Café Boogaloo lived up to its name last night as Jefferson Steelflex and his Neptune Society offered two sets of rock and blues to a lively and receptive crowd of around 50 people. On the way down Sepulveda Blvd. to the club, high winds had knocked out power in parts of Manhattan Beach and this outage provided a convenient excuse for Jefferson’s absence from the gig. It seems to be a running gag between the band and audience, that the storied Jefferson Steelflex fronts this group but is perpetually running late or stuck in traffic, thus preventing him from performing. The Neptune Society’s set list was an unpredictable amalgam including original songs “Big Beat 13” and “West Coast Turnaround,” the Marc Ford tunes “Greazy Chicken,” “Shame on Me,” and “Long Gone” as well as covers of “Steady Rollin’ Man” and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.” Keyboardist Mike Malone handled vocals on a few soulful numbers and harmonica / harp player Bill Barrett stood out alongside Marc’s fluid and abundant guitar licks. They’re playing down in Orange County at Lake Forest’s Gypsy Lounge on Saturday night, so head on over and join in the fun if you find yourself trapped behind the curtain this weekend.

After two nights out on the town, Wear & Tear is gearing up for another busy evening – this time planted firmly in front of the TV. Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are in Hollywood for tonight’s Super Tuesday debate at the Kodak Theater which will be aired on CNN starting at 5 pm. The LA Lakers hope to make it two wins in a row when they face the 32-13 Detroit Pistons, airing after a one-hour delay at 5:30 pm on KCAL 9. Perhaps the most anticipated of all, the fourth season of Lost kicks off on ABC with an all-new episode at 9 pm after the one-hour clip show and series recap titled “Lost: Past, Present & Future” at 8. If none of these programs tickle your fancy, The Celebrity Apprentice can be seen on NBC at 9 pm with country music’s Trace Adkins, boxer Lennox Lewis, rocker Gene Simmons, model Carol Alt, actress Marilu Henner and others competing in business-related challenges around New York City with the ultimate goal to raise money for various charities.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has entered the blogosphere with “Evolution of Security,” a forum for travelers to discuss their complaints and comments about airport screening measures. Wear & Tear sees this as a good first step forward to alleviate ongoing problems with increasing security measures and give a voice to the masses who feel powerless as they are put under the wand and through the metal detectors or AJETD, the Air Jet Explosives Trace Detector. Wear & Tear also accepts comments on how well we’re doing our job, so feel free to leave a reply below and let us know if there’s anything we can do to make your time here even more enjoyable than it already is.

If the Los Angeles Clippers thought it couldn’t get worse than last place in the Pacific division, a popular member of their family may be headed to the rival Dallas Mavericks. Neither player nor coach, the vocal and enthusiastic Darrell Bailey, aka “Clipper Darrell,” has been interviewed by Mavs owner Mark Cuban with the intention of bringing him to Texas as a professional fan. In a world where any and all sports transactions have become fair game in the quest for a championship, this one stands out as not only a case of a General Manager trying to steal away fans but also a team’s figurative heart.

Last night’s Laker game had a little bit of everything as Purple and Gold slugged it out with the New York Knicks on the way to a 120-109 victory at Staples Center. LA evenly distributed their scoring as three players each finished with over 20 points and achieved double-doubles. Their defense was suspect all night, giving up 61 first-half points, until they woke up and came up with big stops including blocks from Kwame Brown when it counted in the final period. Knicks reserves Nate Robinson and David Lee both had fine performances but it was Sasha Vujacic who came off the LA bench to sink five three-pointers and 12 fourth quarter points, putting the game away for good. It was a much-needed win at home that can hopefully boost their confidence going out on the nine game road trip. After the drubbing that was the Celtics contest in December, this one certainly elevated my impression of the Lakers who showed they can fight hard late in a game even when they’re down to earn a W. Now 28-15 on the season, LA heads to Detroit to face the Pistons who are 15-4 at home and eager for a rematch after their 103-91 loss to the Lakers in November.

