Down and Out in downtown L.A.

Downstairs from the Alexandria Hotel on S. Spring St. there was a bar called Charlie O’s. I had been to Charlie O’s a couple of times and found the place to be dank, dark and more than a little bit scary. That was just the year before last but more recently the place has undergone a bit of a facelift as well as a name change. Charlie O’s is now the Down and Out and while they have other events on different nights, Thursday night is the rock night that is put together by LA’s most amiable curmudgeon sound guy Dirty Ed and Jimmy James from Barrio Tiger, called No Future Thursdays. Only on it’s second consecutive night, No Future Thursday presented on February 24, a night of fine rock ‘n roll featuring Downtown Union, Million Kids (who are just EVERYWHERE these days) and Brainspoon. I came in towards the end of Downtown Union’s set and spent a good portion of Million Kids set interviewing Kamikaze for the next print issue of Baby Jeepers. I was able to hear the Kids X cover "Los Angeles" from the smoking patio, which always gets a great response. The Kids closed out with a cover of the Circle Jerks "Wild In The Streets" that got the small crowd up on its feet. Brainspoon finished up the night with a set of their own catchy heavy rock tunes. Singer Daphne Vandervalk is a spirited front woman and guitarist Michelle Balderama simply shreds on guitar. Brainspoon’s set inspired some crazy dancing in the audience and left their fans wanting more. On the screen behind the stage, the camp classic Russ Myer flick Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was projected during Million Kids set and the 1970 gang exploitation movie Boulevard Nights was screened during Brainspoon. I give who ever pops in the DVDs props for having good taste in B movies. The Down and Out is just a hop, skip and a jump from the Redwood Bar and it’s certainly nice to have some more choices in the neighborhood.