Back from the trip

I'm just back in London after a week and a bit in New York, and then Philadelphia. New York was cold, so cold, but it was fun to have a good stroll around and eat too much for breakfast every day. One highlight was seeing London band Bloc Party (photo 'borrowed' from review here) play at the new, and very cool, venue called Terminal Five.

They were, as ever, a very very fine live band - the New York crowd certainly enjoyed them, although how much they really "get" those Hackney & Bethnal Green lyrics, I'm not sure. Another highlight was catching up over coffee with Stuart Rogers, he's one of those oh so common New-York-based-Australian-friends-of-Icelandic-music types, you'll know him - he runs this website. Top man, we talked a lot about the forthcoming gogoyoko site and all that it promises (seriously it's going to be fabulous, possibly revolutionary), Stuart has been working with them, getting some really fantastic video footage - initially of Sin Fang Bous - posted up for our pleasure.

Philadelphia is a much calmer, and in my view, more pleasant and fun city. The trip there was about visiting people and getting my now annual fix of NHL Ice Hockey. It's so much fun, despite the fact that I've now made four trips to see the 'mighty' Philadelphia Flyers and have seen them lose four times. Sigh. On a musical note, one thing I am always reminded of at the Flyers is just what a seriously marvellous tune AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" is. My word. Oh, and the other oe they always play is that Rocky tune - not "Eye Of The Tiger", I think it's called "Gonna Fly Now" - top motivational stuff!

The flight home is something I never enjoy but this time I used it not for sleep (unfortunately) but to listen to four wonderful albums. The first two are predictable if you've been concentrating, "Silent Alarm" by Bloc Party and AC/DC's "Back In Black" and then I went a little more Icelandic with two contrasting records - "The Blood" by Reykjavik! and then finally "All Is Well" by the not-actually-Icelandic Sam Amidon. Happy days, now back to work.