Hesta Prynn Covers Pepper

I have no idea who this person is, but she recorded a cover of Pepper, and here she is performing it live. I prefer the medley version by the band, of course, but this is kind of weird and interesting, done very straight..

Los Angeles and Las Vegas

What better way to celebrate the empty nest than heading west to see two Butthole Surfers concerts? After dropping my one and only baby off for his freshman year at college, we went straight to the airport and headed to LA.  Had a great time at the two back to back shows, and also got photos of me with the last two band members. Of course Teresa is still missing in action, but maybe one day she'll return and it will all be exactly right with the moon.

The Los Angeles show had an incredible energy but the sound system wasn't that great. I think it sold out, even though it was announced only a few days before, when their previous engagement at the Sunset Junction festival was cancelled due to the entire festival not getting their city permit. Refunds? We'll see. I called my credit card company to dispute the charge, which is what an email said would be the only way I'd ever see that money again.


We had dinner at a Thai restaurant, where, unexpectedly, Jeff Pinkus came in. I had no idea that we were directly across the road from the venue, and if I had known that I might have had more insight into the possibility of one or some of the band members coming there. We had finished eating, and Pinkus sat down into an inaccessible corner. We debated interrupting him for about 10 minutes, waited until he ordered his food and then asked for the photo. He was very gracious, and the whole table of 6 had to get up and rearrange themselves to make the photo possible. When I ran into him the next day in Las Vegas in the hotel lobby, he remembered me, looked surprised, and said hello. Very sweet, good karma with that guy.

A long desert drive to Las Vegas the next day through 117 degree heat, which at one point during a massive downpour, went down to 66, and then back up to 104, all within a few minutes of each other.

I saw Gibby several times in the Palms hotel lobby, and if I was more sensitive, I would say he was purposefully avoiding me. Actually, he was doing that celebrity thing of very seriously not encouraging anybody to look at or talk to him. So I left him alone with his texting and pacing.

The sound in Vegas was much better, but the crowd was weird. A few real fans, and the rest seemed to be onlookers. Some people who were slamming hard in Los Angeles were seen sitting in the back in the seats, just enjoying the show. As we were heading out to our car the next morning, we saw King in the lobby, on his way to a baseball game in San Francisco. He very kindly stood for a photo, and my mission was complete.

Herewith some not very good photos of the adventure.