Bedouin Soundclash

I discovered Bedouin Soundclash last night. They perform a nice mix of reggae & rock that is surprisingly relaxing yet stimulating, just the thing for a Sunday morning. In fact I'm listening to their album Root Fire as I write this message.

I'm not sure how best to describe the quality of their tracks. 'Johnny Go To New York' reminds me on many levels of early Police tracks, probably because the devilvery of the song is similar to 'Roxeanne'. 'Back To The Matter' has a very famliar feel to it, but I can't put my finger on exactly why, but it does remind me a little of Madness. 'Santa Monica' has a bit of a Californian rock vibe going. 'Mandrake Root' seems to have been influenced by a lot of familiar stuff, but mostly Bob Marley. 'Natural Right' definately has 'Men at Work' 'Land Down Under' influences. I could go on but that would spoil the fun of listening to it for yourself.

If you are a little bored with what you have on your iPod or iRiver at the moment and are looking for something a little different yet a little familiar I heartily recommend giving Bedouin Soundclash's Root Fire a try.

Paul Simon @ Wembley

I went to see Paul Simon in concert at Wembley Arena last night. Had a good time. It wasn't quite what I had expected. For starters there wasn't the large backing vocal section that I was hoping for and Wembley Arena isn't the best venue from an acoustic perspective.

It wasn't until the third song that the sound engineers got the levels correct and even then it was a little dodgy. Paul played a lot of his more popular songs and the performace was great. Despite being one of the shortest people you'll ever see on stage he has a great stage presence. The band was quite good and the delivery of the songs was great, but te atmosphere was lacking. Wembley Area is probably too large for this kind of music.

Nikon D40 - Another entry level DSLR from Nikon?

Rumours abound that Nikon are soon to announce a new entry level DSLR. Yes another one! This one is creatively named the 'D40' and is apparently a cut down version of the D50 which was itself a cut down version of the D70, you see where this is heading. What are the odds that they announce it in the next week or so in the build-up to Christmas shopping madness?

If you want to find out more about the allegedly soon to be released paragon of basics, you can visit the following websites:

• Chasseur d'Images - Nikon D40
• Digital Photography Blog - Nikon D40
• Ken Rockwell - Nikon D40
• Engadget - Nikon D40
• Gizmodo - Nikon D40

Boisdale of Belgravia

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and to celebrate I went to a jazz cigar bar/restaurant near my office with a few friends after work. Despite having walked passed it literally thousands of times I never visited Boisdale's so it was time I had a look.

Boisdale of Belgravia is a restaurant with two little bars which also happens to sell a wide range of whiskeys and cigars. As a person who enjoys whiskey and a cigar now and again I was tempted into visiting.

The bar is decorated in the style of a gentleman's club but with the ambience of a classic 1940s jazz bar and restaurant. The place was packed when we got there and it was a game of musical stools all evening but despite that I think that everyone who was there had a really good time. I can't be 100% sure because I consumed a lot of whiskey and as a concequence was having a really good time of my own which made it a bit difficult to determine exactly how much fun other people were having.

I can say that the bar food was very good and that the selection of cigars is quite good. Richard Pite’s Boisdale Blue Rhythm Band started playing at about 10:00 and they were okay. They were not as edgy as I would have liked, keeping mainly to old Sinatra songs whereas I was hoping for something a little more Bad Plus, but what they played they played well.

I tired a new cigar whilst I was there, a Cuaba Divinos, which turned out to be a very good smoke. It had a tight draw to start out with but opened up after a few minutes and was a medium bodied cigar with lots of peppery spice flavours and a nice aroma. It is a very small cigar but is well constructed and burns slowly (lasting nearly 30 minutes). I was glad I tried it.

Final thoughts on Boisdale's, well if you are in the neighbourhood and enjoy good food, drinks, cigars and jazz then it may well be worth you visiting. The bar gets busy from 18:00 and the band starts around 10:00. They chucked us out at 01:00, but there were lots of cabs around so it was easy to get home.

My friend Bob took a few photos and here are a few.

Not Ready Yet

For some bizarre reason Not Ready Yet by the Eels has been on continuous loop in my head since Monday. I don't recall hearing the track recently so something must have triggered it from memory. Songs sometimes get attached to emotions, so something that happened this week may have triggered it (though I'd be at a complete loss to tell you what it was or why it triggered it).

For those of you who don't know the lyrics, they are below.

There's a world outside
And I know, 'cause I've heard talk
In my sweetest dream
I would go out for a walk

But I don't think I'm ready yet
Not feelin' up to it now
Just not that steady yet
And I don't need you telling me how

There's some happiness
If my stone face cracks again
Maybe some time sooner or later

But I don't think I'm ready yet
I'm not feelin' up to it now
Just not that steady yet
And I don't need You telling me how

So if I leave my room
Don't you tell me to lighten up
Maybe some time sooner or later

But I don't think I'm ready yet
Not feelin' up to it now
Just not that steady yet
I don't need you telling me how

I don't need you telling me how
I don't need you telling me how
I don't need you telling me how
I don't need you telling me how
I don't need you telling me how
I don't need you telling me how
I don't, don't need you telling me how - The Eels

The song is from the album Beautiful Freak which I have on CD somewhere. I'll have to dig it out this weekend and have a listen as despite not having listened to it for at least a few years I remember it being a really good album.