WHEN IT'S GOOD, IT'S SO SO GOOD
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Brixton Academy - Fri, 28th Nov 2003

Concert review will be up soon guys.. For the time being, enjoy these photos...





The Full Setlist:

Excuse Me Mr.
Brown Eyed Blues
Temporary Remedy
Ground On Down
When She Believes
Sexual Healing
Diamonds On The Inside
Steal My Kisses
Amen Omen
Burn One Down

- Encore 1 -
Waiting On An Angel
Walk Away
When It's Good

- Encore 2 -
Whipping Boy
Don't Take That Attitude To Your Grave
She's Only Happy In The Sun
With My Own Two Hands/War

More photos...

LLOR N KCOR
Ryan Adams, The Forum - Wed, 26th Nov 2003


Wow...

That show just completely blew me away... The guy is, in a word, AMAZING... a pure musical genius... The show just about had everything - from slow stylish ballads, to straight out rock.. from alt-country, to blues and roots...

The first song was The Shadowlands.. a slowish number that set the mood for the night... A very Kathleen Edwards sounding This House Is Not For Sale was next... However, from that point onwards, the next 45 minutes consisted of no-holds-barred-Zepplin-esque-rock... 1974, Wish You Were Here, Love Is Hell and yes, Rock N Roll were all there...

Then the pace slowed somewhat with a few songs off his earlier albums... New York, New York, one of my favourite songs, was a delight to hear.. and Firecracker was a huge hit with the crowd...

There were a couple of amusing moments with Ryan getting the drummer, Johnny, to sing during Tears For Fears' Head Over Heels cover, while Ryan himself played the drums.. Johnny had no fricking clue what he was doing and was just mumbling most of the time, but it was funny as hell... Later, Ryan decided to the 'Cookie Monster Song'!!

Another cover was The Strokes' Last Nite... I couldn't figure out what it was until the very last verse... An interesting version to say the least... At one point, the band members gathered around the front of the stage, and what looked to be a bluesy improv.. turned out to be a couple of wicked versions of Do Miss America and Shallow (both off the new album)... It was a weird mix of The Eagles and Johnny Lee Hooker!

Upon the first encore (first of three!), Ryan came out with his acoustic.. He sat down on a tiny stool to play songs like Oh My Sweet Carolina, and Call Me On Your Way Back Home.. plus Jacksonville Skyline - from his Whiskeytown days... Most in the crowd could not see a thing, least of all little old me, especially with the 7-foot French guy at times directly in front of me...

He returned with the rest of the band after the 2nd break, and played the toe-tapping To Be Young, and an excellent version of Anybody Wanna Take Me Home... And finally, after the 3rd encore, they ripped into So Alive, and the crowd went absolutely nuts.. Something I did not expect to see at a Ryan Adams concert... It was a fitting way to finish one of the best gigs I have ever been to...

The Full Setlist:

The Shadowlands
This House Is Not For Sale
She's Lost Control
Note To Self: Don't Die
Boys
Wish You Were Here
Firecracker
Luminol
Love Is Hell
Do Miss America
Shallow
This Is It
1974

- Encore 1 -
Call Me On Your Way Back Home
Jacksonville Skyline
Oh My Sweet Carolina
My Winding Wheel
New York New York
Lovesick Blues
Last Nite (The Strokes cover)

- Encore 2 -
To Be Young
Cookie Monster
Anybody Wanna Take Me Home
Head Over Heels (Tears for Fears cover)

- Encore 3 -
Burning Photographs
So Alive

Next - Ben Harper at the Brixton Academy!!

SWUNG LOW


We have dreaded this day for a few months now - England actually winning and then us having to put up with all the gloating... For us Aussies living in London, it was more about England faltering and continuing their run of mediocrity, rather than the Wallabies winning the Webb Ellis Trophy for the third time...

I woke up with a splitting headache at 7:30 on Saturday morning - the result of a drinking session the night before (red wine and pike just don't mix)... I stayed over at Ray's place so we could watch the game together at the new Walkabout in Finchley Rd, and it was lucky Pete & Belinda did likewise, or Ray and I may have missed the game completely (which, in hinesight, may not have been such a bad thing)... We managed to get there by 7:45 but the line was already 50 metres long... Further up the line, ahead of us, there were some more familiar faces, patiently waiting to get in... It felt like the whole of Sydney was in NW3...

