After a relaxing tapas dinner along the waterfront at Byblos, Amrita, her husband and sister and I walked along Southbank to the Arts Centre to see Brous play at The Famous Spiegeltent. Wearing a fantastic hot pink dress she started the evening with "Little Ticket." For this show Sophia had her regular band along with some special guests including Dan Luscombe (The Drones), Mick Harvey and Evelyn Morris (Pikelet). She played mostly new songs (some just recently written) as well as "Streamers" and "Oh My Brother" from her EP. Mick joined her on guitar for "Southern Belle" and "Small Hands" and Evelyn came out to play on a beautiful song that I think was called "Lulu." Sophia's voice and vocal range were amazing throughout the night and she finished her hour long set with another new one titled "Of The Causeway." Hopefully her debut album will be released this year and if the new songs are any indication is should be a great one.
Today is my birthday and it has been a pretty good day. I went out to lunch at Shuji Sushi with Clinton, and then came back to a beautiful bouquet of flowers at my desk from my parents and cupcakes from my work colleagues. They know me too well! After work I had a lovely dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant Mamasita with Chantal, Amrita and Onagh. We grabbed the last table and had an assortment of dishes and margaritas. Then we headed off to the bar on the 35th floor of the Sofitel for a night cap before heading home. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes throughout the day (and to those in the US who will be sending them tomorrow when I officially turn a year older).
Tonight after work Amrita and I headed to the Kino Cinemas to see the award winning film The Artist. Shot in black-and-white it covers the end of the silent film era and the beginning of talkies through the eyes of silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and rising starlet Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). Most of the film is silent and I can understand why Jean Dujardin is winning all the best actor awards because he is amazing in the way he conveys different emotions without the use of dialogue. Uggie the dog is also a standout as Valentin's trusty companion. The cinematography is gorgeous, and it was great to see all the shots around Los Angeles. If you haven't seen The Artist yet you should definitely check it out as I think it will take home even more awards at the Oscars.
