I Hate Jury Duty. I like The Like. I Miss Kyle.

After two of the most excruciating days of jury duty, jury selection and subsequent dismissal (more on that later), I was due for a much needed break. And what better way to relax than to go see a loud sweaty show that leaves your contacts dry, your throat sore and your clothes reeking of cigarettes?!! Exactly.

So my sister and I went to the El Rey last night to see The Like, whose debut album “Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?” has been on perpetual repeat for the past week at work, at home and in my car.

The audience was pretty mixed. To give you an example, we spotted Clea DuVall and friends (cool, right?), but then realized we were standing right next to Amaya from The Real World Hawaii. Uh, yeah.

Anyway, the two opening bands Simon Dawes and Mellowdrone were pretty good. I enjoyed Mellowdrone better though. And since I’m not really in a position to criticize music (except for teeny boppers, ex-teeny boppers, and “artists” that are played on KissFM and Star 98.7 a minimum of 15 times a day), I’ll just leave it at that. However, we at Pop Whore aren’t exactly known for shying away from our opinions, so I will say that I was bumped into by at least three members of Simon Dawes without so much as an “excuse me.” But bygones.

Then The Like. For being so young, they have an awesome sound and are pretty damn tight as far as live shows go. Also, their drummer, Tennessee, fucking rocks.

Their songs “So I’ll Sit Here Waiting” and “Under the Paving Stones” are fetching homages to The Pixies' “Where Is My Mind” and The Clash’s “London Calling” respectively. And honestly, how can you not love that? I’m still completely crushing on “Bridge To Nowhere” and “June Gloom.”

To sum up: A great album, a great show, a great night.

If you don’t know me; meaning I haven’t already given you a copy of their album, or if you haven’t checked them out, I strongly recommend. Do as I say, slaves.

But it didn’t end there...after maturely deciding to skip the after-party, I came home a little past midnight only to find out from Nick via e-mail (without spoiler warning mind you) that Kyle was booted from America’s Next Top Model. What the fuck, Tyra?!

Sorry, Kyle. But hey, you’re still totally grape-worthy in my book.