Lucky Number Slevin was an enjoyably serpentine tale of meticulously plotted out retribution in the vein of The Usual Suspects but also with a life its own. The dialogue seemed to owe as much to Film Noir as Pulp Fiction and Quentin Tarantino with a rapid-fire delivery and banter that numbed as it informed. Conscious of its audience, the movie benefits from a close look to gather clues before the plot is revealed but succumbs to the temptation of recapitulating the story through flashbacks as the ultimate explanation is delivered. The ensemble cast performs well together with restraint being paramount and none of the stars tries too hard to out-act the others. It can currently be seen on Showtime On Demand if you don’t feel like waiting the three days for Netflix and I’d recommended it to anyone who can appreciate stories about violent gangsters and double-crossing assassins.

Wear & Tear is heading to Café Boogaloo in Hermosa Beach tonight for an interesting musical experiment named Jefferson Steelflex and his Neptune Society. There’s a lineup of musicians on their MySpace page that includes Marc Ford on guitar, Anthony Arvizu on drums, and Mike Malone on keyboards and vocals as well as a few other guys but there’s more to the story than just that. It seems the band has devised a fictional history to the group that dates back 40 years outlined in “The Ballad of Steelflex.” Give it a read and see if you can make sense of what they’re getting at, I’ll give the music and show a review tomorrow but for now it kind of reminds me of this different inside-joke band devised by Les Claypool called Electric Apricot.

An announcement has come that two candidates, Republican Rudy Guiliani and Democrat John Edwards, are dropping out of the race for a Presidential nomination, thus dwindling the number of choices for our next leader to five: Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama for the Dems and John McCain, Mitt Romney, and long shot Mike Huckabee for the GOP. Whether or not any of the politicians who saw their campaigns fizzle will reappear on the ticket as a potential vice-president is yet to be determined but you can celebrate the end of the Bush regime with a mask of Vice President Dick Cheney available here.

Only one week remains until Super Tuesday and the Presidential primary elections for 24 states including California and New York. Wear & Tear hopes you are already registered and know your polling place or are voting by mail but if you aren’t sure or haven’t received anything yet from the post office, visit the Rock the Vote website today. For those of us who live in and around Los Angeles, we know that traffic is a major problem that will only get worse unless some solutions are devised and implemented. Today Mayor Villaraigosa unveiled a short-term plan to ease congestion by synchronizing traffic lights, stationing traffic officers at specific intersections, and issuing more tickets to delinquent drivers. The only things asked in return are a half-cent increase in sales tax in Los Angeles County and using public transportation whenever possible. This measure may be on the ballot as soon as November and I fully support the program. Read about it here and decide for yourself, but there’s no denying that the traffic in Los Angeles during morning and evening rush hours is more than just an inconvenience, it’s entirely ridiculous and something must be done about it.

Trades are a vital part of sports and two interesting players made news today. This baseball off-season Johan Santana, a two-time Cy Young and ’07 Gold Glove award winning pitcher, appears to be headed to the New York Mets for four players. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were two other teams also publicly interested in the past few months but the Mets got lucky and grabbed him from the Minnesota Twins with either a better offer or the promise of a different league of hitters to face. ESPN The Magazine reported that nine-time All-Star Jason Kidd wants out of New Jersey and Wear & Tear hopes he comes out west to the Lakers. The rumors last year of a Jason Kidd for Andrew Bynum trade obviously never came to fruition and the Lakers made the right move by not letting the 20-year old big man go. Now that LA has a chance to get Kidd in the open market, I hope they take advantage of any opening in talks because his talent and playoff experience would be a great asset to the young Laker roster. We’ll be at Staples tonight to watch Purple and Gold face the Knicks, who won last year when they came here, aired on Fox Sports Net starting at 7:30 pm.

The eclectic college party anthem collection Odelay by Beck, first released in 1996, has been repackaged and expanded in a two disc Deluxe Edition with 13 b-side tracks, three remixes, two unreleased songs, and one only previously available on a soundtrack. Last year I noticed it at a used CD shop for $5.99, picked it up out of nostalgia, and after listening remembered why this album sold me on Beck as a lyricist and musician. Now that it’s been re-released I feel compelled to upgrade but will probably hold off for the time being out of financial prudence. If you were wondering, the peculiar cover art is of a breed of dog called the Komondor jumping over a hurdle, though in this version the picture has been altered from the original photograph with the extra doodles. It isn’t quite the same, but you can find a wig that looks similar to this dog’s hair here.

