Wi Spa offers family friendly environment and cultural experience

Jim Jil Bang at Wi Spa

How do you review a spa for a blog that focuses on Los Angeles cultural experiences? If you're at all familiar with Korean spas, you'll know they're nothing like a traditional western spa. The Korean spa concept is based on a cultural component that was a part of life for many Korean and Asian immigrants: a bath house. This is what attracted me to a recent request to review Wi Spa on Wilshire Blvd. in Koreatown. That, and the fact that Wi Spa bills itself as the only 24 hour service spa in Los Angeles that also happens to be family-friendly.

"Beauty in Walking Away"

Walking away from what's seemingly safe and diving into a world of uncertainty--that seemed to be the theme of the night at the Hotel Cafe Tour's final show at the El Rey on Sunday. Cary Brothers (er, one person, not a band of brothers... thanks Chuck!), Meiko, Priscilla Ahn, Marie Digby, and Ingrid Michaelson were among the handful of musicians giving it their best, dotting their performances with stories here and there of their difficult journeys to where they are now. Musicians who simply love what they do and want to share it with us, whatever it takes. At the end of the night--I've never seen so many encore performances in one sitting--all the musicians repeatedly gathered on stage, sharing with us random songs, covers, collaborations and more. It's as though they didn't want the night to end either, despite probably being tired from weeks on end in one tour bus.

I admit, just like most enamored fans, I have a tendency to place musicians on another level... Like those US Weekly articles spotlighting celebrities doing ordinary things around town ("They eat!" "They push their own shopping carts!" "They wear sweatpants too!"), I often find myself wondering how on earth someone would run away from Marie Digby's confessions of "I like you" or leave Ingrid Michaelson with broken promises. I mean, really... how???

But they're human too. And have far more depth than the mass produced packaging that recording companies are so good at putting together. And the concert brought it back to that. A bunch of friends jamming together, doing what they do best and being vulnerable with us through their words and performances, and hoping that maybe... just maybe, it'll resonate with us too.

-Sarah Koo, ExperienceLA Arts/Culture Marketing Assistant