Hi, all, I hope you are doing well and enjoying March Madness, if that's something you get into. It's really big here in ACC territory and just about everyone I know is on one side of the Carolina-Duke rivalry and most err on the Carolina side of things. (Let's go, Tarheels, clap-clap-clapclapclap!)

Question: are you a dA subscriber and what are the benefits of subscribing? The main one that comes to my mind is supporting a great website. But I don't know what I personally do with an upgrade or if my "art" even warrants such a thing. What can you do with your subscription that is so much better than what you could do without it? Or, if you don't subscribe, why don't you?

Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote. I was in Los Angeles for a week for work and headed to Chicago for work on Wednesday. I'll go see Squirrel Nut Zippers while in Chicago, which is funny, because they're from Chapel Hill, which is ten minutes down the road from me, but I've missed their last FOUR shows. But I'm going to the House of Blues Chicago, where there is a very vigorously enforced no camera policy. A few months ago I snuck a camera into Smashing Pumpkins by pretending to be pregnant, but that won't work in this scenario, since they apparently use a metal-detecting wand on everyone, too, and, while my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 is mostly plastic, there's probably enough metal to pick it up. LAME.

Here are the shows I have most recently photographed and posted:
French Kicks with Broken West
Ra Ra Riot with Telekinesis and Cut Off Your Hands

Here are the shows I have most recently photographed and not yet posted:
Clues with Black Cheeto
Black Lips with the Moaners and Gentlemen Jesse and His Men
The Ting Tings with Hottub
AC Newman with Broken West

I've now seen Broken West on two coasts: once in CA, once in NC. Haha! I got into a conversation with the lead singer, Ross Flournoy, after his set at the AC Newman show in NC and he was impressed that I'd followed them across the country. Well, it was inadvertently done, but still! That band is sweet as pie. Definitely check them out.

If you have not heard of Hottub, check them out, too! They are like three M.I.A.s up there on stage and their music is rad.

Here are my upcoming shows:
Squirrel Nut Zippers 3/25
Neko Case with Crooked Fingers 4/7
Death Cab for Cutie with Cold War Kids and Ra Ra Riot (I'm bi-coastal with RRR, too!) 4/9
Of Montreal with Inkwell and Power Zuave 4/13
Kings of Leon 4/28
Snoop Dogg 5/13
The Decemberists 6/4
Coldplay 8/6
U2 10/something

I'm sure there will be more to add to that list! I didn't buy tickets to Cut/Copy and now it's sold out and I'm kicking myself. Blerrrrgh!

What have you all been up to? Done any traveling, seen any shows?


Helena.

Check out my rad clubs: