Dressing room / Houston / 1515

got a few more pics from Las Vegas, where we celebrated Fran Healy’s birthday. the House of Blues show was fantastic, though one guy was enjoying it so much he wanted to be in the band, and decided to make that happen by somehow climbing up onto the stage… strange how things like that seem to happen in Vegas!

The dressing room was full of strange artwork, like this:

House of Blues / Las Vegas / 1057

we’ve had a great first few days of the tour. i’m gonna post the photos from the stage in Oakland and LA (and they’ll soon become clickable, hopefully), and various other bits from the last few days. I woke up at 5AM, just as we parked up in Las Vegas, so i went out for a wander with my camera – it was already ridiculously hot (i guess we are in a desert), but the light was amazing as the sun came up. forecast is 42 degrees C / 107 F today.

more from Oakland:

friends reunited

Colin gave me a mug. Thanks Col.

This next one is now clickable to see it bigger…

my view, soundcheck, The Greek

spot Tim, waving!

The two Matts, sheltering from the early afternoon sun

Fran Healy being amazing

Ingrid and her band, also being amazing!

it looks even better when it’s full of people (this one is clickable too)

Dear Santa…

at Jimmy Kimmel Live… they’ve had a few guests on:

This is Parker. he was filming me, and is probably the coolest guy on the stage – he used to do roadtrips round Europe on a BSA motorbike, and was basically the nicest fella you could possibly meet. We had fun.

Vegas! 5.30AM

The Greek Theatre, LA / Wednesday / 1845

if you look really closely you can see a blur on the hillside that says "HOLLYWOOD". is this the worst photo to ever appear on the internet? possibly.

interview for Young Hollywood with Michell Marie

interview 2, for Babelgum

Oakland / Tuesday / 1745

Some pics from last night, and some from today when Jesse and I went for a wander, met some lovely keane fans, and totally failed to find a camera shop (two that we were looking for were no longer there – a sign of the tough economic times, maybe). Still, it’s got some lovely old buildings, and some great street art – including a huge mural that i struggled to fit into a single shot. it was really fun playing a few songs in soundcheck, on a drum kit i haven’t used since the UTIS tour, strangely – it’s just been sitting in cases waiting for the call. i’m really up for tonight’s show – it’s over a year since we were here last, and if the crowd is half as good as last time then we’re gonna have some fun…

Jesse snapped this shot of Colin at dinner last night – what a handsome man he is.

today:

this is awesome! i love it when you guys make keane stuff.

questionable choice of words…

we popped into a music shop opposite the theatre, where the owner had tons of birds flying around. yep, just flying around!

there are lots (and i mean lots) of posters remembering Oscar Grant, an unarmed man shot in Oakland on new year’s day 2009. if you have five minutes then google his name to find out more – it’s a shocking case. here’s a mural in his memory.

this mural is amazing – my photo doesn’t begin to do it justice.

this is an amazing building – look how thin the base is. nutso!

San Francisco / Tuesday / 1056

a few more photos from yesterday

San Francisco / Monday / 2000

got to be quick as i’m heading out to find some dinner…

surely this is cheating? "custom made fortune cookie"

is this as depressing as it sounds?

San Francisco / Monday / 0610

the jetlag has kicked in, i’ve been up since 4am. just found some cookies in my hotel room, and i’ve sent the "who’s up for breakfast?" email. it’s always the way when you travel 8 hours west – i just cannot stay asleep beyond about 4 on the first morning. it’s still dark outside, and it was quite chilly last night, so i’m happy to stay inside and post a few pics from last night. nothing amazing, i’m afraid, and probably a few repeats from the last time i was here! i simply love the neon signs and shopfronts you get in america. they aren’t unique to america, of course, but there’s something about them that you don’t quite get elsewhere… or maybe it’s just the context. anyway, expect to see a few on the blog over the coming weeks. Beth and I flew in yesterday, the rest of the crew having come straight from Lisbon. we met Colin for some dinner at Lori’s Diner. I ordered the onion rings – just look at them… they were stunning. Milkshake was pretty special, too.

let’s kick things off with a really bad caption: <drum roll> "My Shadow" <cymbal>

yes, that sign does ask "is your dog bulimic?"

those onion rings…

I’m almost certain i’ve blogged this sign before, but i love it.