By the time we made it inside, it was standing room only.. but I found a spot right in front of the big screen where I could sit on the floor... As tempting as it was to go for a Foster's or a Bundy & Coke, my brain somehow over-ruled that part of the stomach which cries out for a beer when watching a sporting event of this magnitude... Though, the lemonade didn't really help the headache...

What I thought of the game - The Wallabies were brave, but were clearly out-classed.. They only stayed in the game due to some dubious (bordering on bizarre) decisions by Andre Watson... If not for the referee, it could have been the most lopsided WC final ever, such was the difference of the two teams... I hate saying this, but England fully deserve their victory, and when you have a powerful set of forwards like they do, and a no. 10 that can just about do anything (yes, even tackling!), it would take a mighty effort to even get close... So credit where credit's due...

As for the Wallabies, looks like their luck has finally run out.. Line-outs were woeful, the front-row was non-existent, and the backline just couldn't get anything going without the space required... The 'leagies' were found out once again, except for Tuqiri perhaps, and that was a gamble that probably backfired for the ARU... Can't see how Sailor will be back after his pathetic performances...

For that reason, I was not too disappointed with the result... The English can celebrate.. for now... Let's hope, for their sake, it does not take another 37 years to win anything...

WHEN A TERRORIST COMES TO TOWN


Depending on who you talk to, or which newspaper you read, the turn-out for the anti-Bu$h rally here in London was better than many had hoped... The Murdoch-aligned news outlets said "thousands".. the police estimated somewhere between 100,000 and 110,000.. while the organisers put it at 200,000... Whatever the number was, one thing was clear - Blair does not speak for all Britons...

I met up with Lan Vy (a friend from Sydney) at around 2pm near Holburn.. We joined the masses and headed south towards Waterloo Bridge and then South Bank... Along the way, Lan Vy saw an American guy whom she had met at a rally in Paris last weekend.. He was holding a "Gulf Wars" placard, which I got to carry for a few minutes... There were no shortage of clever signs all around us, including one that read "How many lives per gallon?".. but my personal favourite would have been the sweet old lady's sign that simply said "Bush go home" (pictured)...

After winding our way through central London for close to 3 hours, the march ended at Trafalgar Square... A stage was set up for the numerous speakers, and in a replay of scenes in Iraq earlier this year, a statue of dubya was ceremoniously pulled down with great cheer...

The best thing about the day, in my opinion, was that people of all ages and groups were united in a single cause - to say that Terrorisim cannot be defeated with hoggishness and violence... The bloodshed of thousands of innocent lives - all it's doing is breeding the next generation of suicide bombers... But hey, maybe that's been their plan all along...

ABOUT BEING ABLE TO FLY
Katie Melua, Shepherd's Bush Empire - Wed, 19th Nov 2003


Two days ago, I had no idea who Katie Melua was... Since reading a little about her approximately 48 hours ago, I've gone and purchased the album, and then saw her perform in her very first head-lining gig at Shepherd's Bush Empire... There seems to be a bit of 'hype' surrounding this 19-year old, and I felt it necessary to check her out, as finding new talent is one of my favourite pastimes...

Katie's music is being compared to that of Norah Jones, but it is mostly unfounded as she plays acoustic guitar rather than piano... As for her being the 'next Norah', she may turn out to be as successful, but I sense they will be on different paths artistically... Her background is an intriguing one - born in Georgia, grew up in Moscow, moved to Northern Ireland, and then finally to London at the age of 15.. She speaks fluent Russian and Georgian...

The concert -- I went with an open mind.. I did not expect anything spectacular.. yet I did hope to see glimpses of a genius in the making... Listening to the album the night before, I felt that she was probably not quite ready for the masses just yet.. but the raw talent was there, and her potential may be limitless...

The first support act (I didn't catch the name) was this Drake/Cohen-esque guy with a hint of Dylan.. It was just him and the acoustic, and I quite enjoyed the folk-country-ballads that he played for a few minutes...

