Last night Seattle got rocked by two great bands. The Plain White T's started things off right, engaging the crowd with favorites. They played some new stuff which was exciting to hear. Their sound has gotten a lot smoother and more accessible which was evidenced by all the people singing along. After a longer than expected break, Snow Patrol woke everyone up with some rowdy renditions of popular singles. Some of the lesser listened to music took on new life with passionate and powerful stage performance. The Paramount in GA mode remains a great venue, especially for smooth rocking bands who feel intimate but have a full presence on stage and a diverse audience who aren't necessarily used to rubbing shoulders. Snow Patrol captured my ear again and the chance to hear the accent live and watch the guitars rip in real-time was a treat I'll always be down to catch. If you have half an ear you'll want to find a performance to watch for yourself.

The first time I saw Secondhand Serenade was at the House of Blues in Anaheim. It was a one-man acoustic show and his passion and powerful lyrics got to me. It's hard to compare this show, as he was headlining with a band, and the Showbox SoDo was in it's more intimate arrangement. But having Evan Taubenfield open was a flash-back that made me smile. Usually I'd be seeing gigs like this at El Corazon or Chop Suey, so it's nice to see the artists upscaling to the likes of the Showbox and the venues expanding their audiences. Watching acoustic songwriters transition from carrying a show to performing in front of a band isn't always the easiest. They can over- reach and end up sounding formulaic and repetitive. Take Matt Nathanson for example. I'd quit a job, lie to my mom, stand-up a date with Mrs. Draper, or mug an old lady for tickets just to watch him play a 5 song solo set. But tell me he's headlining his band again and I'll have to check the calendar to see if there aren't any good movies playing first. The difference is that significant. All in, the bands were engaging and lively, while the crowd was festive and typical for Seattle. I'll definitely head back to SoDo whenever it's in small setting though, because that was well done.

After dancing like crazy to Flogging Molly at Marymoor, we are continuing our tour of non-US bands with The Proclaimers at the ShowBox. The surprise tonight was a band I'd never heard called Handful of Luvin' that is from Seattle. They had a really unique sound with clearly Irish influences melded with reggae and folk. A solid vocalist and gifted bassist drove their music which was smoothly danceable. The Proclaimers were a treat to see if a bit on the novelty side. All in all, another great night courtesy of the ShowBox and my friends at TicketMaster. LIA.

There are some things in life you never get tired of experiencing, like ice cream, swimming, or the musical Wicked. I've seen it in 4 cities almost a dozen times and I was just as excited for tonights performance as for any previous. It's simply that good. Refreshingly the audience tonight dressed up a little more than Seattle audiences have been known to do. It always distresses me when this city can't seem to appreciate the culture to which they have such access. If you have an opportunity, make the time. It will change your life. Or at least give you a new found love of musicals.

Tonight the Dome was rockin' and reeling. One thing for sure, Keith works hard for his show. A few times he seemed a little hoarse but that boy can play some serious strings, I tell you! The light show was very well done and everyone took advantage of loose security to stand up close in the aisles. If you don't get to see many shows, his is worth your time.

Tonight the weather was perfect for an outdoor show. I ran into some good friends volunteering at the Puyallup Fair. After a thorough education in the ways of professional rodeo, I got to stand up close in the dirt to watch the country folks rock out to Big Green Tractor. Good thing I got some strawberry shortcake so I'd have energy to boogie alongside 'em. Even though it was packed, it was a fun experience and he puts on a fun show.

Tonight down south I got to watch some of my favorite music performed live. The weather cooperated for a glorious afternoon which was kicked off by Taking Back Sunday. I've never seen them live and it was interesting to see those harmonies performed. Weezer put on a great show. I've seen them before and this was a solid set that did justice to their talent. Seeing Blink-182 was something I didn't think I'd ever be able to do and it was a really big deal for me. They did not disappoint in the least. They played all the old hits and sprinkled in a bunch of new singles. The experience was all-around exhilarating and inspiring. If you don't catch a stop on this tour, you're really missing out. As for me, I rest easy knowing I've crossed a big item off my list.

