Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

...grooming tips from "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" are well worth trying out. I have just had the best shave ever...

So remember folks, shave after showering, not before. It really works.

Cheers Kyan!

Jet lag and concerts don't usually go well together, let alone concerts in another city. But after flying back from Salt Lake City, and just a few hours kip, I found myself on a train for Brighton, and Peter Gabriel's smallest gig for some time....

Billed as a warm-up gig for today's Nelson Mandela-organised AIDS benefit in South Africa, Gabriel used the concrete shed of the Brighton Centre as a place to try out a stripped back set that mixed old and new. Tracks from early albums sat alongside pieces from Ovo and UP. Simple lighting effects and an almost empty stage were surpassed by virtuoso guitar from long-time musical collaborator David Rhodes, while Tony Levin's bass led with a driving rhythm that never stopped.

Highlights included "Games Without Frontiers" sung on synchronised Segways, and a climax that included a powerful, triumphant "Solsbury Hill" that underlined Gabriel's commitment to his post-Genesis career, and that led to the entire line-up dancing through the audience. Perhaps unsurprisingly, tracks from So and Us dominated the set. An acapella "Mercy Street" brought tears to the eyes, while "Digging in the Dirt" was as honest as ever... The encores were well worth the long journey that resulted from catching the last train back to London: a passionate "Biko", sung anticipating its first live performance in South Africa, and the perennial crowd-pleaser "Sledgehammer".

One of the best gigs so far this year.

(Now, if only he'd sung "Here Comes The Flood"...)

Tony Levin has been taking digital photos of concerts he's been playing in, and photoblogging them on his site. Monday night's photos can be found here...

Quite amusing to see a gig from a rather different point of view! (I'm off in the balcony on the far right.)

...introducing anatomically correct milk chocolate hearts (US only). Though dark chocolate is better for the heart...

(And brains, Igor, cherry-centred chocolate brains!)

[link from codepope]

...the streaming webcast of the benefit concert for Nelson Mandela's 46664 AIDS charity....

Excellent music, and an excellent cause.

(You can tell I'm struggling with a Guardian piece, when I spam LJ this much!)