I’m a little behind in my blog posting, as it’s been a whirlwind second week here in London. I’ll start with last Saturday. I went to a small basement club in the Tottenham area of Central London. I was initially denied at the door with the explanation of, “No football or rubgy shirts allowed.” I attempted a response but the pony tailed ogre was in no mood. He took a brisk step forward, placed his nose an inch from mine, and repeated, “NO FOOTBALL OR RUBGY SHIRTS ALLOWED,” this time with the full force of his baritone behind it. Unfortunately, …

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The Lionheart Brothers, straight outta Trondheim Norway, made their way to the Oxford Circus in London on Monday night to play The Social. I had originally intended to take the tube down to Ealing Broadway to watch a match and enjoy some discount pints. I stood at the station, with my Ipod on for some 15 minutes, nose in a book, before I realized there was no longer anyone else waiting. Apparently the message delivered earlier by the station attendant, whose accent was too thick for comprehension, had made clear the breakdown of the Bakerloo Line. Fortunately, I wasn’t entirely …

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Conor Oberst made his return to the 400 Bar in Minneapolis on Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of December. Oberst has a history of playing the 400; he was 18 for his debut on the 400 Bar’s stage. “It was the first place to ever pay me to play outside of Omaha.” He explained. Bill Sullivan, brother of owner Tom Sullivan, now manages Bright Eyes.

He played a set of entirely original material before returning for an encore. The encore consisted of Bright Eyes, “covers,” as Conor called them. “Southern State” and “A Man Named Truth” were two among …

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