Category: photography

concerts, flickr, hotness, music musings, photography, show the love

mat kearney @ the roxy 4/20/07

by  •  • 0 Comments

Last night, we had the distinct pleasure of catching the sold out show for Mat Kearney at the Atlanta Coca-cola Roxy theater. It was awesome. Mat totally delivered, and amazingly enough, sounded just as good as he does on his record. He has really perfected his craft. I love seeing an artist in concert who blows you away with their talent, and Mat is definitely in that category of artist.

He played a few new songs, which were delightful, but I really loved listening to his current music, because his is a CD that I truly adore. It was really neat being there with the people that were at this concert too, because you definitely tell that most of the people (if not all) were definitely fans of his; as almost everyone knew the words to every song.

It was definitely a good vibe and a good crowd, which I didn’t expect in the uber-hetero environment usually displayed in Buckhead. While the main floor is standing room only, when we arrived, we scouted out the upstairs to see what the deal with the balcony was, and much to our surprise, there were lots of seats, many of which were available. The balcony provides a great view of the stage, and you can definitely get the whole experience from there. And, if you were like us and didn’t want to stand the entire time, you should definitely scope it out to see if you can snag seats like we did.

Every once and a while, I would get up and go downstairs to snap a few photos, and much to my surprise, again, I was able to literally walk right up to the left side of the stage and get in prime position for some great shots. I have to say though, that Mat really does enjoy being in the dark, which made getting good photos of him difficult, but I did manage to snag a few that I was happy with.

I posted two of them on flickr already (one here), but have several more that I will try and get up on Monday. Mat is definitely a handsome guy, and with that voice to back it up, I can see why the theater was filled with women (there were lots of guys too, but I suspect many of them were boyfriends brought along for the ride). All in all, I was glad that we trekked our way out to the Buckhead scene in order to catch this show, because it definitely exceeded my expectations. I was also extremely happy that I was able to take my camera, because that is a definite highlight for me at concerts; I like being able to have a token to remind me of the show. I wasn’t able to find out much on the internets about being able to take in a camera, so I hope that this post can provide that information for someone in the future.

My only complaint about the show, was not really about the show at all; the Roxy was fucking hot as hell inside. By the time the concert was over, my entire head was soaking wet with sweat, but it wasn’t that big of a deal since we went straight home afterwards. I have no idea how Mat was able to play with that long sleeved shirt on, but alas, he didn’t seem to care.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to check him out yet, I highly recommend you get his CD, so that you can fall in love with him like I have, and catch him next time he is in town; you will definitely be glad you did. It was definitely a great night.

flickr, photography

I thought we could use a little beauty…

by  •  • 9 Comments



delicate, originally uploaded by duanecmoody.

I have really been getting into my photography. This is one of my favorite shots I have ever taken; simple and beautiful. I hope everyone is going to have a great night. I hope that I do as well.

all about me, blog on blog, concerts, flickr, listen up!, mixed media, music musings, photography

Lily Allen @ the Loft 3/19/07

by  •  • 21 Comments

First of all, before I get to the frivolity of gushing over the pure pop deliciousness that is Lily Allen, and go on and on about how wonderful her concert last night was, I feel the need to address the petty drivel that continues to go on about the expressing of opinions, both by me, of me, and of others. AGAIN, for like the billionth time I have said this, I am going to say whatever I want, and if you want to disagree with me, cool! I welcome your opinions! If you want to blog about it on your blog, awesome!! I say go for it! But, if you are going to be sneaky, and blog about it on your blog, especially if you are going to do so by taking my words out of context and developing an opinion of me without addressing me, then you are going the coward’s route by talking about me behind my back. Just because the internet is a “public forum” doesn’t mean that talking shit about someone on your blog without their knowledge isn’t talking about them behind their back. If you want to do that, AGAIN, I am 100% fine with whatever you want to say or think about me, I have tough skin, and trust me, there is little you can do to hurt me. But just know that you are a ball-less coward, because if you really had the stones, you would just address me on here, where we could probably actually discuss it. But again, that’s your choice; just don’t accuse me of “preventing you from saying what you want”, because AGAIN, that is completely inaccurate. Jesus I am sick of talking about this shit, it is really frustrating talking to people who don’t listen.

