So life goes on.

Saturday saw us taking in a few bands as the Dot-to-Dot festival came to Bristol for the first time. For those that don’t know, the festival featured an array of bands spread over 3 different locations. We took a fairly elderly approach and decided that rather than dash around like lunatics we would just watch the bands which we wanted to see, so we even popped home for some food at one point rather than watch some bands that we had no interest in – how grown up!

On the way down we nipped into the car boot sale type thing in The Cube car park and had chance to have a quick chat with the always charming Francois and finally got to meet Elena who is one of the people involved with the upcoming Tom Waits night there. I don’t know what it is about The Cube but I always come away from the place thinking that Bristol is just about the best place in the world.

First up for us where the excellent Fanfarlo, a gentle indie lo-fi gem of a band, then it was the rather more chaotic Ratty Rat Rat, who were messy but fun. We then nipped home before heading out again to catch Architecture In Helsinki, who I was initially disappointed in before being won over. The plan was to go home after them, but I thought we might as well stay around to see the much written about Kate Nash, shouldn’t have bothered. She struck me as a complete fake, with her oh so strident repetitive swearing and look at how shocking I am approach, it was just all a little desperate and tiresome – Don’t believe the hype!

Yesterday. we had a pretty lazy day as the rain lashed down without pause. Took the chance to catch up with a curious film from Hong Kong called Dumpling, which is worth a look if you are not too squeamish. Then more by accident than design we finally got to watch the BBC4 programme Hotel California - LA from The Byrds to The Eagles.

Although I like to pass myself off as someone who loves the 1977 years zero approach of punk, I must admit that the early 1970’s work of Joni Mitchell and Neil Young has always held a certain guilty attraction for me. I think that somehow it’s still coated in the air of sophistication that I aspire too, no matter how much I try to cover it up. It was fascinating to see the change from the hippy idealism to big money success at all costs approach that gradually took. How something so simple and intelligent could become mired in such self-absorption and rampant egomania was a testament to the power of drugs and money. Still I been playing my Joni Mitchell albums all day as imagine hanging out in my boho Laurel Canyon shack. I guess I’ll never learn! Go on give "Edith and the Kingpin" from The Hissing of Summer Lawns album and play and I'm sure that you will see what I mean.