On Sunday my girlfriend and I attended The 2006 Children’s Choice Awards event Bogart Backstage, sponsored by The TJ Martell Foundation. It was held at The Hollywood Palladium and featured a presentation by Bonnie Hunt in addition to appearances by Bowling for Soup, Hilary Duff, and Aly & AJ.
Aly & AJ played an acoustic set of a half-dozen songs and sounded fabulous. They are incredibly talented and it’s always a pleasure to see them perform. (My girlfriend is their manager so I’ve seen them about a hundred times.) Hilary Duff is a brunette now; I didn’t even recognize her backstage when she walked by with her entourage. Bowling for Soup played their song 1985 and then signed autographs with the rest of the artists for about a half-hour.
The Palladium is one of those classic Los Angeles landmarks that seems to be stuck in the late 70s. It looks like it must have been so cool and hip fifty years ago. There aren’t “bathrooms”, for example — the stairs at the back lead to “The Ladies’ Powder Room” and “The Men’s Lounge”.