Lily Allen 3/19/07 AtlantaAlright… Now on to Lily Allen!!! Last night, we went to the Loft (which I don’t know if they have changed the name to Center Stage again or not, it was actually a bit confusing) to see Lily Allen, and I have to say, she was bloody marvelous. I was a little nervous, mainly because I have never seen her live before, and I usually like to get an idea of what someone sings like live before I head out to a show, but Lily was fantastic. I absolutely loved her stage presence; she swears, she takes shots, she smokes, and she tells it like it is. I went into the show really liking her, and left loving her.

One of the things I love about concerts, is when the artist gives little quips about the songs that he/she/they are about to perform. Giving some story or some little anecdotal bits about the songs make them more meaningful, and sometimes, even clarify what the song actually means for me. Lily did that wonderfully, talking about the boyfriend who had a little penis and who didn’t know how to use it (“it’s the motion in the ocean, right ladies?” she asked, “not!” she quickly replied), and getting even with the girl that gave her shit in school (“this song’s about a girl that was like that bitch from Mean Girls.” she said, “I wonder what she is doing now… I’m playing to thousands of people in the ATL! HA!”). Overall, I loved Lily’s voice, and her singing is spot on. Add in the comedic quips, and you have a very entertaining show. I highly recommend that you pick up her CD if you are still living under a rock and haven’t heard of her. I also recommend that you kick yourself for not going last night, and try to catch her next time she is in town. This broad is great!

Something funny and weird happened at the show that was too interesting not to blog about. Basically, the Loft is standing room only, save for chairs that stadium up the back and sides of the main floor. Most of the people opted to stand, because being a small venue, you actually can get quite close. We were standing towards to side, and were by no means crowded or uncomfortable, but we still managed to get pushed enough to be annoyed. Finally, one girl aggressively pushes my friend Stu, and I was like, “Geez, why not just push him down! You could at least say, Excuse me.”, to her, loud enough that I knew she heard it. She immediately turns around, taps me on the shoulder, and seriously said, “Look, my father has cancer. We are going out tonight drinking because I am upset about it. I’m sorry, but I am being a bitch tonight.”, and then stormed off. Seriously. Her dad has cancer, so she gets to push her way around a concert like a bitch. Um, whatever sister. Dad + cancer does not = a free ride without manners in life. Think of some other excuse, or just be more polite in the future. Even her friend said, “Did you really just say that?”. Um, yeah. Other than miss prissy pants, the night went off without a hitch. The concert volume wasn’t too loud (which I HATE when it is), we met some friends at the show, and the concert ended early enough for me to get home and be in bed at a reasonable time. What a great night, eh!? I have put some pictures I took at the show up on my flickr page; be sure to check them out!

flickr, is it just me?, mixed media, movie musings, photography

300, daylight savings time, flickr musings, and one BRIEF word about AI

by  •  • 5 Comments

First of all, 300 opens today, and I want to start by saying that I have been waiting for this movie since I heard it was even being made. Needless to say (not to say how it happened, or when I have seen it… tee hee hee), I was completely blown away. The visuals are visceral and intense. The bodies of the men and women in this movie go beyond toned, and into the realm of sculpture. The acting is top notch, and the cinematography is at a minimum breath taking. This movie truly is an orgy for the eyes. The fighting and the special effects used in this movie put much of the other stuff I have seen to shame. I also find it completely fascinating that this is loosely based on a real battle, the Battle of Thermopylae, where king Leonidas, king of Sparta stood to protect his people. These men held an amazing level of courage and insane sense of loyalty, if you ask me, and it is eloquently portrayed in this film. As someone who loved Sin City, knowing that this was based on (as well as worked on by him as well) Frank Miller’s graphic novels of the same title, I was not only excited to see this, I was extremely pleased that the movie delivered, and I loved what I saw. Frank Miller is a force to be reckoned with, and if this is the type of thing we can expect from his projects in the future, I commit to have my eyes and ears peeled to whatever move he makes next. 300 is everything I hoped it could be, and more. The actors are beautiful (seriously, Gerard Butler is hot, but in 300? I mean, goddamn. And you lesbians… Uh, Lena Headey? WOW! She also wins the award for women’s lib in this movie). The fighting is epic. The special effects are unreal. The movie, is a beautiful triumph. Full 6 out of 6 stars (, folks; this one is NOT to be missed. You MUST see this in the theaters for yourself. This is what movies should be like. Wow.

