I’m developing a serious crush on those Philippine Jeepneys but haven’t dared enter one yet.

Wiki:

Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. They have become a ubiquitous symbol of Philippine culture.

The word jeepney is a portmanteau of “jeep” and “Jitney”.

Miss Lauryn Hill @ IndigO2, London, 14 April

Memorable, phenomenal, superb, too many spine-tingling moments to count, Ooh La La La… loads more platitudes where that came from so best I stop here. Also, she kept losing her dress and sang a little jokey chorus abut of that… so cute I wanted to jump on stage, hug her and take care of that wardrobe malfunction for her. Except I was way high up, stuck in the balcony where they parked all the adults with money — while the cool street kids with less money where in the pit. Talking about the crowd, it was not surprisingly very mixed (spanning all ages, all colours) but man there were lots of stunning and fashionable black girls in the house. Lots and lots…. Impressively so…. A really nice change from the usual indie gigs I go to where the crowd is slightly whiter and certainly not as good looking. 

Miss Hill sang the entire Miseducation + some big Fugees hits + some Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder covers. No new song, as far as I could tell… But isn’t she supposed to release a new album this year though? 

The Independent:

“It’s been a long time coming,” says Ms. Lauryn 
Hill, as she appears on the IndigO2 stage to the sold-out crowd.

“We cut through so we can get back to doing it the way it should be done.” This sounds like a veiled apology for the past decade, where her eccentric behaviour and cryptic proselytizing for a religious/political cause no one could quite figure out, did little to preserve the glory that came with her brilliant, ground-breaking ‘98 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Garish outfits and makeup, peculiar new songs - Social Drugs anyone? - bad vocals and frustrating re-mixes of her classics seemed to taint her last two London shows in ‘05 and ‘07, but if all this was the sum of being vexed at the music industry and any other personal woes, then tonight’s show suggests she’s finally made peace with the world.

Flanked by an enthusiastic 7-piece band, the youthful looking 36-year-old delivers an ecstatic tribute to her musical heritage and the album that made her famous, defying any misgivings she’d lost her sparkle. The first part of the nearly two hour proceedings features a flamboyant recap of Everything is Everything, where her pitch perfect rasp evolves into a spine-tingling gospel lament, as well as a funky reworking of The Doors’ Light My Fire and Marley’s Concrete Jungle, which seamlessly segues into Forgive Them Father. All the while, Hill’s a fearless conductor who’s remarkable to look at. Completely in sync with the music, she continuously whips her head around to each band member to ensure they’re keeping up and commands each song, from the ominous Final Hour to the endearing Zion.

Other heartfelt numbers, like The Sweetest Thing and further tributes to Marley and Stevie Wonder also elicit approving cheers, followed by a thunderous performance of Lost Ones, and a quick dip into Fugees territory, where she truly exceeds herself, thanks to a machine-gun delivery and tomboy swagger, made all the more incredible when you’re reminded she’s doing all this macho posturing in a shiny, gold dress.

The show’s only shortcoming is the dodgy soundsystem and the fact she steers clear of the MTV Unplugged 2.0 album, which for all its criticism had some real gems - and even she points out she thought “no one wanted to hear that”, promising she’ll come back to perform it. But all this does little to dampen the rest of the evening,which has more than enough triumphs to certify this lady’s on the comeback.

Sam Amidon @ Westminster Reference Library, London, 12 Apr 2012

Sam Amidon comes across as a gentle and slightly whacky soul — when he needs to make an important decision, he goes out to the woods with a bottle of wine and get his answers from the trees… You know the type. But more importantly, Amidon’s got a great soulful voice (ala Nick Drake… spookily so, I might add) and some beautiful tunes to show it off.

[More pix from his set => HERE]

Hey, how about some Palestinian olive oil with your Israeli couscous?

Sometimes, the best thing in a restaurant is the toilets. Sometimes.

