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Located just outside of millenium point in Birmingham is an area set up for footie fans to see world cup matches on the big screen. It is a really neat idea, a controlled environment should mean that there is little trouble, but there’s much more to it than that as you’ll see from this photo post.

Non England games are free entry and because Brum has a fair few communites dotted about the place, even for the smallest netutral game, there is usually some supporters who turn up to cheer their team on. The following photos give an idea of the kinds of things which are down there and how show what a great idea it actually is, as screens up and down the country are being turned off due to crowd trouble.

Fan park is Birminghams controlled world cup viewing area, behold the Magenta overload!

As seen from a distance there is a huge and I mean huge wall chart, click either photo to see more!

This needed doing and we all did a great job in freshening this room up. Apart from decorating our bathroom was getting on a bit, we’d always had the original suite and a whole wall of mirror tiles. On an impulse I brought a modern white suite, hehe and that was the start of many a trip to Homebase! Click the first photo to enter the photo post.

I really like this wall, it used to hold the mirror tiles

Mainly touring the US and rarely touching her homeland, Imogen Heap defines the English Rose down to every detail, she is in a word lovely and has managed to squeeze into our iPod collections without telling us. Using technology extreamly well she really engages with her fanbase incredibly smoothly and keeps an extensive flicker photo sharing account active. The iGirl for the iAge, very creative and very innovative.

Immi, is sometimes stationed in London, perhaps-maybe, and writes and performs very cutesy, lovely, warm and friendly electronic music, however her vocals aren’t for everyone as I found out in my car once. A string of soundtrack appearences, most recently to the end credits of the fantasy film Narnia, as well as a new album, along with a very cool community focused website and iTunes sleekness has pushed Immi to almost cult status.

Immi introduced each of her instuments as the band

So last night was simply lovely. Immi waltz on stage to introduce her guest, Zoe Keating, who plays haunting music with only her chelo, making use of recording and sampling equipment to layer various sounds of the chelo into an amazingly small but big sound.

Imogen took to her set barefoot, standing upon a fluffy rug she launched into an acapella version of “Just For Now”, even without vocoda’s and computers her voice is strangely unique. If I had to plump for a genre I would have to go post modern, I dunno though it’s the kind of stuff that you wouldn’t think a 25 year old bloke would be listening to and I certainly felt a decade too old again, but what the heck she was charming and very zaney.

It was a very cute set up, stood bare foot on a fluffy rug it was mainly Imogen driving the sound almost alone. Her guest, Zoe featured on a few tracks

Oh look a closer look. This was the first time she had been back in Birmingham for 5 whole years, we loved her, she loved us, she played a Frou Frou and was very charming in between tracks, it was really great.

A Frou Frou track was sliped in there to make up for the lack of touring here, we loved her and she loved Birmingham equally. Normally the encore is something you have to wait for, but Immi told us that she didn’t want to keep us waiting. All in all a very nice night, I felt as if collectively we had made a very zaney crazy friend, you know the kind? To top it off Imogen came right out after the gig to chat with the crowd, try getting that with the X-Factor lot eh?!

What a mouthfull! Yus this gig was prosponed from last year, but it was on for Sunday in the second city, it certainly has been a long time coming and worth every second: The gate is open! It’s not often alos that you are graced with two quality support slots. Nightmare Of You from New York with loads of rythmn, and a band called Captain, with a charming male/female vocal mix.

Delays banner behind stage seting the scene after support from two quality bands. New Yorkers; A Nightmare Of You were first up followed by a band called Captain, both were very good

As the fog cleared my sister snapped this supberb shot of the guys. The light show considering the size of the venue was really bright

Greg here blasting out the hits as well as the new tracks. As you can see here the mic stands had the signature colourful wires from the album cover wrapped around. Valentine, the current single was superb as was the likes of Long Time Coming

And the new album waiting for me when I got home from work tonight … nice!

This is backdated a little bit. I went along to the NIA with LeeK, a best friend of 10 years, to see Katie Melua. The night was brillient, although we were in the quite a way up the top block of the NIA we had a great view of the entire show. If I’m honest when she first appeared I didn’t rate Katie Melua very highly, but there was something about her first album that caught me and since then I’ve been hooked. It was her influences from Eva Cassidy’s magic that really brought me close to Katie, her band though are just as amazing as she is.

Where troubles melt like lemondrops
An encore followed, but I was holding out for “Faraway Voice”, for me personally and for personal reasons this was the highlight of the night. Katie’s first song had been writen about the woman who had inspired so many people including myself with her voice. Influence cleary rubbing off on Katie as she sang about Eva’s faraway voice and smiling in unison with the entire arena as the song finished. A really enjoyable night, and one that my signed plectrum won’t let me easily forget, even if it is a copy, get’s you through the day does nights like that.

Ooooh, check out the signed Plectrum and erm well ok it’s a bracelet, but a very nice keyring, none the less

To round up a mighty fine year of gigging with my best mate Rich, the NIA last night played host to indie pianist Ben Folds, who goes from strength to strength with his solo material. Starting a UK mini tour in Birmingham no longer than your little finger, it wasn’t so much the suburbs he was rocking, it was a more soothing, charming and relaxed night.

By all acounts it was one special gig. With the audience taking part and singing along with Ben it was amazingly intimate, at times so quiet you could hear a tear drop amoungst the heartfelt lyrics and yet at times with just the piano so full of energy and humorous lyrics. You might be able to see us at the front of the crowd, to the left of centre in the photos found at this forum post.

Just with his piano and voice, Ben managed to fill the entire arena. A true talent, truely a special night, click the photo for a longer review

I thought I’d put up a few photos that I found, showing me and the people close to me throughout the two and a half decades I have been around. Not everyone could make it on here, there’s far too little webspace, but these kinda show in some kind of sequence some of the better photos of me. I’m not excactly photogenic, these are the rare photos that turned out okish.

1980’s: Me and my sister on the doorstep of inner city Birmingham in the mid 80’s, click this photo to enter the album.

On Monday I headed down the A41, back to a second home of mine, the Academy. Sigur Ros were in town, I couldn’t miss this one for anything at all. I got to the front of the balcony after being quite a way back in the queue, the view was stunning and the night was enchanting.

The support came from four women who play stringed instruments for Sigur Ros, so from the get go the night was well thoughout. Ammamina were their name and they played what can only be descibed as music that would be well suited to soothing a young child to sleep … it was really nice. Sigur Ros had a powerful sound at times and a blinding lightshow, it was a special night, and here are some photos.

This gig was gonna be awsome, I had to book it. Sigur Ros are a sureal band billed as “Artistic Rock” their sound is very big yet very small, and so very beautiful.

The Christmas light switch on always signals that it’s not gonna be too long before it’s all over for another year, oh and it also starts the alarm bells ringing ….. must buy presents!

I’m very proud of this shot, the dot above the sign is the Moon, Mars is lurking behind one of the R’s … Click the image to see other photos

Amoungst the first paintings with by or for my nephew, Taylor. Here showing an interpretation of the sun, either that or just some random creation on the first step toward critical aclaim and fame! A few updates have occured to the photos section, check out the Chocolate fountain goodness!

Magic eye time, what can you see? Click for the detail