Daylight savings time (DST)… seriously… Why do we do that anymore? I know, I know, gain an hour of daylight in the evening, shift it in the morning later in the year; but based on the headache that it is causing a lot of people this year, I ask, what is the point? There has been a criticism of the importance of this practice since its inception, and I just wonder if this criticism deserves more investigation. I for one don’t think that it serves much of a purpose, because it is really only one hour. Eventually, the day grows longer or shorter, regardless if time jumps forward or backward that one hour. So why worry about it?

Also, I wanted to put the word out, that I created a flickr group called Holy Cow!!!, and hope that you will join me. Now, I usually don’t get that excited about flickr groups and whatnot, but I am excited about this, because I came up with idea, basically, because of the lack of such a group. I think that it is cool to have a flickr group where we can put photos that we find astonishing, and even post those of our own that make us go “holy cow!” when we see them! Isn’t that fun? If you aren’t a member of the group, now’s your chance, go here and join up! I want to see how many people and how many awesome photos we can get involved.

Finally, and I promise this will be brief; HOW IN THE FUCK did Sanjaya Malakar make it into the top 12??!?!?!? I am serious people, I am not trying to be mean to the kid, but he can’t hold a candle to anyone on the show. If you don’t care about American Idol, please disregard this vent, and go on with your day. Thank you.

Well, that’s about it for me. Have a good weekend everyone! I am going to see 300 again tomorrow! You should too!

flickr, movie musings, photography, the catch-all-egory

zodiac and a new lens

by  •  • 8 Comments

So last night, we went with Barry and Rebekah to check out the newest Jake Gyllenhaal flick, Zodiac. For those of you that know me, know that I love all things Gyllenhaal (Maggie included!), so there was no way I was going to be able to wait for this movie to make its way to DVD. So, I braved the Friday night movie crowds (those of you that know me well, know that I HATE going to the movies on opening night… crowds make me angry), and we managed to have no problem sitting together, thanks to Daniel and Andrew meeting us at the movie, and saving us four chairs. Score!! So just before the movie, when we were eating dinner, Barry mentions that the movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes long… uh, I wasn’t expecting that, but nevertheless, I was excited to see a new Gyllenhaal movie. So we made our way into the theater, settled in, and watched Zodiac. While it definitely was a long movie (seriously, almost 3 hours long, remember!), it was actually really good. There was lots of “thriller” moments, and there was actually a bunch of surprisingly vivid violence in the recreation of the Zodiac’s killings. It really captured the hysteria of the time, being that a mass murderer was just out there killing people, and no one knew who he was or where to look for him. Surprisingly, there was actually quite a bit of humor in the movie, which cut the suspense very nicely. Most of that came from Robert Downey Jr., which was nice and welcome in this serious movie. It was also cool how they followed the reporters and the police as they worked to try and uncover who the killer was before he killed again. Eventually, the police give up, and Jake’s character takes it upon himself to find out who Zodiac is years later, while writing a book about him. Overall, I really liked the movie, and I will definitely get it for our collection when it hits DVD. The only thing that I didn’t really like (even though it was totally necessary), was the continual splicing together of scenes labeled with how much later they were than the previous scene (i.e., 2 months later…). They did that A LOT in the film, and it was a little distracting, but overall, I really liked it. I’ll give it a five out of six (); perhaps another viewing will make that go up, because I get distracted in the theater sometimes, and all that time jumping plus the almost 3 hour movie proved to be a little distracting. Either way, that’s what I thought, now you go see it! [picture from iheartjakemedia.com]

drinks anyone?Other than that, I am completely reeling over my newest purchase; I got a new (very inexpensive) lens for my camera. The lens is a 50mm f1.8, which is awesome, because it has a wicked aperture, allowing me to do awesome DOF things. I am in love with it. I messed around a little yesterday, and got some pretty great pictures. I look forward to learning more and more about it, and hopefully, I will just get better with time. To the right is one of the pictures that I took yesterday (if you want to see it bigger, click on it, and it will take you to the flickr page). What do you think? (you can see the rest on my flickr page) I am impressed with how well this camera handles, and the impressive pictures that come out of it. YAY great purchase!

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend, and relaxing accordingly. We are going to have a rousing Wii Boxing game this afternoon as our workout, and then hang out with friends tonight and tomorrow night. God, weekends are the best. I wish they lasted longer!!!