Are there two more California-sounding place names than Hermosa Beach and Toluca Lake? We think not. Perhaps they’re topped only by the Slauson Cutoff… but only people who remember Johnny Carson would say that. (Hit the Art Fern Appreciation page here if you don’t know what we’re referring to.) We drove past Slauson Ave. yesterday… were sorely tempted to get out and cut off our Slauson.

We flew into LAX Friday night. The Male Half did sets at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach. (Check out the interviews on their website. In addition to being featured on the C&MC website, they run in the Easy Reader every Thursday. They’ve chatted with Ray Romano, Greg Hahn, Tom Wilson, Jo Koy and dozens of others. No wonder the crowds in Hermosa Beach are so good– they’re well-informed!)

That’s Jarrod Harris on the left and Taylor Williamson on the right, in the greenroom at the Comedy & Magic Club. (Photo taken with The Male Half’s new Droid. We apologize… for everything– the distortion from the tiny wide angle lens, the shakiness due to slow shutter speed, the washed-out look of the pic in general… we’re still trying to get the hang of it… yesterday, we booted a call from Bruce Fine because we couldn’t figure out how to go from the Map/Navigation function to the phone!)

On the evening’s bill(s) were Jarrod Harris, Taylor Wiliamson, Marianne Sierk, Dennis Regan, Neal Brennan, Brian Scolaro, Ryan Hamilton, Ty Barnett, Chris Porter, Darren Carter and J. Chris Newberg. The green room at the C&MC continues to be the happiest place on earth, says the Female Half. (Notwithstanding claims made by the Disney people about their theme parks.)

We also (all too briefly) popped into the little room next door to catch a bit of Bach and bit of avant-garde sax music. Four swingin’ cats from Amsterdam presented music on four saxes of varying sizes. They’re the Amstel Quartet. Classical sax at a comedy club? Sure, why not?!

Sunday night, we ventured on the Ventura to Toluca Lake to be present for the launch of Bruce Fine’s latest Laugh Pack venue– at D’Cache, a restaurant offering “modern cuisine and tapas.” And, on this evening, live comedy.

A packed house thoroughly enjoyed Wendy Liebman, Ritch Shydner and Steve White. Also in attendance was Jordan Brady. (We remember sharing bills with Brady when he was a comedy sprout at various venues back east in the 80s.) He’s been here in Hollywood for some time now and is showcasing “I Am Comic,” a documetary which he directed and which he co-wrote with Shydner. (We’re rendezvousing with Shydner sometime this week to procure a review copy!)

Fine intends to offer the “spectacular Vegas style comedy and music show” every Sunday at D’Cache.

That’s Jordan Brady on the right, with Wendy Liebman, lounging in the green room at D’Cache. (Once again, the Droid. We’re going to try to look up some tips and tricks to take better pics with the Droid.)

On the left, Ritch Shydner (Pennsville, NJ!) with Steve White, at D’Cache. (We suspect that the sophisticated mechanism in the Droid camera’s light sensing equipment takes a reading off of light objects– in this case, Shydner’s shirt– and adjusts… too much, if you ask us. Maybe there’s an override.)