Clear skies have returned to Southern California after what felt like an entire year’s worth of rain fell in about a week’s time. There were daily torrential downpours but I would say the most sustained rainfall took place on Saturday night when we traveled on PCH to and from Malibu for Marc Ford’s Fuzz Machine at the Inn. It had slipped my mind that the show also marked rhythm guitarist Elijah Ford’s 19th birthday but we were all reminded during set one as, for the first time with the band, Elijah sang a song he wrote called “After All.” The first half was mostly comprised of new songs written in 2007 with the exception of “Did I Scare You,” a reworked version of the Sinners’ “That’s the Way it Goes.” In playing an hour’s worth of recent material, Marc left his catalog wide open to close the night with older, classic originals. However, It was the birthday celebration that took precedent and to our great delight the Fuzz Machine devoted almost the entire rest of the evening to cover songs from their favorite artists. Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Willie Dixon were among the musicians paid homage to in a second set that also squeezed in another long-lost Ford favorite “Shining Again” and a tasty guest appearance on guitar and vocals from Ryan Bingham. The show started around nine and ended just after midnight, which normally would have left plenty of time to make it back to Santa Monica for some Hot Buttered Rum at Temple Bar but post-show socializing and a slow drive home gobbled up any remaining moments before the witching hour of 2:00 AM struck.

Music delivered on its unspoken promise of a fun and entertaining couple of hours but the same cannot be said for sports, particularly the two Lakers games I saw this weekend. Purple and Gold has now dropped three straight and four of their past five games after falling to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night 112-105 and succumbing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-95 yesterday. Kobe scored 40 in Texas, yet it was the 16 LA turnovers that ended up giving the game to the Mavs. Sunday’s contest was an unconventional affair that included a 15-minute delay due to what was initially determined to be a leaky roof at Staples Center. This conclusion was then amended after soaking wet clothes belonging to a roofing company were discovered on a catwalk high above the floor. Regardless of the human error that resulted in a dripping ceiling, Phil Jackson said the wait hurt his players while LeBron used it as a restful and relaxing break on his way to a monstrous 41-point performance. One consolation through the losses is that they have been to other formidable division contenders. Wear & Tear will be at Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks in hopes to stop the slide as the depleted Lakers prepare to head back out on the road for a critical nine game stretch in hostile markets. Other slightly disappointing news revealed today from guitarist Jimmy Page is that if the recently reformed Led Zeppelin do decide to mount a world tour, it won’t be until September ‘08 at the earliest as Robert Plant has a prior commitment to perform with Alison Krauss through the summer. This statement comes following Robert’s interview at Madison Square Garden Friday night where he, alluding to the rumors, said, “I don’t know what is around the corner.” So count Bonnaroo out for the time being, but fingers are tightly crossed for a Zep tour within the year.

I’ve been a fan of Peter Berg as an actor since seeing Wes Craven’s Shocker in 1990 and after viewing The Kingdom on DVD I’ll say he also holds his own as an interesting and efficient director. Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper star alongside Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the team of FBI agents who travel to Saudi Arabia to investigate a deadly terrorist attack at a US compound. The film shows all sides to the kind of incendiary story that has become frighteningly familiar without losing momentum or focus as a rousing action picture. Thought-provoking and mature, it stands apart from other recent movies if for no other reason than it’s the kind of tale that can unfortunately also be seen during some CNN news reports.

According to our meteorological sources, the wet weather in Southern California will be hanging around until Monday so prepare for a damp weekend if you have to go out around town. The low temperatures and rain this week have allowed me plenty of time for DVD viewing and last night was devoted to 28 Weeks Later. A sequel to 2002’s chilling 28 Days Later, Weeks is a suspenseful and horrifying parable about the fictional Rage virus that has spread across Great Britain. Amidst the violent mayhem and carnage commonplace in this zombie-like story, the film manages to take aim at a number of timely targets as the US Military’s role and reaction to disease in the film simultaneously brings to mind their real-life response in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing occupation in Iraq. Writer/Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo finds the right balance of camera trickery, live action stunts, and computer effects as the scares come fast and furious right up until the end. One pleasant surprise came in the Bonus Features section where the graphic novel 28 Days Later: The Aftermath had been adapted into an animated short film and one of my former co-workers is credited as a digital artist. It’s always nice to see talented people getting the recognition they deserve because the piece is very well done. Here’s a look at one page from that graphic novel:

