Last night, I went to a record release party/performance by a band called Earlimart. It was being held at a place on the border of Hollywood and Silverlake called El Cid, which is primarily a Spanish restaurant with a flamenco floor show. Admission was cheap, proceeds were being donated to AIDS Project Los Angeles, and free bottles of one of my favorite beers, Shiner Bock.

Now, El Cid has an indoor portion, where the concert was being held, and an outdoor bar/patio area. It was after I'd had two free beers that I realized I had to go to the bathroom, and that the bathroom was probably inside.

However, there was a line at the door to go inside. As far as I can tell, the number of people they'd let through the front door was over the maximum capacity of the indoor portion, so they'd stopped letting people inside. I asked the bouncer if I could get inside to use the men's room, but as expected, the answer was no. I didn't think many people would be leaving the inside until after Earlimart played, so I left El Cid and soon found a bar down the street with unfettered access to the facilities, where I could relieve myself.

Oh, well, even though I didn't get to see the band, I still donated to a worthy cause and got some free beer out of it. I'm reasonably sure that it's a violation of some law and/or ordinance that they were serving drinks outside, but then not providing access to a restroom. I wonder if anyone ended up peeing in the outdoor patio area, or in their pants.