Between not buying illegal fireworks in Chinatown and enjoying the fact that we could sleep in Friday, our Fourth of July Weekend was pretty packed, with Pool party/BBQ after Pool party/BBQ to attend. In between nursing our sunburn and our hangover, we got to hit up some of the most happening events on record. Between indulging our inner Indie rocker for charity at the “Kick Out the Clots' Benefit at the Echo on Thursday, embracing Texas street art at Crewest Gallery on Friday and getting our cosplay on at the LA Anime Expo '09 all weekend long, we're almost ready to declare our own independence, from you know, actual work.

We jump-started our holiday weekend on Thursday at the Echoplex in Echo Park, where seminal east-side bands like She Wants Revenge, Living Things, Great Northern, and Dead Meadow took the stage to perform during “Kick Out the Clots,”a benefit for Spaceland Productions' booker Jennifer Tefft, who is working to deal with medical bills she accrued trying to get a handle on a blood clotting problem. View more photos of the charitable indie rock action in Timothy Norris' “Kick Out the Clots Benefit @ The Echoplex” slideshow.

Credit: Timothy Norris

Credit: Timothy Norris

After waking up in the late afternoon, we brushed our teeth and attended Friday's opening of Texas Heat at the Crewest gallery, where graffiti artists from the “third coast” showcased the hybridized style unique to Texas, getting our street art fill and worthy introduction to the intersection between East Coast and the West Coast style. Read more and check out the photos in Drew Tewksbury's coverage, “From the Streets to Texas Heat: Graffiti Artists from the Lone Star State Invade the Crewest Gallery.”

Credit: Drew Tewksbury

Credit: Drew Tewksbury

And throughout the course of Fourth of July weekend, we took a break from countless bottles of lukewarm beer and undercooked hot dogs in order to scour the Los Angeles Convention Center to discern what trends are brewing in the otaku underground. You can read more in Liz Ohanesian's “Anime Expo 2009: Taking in the Otaku Trends,” and check out Shannon Cottrell's photos in “Anime Madness: Lolita Hotties & Cosplay at Anime Expo '09.” And yes, we will be in the office on Monday, in costume.

Credit: Shannon Cottrell

Credit: Shannon Cottrell

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