On Sunday night, I was luckily enough to see Shonen Knife for the second time (the first time was August 2011 as part of their Free Time album tour). I’m eternally grateful that Belfast is starting to get a reputation for good music; I never thought I’d ever be able to see a Japanese band not once, but twice, within a ten minute walk of home. And certainly not a band that used to tour with Nirvana.

The girls were, as always, amazing. I can’t believe that after several weeks of concerts almost every night, they were still so energetic. And they were incredibly sweet after the concert as well, taking plenty of time to meet the fans.

This was also my first time using a DSLR to shot something a little more complicated than scenery, my friends or cats. I didn’t want to take too much time out from enjoying the band to take snaps so sometimes the settings weren’t optimal, but I’m really delighted with how the photos turned out.

This week I finished Stephen Fry’s The Liar, and started (currently about 15 pages from the end) Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker. I’ve been a fan of Fry since childhood, I think largely thanks to Blackadder, but this is the first time I’ve read anything he’s written. As for Barker, I’ve been reading his books from about the age of 14, and I think there is only one or two of his books I’ve yet to read. Both books are greatly entertaining, but I wouldn’t put any on a list of my favourites. Maybe three to three-and-a-half stars for each.