Why I Love The Sunset Junction Street Fair

I love Sunset Junction because I love to see the people of LA.

I love the kids, the surfers, the young Mexicans, the gays, the hotties, the locals, the tourists, and the punkers.

I like seeing them all in one place, smiling, interacting, getting pushed up against each other, drinking beers, eating chicken off a stick, listening to classic punk and soul, checking out the girlies under their parasols.

I like that the vibe is generally California casual, and I like that it gets really dark, and a little scary at night, especially if you said yes a few too many times to strange brownies and or beer gardens.

I like that I first was blown away by Juliette Lewis and the Licks there, I like that my favorite band Tsar was there, and I love that Sonic Youth was there.

I like that parking is totally fucked up and you should probably just have someone drop you off there and catch a cab home or something.

I like all the funny tshirts that people wear.

And I love all the tattoos that everyone seems to have.

I love how people try to be jealous of it and direct their envy by calling it a hipster den, or a drunken mess, or an overrated cultureless parade of fashion. But those people are boring, and ugly, and wrong.

Sunset Junction, to me, is the real Hollywood summer block party. And one reason it works so well is it's not in Hollywood. It's in the perfect stretch of Sunset Blvd that's an easy walk, busride, or bike ride from Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Hollywood, which is why the variety of beautiful cultures are so nicely represented there.

Clearly music is an important part of LAist, and even though I am excited that this year's Sunset Junction lineup will let me check out Sea Wolf, Morris Day and the Time, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Bronx, Hot Hot Heat, and especially The Buzzcocks, seeing bands is secondary for me, somehow, over this weekend.

To me it's more about being a part of the neighborhood. Something I don't do nearly enough. And drinking a beer while walking down Sunset, while eating fatty foods off a stick.

And I love that it all starts tomorrow.

photos by me, Tony Pierce, and feel free to check out my photo essays of Sunset Junction 2004, and 2005, as well as the Sonic Youth show in 2002.