Last night was the Full Moon Party but there was no moon. That didn't stop the revelers though. The boys dropped at various times and I outlasted all of them in the race to sunrise. When finally those gorgeous rays of sunshine hit the beach I was exhausted and ready to crash. Still awash in body paint and fading memories from last night, we swap stories and down grub to restore some normalcy. It really is one of the best parties in the world. And Thai food for the next day? Yummy.

Finally settled on Koh Panghan with the essentials acquired for the next couple of days. Part of the gang went touring on scooters, preferred to enjoy the sun on the beach for a few hours. Now I'm going to nap in the hammock and watch the sun go down so I'll be energized for tonights craziness. Wish you were here.

It's been a wonderful couple of days on the islands. Yesterday we pulled a coup for a private boat by asking for a random time to leave. Nobody joined and the six of us had our own private snorkeling expedition around the islands. @triceratopshead and @coolmarie knew all about the different fish we saw. We also got to check out Maya Beach which is famous for being where they shot the movie The Beach. It was really spectacular. Today we've had rain on and off but still managed to climb to the viewpoint to look out at all the islands. Tomorrow we head to Koh Phangan in a marathon travel day. Wish me luck!

There are some exceptionally nice venues in Bangkok. Several times I felt a profound deja vu as if I were in Las Vegas. Riding around the BTS is a great way to check out the city. It's very reasonably priced usually taking me about a buck to get from one of the city to another. There terminals are very clean and accessible and even at peak times it's not ridiculous (a la Tokyo or Mumbai). The monuments are beautiful and tasteful, with a sense of pride in evidence at the places of honor. For some reason I didn't find myself taking as many pictures as usual. I guess it was either things I didn't want to take pictures of, or things I didn't feel it was appropriate to snap. The lightning storms at night have been really dramatic. Being on the 17th floor offers a great view of the lightning striking all around the city. I'm hoping the weather is much different in the islands for the next week. Things are coming along well with Pivotal, and I'm almost done crafting up a resume. What a major pain that has been.

It's been more than a year, but I finally got the chance to see these guys in a live show. Turns out they are an incredibly well-produced and it's more clear why they don't have the largest following. Too much diversity in music and ability makes for a slightly schizophrenic show. It was a great show nonetheless and I enjoyed every minute of it. Once again the Seattle pop punk scene didn't let me down. The crowd was the perfect size and very social. Lots of light moshing cranked the energy to the right level and kept it there. Definitely an experience I'll cherish if I don't need to repeat it.

Coming back from Burbank I headed with @thegf to a show at the Paramount. Jack's Mannequin I've seen before and they never disappoint. Especially in a great venue like the Paramount in GA configuration. They played all my favorites and really pulled in the crowd. The Fray had an amazing light display. They used mini-cams, lots of them, projected on an LED strip over the stage. They changed cameras with each song so it was a very intimate connection watching close-up of the drummer and keyboardist for example. Being able to watch the fingering and specific work each artist did for each song was genius. Beyond that, it wad amazing how each artist played multiple instruments. They are a very versatile band and even swapped vocalists for some songs. All together, it was a great show and whoever does their stage production needs a huge bonus because it was magnificent! Easily one of the best I've witnessed. And if you're reading this, you have some idea of how many shows I see. On a side note, one of things I'm enjoying most about having a consistent companion these days is the easy way it is to go out. I guess I learned something about why some couple I know who don't seem to have a reason to stay together, end up staying together. It's just so freaking comfortable and reassuring to be with someone else. More to come on that subject later, I guess.

Sometimes it just hits me. Maybe everyone else is different.

Maybe you are just different.

You ask me, you ask me
How I got to know you
Just by speaking on the phone?

Isn't is crazy
How the thought of my touch
Wakes you up when you're alone?

Don't you believe everything you hear
Darling, focus on the prize
Don't you hear me whisper in your ear
"My darling, don't lose sight of my eyes"

It's not time to let go
This is not how it's supposed to end in my mind my baby
Maybe our intentions were wrong from the start
So answer me so we don't fall apart

(I called 46 times!)
And you answered on the 47th
(I called you 46 times!)
And you answered on the 47th

You tell me, you tell me
You've never fell so hard
For an obvious candidate

You said you hate your last love
And it's soon enough that you will forget

Don't believe everything you hear
Darling, I've never lied before
Don't you hear me whisper in your ear
"Forget him you're what I'm waiting for"

It's not time to let go
This is not how it's supposed to end in my mind my baby
Maybe our intentions were wrong from the start
So answer me so we don't fall apart

You've even said yourself
You're setting yourself up
You've even said yourself
That everyone would turn

And you've even told yourself
That the floodgates would break
So why are you taking so long to answer?

