This past St. Patrick’s Day eve, my friend invited me to come hang out with him and his family to watch his new Celtic band Banna perform. Celtic music isn’t my cup of stout, but I had a good time. The band was good and festive and there was Guinness.
While the band performed, I took some pictures. Below are some of my favorites.
I told myself I wouldn’t do the movie/music reviews anymore (I used to on an old blog), because there are so many people out there doing that already (I recommend James Berardinelli), but I get asked a lot because I’m in the industry. So I thought I would just post a list of the best movies/music I saw/listened to this year. And these titles aren’t limited to release date, but what I actually discovered this year.
Favorite Movies/TV (in no order):
The Best:
Silver Linings Playbook
Looper
Wake in Fright
Headhunters
The Man From Nowhere
Battlestar Galactica
Fullmetal Alchemist
Very Good:
Haywire
21 Jump Street
The Cabin in the Woods
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Avengers
Lockout
Premium Rush
Lawless
Django Unchained
Bernie
Favorite Performances:
Jack Black in Bernie
Matthew McConaughey in Magic Mike
Bérénice Marlohe in Skyfall
Favorite Albums:
Silversun Pickups: Neck of the Woods
Lana Del Rey: Born to Die
The Lumineers: The Lumineers
fun.: Some Nights
Ellie Goulding: Halcyon
Beach House: Bloom
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra: Theatre is Evil
Youth Lagoon: The Year of Hibernation
Favorite Songs*:
Diamonds by Rihanna
Angels by The xx
Heartbreak on the 101 by Band Of Horses
Too Close by Alex Clare
Paper Moon #5 by Jeremy Messersmith
Same Love by Ryan Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
If you think I’ve missed something this year, please comment. If I’m flat wrong, please tell me why. Remember, art is subjective.
*I left off songs from my favorite albums. There’s so many great songs on those, this list would have went on forever.
Last Monday, Jeremy Messersmith stopped by our house to perform for his Supper Club Tour. We had some great food, great wine, made some new friends and had a great time. Oh yeah, and he played some music.
The first thing he did was give us a nice gift for us offering our home for the tour.
Apparently, he’s a mushroom hunter. I verified that he knew what he was doing (I’d hate to die from eating a poisonous mushroom. I’d rather die from spontaneous combustion). He assured me that he did, but I’m still waiting to hear news from a killing spree by mushroom toting musician. If I don’t hear anything soon, I’ll take a nibble.
He was also gracious enough to sign my albums and take a few photos.
My girlfriend* took this photo, hence the soft focus..
I’m happy that I got some new photos for the portfolio:
And finally, I recorded him playing a little:
And here he is showing a sense of humor:
*note to self, only let pros handle my gear
The life of an amateur 