Of course, any club you can get into in Los Angeles isn't cool enough for you to be there, so Zune L.A. is invite only. And look at the entertainment you've missed so far:

At the christening, Zune wooed all manner of movers and shakers in the art, music and event-planning world with mojitos, music and visuals. Eastside promoter and Temporary Spaces founder Sean Patrick DJ'd (plugged into a Zune player, naturally) across from a custom light installation (an "interactive chandelier") from noted London-based artist Moritz Waldemeyer....

Zune L.A. has hosted private events for groups such as CAA, and for now its offerings will remain invitation-only. Musicians such as Janelle Monae and former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford have already performed at Zune L.A., and former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker will launch his line of New Era hats this month.

Its next event, on Tuesday, is a screening of "Joy Division: The Documentary" (followed by a 90-minute DJ set from Joy Division bass player Peter Hook).

Former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford! And Travis Barker's hats. Man, I miss L.A. so much.

You might assume that Zune L.A. is just another trendy venue with an open bar and a bunch of semi-famous people milling about. You would be wrong.

Chris Stephenson, Zune's general manager of global marketing, calls the space "a clubhouse for the creative community in L.A. — a place for people to gather and connect that's designed for creative expression."..

Says Stephenson: "We envision Zune L.A. as a cultural hub."

So why is Microsoft debuting this concept in L.A., and not in Seattle or New York?

"We wanted to pick somewhere where we could not only feed off the cultural energy of the city but collaborate with the creative community to add to it," he says. "L.A. had the right mix of entertainment gravitas and growing cultural relevance within art and design."

Gravitas and cultural relevance, of course! How did I miss that? I just figured you guys were trying to figure out a way to develop some buzz for your player in the shadow of the iPhone. My mistake.

Zune gets in tune with L.A. [LA Times]

(A quick caveat: I contribute freelance work to the iTunes Store. That being said, I didn't understand the appeal of a less functional, more expensive version of the iPod I already own even before I made any money from Apple, and I'm not even a Mac guy.)

When Maura asked me to take pictures of parents waiting outside last night's show, I told her I didn't think anyone would be there. I mean, this was New York, whose natives had been telling me for years that they were riding the subway from the age of six, sent off with only a pat on the head and, perhaps, a shiv. But behold, bundled in coats and scarves were moms and dads, cell phones plastered to their heads, trusting their kids to pick up when summoned. Some had tried to kill time by going to dinner, others by shopping, and all had given up trying to get near the Rockefeller Center tree lighting. It certainly made my father's stint sitting in the parking lot outside Paul McCartney's show at the Forum seem more hardcore. (In that case, the mothers were the crowd.)

Most of the people I met had daughters between the ages of thirteen and fifteen (the demographic of the show or the demographic of concerned parents?), and they didn't really know the band other than what they could hear played in the house. "I know that one song 'Misery' because it's always on," one parent said. They understood the music to be generally clean and positive; lead singer Hayley Williams has even discussed her regret for taking the Lord's name in vain in the always-on "Misery Business." Most of the girls didn't play instruments themselves—"She's into [recorded] music and fashion. You know, Long Island girls," said one dad—but many sang at school or danced, which is just one shocking orange haircut away from fronting a band.

To my question of "Would they have let you come inside?" the answer was almost always, "Oh no, you need a ticket," a testament to both the vagueness of my query and the fact that these parents' homes had not yet been infused with searing adolescent hatred. Besides, the parents agreed a concert's runtime was too long to stand, a sentiment with which I commiserated a little too enthusiastically. Have I become so old that I'd rather shop and try to beat down tourists in the name of Christmas? I also found myself shocked at how many kids were smoking—obviously, the influence of Alistair Cookie chomping on his pipe and unadulterated pictures of Winston Churchill.

The Pitchfork Music Festival, held in Chicago's exceptionally lovely Union Park, was this weekend's other weekend-long rock marathon—and it was an exceptionally well-run collection of 'Fork-approved artists, sunshine, and opportunities to buy actual records. You can read about Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich busting out "Trigger Cut" and the heroic reception that Of Montreal garnered in lots of other places, but I had a more pressing question: What do fans of the site look like when they're AFK? I grabbed photographer/former Idolator guestblogger MTS and we ventured into the crowd.