Christmas Party

Took the kids to the Christmas party hosted by my sweetheart's employer. The kids arrived to find the Bouncy Castle up and running. After ½ hour of that, Santa was punctual and was greeted with hugs and cheers, and he quickly got down to business. After his stint, he threw candy up in the air for the kids to scramble after and discreetly disappeared. Then Pickles & Carrot arrived to play for the kids. Kids & adults alike enjoyed their soft hearted shenanigans. They clowned around and got a lot of the kids to take part. By the end of the party the kids were sufficiently sugared & hyped up and headed off for a sleepover at Pixelsmiths house.

My sweetheart and I headed over to Harbor Lights in Lyttleton to immerse our selves in the rockout session of none other than Paul Ubana Jones. I never heard of him before tonight, but he left a lasting impression. A favourable one at that! He reminded us of Leo Kotke, Greg Brown, Willy Porter, and Rusted Root if you happen to know blues/bluegrass/rock, mostly genres of the mid and northwest regions of the US. Paul Ubana Jones originates from the UK, but has called Akaroa, New Zealand his home for over twenty years now. He's British & Kenyan, and he's got a signature afro to show for it. He is an intense performer, playing his electric guitar (easily acoustic if he was unplugged) and telling humorous stories of his tours around the globe. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend you attend one of his performances.

We were fortunate to get a table right up front. At the table next to us a professional photographer was set up to obviously take publicity shots. He had four different types of cameras, a huge lens, and other smaller lens neatly arranged. I showed considerable constraint to keep my self from talking to him as I had formed many questions. The lighting seemed too low and he was shooting without a tripod at times. Some of his equipment I had not seen before. He was distracting. His equipment was loud as he clicked away. He wore a kaki safari vest as if he just came from a photo shoot in the Sahara. I mean, really, he could have blended better with Mr. Jones' audience.

Fortunately, he does not attend every concert.