Super Bowl XLII is still a week away, so with no football this weekend Wear & Tear looks to the Lakers for a win or two to keep pace in the wild West. Tonight they play against the Dallas Mavericks, 28-13 on the season and 18-3 at home in what will inevitably be a difficult game before a return to Staples Center where they will face LeBron James and the 23-18 Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. A matinee marquee match-up of the two highest scoring players in the NBA, this one has been sold out since moment one but just today I noticed a few single seats pop up on Ticketmaster. Whether you watch it at home on ABC or are lucky enough to go to the arena, it’s likely to have more than a few SportsCenter highlight clips.

Saturday night’s plans are set and I’ll be at the Malibu Inn seeing Marc Ford’s Fuzz Machine who around 9 pm. Marc and his band are in Bakersfield tonight and as long as they can get through the snowy I-5 grapevine heading South after the show we should be in store for a classic performance tomorrow. If you don’t feel like traveling quite that far to see some music on Saturday, there’s a show at Temple Bar in Santa Monica with Hot Buttered Rum and The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. It figures that on a rainy night when we have to drive twenty miles, there’s also a show in our hometown, but missing a Marc Ford concert is simply not an option. Wear & Tear wishes you and yours a great weekend. Come back and refresh with us on Monday!

This afternoon Wear & Tear found out about a cool new media hosting website called Oosah where you can store photos, music, or movies and easily share them with anyone. It has a user-friendly interface, offers options for podcasting the content or burning it to CD/DVD, and provides a file manager to help in organizing what you’ve uploaded. As of now, a free membership includes 2 GB of storage space so head on over, sign up for an account, and start spreading your pictures, songs, and videos on Oosah.

The wet weather and torturous traffic nearly prevented me from making it to Arclight on time for the 8 pm screening of Be Kind Rewind last night, but fortunately it started 15 minutes late and we walked in at the very beginning of the opening credits. It turned out to be a heartwarming and zany romp that touched upon many classic films in a story where video store employees Jack Black, Mos Def, and Melonie Diaz collaborate to re-shoot popular movies after their VHS tape stock is magnetized and erased. While Jack Black is once again guilty of overacting, it is this exaggerated presence that maintains the momentum and spirit of the piece as his character Jerry shows traits from Black’s past roles such as School of Rock, King Kong, and his own unique star persona. Director Michel Gondry’s larger-than-life set decoration and artistically imaginative staging appears intact and undiluted, particularly in a scene involving Mike (Mos Def) and Jerry’s outfits when they break into the local power plant. Be Kind Rewind will be released nationwide on February 22^nd and Wear & Tear recommends it to anyone with an appreciation for escapist humor and especially viewers who are well-versed in the history of motion pictures.

While waiting to leave the parking structure, I got an NBA score update and found out the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the San Antonio Spurs 103-91. The Lakers, 2-2 since the injury to Andrew Bynum, are just barely staying afloat in the highly competitive Western conference after dropping from first to sixth place in one week’s time. Their next game is Friday against the Dallas Mavericks, so hopefully they can keep pace and win to earn a split on this trip to Texas. Seeing a good movie always seems to perk me up a bit, so upon returning home I scrolled through the Time Warner Cable On Demand listings and found Tideland which I knew little about aside from being directed by the prolific Terry Gilliam. A difficult, haunting, and disturbing film, it also possessed a certain charm and beauty amidst the revolting occurrences. Tideland’s page on Rotten Tomatoes shows an almost universal hatred by critics towards the film, but this is definitely one you should see for yourself to derive an opinion. It must be noted that the film touches upon a few of the darkest topics in humanity including the consequences of drug addiction, pedophilia, and necrophilia. Those with weak stomachs might be better off avoiding it entirely, but if you’re up to the challenge or are a fan of Gilliam’s previous work such as 12 Monkeys, The Fisher King, and Brazil then by all means give it a shot. If you find yourself becoming fond of the wig that Jeff Bridges wears in the film, as seen in the picture with Jodelle Ferland below, a similar one can be found here.

