Talk about a tough crowd. 

It's hard enough to keep the attention of any audience, but imagine you're the Dandy Warhols, and the spectators are partying in Hugh Hefner's yard at the Playboy mansion. In case that's not enough of a distraction, add in the fact that you're playing a party thrown by advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project.

Yet fortunately this party came with strict rules. Guests were given explicit instructions that no marijuana would be allowed on the premise. This meant that there was less of a certain aroma Thursday night at the Playboy mansion than there is at most concerts around L.A.

But as Dandy's keyboardist Zia McCabe assured the crowd of about 600, "Hey, we're great if you're stoned. And if you're not, we'll make you feel like you are."

With the hot, sweet scent of bankruptcy in the air, we here at P&H have deemed it prudent to learn some new, more practical skills than prognosticating Grammy picks. Fortunately, as is usually the case in our daily lives, Cypress Hill's B-Real is ready to swoop in and throw us a bone. At a forthcoming listening session this month for his debut solo album "Smoke N Mirrors," which drops in February, B-Real promises teach us the finer points of his second-favorite handicraft behind rapping.