Charlie O's Jazz Club

Whenever I travel to a new country, the first on my research list is jazz clubs in the area. Paris, Madrid and Praha have the most memorable jazz clubs...for me that is. I guess my love for a jazz cafe comes from my parents- its in our genes. My parents decided during my visit in LA to take me to this jazz club where they spent their New Years/my dad's birthday.

Charlie O's is dimly lit with paintings of all the greatest jazz musicians, along with head shots of those who graced Charlie O's with their presence. It has a well stocked bar and the menu consists of a steak house foods. The service was fine and food was good too (nothing too memorable). I have only one issue with the place...I had ordered a bourbon on ice, after a few sips I realized there was a fly in my drink. I am thankful it was in the alcohol and not my water...mainly because I am a firm believer of alcohol being a disinfectant.

It was had a decent amount of people in the audience for being a Wednesday night in the middle of Van Nuys. Jack Sheldon California Cool Quartet played, or rather killed most of the time with rude comments about women and homosexuality and played for about 40 minutes. I was not a fan of the band, when they did play it was good jazz, but too much of my time was wasted on rude commentary and long intermissions.

I would definitely give Charlie O's another chance, but definitely not on a night that Jack Sheldon California Cool Quartet were scheduled to 'play'.

Upright Citizens Brigade

Live comedy is one of my favourite ways to spend a night. What more could one want than a night full of stomach pain, cheek pain and shortness of breath? Sunday night was my first excursion to the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. It is a small theatre with perhaps 30 or 40 seats (I am not the best at guessing amounts of any sort). The line starts forming and growing about 25 minutes before the show. The venue does not sell alcohol and has a few signs stating it is a 'alcohol free venue'. Bringing your own beverage is the standard and there is a recycling bin for your cans and glass as you leave.

I personally saw an improv night called 'Shitty Jobs'. So one hour of improvisation about shitty jobs audience members have had (or is) experiencing. I really enjoyed the actors (there were 7 of them) along with the audience participation.
There is something about improvisation that I am more partial to. Something about actors being able to think on their feet and create entertaining commentary, actions and situations impress me. ...I used to act when I was younger, and man improv is sooo hard for me!


I highly recommend for people in the Los Angeles area to support their local comedy club and actors by checking out the Citizens Upright Brigade.