Is this the face of a man who loves what he does? I think so.

I’m decompressing from one of the greatest rock shows I’ve ever seen. EVER. The Foo Fighters were incredible, and our decision to stake out a spot at the far end of the floor by the second stage turned out to be a wise one. When they moved to that stage about halfway through the concert, Dave Grohl ended up ten feet in front of us. Needless to say, photos were taken, and a few of them are going to turn out fantastic.

Sadly, I couldn’t find the cord for my point and shoot camera before I left, and since it was the one I used (although I suspect I could’ve gotten away with bringing in my SLR), the photos will have to wait until tomorrow. This tough old Thinkpad I use doesn’t have an SD card slot.

I’ll write more soon, when I get the photos up, but for now I’ll say that the only thing that kept this show from moving into second place on my all-time greatest concert list was the less-than-ideal acoustics of the Pacific Coliseum. Thankfully, having a leggy supermodel for a concert date helped balance that out, and oh yeah did I mention DAVE GROHL WAS TEN FEET IN FRONT OF US?!

If you’re a fan of Hawksley, and you didn’t go to his show here at the Jack Singer on Wednesday, man oh man should you be filled with regret. I’ve seen the man five times in the last few years, and this concert was at least twice as good as all the previous shows combined.

Hawksley has an engaging stage presence, and usually pulls out an interesting twist or three on a typical music performance. This time, he opened the show with three songs on a miniature (kid-sized) drum kit, with Mr. Lonely next to him at stage front on an equally-small piano. There was also a guitar the size of a ukelele that he played for the last of the three-song intro.

The next hour or so built from a fairly gentle yet determined pace, with subtle versions of many of his more recognizable tunes, into electric guitar work and his first of several stints behind the full-size drum kit. Then the momentum shifted for two songs when Hawksley and his band moved to the front of the stage and performed a completely acoustic set. And by that, I mean no mics or amplification - a testament to the stellar acoustics of the Jack.

His four-piece band left the stage around the mid-point, leaving him singing as he removed jacket, vest and a long-sleeved shirt to reveal a Bahaus t-shirt. Then, as he continued the song, he donned a lime-green jumpsuit, to be rejoined by the band in similar attire.

The “green phase” of the show was more energetic, and had them playing long versions of songs segueing into freestyling and jamming. They interspersed snippets of recent pop staples into some, as well: Bootylicious and Karma Chameleon were two, and the latter had the young girls next to Erin - obviously born well after Culture Club made it a hit - puzzled as to what was so funny.

Twice during the second hour, Mr. Lonely got behind the drums while Hawksley played piano, and I was more than a little surprised at his talent on the skins, having only seen him play keyboards before that. The other band members were equally amazing, with saxophone, mandolin, fiddle and vocals filling out the sound at various points.

After two hours of brilliance, Hawksley et al said goodnight, but were brought back for an encore by a well-earned standing ovation. Three songs later, including Jealous of Your Cigarette, another goodnight, and another standing o, and Hawksley and Mr. Lonely came out for two more songs. One final farewell, and I’m fairly confident that everyone in the audience felt like they got a bargain for their ticket price.

This show definitely ranks in the top ten of the several hundred concerts I’ve attended. I’m not sure if - or how - he’ll be able to top it, but I can guarantee you that I won’t be missing another Hawksley show to make sure I find out.

I’m home and editing a few photos from one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. EVER. Hawksley played for two and a half hours, did two encores (this shot is from the second), and quite literally figuratively blew me away. It was brilliance personified, and he was as engaging and entertaining as I’ve ever seen him, or many other artists.

Top ten for sure (and I’ve been to hundreds of concerts).

I’ll write more tomorrow or the next day, and try and get some more photos posted to Flickr ASAP. My bed beckons now.

Actually, just this minute. The brutal winter we were subjected to is over!

Oh, wait, that wasn’t us.

Writer Arthur C. Clarke Dies at 90

The man who penned 2001: A Space Odyssey has passed away. He co-wrote the screenplay for the first sci-fi blockbuster with Kubrick, and the story still confounds viewers 40 years on.

I’ve always liked Will Smith - and more than liked his spectacular wife - but if this story is true, I’ve lost all respect for both of them.

Soon to be Scientologists?

Today is what I’ve taken to referring to as a ‘binary birthday’, because it’s shared by two women in my life who were born on the same day. Not just March 12, but March 12 of the same year. One of them is my cousin Erin, the other is my ex, Christina.

Happy 33rd, girls. Hope you have a great day.

It’s in the US, but still good reason to be concerned.

Study: 1 in 4 teen girls has an STD

A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls — nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

About half of the girls acknowledged having sex; among them, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections.

I was out both afternoons this past weekend, enjoying the sunshine and 12-degree temperatures, and shooting photographs. There’s this cool old school building in the next block over from my apartment, and although it’s closed and barricaded, I was able to get a few interesting shots. Because of the sandstone construction and fantastic architectural details, I decided to whip up some HDR images from the shoot.

The one above is obviously a grayscale conversion. I love what the HDR sky turned into once the grayscale conversion was done - it has a very ‘negative’ look to it. This one is my favourite of the bunch, though: