Big Legged Woman Ain't Got No Soul

Good Morning Ladies & Gentlemen,

Yesterday was pretty awesome. But I'm gonna make you read to get to the best part, the Zepparella concert. I slept in (which I really enjoyed) and then decided to go take a walk, since it was a beautiful morning. About ten minutes into my walk, the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped quickly. I kept going though...and had a nice hour walk to get the blood flowing.

When I got back home, I was flipping though the channels and decided to watch "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" starring Michael Cera and...the teenage girl from 40 Year Old Virgin (I think her name was Kat). Basically, as you could tell from the previews, it's about a guy (Cera) who is still hung up on his now ex-girlfriend and makes her a bunch of mix CDs, that she basically passes on to her friend (Kat) who really likes them. Anyway, there's this band playing in the big city...and they both go separately to try to find them (because apparently it's a secret concert) and they meet up...and yeah, I'm already bored too. It's one of those teenage drama romantic comedy things...and it's okay but...not my cup of tea. It's kinda cute at points...but mostly it just makes me bitter that people have so much drama for no reason sometimes. It's like "Really? Suck it up. Move on."

Shortly after that, I made my way to the North Shore area and stopped by my favorite spot so far, the beach. I took a few shots. Hope you enjoy...

After that, I went to get the ticket to Zepparella at the Cal Neva Resort & Spa in Incline Village (like two miles from the beach). Here are some photos of the North Lake Tahoe equivalent of the Las Vegas Strip...

Chief Joseph

I don't think that's a heated pool...

Yes, it may look like it's the size of a Starbucks...

but it's a casino

Oh yeah, eat your heart out, Las Vegas Boulevard!!!

For dinner though, I decided to go preview the Tahoe City area, where they will be hosting the 1st Annual Prohibition Pub Crawl in less than three weeks when my mom comes to visit. I had fish tacos at the Blue Agave, a pretty nice Mexican bar & grill. Here are some pictures of the area...

Congrats to some local Olympians!!!

Then I made my way back to Cal Neva so that I could have me a few pre-show drinks, throw some money away at the roulette wheel, and meet a few neat people. Drinks & losing a lot of money for nothing will do that (experience at casinos & gentlemen's clubs). Regardless, I made a few concert buddies, including a guy from Reno who was there with his friend & their wives, we were fascinated by the Frank Sinatra Showroom (oh yeah, Sinatra was big there) and how music is so completely different now than in the 70's when Led Zeppelin was around. For example, one of the songs while we were waiting was "I'm Getting Closer to My Hooooooome..." which I'm sure every single one of you know...but can you tell me who sings it? Also, did you realize that's the only lyric, over & over again, for the entire song? I had never realized it before (and I had to Google it to tell you that it's Grand Funk Railroad that sings it). Would that be a hit today? Would Led Zeppelin be the greatest rock band of all time if they were around these days...or would they be just another band struggling for gigs due to their controversial lyrics & unhealthy lifestyle? Well, thank God we have ZEPPARELLA!!!!

Again, Zepparella is an all-female Led Zeppelin cover band...and they can f**king ROCK!!! The drummer Clementine must've signed a contract with the devil to play the drums just like Bonham, the lead singer Anna is apparently also a popular Bay Area stage performer...but really belts out the Robert Plant passion-filled lyrics with her own twist on them (you know, being a woman as opposed to a horny man in tight leather pants), and the bass player Nila makes you feel it in your bones. However, throughout the show, I was drawn to the lead guitarist...both for the eye candy...and her undeniable skills on the git box. Please enjoy the pictures...

Starts with pics of Marilyn & the Rat Pack? Good sign.

ZEPPARELLA!!!

Oh yeah, she's even pulling out the cello bow

Oh...and I almost forgot to mention, the lead guitarist's name was announced at the end of the show...and it's Gretchen. Yeah. Gretchen, the name that I've always mysteriously been captivated by...yet had no idea why. Awesome, right? So I had to meet them after the show...if not just for that. Thanks to the Roulette Wheel, I was all out of cash so I didn't buy T-shirts & CDs and what-not (sorry ladies, I'll get some next time you come to town or if you're back home in San Fran soon or something, pinky swear) but I basically said something along the lines of "You ladies were amazing tonight. TRULY amazing!!! And by the way, Gretchen is quite possibly my favorite name of all time." "Well, I'm pretty partial to it myself. Hahahaha!!!" "You ladies want a drink or anything?" "No thanks, we've got to get things packed up & get to bed." "Well, if you need help getting tucked in..." "Hahaha, thanks, but I've got it covered." "Alright, well it was nice to meet you ladies. Hope to see you again here soon." Great night...and I may have been a little buzzed still...but was quickly sobered by the snowy drive home around midnight. Please go check these ladies out when/if they come to your deck of the woods. If you love Zeppelin, you'll LOVE Zepparella.

Anyway, that was yesterday...and today will probably be a bunch of laundry and cleaning and stuff. P.S. I've been watching a lot of these "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" shows on the Travel Channel...and it's oddly making me want to travel internationally again very soon. I've had my new passport for almost a year now...and there's no stamps on it. That has to change soon. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on that. Have a great weekend everybody!!!