Second support act was a guy called Adam Masterson.. He had this Springsteen thing going on with his voice.. but he was very much in the stylings of Ryan Adams.. off-key harmonica and all... He worked well with a bass dude accompanying him.. and a couple of songs really stood out... One to look out for...

After a short break, the lights dimmed, and a man came on stage to make an introduction... From his speech (and the crowd's reaction) one got the impression that this buzz surrounding Katie right now may be more than warranted... He was glowing in his praise for her freshness and uniqueness... Turns out that he was Mike Batt, the one who has been working with her for the last few months, co-writing songs and playing together.. He also played the piano for the evening...

Adulations aside, the artist in question came out alone and without saying a word, played a song that she wrote about her all time idol, Eva Cassidy... She sat on a stool, playing the guitar with her legs crossed, and it was really cute how she tapped along with her foot... The rest of the band joined her on stage for the 2nd song, together with a multiple-piece string orchestra and a brass section...

At times, her voice quivered (just a little).. and she seemed slightly nervous - probably more overwhelmed than anything... She has a long way to go before she develops an on-stage-presence (of which she was lacking on this occasion).. but overall, it was a decent performance seeing as though that it was her first ever major show... Once her voice matures into that earthy sounds of a Lucinda Williams or even a Edith Piaf (and I believe it's just a matter of time), together with some hard touring, she is capable of emulating her established peers and the artists she grew up listening to...

Her album is described as being 'jazz-influenced'... There are a few jazz/bluesy covers (eg. My Aphrodisiac Is You, Crawling Up A Hill) on it, but I'm not sure if she was able to pull it off, and I felt the same way about her live versions... However, one of Katie's own creations, Belfast (Penguins and Cats) was delightfully sung and played... My other personal highlight was her rendition of Lilac Wine, and she rightfully gave a nod to Jeff Buckley before playing it...

Walking out of the theatre, most people seemed to be captivated by the performance.. There were people of all age groups (mostly Jazz FM listeners, I suspect) - teenagers to the elderly.. and I couldn't help thinking to myself that she may go all the way...

THE GUY GUY

Do I really look like Guy Sebastian?

WINNING BILL, KEW GARDENS, AND MISCELLANEOUS

I missed the first 20 minutes of the game, but that was an awesome performance by the World-champion Wobblies Wallabies on Saturday morning (GMT)... The new Walkabout Bar at Finchley Rd was full to the brim with Antipodeans, and some of us were forced to watch the game at another sports bar down the road... We were already 7-zip up but I felt the crowd was fairly subdued - that is until Lote Tuqiri spectacularly fielded a high ball and raced away in between a couple of helpless English defenders... In contrast, the Wallabies were rock-solid in defence, bar that line break by Carlos Spencer that set up their try, and the 'wall' was impenetrable, punishing, and ruthless - fantastic stuff... So, once more, the All Blacks choke when it matters most, and are left to ponder all the 'what ifs'.. This has to be worse than The Bills losing 4 straight Superbowls... tsk tsk...


Had a light brekkie/brunch at Ray's place after that.. and while walking up the hill towards Hampstead station to get back home, it hit me just how pretty some parts of London can be (pending weather)... The whole area has a quiet country town feel and it's days like this you really come to appreciate London's diversity... I can see myself living in the area someday, or at least I would very much like to...

Back home, I crashed on the couch (watching a Euro 2004 qualifier game between Wales & Russia), and only managed wake myself up with the sweet aromas of Shaun's cooking navigating itself from the kitchen to my nose in the living room.. I had been asleep for more than 5 hours... The food was scoffed down in pretty quick time, and I was off again, this time to a birthday drinks thing at a bar in Soho... It was a typical Aussie affair, spent playing 2 degrees of separation with people from Sydney... I hadn't played that game for a while so it was fun while it lasted...

I somehow managed to drag myself outta bed on Sunday morning, in the hope of seeing England crumble against France in the second semi of the WC, but it was not to be.. It's not right that a team can get through to the final without scoring a try... Oh well.. it should be more the sweeter next week...

Later, the sun was out and I joined Shaun and Nuria in a photo-taking expedition down to Kew Gardens... We arrived at around 1pm and for just over 3 hours, we strolled around the grounds marvelling at the funky colours of an English autumn... I dare say that it was my best day with the S50 so far... The light was perfect, and all the trees, each budding flower, even the squirrels seem to smile back... It was all just awww...