It's not time to let go
This is not how it's supposed to end in my mind my baby
Maybe our intentions were wrong from the start
So answer me so we don't fall apart
So answer me so we don't fall apart
So answer me so we don't fall apart

(I called 46 times!)
And you answered on the 47th
(I called you 46 times!)
And you answered on the 47th

-- 47 by New Found Glory from Not Without A Fight

It's been my experience that those who say they understand miss the mark the most. Or maybe I'm just special. After all, I did ride a special bus to school.

My buddy @dsummer and I took a day to check out the new crazy coasters at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The service at this park is horrific. It I'd quite clear they are sorely understaffed and cutting corners. That said, the coasters are quite fun and unique. If it wasn't for the horrendous experience just getting on and off each ride, the coolness and thrills for each ride would have outshone many other parks. The Deja Vu and Terminator both gave amazing and fresh perspective on roller coasters. We'll see if X2 performs to the hype we've gotten so far.

Alaska Airlines is the best carrier in the world. And boy am I enjoying the benefits of their great service this summer. I've been out and about quite a bit and will cap my summer with a trip overseas in a few weeks. Right now I'm bouncing up and down the coast visiting friends and associated hob-knobbing. The photo on this entry was the yummy breakfast on flight into LAX. For a picky eater like myself the fresh fruit (including blueberries! Firm and juicy!) and turkey sausage were a real treat. The good thing about all this activity is I've had time to polish some posts. So if you follow my other topic areas, you'll find some new writing soon. And I might include a real intimate personal piece just for HH.

The Snoqualmie Casino is a great venue for seeing artists up close. Tonights show was really intimate and casual. He played lots of old favorites which for someone with so many hits wasn't particularly hard. My personal favorite Life's A Dance was early in the set and the whole crowd sang along. To make the evening better, I ran into the Wahl's and got to say hello. I've missed them terribly so seeing them having fun was just a real treat. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back to enjoy this place in the future.

In working on a green field system recently (green field means it's new from scratch development) the discussion for a series of services turned to the subject of which type of data interaction should be used. Specifically, should the service be designed using message contracts or data contracts?

Since it became clear that the basic inflection points were not well understood, I had to hold an impromptu clinic. After we finished, I wrote down the salient points and turned it into this post.

The first thing to consider when choosing packaging formats is whether the messages need to be conformed. You see, many technologies don't comply with the published contract specifications choosing instead to rely on the lowest level XML serialization for interchange. If these messages already are in use, or you intend to interoperate with a system that has such restrictions, the choice is usually made for you.

If you are playing green field (as in the conversation sparking this post) it helps to understand that data contracts have good portability which makes them widely applicable. Message contracts are less capable and therefore can have less portability .

So the less conformant you are required to be, the more reason to choose data contracts. The more conformant your requirements, the more likely you will need message contracts or even base XML serialization.

Summer is great for packing your days to overflowing. This weekend was no exception. The sunshine baked into my skin every day and all the people watching and socializing nourished my soul. Saturday was a zoo day with a chance to sample some brews at the Seattle International Beer Festival and some inspiring fireworks. I got the chance to spend some quality time with good friends and make some new ones. They taught me about gin and tequila which just proves I can learn something every day. Even when relaxing on the grass. To close out a Sunday that was supposed to be lazy, I got to catch a set by Boys Like Girls at El Corazon. It's such a great small venue for such a fun band with great stage presence. I've seen them on bigger stages and in comparison they just exploded being so close to the fans. If I get the chance perhaps I'll post some of this weekends writings. For now, I'm heading to visit from friends in Burbank. If I'm lucky I'll get a chance to see @puarick, @shooman, and @dsummer.

Taking a chance to see the sights in the Twin Cities with a good friend. After tooling around the Mississippi for a while we chance the views of the many churches in this town. And have a chance to also watch the university track team running by. So there are lots of beautiful structures to be humbled by.