As we reach the middle of a rainy week, the time is right for another guest review on Wear & Tear. For a very special treat to all the readers we have enlisted the help of one amazing and spectacular Marvel Comics superhero, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

“Hello to all you web surfers and slingers! Wear & Tear has been such a great way to catch up on what’s happening that when I was offered the chance to contribute a review I just couldn’t say no. Usually taking pictures is more my style, but I’ve been meaning to try my hand at writing in the down time when I’m not catching criminals and saving the city. The recent cold nights in New York have led me to stay in a bit more than usual and I found a movie on cable about an old partner, Ghost Rider. We worked together in the past for a few missions against Hobgoblin and other nasty villains, so I wanted to make sure he wasn’t getting a bad rap in his big-screen debut. Well, to be honest, I had mixed feelings on the film. Nicolas Cage went way over the top in portraying Johnny Blaze, the Evil Knievel-inspired death-defying stuntman, and his alter-ego Ghost Rider, the Devil’s cursed bounty hunter. They did get his look right with the flaming skull, spike-studded leather jacket, chains. and fiery motorcycle. In fact, all the special effects look great and there are plenty for action fans to cheer over in the two-hour running time. Easy Rider himself, Peter Fonda, plays the Devil and Eva Mendes is Blaze’s steamy love interest, so the casting isn’t all to blame. Sam Elliott even holds his own as the gruff and grizzled graveyard caretaker with a secret. Clearly written for a younger audience, the fault lies with brain dead dialogue that devolves a dark and gothic story into a teen movie. If it wasn’t for the fact that I know the real Ghost Rider, I may have been able to let it slide but this wall-crawler had to fess up. Some other Marvel movies I’m looking forward to seeing if I can make it to the theater in coming months are Iron Man on May 2nd and The Incredible Hulk on June 13th. I just hope the film makers don’t dumb it down too much like what happened with Ghost Rider.”

Thanks to Spidey for not pulling any punches with his guest review. On that honest note, Wear & Tear saw a very little bit of the new VH1 program Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and was pretty much horrified. It’s a deplorable train wreck of a reality show that held my attention due to being frozen in fear as I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. Former WWF wrestler Chyna, actress Brigitte Nielsen, adult star Mary Carey, and a Baldwin are among the cast subjected to the unusual therapy tactic of filming and broadcasting the sessions for all to see. Tune in if you dare and prepare for the worst because these four are essentially normal compared to some of the other participants. Tonight, Wear & Tear will brave the elements and make it to Arclight for the advance screening of Be Kind Rewind at 8. The Lakers start at 6 pm against the Spurs, televised on KCAL 9, so it’s not possible to enjoy the entirety of both but I’ll have to make do with getting a score update when the movie ends.

The Los Angeles Lakers took out the Denver Nuggets 116-99 Monday night at Staples Center, a game where Derek Fisher ended up as leading scorer, Carmelo Anthony hurt his left ankle in the second quarter, and Kobe Bryant surprised everyone by taking only seven total shots from the field. D-Fish collected 28 points, one shy of his career high, and connected for six of seven three-point attempts in a marvelous performance that hopefully can buoy spirits on the shorthanded LA team. The injury-ravaged Lakers were already missing three players when they were dealt another blow on Monday. Forward Trevor Ariza broke a bone in his right foot during practice on Sunday and following an examination it is estimated he will miss the next two months, joining center Andrew Bynum on the disabled list until mid-March. Purple and Gold now heads out on the road for a “Texas two-step” of games against the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks this week before returning home to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Lakers fans can only cross their fingers in hopes that everyone else on the roster stays healthy until these key assets come back because it was the team’s dynamic chemistry and youthful energy that helped to earn 26 wins in their first 37 contests.

The lineup for the 2008 edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is official and you can check it out here. Wear & Tear went for one day in 2006 and while seeing Tool, Paul Oakenfold, Kascade, The Magic Numbers, and Madonna over the span of a few hours was a positive experience, it’s not likely that I’ll return because the traffic and crowds were just about unbearable. This year’s Sunday lineup looks to be the most solid with Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters performing the seminal Dark Side of the Moon album and Louisville, Kentucky’s My Morning Jacket also on the bill. So, for those of you who have never been, you simply have to visit Coachella at least once to get the full desert experience with 50,000 other hot and dusty souls. Just make sure to move your car close to an exit when you arrive to avoid waiting hours to get out of the parking lot Sunday night if you have work Monday morning.

