Hi!
I slept on buying LA tickets. I’m looking for 1-2 tix for either night. In the meantime, I have my CashorTrade alerts set up. If anyone has face value tix available, let me know!
**I know it’s not Despacio but this forum seems more lively than the Soulwax one. Mods feel free to delete if not allowed here.
Just came back from Japan - caught the audio bug. Specially, I loved being in kissatens and vinyl bars with the giant speakers pumping jazz.
My current setup:
Technics SL-1210MK2
Focusrite 4Pre
Pro-ject Phono Box
Phono Box
2 Adam A7X speakers
Basically — my set up is a hodgepodge of various items I’ve used for producing music and DJing. My vinyl collection ranges from Grateful Dead to 60s Jamaican ska to Japanese jazz.
I’m interesting in keeping the Technics turntable and building out a system with new a new amp and speakers. Aesthetically, I love large funky looking speakers — like this — https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZfmx8pByN/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Or this — https://www.instagram.com/p/C\_mbdR5S4IH/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Right now, I’m looking for ideas for brands/makes to seek out on OfferUp, marketplace etc. I’d say $1000ish is the speaker budget.
Thank you!
Personally, I’m all about the pizza at Laurel Supply.
Laurel Supply is a bougie new grocery store in Weho — feels like Bristol Farms mixed with Erewhon to me.
Anyways, their slices cost around $8. Each slice is about the size of 2 standard pizza parlor slices. The pizza is behind a counter and has to be served to you by staff, so no need to worry about wook contamination at the buffet. I don’t love the prices, but the pizza is very good and one slice is filling. You can also order whole pies.
Curious about other grocery stores with good pizza scenes?
4 new bags just arrived in the mail from Traffic.
It’s 7 PM and it’s taking every ounce (or gram?) of restraint not to brew a cup right now. Who else is a fan of Traffic? I’ve only had Love Buzz before, excited to rip into these bags.
Here’s what’s on deck:
https://www.trafficcoffee.com/products/marcelo-flavio-competition-lot
https://www.trafficcoffee.com/collections/single-origin/products/oma-fontule
https://www.trafficcoffee.com/collections/coffee/products/la-colmena-geisha
Happy Friday ya’ll. May your garden bring you some joy this weekend 👨🌾
This always happens. I go away for 4th of July weekend and come back to dozens of caterpillars across my tomato plants. Thankfully I caught them before they could destroy anything…but I had to smush many of them, some I relocated to the street.
Anyone else dealing with these right now? And does anyone try to grow them into butterflies? I’m also not sure if they turn into butterflies or moths?
🐛
Yup. July 3 - saw plenty of dogs. Lots of folks were surprised when the shuttle parking lot attendant told them their dogs weren’t allowed on the shuttle or on the trails.
I heard one family talking about how their dog would be fine left alone in the car while they hike because their car has pet mode…
Also ran into a someone walking a dog on Congress Trail.
Happy birthday, America!! 🙃😮💨
Driving up from LA to Three Rivers. Looking for recs on:
**anywhere worth stopping between LA and Three Rivers for lunch, coffee, pastries
**Immediate Three Rivers area — anything that is open before 8 am for coffee, pastries, bagels, breakfast — food before entering Sequoia
**favorite place to grab food in the park in 2026? Personally, I eat anything from Burgers to pizza so open to all suggestions
** Best takeout in Three Rivers for dinner. And any good pizza?
Thank you!!
For those who have attended World Cup games at SoFi — anything interesting to note?
Are there unique fan activations in the parking lot or in the stadium?
What’s the official team merch situation like?
Is tailgating in the lots allowed?
Do vendors sell bootleg shirts outside?
Did you end up with good souvenirs?
Really just looking for any interesting tidbits and can’t miss things to keep an eye out for.
Thanks!
Which older artists have put out new bodies of works over the past 5 years? Any standout albums to check out?
Thank you!
Before heading to Japan, I made a list of about 50-60 records I would love to look for. To my pleasant surprise, I found many of these available to purchase. I ended up purchasing around 20 records (photo 1), with a few for friends. Most of these fit inside a Disc Union carrying case and I brought them on my flight. I had to carry about 3 in a separate tote bag.
The shops I visited include Disc Union, Tower Records Shibuya, RECOfan, RECOfan Magnet by Shibuya 109, Beams Records, and Toshinota Cafe — across Tokyo and Kyoto. I bought records at all of these except Beams. Beams had some cool hip hop and electronic music, just wasn’t anything I needed right now or couldn’t find back home. The Beams Records store is also very small and crowded.
The sleeper store was Toshinota Cafe in Kyoto. It’s in a touristy area near Hōkan-ji Temple. Unfortunately, I only had a few minutes in here and I had already done most of my vinyl shopping for the trip — but this guy had lots of great jazz and city pop. It was an unexpected stop that I happened to stumble across.
