June 14, 2026 (King's X)

Sigh. Yeah, folks, I not only missed all four Rush concerts, but I missed King's X, too, at The Whisky last night. Unlike the unaffordable (for me) Rush shows, KX was eminently doable except for one issue: the Metro Red Line Subway. King's X has played The Whisky on all of their recent tours (last fifteen years?), and for those shows, there has usually been one (maybe two) opening acts, with the boys going on at apprx 9pm (9:30 at the latest) and finishing their aweome set by 10:30 to 11pm. All of which gave me time, in years past, to catch the Sunset Boogalord bus back to Highland, hightail it on foot up to Hollywood Boog, and catch a late Red Line train to NoHo, where my car was parked (sorry, but I won't pay 10 to 20 bucks to park in a sketchy lot on Sunset Strip).

Have you ever ridden the Red Line (or any line in the LA Metro system)? Beyond the safety issues (it's mostly okay), the main problem is reliability. Sometimes, a station (or the entire line) is shut down, without warning, as I found out weeks ago after parking at the Red Line NoHo station to ride to Universal City for a birthday lunch with my sister at Bubba Gump.

Sorry, station closed.

I had to take a long-delayed shuttle bus instead.

The point is, a late night ride on the Metro subway system is a roll of the dice. If you get there on time, you'll (probably) catch one of the last trains. But there's also a chance that the late trains (on any given night) will be cancelled. And for this King's X show, there were three opening bands (instead of one...or two). KX would not go on until 10pm, and be done by 11:30. I checked the Metro schedule, and the last (guaranteed) Red Line train left Hollywood & Highland at 12:26am on Saturday night. After that, roll the dice. That gave me less than an hour to leave the show, catch the Sunset bus (what if it's late?), fast-walk the half mile from Sunset up to Hollywood Boog, and pray that I not only made it on time for the last train of the night, but that it hadn't been cancelled.

You know what? No can do. Wouldn't be prudent.

So I am now at the point where, if going to a concert involves anything more than the slightest amount of stress, I won't go. Sorry, but I've seen a lot of shows, for over 50 years, and I'm not gonna pay huge prices or worry about getting home. I already go to almost every show by myself (which sucks), and have done since 1997.

So yeah...it's a bummer, but my concert-going days are mostly over, unless there is no hassle involved.

I like Disneyland better. Yeah, it costs a lot. But you can stay all day (for 16 hours if you want), and you know its safe, with no sketchy transits back home.

God bless rock concerts, but I was born to go to Disneyland.

My life's biggest influences (besides Reseda and my parents): The Beatles, Disneyland, Gilligan's Island.

June 12, 2026 (Rush)

Hi folks. We have now passed through Night Three of the Rush concerts at The Forum. I won't ask you what you think, because we all know they are incredible in this strange new incarnation, and we've seen (even on YouTube if we weren't there) how phenomenal Anika Nilles has been in these shows. Alex and Geddy made the right choice, eh?

Unfortunately for me, this is the first Rush tour since 1997 ("Test for Echo") when I did not attend a show. The current Forum shows sold out on Ticketmaster before I even got in the online "queue" as it's now called, and the resale prices have been more than I can afford (or am willing to pay). Thus, I have not seen (and will not see) any Rush shows this tour, but I take solace in the fact that I first saw them at Long Beach in November 1978 (on the Hemispheres tour), and on 31 more stops along the way. I've seen Rush 32 times (more than I've seen any other band), and I was at their final concert with Neil on August 1, 2015.

So that will have to suffice, for now. I wish I had seen one of these current shows with Anika, who has instantly become the most famous drummer on Earth, but I cannot battle the economics of 2026.

Anyhow, if you went to any of the Forum shows, I'll bet you blew your mind.

As for me, I am blowing my mind in an altogether different way. I am primarily a Crime Investigator these days. I strive for and spend time every day to recover blocked memories from my past. My mission in life is to expose and defeat bad guys, by which I mean violent criminal predators who have gotten away with everything they've ever done. I am in a war against evil, from which bad people emerge.

It sucks to talk about this, and it sucks because no one cares or will listen.

As always in the modern age, the 24/7 Turnaround rules the day and year, daily distraction is the only constant, and the years pass by like months.

Anyhow, the saving grace for me is that I am learning many things each day about my life. I am recovering memories that were blocked by bad people, and I pray I will learn more, and I am grateful for the Lord's help in this battle. I also pray that the battle will soon be over, because I am profoundly tired. I don't trust good guys or bad guys. No one has the guts to step up and tell the truth. 

God Bless Rush.