Enough with the Michael Jackson stuff now oh news channels of the world. I only really liked "Give In To Me" anyway, and that was only because he had Slash playing a guitar solo in it. Oh, and Macaulay Culkin in the "Black or White" video. Look at this bunch of clowns I caught re-enacting Thriller outside HMV at Piccadilly Circus this evening



Just back from a few very hot days in London staying at my parents' house and going to a couple of incredibly good gigs in Hyde Park. I managed to get almost all of the way to the station on Monday before getting worried I'd left the gas on while drying my wok so hailing a taxi (it just happened to be passing - that almost never happens) back home and then back to the station again. I hadn't left the gas on. I hate that. I suppose it's better than if I had.



So yeah, Regina Spektor on Monday night. I'd got two tickets, assuming that there'd be someone I know that wanted to go with me. There wasn't, so I sold it to some guy on the way in at a slight loss, only to find out that a couple of people I knew that were going already had had to pay twice the face value on the internet. I hate that. It was worth it though - I'd pay a lot of money for just one of the all over body tingles you get when something's really good, and there were a lot of them to be had. We sat with a picnic outside the arena watching some really substandard frisbee playing until it was almost time for Regina, which meant we were a fair way back in the tent, but it was still astonishingly good. Even the stuff off the not so obviously brilliant new album seemed mostly great. "On the Radio", "Fidelity", "Us" and especially "Samson" were pretty jaw dropping. She actually made a mistake in Samson and laughed. See - other people laugh when they cock up. The reception she got was incredible - she seemed quite taken aback. The band were impressive too - the drummer was playing parts that I assumed must have been programmed on the records. Definitely see her if you get the chance. I took some photos but we were a bit far away for them to come out. She is the only act in the last few years apart from Bon Iver who I've seen knowing nothing about that I've been really, really blown away by. Funny that they'd both end up playing in Hyde Park on consecutive nights. Or maybe it isn't. 

We got in a bit earlier the next day and wandered around the site - it's all set up for the massive weekend gigs they've been doing (The Killers, Springsteen etc) but they only let 3000 people in, which meant that there was no queueing for anything.



There was a girl with a banjo and very long legs playing on a bandstand. I'm not sure what her name was, and the only song I heard seemed to be about letting Geoff know that someone had stolen her quavers. Bit weird.



We were further forward for Bon Iver than Regina, though I think we deserved every metre of it for watching Alela Diane. Nice enough voice (I'm told it's incredible on record, but that wasn't obvious) tasteful enough guitar from her dad, entertaining enough inappropriate rock shapes from her bassist, massive enough hat with a feather in from her drummer, but songs that left you feeling nothing while they were being performed and unable to remember them seconds after. I think they were largely about roads and mountains but I'm not sure. She's playing at the Folk Festival, I expect she'll go down a storm. She reminded me of Joan Baez. God I hate Joan Baez.



Bon Iver were fantastic again. "Blood Bank" has been rocked back up, and sounds all the better for it. "Re: Stacks" was so beautiful. I roared along with "Wolves" (might have had a Tuborg or two). The bass player looks less like Randy from My Name is Earl and more like Rory McGrath at the minute. I want one of those baritone guitars. The only bad word I have to say is that they didn't play "Blindsided". Again. It was the moment during their set in Barcelona last year that I thought "yes, this is really special". I'm seriously considering emailing them and offering to make a donation to charity if they play it in Gothenburg next month. It made me really want to be properly in a band. So, so good. The harmonies... Here's a picture of them doing a Jayhawks cover that I'm going to have to track down.



I finished reading "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" on the tube earlier on today and nearly ended up in tears. If I'd not been in a public place I'd have been in pieces I think. I wish I knew French so I could read the original, though the translation is beautifully written, so maybe it doesn't matter. It contains an awful lot of well observed little Truths about the pointlessness of life.