A shoe-gazing trip down memory lane ...

I would never have classed myself as a Charlatans fan, but I seem to know most of their songs and have six or so albums so when they announced their first ever Australian dates, I jumped at the chance.
By my reckoning front-man Tim Burgess must be atleast 40 but he's still got bags of energy and seemed to be channeling Robert Smith from The Cure and Morrisey when he was still leading The Smiths.
'The Only One I Know' and 'North Country Boy' were person favourites, although I was surprised by how many of the songs I knew - and remembered the words to.
The crowd was clearly primarily British backpackers (there's something so obvious about drunk British men and the way they dance)but it was an awesome gig.
Some game bloke even jumped from the balcony onto the stage during the second encore song 'How High', sending the keyboards flying.
My only gripe - and it's not really about The Charlatans more concerts in general - is that why on earth are bands on stage so late these days?
The Charlatans took to the stage at 11pm through to 1am which is real value for money - but why so late? I was in need of a disco nap before I even started ...

America can hold its head up high again ...

America has a new leader - voting in the country's first ever black President in a landslide victory.
Welcome President Obama - I'm excited to see what you do.
But I AM going to miss Sarah Palin. She's a nightmare and a horror, but she's pretty hot!
Here's some of her best bits: