I arrived at the Phoenix Landing bar because I had read in one of Boston’s local newspapers that they have a regular Techno evening every Wednesday.

I happen to be partial to Techno, in fact I have been listening to the music and involved with the scene for just under 15 years. I have been to Techno parties on 3 continents to date and I even organized a number of parties when I was younger and still operated my own nightclub.

I was driven to the bar thanks to the courtesy of a friend who waited while I scouted the place out. I entered and was greeted by an amicable bouncer who allowed me to check the place out on the condition that should I choose to remain I bring some form of identification.

After chatting with the promoters, who were just setting up, I decided that the party could well be a fun experience, and therefore went back to my friend who was waiting in the car, brought my bag with my ID, released my friend and returned to the Phoenix.

This is when things started turning ugly.
FAST.

After I displayed my Israeli ID card to the bouncer he conferred with the woman tending the bar and together they informed me that they could not accept my ID. This seemed odd to me as it had been accepted everywhere else I had used it in the US including a bar just a block down from the Phoenix the night before.

Since the initial reason given for the refusal was the staff’s claim that the picture was out of date, and since the picture on my ID card is in fact rather old, their reaction to my card, though odd (I don’t look underage regretfully…) was still acceptable.

I next pulled out my international drivers license, which is brand new and which I had used a week before to rent a car in LA with. At this point the bartender informed me that “Massachusetts law requires that bars identify a patrons age by a valid Massachusetts ID or, in the case of foreign nationals, via their passports ONLY“. At this point I was rather distressed since I had just sent my ride home to Newton, based on what the bouncer had told me five minutes earlier.

The promoter for the evening, who happens to know my friends from the Israeli techno scene, was a real sweetheart and tried desperately to interject on my behalf. He even asked the bouncer if I could stay on condition that I promise not to drink.
Needless to say he was refused as well.

I simply wasn’t wanted…

In short, despite the fact that I had displayed two Israeli government issued IDs that had been accepted everywhere else I had flashed them in the US,
for the first time ever in my life I was refused entry into a venue.

I suppose it had to happen sometime, I just never thought it would have the undertones that I now began to suspect were the true cause of my refusal.

The novelty of my situation, my Israeli tendency to take very little shit from anyone, and my suspicions regarding the true nature of the cause for my refusal goaded me into doing something I have never done before -

I went looking for a Policeman

Hell if it was to be a night of firsts, it may as well be two for the price of one…
: )

A block from Phoenix Landing I found a police officer whom I asked regarding the information the bartender had given me regarding the required forms of identification according to Massachusetts law. He informed me that in fact what I had been told was essentially a brush off meant to get rid of me.
To quote him word for word:

“She was just trying to make the police out to be the bad guy”

So the question remains, why after pulling out my Israeli ID cards was I suddenly less than popular at the Phoenix Landing?

I have my suspicions, but you guys make up your minds for yourselves, after all this is supposed to be the city that has the highest concentration of smart people per square foot on the face of the planet.

Afterword:

I like to think of myself as a fair minded individual, my teaching career has accustomed me to give people a chance to make good on their mistakes, and I’d be really happy to see my suspicions regarding the real reason for why I was refused admittance disproved.

SO…

If the Phoenix management has some other explanation for the events I described, wishes to apologize for my humiliation by their staff, or wishes to supply guarantees that they are not a racist establishment and are not employing individuals who are racist, they are more than welcome to comment on this blog post.

Unlike some, I do not invent the requirements for the ID demanded from my commentators - that’s what Mojoblog is for…

As for all the rest of you Bostonians reading this let me just say that in your shoes, if I were even in the least concerned with racial and national discrimination,
I’d boycott the Phoenix Landing until such time as I had assurances that what happened was merely an unfortunate mistake.

But that’s just me…

I really hope I was wrong, after all discovering antisemitism in a bar in Boston would be so pathetic don’t you think?

My 2nd day in Boston was spent at the Institute of Contemporary Art, where photos are not allowed “…to protect the art”.

I walked around Quincy Market where I learned to appreciate lobster rolls - in a word YUM! : )

My day ended with a 50 minute wait for a 50 minute party in the Middlesex Lounge at a Hearthrob event that I had read about in Boston’s Weekly Dig. It was pretty cool for a Tuesday night I guess.

Shame that the lights went on at 1:00 AM though.

What’s wrong with this country?!?

To enjoy the full experience I suggest you click on the slide-show and visit the Picasa album because half the experience is the captions…

As always, if you want to download a photo you can click on the slide-show and that will lead you to the Picasa album where they are all stored. You can use the photos in any way you desire, I only ask that you give me credit and provide a link to my website or blog - MikeDarnell.name.

