What a night! We watched the first 33 minutes of the Kansas game at a sports bar near campus before leaving with seven minutes left (when we were up by 8) to go catch the end of Jonny Corndawg's set at the Triple Rock. I know, I know. I saw him play twice last week -- but those were short sets. Plus, the crowds are smaller in Minneapolis, and I wanted to show my support.Anyway, while at the show, you can bet Jamie was plugged into his phone keeping up with the end of the game, and thank god we eeked another one out. Next up? Carolina.Yeah.I'm a little nervous about that one.But back to the music. This photo is of the pedal steel guitar player, Spencer Cullins Jr., who we saw after the show *standing* and this kid is about 6'4. And ladies? He's from England which means there's an accent, I'm sure. Go get him.

This is a photo of my niece that we have in our house. I shot this photo today because she's been on my mind a lot lately. This kiddo just got into UC Santa Cruz (check out this photo taken from campus), and we are super proud of her. It's hard to believe that she's off to college when this photo of her was given to us as a gift when we were first married. STOP DOING THE MATH. We are old. Accept it.Anyway, beyond being a total smarty pants and a) getting into some great schools and b) beating me at word scramble repeatedly, she graduated to a new level this week. She had texted me to see if there were any new bands she should check out from SXSW. I sent her a few names, but knowing she likes electronic music, I was trying to think of someone else she might be into. I had heard from a lot of friends and bloggers that this group, Tanlines, was pretty good live and I was enjoying their new album, so I sent that name off to her. This was our conversation:Me: One more band to check out: Tanlines. So good, and I think right up your alley.Her: Oh yeah they're awesome! I think they've been around for a couple years. I haven't heard their new stuff yet though.Me: It's streaming on NPR, you little hipster, you.Her: Haha, no way. Don't you know a hipster never admits to being one?So now she's an adorable smartass who is ahead of her aunt and uncle on new music and is on her way to college. Trouble. I love it.

Oh wow! More live music! I love the month of March. Between the NCAA basketball, SXSW and then all the bands that finally come back to this frozen tundra... it's just a fantastic time.Tonight we caught Delta Spirit over at the Fine Line, and they were fantastic. I'm sure you're tired of hearing me say how great all these bands are, but it's just so nice that all my favorites happen to be coming through right now! Anyway, when I arrived at the club, they told me I could only shoot the first three songs. I always have mixed emotions about this rule. 1) But I'll miss so many fun shots during the encore! And don't you know that the longer they're on stage, the more alcohol they consume and the better the photos get? But then 2) Great! I can put down my camera and just enjoy the show! Who cares how the images turn out! See? Mixed feelings.Anyway, I'm not thrilled with these shots as so many more photographable moments came later in the show. But, I had such a good time watching the band and singing along that it's not that big of a deal.And before I forget! Waters, the openers, were great. If you're going to see Delta Spirit out on this tour, get there early for the openers. Well worth it.OK, the rest of the photos are up over here. Enjoy!

This week the ice on the lakes finally melted away. Since we had the "winter that never was" this year, I was curious to see if it was sooner than usual. Good thing I document this event every year, eh?Anyway, last year the ice was gone on April 12, and in 2010 it melted away on March 31. So yup, we're a few weeks early.This year I know *exactly* when it melted (3/18) because Jamie and I were driving home from the airport Sunday morning and we noticed there was still ice in the middle of Lake Calhoun and there was a Christmas tree resting on top of it. As we went to fetch the dogs from the kennel that afternoon, all the ice had disappeared along with the tree.Am I boring you? Sorry, when you have such weather extremities as we do here, keeping track is a bit of a sport. Tomorrow will be more fun I promise -- I'm shooting another show! Yes! Some call it a sickness! I call it fun.

It's Ritzy! She's the front woman of one of my favorite bands, The Joy Formidable. I saw this trio for the first time at last year's SXSW, and the crush began immediately. They are so loud and fun and ... sweet in a very British way, you know? Anyway, you know I love them if I headed out to shoot *another* concert tonight (after the 42 sets I caught in Texas).The show was fabulous and fun and crazy and the perfect length. I love watching girls rock out hard core like that. Wish there were more of them... I'll post a full set tomorrow. For now, I gotta hit the sack.UPDATE: Photos from the full show are up over here!

Today has been one of those strange ones... This photo is from 1 am last night, but since I didn't get to sleep until my plane took off at 6:30 am, I'm gonna let this count as the photo of the day. I pull one all-nighter every year, and it's always the last night of SXSW. I just need to accept that.The funny thing is, I took almost this same photo exactly one year ago to the day, as we watched John McCauley close out SXSW with Deervana. This year, he closed out SXSW with his new project band, Diamond Rugs. It's a mix up of Deer Tick, Black Lips and ... are you ready for it? Los Lobos. Yeah, it was as fun as it looks.I should have a full photo set to show you from Saturday, but I couldn't seem to get it posted a) because my dogs missed me and wanted a lot of attention today and who am I to deny them b) because my students seem to have mostly put off their midterm project until tonight and were peppering me with questions ALL NIGHT LONG and c) did you hear there was a Kansas game? Yeah? And we won in the very final seconds? It was amazing. And considering we were down THE ENTIRE GAME before that, it is also amazing that I managed to politely and promptly answer all those students. I deserve a medal.Tomorrow I will try to get the rest of my SXSW images posted. My favorite find of the festival, Cloud Nothings, will be in there I promise.UPDATE: Full festival photos are up. Enjoy!Day oneDay twoDay threeDay fourDay five