I think I bought the bulk of my jazz records at Disc Union, but honestly I forget which location.
Other notes:
**Tower Shibuya was awesome, as expected. They had this fun Takanaka setup (see photo), as well as a fun Tatsuro section of the store with a Tatsuro gachapon machine(!!), but I didn’t have the right coin for the machine 😮💨
** Takanaka records were everywhere, but some places had an insane markup (see Rainbow Goblins photo.)
**Tatsuro and ANRI records were everywhere too! Most of the shops had dedicated sections for both artists.
**I bought a few records I know nothing about, and bought based off album art vibe.
**OBI strips - most records had these, whether purchased new or used.
**cheapest record: Earth Wind and Fire - Faces (100 Yen)
**most expensive: I’m not sure. Some of these don’t have the prices on the labels. Green Caterpillar cost 4950 Yen, and most of the records were in the 4000 range. I feel like Seychelles might have been closer to 7000, but I can’t find the price.
** If the album has any of the city pop HITS (Stay With Me, Plastic Love, etc), it probably cost some change … see Mariya Takeuchi photo.
**new discovery: In Tower, they had an awesome playlist going. I shazamed one of the songs and it was by this Japanese reggae/dub group Fishmans. I hadn’t heard them before, but I immediately purchased the album.
**albums I couldn’t find on vinyl:
Isao Suzuki Quartet +2 - Orang-Utan
Himiko Kikuchi - Flying Beagle
Toshiki Kadomatsu - After 5 Clash
Looking for recs on a nice bottle to bring home to pops for Father’s Day. Budget is $200 USD / approx 32,000 Yen.
Looking for something he can’t get in NYC. Growing up he was a Johnny Walker guy. Not sure if he has any Japanese whiskeys in his collection now but he appreciates finer things.
I have 24 hrs to find in Tokyo. I have a free day so open to all neighborhoods, specific shop recs, etc.
Thank you!!
Currently in Tokyo. I was planning on buying tickets at the box office on Sunday, but decided today I might want to buy them online, since we are a group of 5.
I went to the website and it looks like the game is sold out. Lawson showing game as sold out too.
Any recommendations? And are there ever walk up tix for sold out games or not really?
:/
Thanks!
Drove home after a concert a few weeks ago one evening. There’s a little sewer / rain grate in the driveway next to the covered( but open) garage. As I’m pulling into the driveway, I see a mouse or rat—can’t tell the difference. I notice it scurry away and down this little grate in the driveway.
I order some peppermint stuff off Amazon but never got around to applying it in my driveway or garage.
Today I go to hop in my car, turn on the engine. As I turn it on, I notice this Lysol package in the passenger side pocket has looks like it was shredded. Huh. Then I notice a trail of package crumbs on the passenger side floor. Then I see droppings on the seat floors. I turn off car and exit immediately. I see a few more droppings now that I’m outside the car and looking for them. The car did not have a stank odor.
I took off my clothes outside, ran for a deep shower, and now I’m on Reddit.
My car, engine, cabin filters was probably last looked at about 2 months ago for other issues (2008 Toyota). No rodent nests were found, but also, that wasn’t suspected.
Anyways — what is my next course of action? Call landlord and see if he sends someone out here? Peppermint spray driveway? it I open car windows / doors during the day or at night or leave be for now?
The other thing - we have a second newer car that is currently being driven right now. That car has been out of town and not near any of this. Assuming we keep that car on the street until this is all resolved?
As for the rest of the garage, there’s typical storage things — gardening supplies like soil, seeds, and woodchips, sports gear like roller skates,bicycles, soccer balls, etc.
Our LA trash cans and recycle bins are also in the garage.
Do i N95/glove it and move anything? Throw everything out? Call some city service to deep clean things?
Trying not to freak out 😮💨
TLDR: Found rat or mouse droppings in car garage. I believe source is outside in sewer grate. Not sure if rats have an active nest in car. What are next steps in getting car and garage clean? It’s a rental property.
PS: what’s the right flair tag for a post like this?
Have a family trip coming up and trying to figure out when I can do my shopping. I’m curious — do any of these brands carry women’s jeans/ jackets or are they mostly men’s?
And if any have extensive women’s collections please let me know.
Thanks!
What are the good jazz spots where I can go with a group, and we can chat, stand up, dance and have a good time? Live bands or DJs/owners playing records are fine … as long as they don’t have no talking/no dancing rules.
Thank you!!!
I’m traveling overseas soon and want to bring some LA jazz vinyl as gifts. Basically I’m looking for very local albums that don’t have international distribution — so no Kamasi, Terrace, Thundercat, etc. But the albums should ripppppp 🎷
Any recs on artists / albums that I should check out? And where I might be able to find them (bandcamp, record store, etc?)
Thanks!