BEN HOWARD

On Tuesday night Andrew and I had the chance to head into LA to see Ben Howard perform. We braved the rush hour traffic to get in. It is pretty much the worst time to be driving through LA, but Andrew managed it well. We got there early enough for me to have another new American experience; Five Guys. This is a burger place that has a deceptively simple menu but you can pretty much just build the burger yourself. It also comes with free helpings of peanuts, in their cases, which enable you to make a mess all over the table!

The event was held at the Shrine Expo Hall which was an incredible looking building right near the University of Southern California. It was a really interesting looking building. The picture below does not do it justice at all. It was shot on an iPhone so it wouldn't be amazing but you can at least see the decorative windows. It was very Arabic in its theme and decor. Probably why Andrew loved it.

So the actual concert was amazing. We haven't been to quite such a chilled out one before but it was fun. Here are just a couple of pictures that show you it. Sorry for the terrible quality.

Sadly we haven't got any more concerts planned for the near future. Guess we better get looking for some...

H

FADING WEST

Switchfoot have been a favourite band of mine ever since 2000 when they released their third studio album, Learning to Breathe. I had seen them three times in the UK and had always loved their shows. They throw everything into them and just give so much energy and enthusiasm to the audience. Plus I love hearing about the inspiration behind their songs. 

Earlier this year they released their ninth studio album, Fading West. It came out right as the preparations for our trip out west began and I would listen to it as I did packing and sorting. The band also released a film which documented the making of the album as they travelled around the world and eventually came back to their hometown of San Diego. The places of the world I saw in that film and the themes covered within it really resonated with me and I found myself really falling in love with the album; almost as much as that first album I heard. 

When we saw the announcement of their fall tour for the Fading West album I was determined to get tickets but then came the option of seeing them in their hometown of San Diego. I was sold. Andrew agreed it would be pretty awesome too. So we found ourselves sitting in an open air theatre on November 1st waiting for them in a small rain shower. They did not disappoint. It was a truly amazing show, with classics being played and reworked, a surprise cello guest and just some amazing moments. 

Here are some of the photos we managed to capture. 

It was an amazing concert and we are excited about our next one..... Handel's Messiah in LA at Christmas. :)
H

LIVE MUSIC IN LA

This Tuesday at short notice we headed of to LA for some live music. Fyfe Dangerfield, the lead musician from the band The Guillemots, was in town visiting a friend and decided to play a small gig. We haven't really explored Los Angeles much so heading in to find a small bar at night was a little crazy. But after finding some parking nearby we headed to the Hotel Cafe, the small venue tucked away in a side alley a block from Hollywood Blvd.

The music was soooo good and we were amazed at the incredible talent of Fyfe and the other two musicians playing. The incredible thing was that he had come over on his own so the drummer he played with that night had never played with him before! Yet it still sounded really incredible. 

Here are a few photos and videos of the night. We even managed to say Hi to Fyfe afterwards who was a little surprised to hear some English accents!

A

ROAD TRIP TO TENNESSEE PART I

So I'm very sorry but the videos from Nashville are pretty bad quality but hopefully you get the idea. In the morning we had a breakfast at place with a flyingboat on the ceiling so I was happy.

Then we went on to Memphis; from Country to Blues. It was very quiet in Memphis but we found some great live music, ranging from a Blues Society at the Rum Boogie Club to proper Rhythm & Blues in a really chilled bar which served amazing wings!! We then went to the first BB King Blues Club and finally to a cool little french bar with amazing decor.

In the morning whilst preparing for the journey ahead I discovered that the motel was right next door to an amazing derelict building and a cool bridge.

So we hit the road heading just out of town to Elvis's house; Graceland. An odd mix of retro and obsession. This was also the final stop of on the road trip and then began the 8 hour drive home. Here are a few pictures of the house, planes and cars.

A.

ROAD TRIP TO TENNESSEE PART II

This last weekend, myself and a few of the lads I work with took advantage of the extra day off (Martin Luther King Day) and went for a road trip to the Tennessee to visit Nashville and Memphis. Friday we set off straight after work trying to get as far as we could towards Nashville so we didn't have to drive too far in the morning (445 mile drive), so we stopped the night at a cheap motel in Birmingham, AL. We were somewhat worried how the evening would turn out as driving in we saw some pretty aggressive road rage on the outskirts of the city and on arriving at the motel, a police car pulled up and arrested someone. Yup, nothing like a bit of crazy to add to the adventure! But once in the city itself, it turned out to be a nice place with friendly people.

Here are a few photos from the drive.

Back on the road the next day heading first towards Nashville we detoured via Lynchburg, to the Jack Daniels Whisky Distillery, which is in Moore County who have yet to vote against the prohibition laws so is still a "dry" county. The Distillery run a free tour of the whisky making process. It was interesting to see how this process worked even though I don't really care much for their whisky. Our tour guide showed us the fermenting mash which she encouraged us to sniff, I think this was more for her to laugh at us leaping backwards from the pungent yeasty smell with burnt nose hairs.

My favourite was the rocking chairs made out of barrels. And they were very comfortable.

Here are some photos of the visit.

Then on to Nashville for everything Country & Western. We found another "interesting" motel to stay at then popped into the city to hear some music and laugh at the odd cowboys strolling around. Also surprised at the number of people with massive beards!!  

Here are a few snaps of Nashville, more to come in part II plus a video if I can work out how to post it!

A.