Oscar nominations were revealed today and after scrolling through the nominee list, Wear & Tear has only seen Ratatouille, The Bourne Ultimatum, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and Transformers. For the first time in recent memory, I did not catch one of the movies nominated in any of the top six categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress. No Country for Old Men is up for eight awards, so I may try to visit the theater now that it’s got a second wind to see it on the big screen before the February 24th ceremony, to be aired on ABC. Regardless of whether or not the writer’s strike is resolved by then, producer Gil Cates claims the show will go on. Actors’ participation in the annual spectacle is also at stake, so it stands to become very interesting in how the next few weeks will unfold.

Wear & Tear is happy to report that the New York Giants are returning to the Super Bowl for the first time in seven years, following a 23-20 overtime victory against the Green Bay Packers. It was a brutally cold seesaw NFC Championship at Lambeau Field that hinged on field goals both missed and made. Kicker Lawrence Tynes went wide left on two FG attempts in the fourth quarter before putting an exclamation point on the game in OT with a 47-yard clincher. Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw for two touchdowns but also two interceptions, the second of which resulted in the game-winning field goal. They will face the New England Patriots, who held back San Diego 21-12 in yesterday’s AFC Championship at Gillette Stadium. The Chargers amassed four field goals in the first three quarters but with no points in the fourth, Tom Brady and New England easily rolled over them. Bolts star running back LaDanian Tomlinson was a non-factor playing only a few minutes of the game due to injury and QB Philip Rivers threw two interceptions, one leading to a Patriots touchdown. Credit must be given to the New England Patriots, who have won 18 straight games and are teetering on the edge of a perfect season. Super Bowl XLII now holds promise for a hard-fought match that should come down to the very end, if their week 18 battle at Giants Stadium when New England won 38-35 holds any indication. As a welcome contrast to the frigid temperatures played in this weekend, balmy Glendale, Arizona hosts the game on February 3rd, to be aired on FOX. With two weeks of hype and hoopla leading up to the big day, there’s still plenty of time to find a Super Bowl party or make plans to host your own. Click on Big Blue’s celebration below to visit the official Super Bowl XLII website!

moe. blazed through the House of Blues on Sunset Friday night with two solid sets chock full of the kind of musical stew only they can cook up. There are nights where moe. indulge a bit too heavily in their own improvisational and jammy tendencies leading to the audience’s frustration but that was not the case this time when they were determined, selective, and purposeful in their extended instrumental passages. A choice setlist helped go a long way towards my ultimate fulfillment, as they offered favorite cuts like “32 Things,” “Brent Black,” “Seat of My Pants” and a guest appearance by Steve Molitz of Particle on keyboard and organ for “Blue Jeans Pizza.” The sold-out crowd was lively and filled the dance floor to the gills, propelled by a dazzling light show and music that lasted until one in the morning. The following morning I headed south to Carlsbad to watch my nephews while their parents went to a wedding, so it was a family day playing pool, ping-pong, acting as Captain Hook in the pirate playground at their resort, going to Hansen Surf Shop in Encinitas, and my personal favorite, Pizza Port in Solana Beach. The weather was great the entire weekend and aside from some early clouds this morning, it’s sunny and clear skies this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday as well.

TNT is showing three NBA games this afternoon including tonight’s Los Angeles Lakers game from Staples Center where they oppose the Denver Nuggets. Denver is atop the Western Conference’s Northwest division and hope to extend their win streak to three games while the Lakers look to find an answer in Andrew Bynum’s absence after last week’s loss to Phoenix. I may even tune in to the Cleveland Cavaliers / Miami Heat game at 5:00 to root the Heat on. They’ve lost 13 consecutively dating back to Christmas including 5 in a row at home and could use a boost to their team morale with a W. The only problem is they’re facing the NBA’s leading scorer LeBron James, averaging nearly 30 PPG, and a Cavs team that has won three straight. Wear & Tear wishes the best for the Heat in a difficult season that isn’t even half over. I’m also midway through the heartbreaking South African film Tsotsi which is a troubling story of a reprehensible killer who decides to keep a child after a carjacking, only to find morality slowly return to his conscience. Although it was the soundtrack that first engaged me, the performances are also excellent and it is recommended for anyone interested in a challenging and troubling foreign tale.

