Photos and words by Ethan Shvartzman It was a gorgeous day on the Santa Monica Pier as crowds gathered to soak in the sun and tunes courtesy of Kisses, Yacht and Poolside, as well a number of DJs. Love was in the air as Poolside set the tone for the “romantics in the crowd” and [...]

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She laid her poetry upon us like a mystic laying hands on pilgrims, reminding us we are slobbering, laughing, dreaming and alive, however painful that can get. And pain seeps through songs like “Pissing in a River” and “Beneath the Southern Cross,” but still something as trite and often blankly appealed to as hope overrides all of that. Even in “Free Money,” where the protagonist clearly can’t afford any of the things they dream about, waxes poetic about the sweetness of those dreams.

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