the xx

Friday night, I was lucky enough to photograph The XX over at the new Palace Theater in St. Paul. Just wow.That venue is fantastic. The space is wonderful, the sound was so clear in all parts of the room and the lights extend not just from the stage, but also along the walls and above the bar. I don't mean lights, as in the lights to "light up" the place. I mean the lights that can be controlled by the guy behind the board to go with the sound. To see separate lights pulsing above the bar along with the music was super cool.And the music. I mean, I've always been a big fan of The XX (the intro to VCR was my mobile ringtone for YEARS), and I've seen them live twice before. But this show? They have really grown in their live performance, and this show was their best so far. I know I don't make it out to very many shows any more, but even in my heyday, this would have been one of the top 5 of the year. By the way, they did an in-studio performance at The Current on Friday, and you can hear that over here.So go listen to their music, and go look at more images from the concert here.And for your internet shares of the day:+ Some of my favorite travel photographers are back at it again with a visit to a small Swiss village.+ Don't know what to do with all those Amazon boxes?+ Mom Truths.