The following post was taken from an email thread of ongoing correspondence between George Stiehl, publisher of Citizen LA, and myself:

“…
That single night in LA when we met was very educating to me - In a city notorious for its fake facades, plastic angels and tinsel devils, that night, indeed my entire week long visit, gave me truer insights than much of the rest of my life. I have already left LA but I would like to share with you a thought that I have had ringing in mind ever since our meeting. It relates to our brief discussion about the power of being an unknown innocent, and it takes us back in time over 300 years so buckle up…

more?

In 1697 Tsar Peter the Great, arguably the greatest ruler Russia has ever had, traveled through Europe for a year and a half on a journey he hoped would give him insights as to how to advance his backward homeland. This epic and unparalleled journey has since been come to be known as “The grand embassy” and is probably one of the most incredible stories about leadership, humility and wisdom, that mankind has ever witnessed…

What is unique about Tsar Peter’s trip is that he elected to make this journey incognito, traveling not as the Tsar of Russia, but as a low ranking nobleman…

There was a method to Peter’s madness that proves just how great this leader truly was.
Peter instinctively sensed that a traveling Tsar was bound to be presented with a warped, beautified, and tinsely version of reality. By electing to travel incognito he was granted unique opportunities for learning that would never have been accessible to him as a touring Tsar:

Peter studied shipbuilding in Holland, gaining hands-on practical experience in the largest shipyard in the world of his day, he even helped with the construction of a vessel he himself had commissioned there. He learned trades and crafts from skilled workers, locksmiths, shipwrights and seamen. He was taught how to draw teeth, quench fires and even how to catch butterflies…

On his return to Russia Peter embarked on implementing all he had learned for the betterment of his nation, and though he had inherited an uneducated, untrained, uncivilized and superstitious country that had till his day excluded itself from European society, economy, and politics, during the 42 years of his reign Peter modernized Russia to such an extent that by the time he died it was a superpower not to be trifled with ever again.

For his efforts, while still in reign, Tsar Peter was honored with the title “the Great, Father of His Country, Emperor of All the Russias”.

Far from me to compare myself to a figure of Peter’s magnitude, I simply offer his inspiring story as validation to the idea we discussed while waiting to pee. I would also dare to suggest that the citizens of your city of angels might benefit from having they’re finely crafted images reflected back at them once in a while in an innocent and undistorted mirror, perhaps one traveling incognito
…”

: )
Mike

Shahid Brown and I spent a very intense Friday evening together.
Shahid is the amazing gallery director for the Grind Gallery and an artist in his own right, but more importantly - he is a good person.

These are pictures I took while we were around the Grind gallery and later while Shahid and I walked his amazing dogs. Shahid has an incredible bond with his canine friends and they obey him without any question or hesitation.

These pictures are my way of showing gratitude to Shahid for the invitation he gave me to visit his home and for his hospitality.

The portraits of Shahid are also my tribute to Shahid’s involvement with LA’s Cannibal Flower show, of which Shahid is one of the principal organizers and which is celebrating it’s 8th anniversary this month after running since 2000 once a month, without fail. The Cannibal Flower show gives emerging and up-and-coming artists from around the world the chance to display their work at one of the coolest venues on the planet.

If you want to download a photo you can click on the slide-show and that will lead you to the Picasa album where they are all stored. You can use the photos in any way you desire, I only ask that you give me credit and provide a link to my website or blog - MikeDarnell.name.

Enjoy…

I spent most of yesterday in downtown LA.
I saw Frank Gehry’s incredible Walt Disney concert hall, the LA MOCA, and a whole bunch of other landmarks, but frankly nothing impressed me as much as the downtown gallery walk and the Digital Art international expo organized by Mr. Rex Bruce of LACDA.

After the gallery walk I went over to the after-party hosted by Edgar Varela at his gallery on Alameda st. Being the outsider is never easy but Edgar was really friendly and made me feel right at home : )

As is always the case when traveling alone, I bumped into a bunch of interesting people whom I knew nothing about…
Of special note was George Stiehl, publisher of Citizen LA magazine, who was really sweet, modest and friendly.

I only wish I was more of a social animal - I’d probably meet more people that way… Anyway, I had a blast of a time and spent most of this morning preparing the pictures in this slide show as a tribute to Edgar’s hospitality and as a means to remind myself of last night in years to come.

If you want to read the captions I added or download a photo you can click on any photo and that will lead you to the Picasa album where they are all stored.

Enjoy…

I’ll be posting the pictures from my walk in Downtown LA and from the Downtown Gallery Walk just as soon as I get back home (boy oh boy things sure are piling up…).

Well time for breakfast…
All the best,
: )

Mike