Hat trick

Went to the Avalon again last night. The final night of Paul Weller's three-night stand was a lot like a combination of the first two--at least in terms of Jam and Style Council songs. The addition was "English Rose." Most of the juice was served up during the solo songs, though. From "Into Tomorrow" through "The Changing Man" and "Peacock Suit" up to "From Floorboards Up," you can tell that the newer songs have way much going on in them. More skill with just as much fire, you might say. Gotta say that his band is tack sharp and fierce. I don't know if the musical tenacity comes though in their studio recordings.


I tried taking pictures last night and the night before, and have concluded that the Ricoh GR isn't really made for longer-distance pics--at least not ones with light shooting in different directions, fog, smoke, and a couple rows of heads between the fixed lens and the object. I concede that zoom is good for such situations. Nonetheless, this shot turned out half-way decent because the house lights were on. It was during "Town Called Malice," which ended all three shows. The GR is still kick-ass for portraits, though.


The photo above doesn't really count because I used flash in a dark room. It's gr/eats regular, GR advice giver, adidas-wearer, and friend Tom. He's one of the sharpest, warmest guys on Earth. It wasn't fair to ambush him with a photo after three nights of concerts--following three nights plus an in-store with Paul Weller in NYC--but I couldn't resist. (The cups on the ground are not his.)

Ah, that's better. The mix of neon and florescent light in Sanamluang in Thai Town. On the left is Karina. She's a GR Foundation member and also a contributor who wrote a Perfect Day a couple issues back. She flew all the way from Guam to see Paul Weller! On the right is Pryor, GR's minister of color. The last few times PW has crossed the pond, Pryor is the other guy I know who will spend the $$ for a ticket. How could he not come along to open and close this stand?

Tonight, I'm going to see PW at the Jimmy Kimmel show. This should be interesting.