I'm really enjoying autumn here.. It is definitely the prettiest time of the year... Having grown up in Australia most of my life, I'm not used to the intense reds, yellows and bronze of the leaves, or that distinct sweet smell of decay cutting through the cool air... The only downside to it is the limited daylight.. It's starting to get dark around 4:30pm now.. I noticed for the first time just how low the sun is at midday... Can't imagine what it will be like in a couple of months...

Photos from Kew Gardens here.

NEW IDENTITY

Ok.. from now on.. I'm known as the "anti-american dude"... Bwahahahaha!

Donald wants you!

THE PROOF? WHAT THE..??

Well.. look at that... My post on the talk by Michael Moore on Sunday night has ended up as a news item on the PABAAH website... PABAAH, by the way, stands for.. wait for it.. Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood...

They claim that what I wrote is PROOF that Hollywood's impact on anti-americanism is on the rise...

First of all.. I am not from Brussels! (yes, I was there over the weekend and yes, it's fine little city...)

Secondly.. any decent-minded human being doesn't need someone like Michael W Moore (or "Hollywood" for that matter) to tell us that killing thousands of innocent civilians is wrong... If anything, I was being critical of Moore for taking extreme views on such delicate matters...

And lastly.. thanks for making me famous!!

ABSTRACT BEAUTY

So I went to a ballet last night...

Now, I bet you never thought I would go to such an event, let alone entertain the idea of it... but I'm happy to report that I enjoyed it.. a lot... (and I only fell asleep once, and for just a split second during the slow bit.. it's just unfortunate that someone managed to catch me in the act, as I deserved to get away with it..)

Titled "Raise the Red Lantern", the director of the 1991 film of the same name, Zhang Yimou (also "The Road Home", "Not One Less"), collaborated with the National Ballet of China to bring his cinematic vision to the ballet stage... The result is a wonderous, almost dream-like spectacle that will last long in the memory...

It wasn't so much the dancing and prancing that stood out, but the awesome lighting and the overall production value of the show... My favourite part was where the two main leads were behind a large screen and only their silhouettes could be seen by the audience.. This was highly effective as it enhanced the emotions brought up by the scene.. The use of size of the shadows heightened the husband's over-powering nature, as well as the desperation of the new wife (concubine)...

For a little over two hours, we were treated to a series of expressive gestures and symbolic set-designs (yes, there was some dancing to be seen too).. The mix of western and traditional Chinese music also added to the atmosphere... and I really have to admit, that it was better than any musical I have seen.. so far...

I was later told that the dancing was not technically great.. but I didn't really care... The way those girls seem to just glide over the stage was impressive enough... Will there be a next time? I guess that remains to be seen...

BUSH IS AN IDIOT, WHAT'S BLAIR'S EXCUSE?

This was no ordinary book signing... When the fat man in the cap speaks, hordes of lefties will follow... His new book, "Dude, Where's My Country?" is a no.1 best-seller.. and has sold more copies in its first 3 weeks of release than his former no.1 best-seller, "Stupid White Men", did in a whole year... His name is Michael W Moore...

The famous London Palladium was the setting for this orgy of anti-americanism.. We arrived early enough (straight from Brussels).. but we were confronted with a mass of people crowded outside the theatre.. There was no chance for the few cars stuck behind to get through... Caught in the crowd, there seemed to be a mix of different people.. Brits that hate America.. Europeans that hate America.. and Americans that hate America...

He was funny enough on stage.. The audience got to hear what they wanted to hear - Blair must go.. Bush is the "thief-in-chief".. yada yada yada...

However, when it came to question time from the audience.. I felt a slight chill down my spine... I agree with just about everything he says.. and it is refreshing to see someone, an American, taking up the fight in this war against 'the fictitious president'... but I just have the feeling that he may be over-stepping the mark... Politics isn't always just black and white - the left vs the right... Once he is successful in ousting Bush from the White House next year, what then? Another whitey will take over, and continue this cycle of self interest and lies...

But then, I see stuff like this and I just want Mike to **** them all off...

And yes, I waited in line to get my copy of Stupid White Men signed afterwards...