Sketch
9 Conduit Street  
London W1S
Tel: +44 (0)20 7659 4500 

Room 1307
PUBLIC Chicago
(A Ian Schrager hotel)
1301 North State Parkway
Chicago, IL 60610 

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you the best steak sandwich in the whole fucking world, and one reason (among many) never to leave Chicago.

USDA Gibsons prime angus rib eye sandwich (topped with sauteed spinach, roasted garlic and bleu cheese dressing), courtesy of Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse.

………………………………

Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse

me + me + me (…+ landscape)

[3am, time to leave.]

Between Dallas and San Jose del Cabo, 20 March 2012

Montevideo —> Miami —> Dallas —> San Jose del Cabo = 24 hours (exactly)

“A message from Kusama:

Grand Orgy to Awaken the Dead at Moma
(Otherwise known as the Museum of Modern Art)
Featuring their usual display of nudes

At the museum you can take off your clothes in good company:

RENOIR
MAILLOL
GIACOMETTI
PICASSO

I positively guarantee that these characters will all be present and that all will be in the nude.*

*Sociological note: The nude has become socially acceptable among the more permanent residents of the garden of the museum. Phalli are also a la mode, particularly the harder varieties in granite, basalt and bronze.

This being the case, we will make this celebration traditional in keeping with the tome of the Museum of Modern Art.

 

“THOUGHTS ON THE MAUSOLEUM OF MODERN ART
By Kusama

What’s Modern here? I don’t see it.

Van Gogh, Cezanne, these are other ghosts, all are dead and dying.

While the dead show dead art, living artists die.

Fame and reputations are sold across the counter.

Here art, hard as diamond, prevails over love;

Diamonds for grand dames attending their funeral.

MOMA is political, a show place for vanity.

Politics has no place in love and in art.

No life stirs in empty rooms where DON’T TOUCH is the rule.

Exhibitions should be free and not a dollar fifty.

Art should be priced for all to own – at the supermarket.

Soft sculpture is alive, always preferrable to hard sculpture.

My love is like mixed media, mixing you and me.

Cast includes Lunar Eclipse, Crystal Violence, Lasar Beam, Dill Dough, Infra Red, Looney Tunes.”

 

Two Door Cinema Club @ Brixton Academy, London, 25 feb 2012

The only reason why I’m now dumping Two Door Cinema Club in my guilty-pleasure basket is because in the two years since I last saw them live, their fan base has grown even younger (if that ever was possible) and immensely retarded. From now on, I’ll simply avoid them live and keep the fun in the confines of my headphones.

One-day safari in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, on 16 Feb 2012

Good pick if you only have one day to spare; we spotted a lot of animals in just a few hours, although we didn’t see any leopards (which was to be expected, the bastards are very elusive), no male lions and only one elephant (Tarangire national park is the place to go for that). The crater itself is spectacularly beautiful. 

Spotted: zebras, wildebeests and buffalos everywhere, a pride of lions (females and young only) eating a kill, one elephant (male), 2 black rhinos in love, hippos bathing in a pond, crowned cranes, a family of wild boars, a couple of wandering hyenas (or the same one twice), a few Maasai peeps here and there, humongous camera lenses sprouting out of the roofs of jeeps, kites hovering and ready to eat your lunch, one jackal, a couple of ostriches, grand gazelles, thomson’s gazelles, common waterbucks, a kori bustard.

Rescued: 2 Danes and 2 Swedes whose jeep broke down in the crater and who continued their journey in mine. 

Gained: tons of pix, my fill of wonderment, and probably skin cancer (face and arms completely nuked)

Full set of pix => HERE

Somewhere between Arusha and Ngorongoro, Tanzania, 16 February 2012

We were driving rather fast — so fast that I actually didn’t see what I was shooting. I was on a drive-by shooting spree, gleefully spraying and praying. This shot was a nice surprise. 

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 02 Feb 2012

[More pix from the gig => HERE]

Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London, 02 Feb 2012

I went to see King Creosote & Jon Hopkins play and was blown away by their supporting act, French band Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains. I totally grooved on their odd mix of world music, melancholic French pop, camp theatrics & phenomenal energy. 

[More pix from the gig => HERE]