I Believe the Children Are Our Future, Teach Them Well and Let Them Lead the Way, Show Them All the Beauty They Possess Inside...

The night before the Inauguration, we flew to DC to play a Kids Inaugural concert presented by Michelle Obama. She was in the front row with her kids, enjoying Miley, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovado, Corbin Bleu (my favorite chicken dish) and Lil' Bow Wow, who I was notified is no longer lil'. He still looks lil', however, so it is quite confusing.

We began with soundcheck, as always. Here's a slice of how slow and uneventful those things are:



Despite the Big Nothing happening in that video, you can still hear how sweet Billy Ray is, as he makes small talk with a crew member.

Then Clay (our playback guy and my dear friend) and I decided to hit the streets and see the hoopla!

Mainly, the hoopla consisted of icy cold air, tons of people (half of whom were selling Barack-related merchandise to the other half), and many many cops.

Obama Obobbleheads

Obama Water

(Because you'll never go broke underestimating the American public)

The Street-level Mosh Pit

We pushed and shoved our way back to the arena for our show:

And then we made history all over the place. Miley even brought a tear to us hardened band members when she sang "The Climb."

BBC Switch

About a month ago, when we first arrived in London, I was immediately stricken by the sheer Britishness of it all. Somehow, it was even more British than I was expecting:

The UK is a Cartoon Version of Itself.

For Real, Though.

But of course, we weren't there to sight-see; we were there to work.

We were playing a show called BBC Switch, which was aimed firmly at teens. No one over 19 in the crowd, which meant no parents, which meant a room full of crazy adolescent Brits. The energy in that room was electric, and we all had a blast.

Backstage, Kelly Osbourne interviewed Miley, surrounded by every camera in the United Kingdom...and made her do the limbo, for some unknowable reason:

Afterwards, the band went to The Defectors Weld, which has a dress code I will never understand. You are not allowed entry if you're wearing a hat. Okay, fine. So this just means they expect a certain higher level of dress, right? Well, no. You are also not allowed in if you're wearing formalwear. Wha-what? So you've got to just be right-down-the-middle then. The principal of this made me want to leave immediately. I don't wanna be anywhere that particular.

We stayed for a few drinks, and then Clay, Nadia and I left for a very special British treat:

Magnum Classic. Best Ever.

Yummy yummy ice cream.

On the way home, we saw this sign:

Anyone Wanna Take a Crack at Interpreting This One?