This weekend Fiercehouse invades L.A. and San Diego for a few days of clubbing and taking in two mind-blowing performances by one of the most creative bands of artists still going, The Residents. Last time I saw them was in New York and after I left their surreal and macabre dreamlike show I staggered out into New York's night shaken and bewildered and totally exhilarated by what I'd just witnessed only to wind up on the roof of the Empire State Building staring in complete, mind-blown amazement. It was one of the best trips of my life. If this one is even half as good I'll be riding higher from it for the rest of my life. Experiences like that make me feel so much stronger, so much better equipped to understand life and so much more capable of happiness in the face of adversity.