Dios

When I was 8 years old my mom plopped me down in front of the babysitter/tv to watch what would become my all time favorite movie, Harold and Maude. Along with my love for this movie came a love for cemeteries. My first real date a boy took me in a 1968, cherry red, Chevelle station wagon to the cemetery at sunset and we listened to Joy Division. It was love. Not with the boy but with the quiet and peace that I found in cemeteries.(and Joy Division) My love for them seemed so natural and I have treated them as parks my entire life. When I moved to Hollywood I had to be sure that I was within walking distance to the Hollywood Forever cemetery because I loved the events that went on there. This past Thursday night I went to my favorite event yet at Hollywood Forever, Dios in the Masonic Temple. While we waited in line with plastic water bottles full of juice and vodka we saw a crowd and a fog roll in through the cemetery gates that made everything look straight out of a movie about the Doors that didn't star Val Kilmer. Girls who were dressed in hand me downs from Woodstock with iphones lighting their faces, I drifted off thinking about what their time travel twitter feed must look like. After a little over an hour of this kind of thinking and almost a whole bottle of my “purse punch”, the doors finally opened. The courtyard at the temple was like something straight out of a southern gothic novel, I seemed to breeze through this area though, I followed the music up the stairs into the theater in the temple. I walked in to what looked like a Church with the pews pushed to the sides and a kaleidoscope of scenes from 60’s home movies being projected on the back wall while extras from That 70’s Show tuned up guitars. I spun on my heel to find my friends to see if they were seeing this and so we could figure out how we all time traveled to get there.
As I turned around I saw a huge 5x4 foot movie poster for Harold and Maude, it was like a positive focal point during a bad trip, I just looked at it and knew that this would be an amazing time.
I grabbed my friend and we sat Indian style on the floor next to a girl who looked like she had eaten one too many sugar cubes, and enjoyed the show. Once Dios started I remembered how much I loved their self titled album, it was so sweet in tune and so biting in lyrics with these great hooks that would sink their teeth into your brain and not leave for days. They played much newer songs than the ones that were on repeat in my ipod but Joel Morales’ voice made all of their songs sound somehow familiar. The sugarcube girl had stood up and started waving her hands over her head and dancing like she was in a field of mud in rose colored glasses. My eyes kept drifting between her and Joel who looks like a super tough Mexican bouncer with the mannerisms of a hippie who opens his mouth and sounds like a mix of Elliot Smith and Bob Dylan. A wave of happiness washed over me and a huge grin spread across my face and then I got a text message reminding me that I live in 2010 (the future!) and that my ride was outside. I gathered myself and my belongings and stood up, I pushed my way down the stairs and into that lovely courtyard where I didn’t spend enough time, and kissed my friend on the cheek and made her promise to “get home safe”. Then I spent the 5 minute walk to my friend’s car reminding myself that I was not in the movie Almost Famous.
I passed through the gates and on to the Hollywood Forever front lawn and I was right back in the future, where I belong.