All good things eventually come to an end and so went the LA Lakers’ seven-game winning streak following a 106-98 mauling by the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center last night. The Suns’ incredibly deep offense reared its head after a humbling loss to the Clippers on Tuesday as Leandro Barbosa once again came off the bench to decimate the Lakers. Barbosa, winner of the 2007 NBA’s Sixth Man Award, scored 22 points to lead Phoenix, who improved to 27-12 on the season and are now best in the West. While Kobe had 30 for Purple and Gold, they only amassed 38% shooting from the field and committed 21 turnovers with the hometown crowd’s reaction to LA’s shortcomings perhaps being the most troubling. With Andrew Bynum out, a lion’s share of burden in terms of his offensive production has been dumped on Kwame Brown and the fans voiced their disapproval with his playing loudly in the third quarter. Wear & Tear deplores this kind of despicable behavior that hopefully will end up only being an isolated incident. To boo any players, especially your own team, shows ignorance and a lack of respect that should not be tolerated and Kobe himself “thought it was terrible.”* Jordan Farmar’s quote after the game is something I wholeheartedly believe: “If you’re a Laker fan, you should support your team through the good, the bad, the ugly.”* Overall, a rather embarrassing day to be a Lakers fan, but hopefully the team can rebound with a few days off until Monday when they face the Denver Nuggets at home.

Putting sports emotion and bias aside, I zipped over to the Knitting Factory Hollywood where Gryphon Labs were a few songs into their set. I had seen most of these guys with Zappa Plays Zappa twice before but this was a whole other animal. Their instrumental fusion sound is pretty much on the next level so I found myself really digging them in the live setting. As a nice surprise, Paul Barrere from Little Feat sat in on slide guitar for 4 songs including an unreleased Zeppelin jam they said was available on old bootlegs. Worries set in that Volto! would not be able to top this and continued until about twenty minutes in before they started to mix it up considerably from previous shows I’d seen them play. They tried a ZZ Top song I had never heard, Zep’s “Bring It On Home,” three or so excellent originals written by guitarist John Ziegler, and some of the usual classic rock covers by James Gang, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and more. Danny Carey’s thunderous drums reverberated through the speakers and floor for a late night full-body massage that lasted until 1:30 AM. Keyboardist Kirk Covington and bassist Lance Morrison also delivered exceptional performances in what became a killer Volto! gig and overall concert experience for an early start to the weekend. moe. are in West Hollywood tonight at the House of Blues and Wear & Tear is greatly looking forward to it. They were at the Fillmore in San Francisco last night and, in reading fan reviews, surpassed expectations and sent everyone home happy. Tonight should be no different, as moe. have played at the House of Blues LA often over the years and it’s always a dance party.

To wrap up the week get ready for another guest review, this time from aspiring young singer and former American Idol contestant Kaylee. From Wear & Tear, until next week, have a great weekend and come refresh with us on Monday!

“Thanks to Wear & Tear for letting me blog about my favorite thing on TV, American Idol. Even though I didn’t make the cut to go to Hollywood when I tried out two years ago, I still love watching the show, listening to the songs, checking out the clothing and fashion, and hearing what the judges think of all the people. I watched part 2 of the season premiere last night and for now they’re auditioning in Dallas, Texas where thousands of people showed up. In the first half, Paula wore a nice grey, red, black, and white floral dress and there was one weird guy from Mississippi who collected his fingernail clippings. A few people earned the yellow tickets but the best part was at the end when Renaldo Lapuz from Reno sang “We’re Brothers Forever”, serenading Simon Cowell with the help of Randy, Paula, and Ryan Seacrest. He wore a silver and rainbow cape, white suit and feather hat that can only be described as a Mad Hatter Hat with feather wings on the side. It was such a funny moment, you should try to find it on YouTube. If I get a chance to write for Wear & Tear again I won’t hesitate, it’s been a lot of fun and I hope you enjoyed it too!”

* – http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2008011713