Ah yes, the Black Lips. These guys put on such a fun show. It's another concert where I'm just grinning ear-to-ear fully of happiness as I shoot and watch and even dance a little.The guys seemed much tamer this time around than the last few shows I saw. Sure there was spitting of beverages and a few other antics, but no kissing and no stage dives (from band or audience members). So the photos just weren't as much fun as last year. But let me say that those Vivian Girls who opened up sure were lovely. That bass player had pretty much every male in the room's attention. See for yourselves (and the rest of my photos) over here.

Tonight Jamie and I caught Haley Bonar's album release show at the Cedar. I hadn't heard much of her new material, but I thought it sounded fantastic. However, it was about 9000 degrees inside the club, so we left early because I seriously thought I might pass out. I'm not sure why it was so hot in there, but man did the 38 degree "spring" feel nice when we left. You can see more shots over here, if you are so inclined.

Tonight I got home from work, and poor Jamie had a beer on the counter and was pretty much beat. Poor guy had a rough day. I couldn't join him with my own brew because I am trying SO hard to kick this cold. Yes. The same cold. The one that I have now had for more than four weeks.This is our favorite beer to drink together. I wouldn't say it's for the taste (neither one of us are big beer lovers -- we prefer Grain Belt) but we love how the caps of Session beer have plays from rock/paper/scissors and we can play against each other. Kinda neat, eh?

We woke up this morning and there was snow everywhere. SNOW. And you know what? I'm still fighting allergies. And it's snowing. WHAT KIND OF CRUEL JOKE IS THIS?But... it was very pretty snow, and I didn't have to shovel. So I'm not gonna complain too much about it.I left the house early because I thought I could shoot photos of some dogs playing in the snow down near the lake. But when I got to the lake, the flakes changed from big, cotton-ball flakes to teeny tiny flakes that were almost rain. So in this photo you can't really tell that it's snowing on the water... you'll just have to trust me on this one.The lakes were full of geese and ducks and man, were they all confused. But it was super quiet out and very peaceful. And by noon, it was all gone.

So today was my first 8-hour day in awhile, and man did it zoom by. But the good part is that I have an extra hour or two each day with these guys. And man, did they want to play when I got home. We were supposed to get a big snow storm tonight, and it is getting pretty cold out there, but give these two a stick and they could care less about weather conditions -- when it comes to "sharing," they both fight dirty. Right now, they are both passed out asleep at my feet. Eating sticks is hard work!

So this is my buddy Kyle (yes mom, the one who I drove to Chicago with). I was over at the University today, and I stopped by his office just to say hello (and to snoop and see his work setup... hey, at least I'm honest). Kyle is one of those people that is constantly online. It's *amazingly* handy if you are like me and like to talk about music (or sometimes technical problems) at all hours of the day. But I was super curious about how he manages to be so on top of twitter/ichat/facebook/work at all hours. And here's your answer. It's like freakin' mission control in his office! And there were even more monitors that didn't make it into the frame of this photo! He's a master of online communications, I tell you.Sidenote: That little tiny airbook he has on his desk is pretty sweet. If you are a writer or accountant or someone who doesn't work a lot with giant graphic files (ie, not me) then you should look at getting that puppy. It's super light and easy to carry around.

Isn't she lovely? This is Joy from The Civil Wars. Many nights, I can't choose a photo for my daily shot. I narrow it down to three or four, and then I let Jamie assist because he's a tad more objective than I am. Normally. He jumped to this image pretty fast though, and I can't say I blame him -- she is stunning. And you should hear her voice.We caught this band at an afternoon show today (what a nice relief!) after I spent the morning on a client shoot. Now we're in for the night, and I'm not sure anyone could pry me off this couch. Man, it feels good to have the day's work done so early. If you want to see more shots from the show (and you do -- the other singer in the band looks kinda like Johnny Depp), go here.