Garcetti Touts Kimmel, Moby Support in Hollywood Fete

Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, in a race for entertainment industry endorsements against his nearest rival City Controller Wendy Greuel, on Thursday tried to convey that he has the hip, Hollywood vote.

The venue was the Henry Fonda Theater, just down the street from the club district of Hollywood & Vine, and where the Garcetti held what it said was its largest fundraiser to date: $250,000, with some 1,000 supporters attending, most relatively young (i.e. late 20s, 30s and early 40s).

"Five polls in a row now have us in the lead in this campaign," Garcetti told the crowd, after taking the stage following remarks from Jimmy Kimmel and a taped message from Will Ferrell.

Even though polls show Garcetti ahead, the dynamics will change when the field is narrowed to two after March 5.

Garcetti noted that Kimmel, having finished shooting his ABC show earlier in the evening, has "never supported a politcal candidate before," and that Moby had become a "policy adviser," e-mailing him with ideas for what the city can do.

Later, after Moby took the stage to do covers of "Ring of Fire" and "Me & Bobby McGee," Garcetti reappeared to play keyboard to the musician's "Porcelain." Garcetti even tweeted a picture of himself practicing backstage, and he did do a brief set with congas after Kimmel urged him to play an instrument.

Greuel has a Feb. 11 event at the Soho House, with list of cohosts that includes J.J. Abrams, Sarah Silverman, Kate Hudson and Tobey Maguire. It won't be in hip Hollywood, but those names are still relatively young.