The weekly karaoke contest at Bar 107 epitomizes the evolution of downtown Los Angeles from slum to hip urban enclave. There is the self-conscious kitsch (a stag head wearing a football helmet mounted on the cluttered walls, along with the Elvis portrait), the skinny jeans, the men with mustaches, the '80s tunes from Journey and Depeche Mode.
In A Hip Downtown Los Angeles Bar, Karaoke Meets Panhandling - NYTimes.com
When Hipsters And Skid Row Collide