, and pains—all combining to paint an extraordinary cultural mural. Enough to raise anyone's spirits—a program full of melodic energy, rhythmic vitality, and exotic timbres.
I heard them playing all the way from Ocean Avenue as I was walking over. There were 8 guys each playing different instruments, all of them at the top of their form. Some of their songs are instrumental, some have one singer, and some have all of them singing. I didn’t understand much, but the songs themselves alternated between upbeat and uplifting. There were about 400 people in the crowd all bobbing to the beat. There was a big truck with a videocamera on top and a giant spotlight, and bubbles were blown over the audience the entire time. I spotted a baby in his mother’s arms being bounced to the beat, and then he threw his arms in the air and bumped it to the beat as well. There was a lady standing next to me who was by herself too, and she translated for me some of what the bandleader Jorge Coulon said in between songs -- how the world is actually a small place and their music and culture tries to bring people together. I thought they succeeded in their efforts quite well. I bought their CD, Grandes Exitos, which the guy told me is the CD to get to know them. Driving home on the 10, windows open and music blasting, I thought about how even if I try I can never truly be alone in LA, especially when I get the opportunity to spend a balmy summer night outdoors surrounded by hundreds of people enjoying an amazing concert.