Bill Murray Tribute

My girlfriend Ashley and I heard about an art show in L.A. that was to feature nearly fifty Bill Murray tribute pieces. Being big fans of the "Murray oeuvre", we, along with my brother Dave, decided to attend this Friday's opening night of the exhibit. I do have to make note that I'm a Bill Murray fan first and an artdog second. Due to my noncommittal interest in the art scene, I'm always a bit apprehensive about how seriously "arty" such exhibits might get.

Over the years I've come to understand that people who go to art shows not only take art very seriously, but themselves even more so. I'm intrigued at how many "slashies" (model/actor types) attend these events. I mean, I get it! These people have to go out there and show themselves, but model/actors are a bit ridiculous in person. Now even you must admit that.  The event did not disappointed in the area of ridiculous persons—the Slashies were out in full-force. We even saw an actual art-dog, one that a very stoned, and secondhand-garbed girl brought with her as companion. The dog seemed extremely interested in the giant, florescent-outlined nude of Bill Murray—more specifically his colorful cock and balls. The little pooch looked at it intensely, struck a curious pose, and then hoarsely barked three times. The girl found this to be an altogether perfect response. As did I.

Looking back, my favorite attendee of the soiree was the vampire-ponytail-guy (Dave's favorite too), whom, by the look on his face as he scanned the room with raised eyebrow and pursed lips, seemed to find himself the most interesting (Fuck that Dos Equis guy!) man in the world. I'm pretty sure he "glamoured" me (Trueblood reference) for like ten minutes. No worries though, I am a strong, straight man and was able to break free of his spell before he drew blood.

Anyway, there was a Ghostbuster's Hearst and a bunch of ghost busters dudes walking around with blaster packs on. We all liked that a lot.  Altogether, the show was pretty fun; there were some good pieces to look at, I actually ran into an old skate buddy, I caught, and threw-back, a number of "Blue Steel" looks that I'm confident were received well; and we had a great dinner at some random Chinese Bistro afterwards.

Bill Murray rules! (R&R Gallery, 929 E. Second St., Suite 106, Los Angeles. The exhibit is viewable by appointment through Sept. 30. (213) 626-2261; http://www.therandr.org.)