It turns out Alice's Rabbit Hole exists. It is in Altadena. In the back of a little coffeeshop.

It was about 9 PM, and as usual, I had not had dinner yet, so I wandered into The Coffee Gallery, the local coffeehouse of my small hometown, and ordered one of those great Brazilian BBQ pizzas they make. While I was waiting, I wandered to the back. Among posters and storage shelves, I saw a door. It looked like it went to the street. But, curious as I am, I turned the knob and peeked in. To my astonishment, there was a group of 35 people assembled around a stage. And on the stage there sat a trio of men. I closed the door behind me, and the trio began playing some of the best folk music I have ever heard. It turned out the trio was Fairport Convention, widely credited as the first British folk-rock band. And the concert I witnessed was superb, a unique opportunity for me to enjoy up close this band that's in its 40th anniversary and that plays in front of 20,000 people at the Cropredy festival every year. I chatted with founding member Simon Nicol after the concert, and introduced him to Pandora, which he had never heard of.

Simon Nicol and Chris Leslie of Fairport Convention pack up after their concert in Altadena.