but we got there and no one really knew what was going on. Some of the make-up counters were giving away glasses of champagne, and one we stopped at and let them do our make up had sweets, so all in all, it wasn't a bad trip. (The pic is Melissa with her "new" make-up.) Just not quite what we were expecting. We ended the day by meeting up with two other people from our program to watch football and eat BBQ, something I thought was quite appropriate for Thanksgiving. I also was able to video chat with my family. They weren't actually able to see me, but I could see them and we could all talk. I think knowing that was coming and actually having it happen made being away from home bearable.Today consisted mostly of working on that paper, but culminated with the fulfillment of one of my London goals: seeing Jamie Cullum in concert. Who is Jamie Cullum, you ask? Well, he's this amazing jazz/pop/rock pianist singer guy from England. I became acquainted with him because my roommate Andrea let me borrow a bunch of her music when my computer crashed 1L year. His music sat on my computer until last year when it somehow found its way on to my iPod and, in a glorious twist of fate, ended up playing while I was shuffling through all my songs.
Since then, I've been hooked. I could probably sing you every word to most of his songs, and many of my days are spent humming his melodies. I like his music for a variety of reasons. It's in large part due to his amazing piano skills. Another element is his singing voice-- a cross between Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and some other more modern artist I can't really put my finger on; it has the scratchiness that usually only comes after years of singing and smoking and drinking a lot, but the youthfulness to really connect. The third reason is that so many of his original songs have really thoughtful lyrics ("Romanticizing London Skies" comes from one of his songs.) Both my roommates from home and my roommates here and London can attest to how much I have commented on(and tried to get them to share in) his music.Anyway, I've been trying to get to see him since I came to London. He played the night before we left for Ireland, and since we were leaving at 3 a.m., and no one wanted to go with me, I missed out on that opportunity. Then he played at a free concert in October, but I was unlucky, and despite my calling and logging on to get tickets the moment they went on sale, I missed out. I saw that he was playing at this show tonight, but initially thought I would miss him because of my Thanksgiving break trip plans. When those changed, I seized the opportunity.
I have to admit that this wasn't really a Jamie Cullum concert; he took (an unusual) supporting role in this concert that really belonged to the guy he plays bass with (Geoff Gascoyne). But Jamie was featured on both piano and vocals and it was absolutely amazing.
(Melissa went with me to the concert, too. This is her and I there.) He is a lot of fun to watch-- he gets really into it and sometimes you can hear him "tapping" his foot above all the other music. (That fact made it impossible to get a good, clear picture of him playing the piano with the crappy little camera I have.) I can't imagine what In fact, it's probably a good thing he didn't sing more, because I would have completely melted and would now exist only as a puddle on the Cadogan Hall floor. We had amazing seats (we were so close that I could read "Steinway and Sons" on the piano, and see the reflection of his hands on the backside of the keyboard.) It was also really nice to hear some good jazz from good musicians, and re-open my eyes to that genre. All in all...pretty darn tootin fantastic.The funny thing is, I don't find Jamie physically attractive -- it's solely his musicianship. The lack of attraction predominately comes from knowing that he's 5'3" and me being 5'10" doesn't really work (although last I knew he was dating a supermodel who was about my height...).
I also make a point not to get caught up in the lives of and obsessed with celebrities; its really not necessary for me to know what's going on with them, and often they glorify lifestyles and make choices with which I 100% do not agree. Plus, they are just people. But something about this music has completely circumvented every resistance I have to that.I think my "Ode to Jamie" is sufficiently long. Seriously, do yourself a favor and get some of his music. "All at Sea", "Mind Trick", "Photograph", "Next Year, Baby", "Frontin'" and "What a Difference a Day Made" (from the Live at Ronnie Scott's Album) are my top picks.
