Beirut live at the Picture House, Edinburgh

Somehow I've always managed to be on a night shift when Beirut have played in Glasgow. I jumped on tickets for the Edinburgh show as soon as they went on sale. I normally wouldn't make the effort to go through to Edinburgh for just any gig but I really like Beirut.

The Picture House looks like an old converted cinema. It's very clean with seating above the main standing area. There is a maze of complex stairways and possibly an excess of toilets. The building may even have been a theatre at some point.

The support act was a guy called Richard Youngs, an experimental artist who shouted a lot. I didn't enjoy his work.

Beirut were majestic. Sublime horns. A glorious noise. They played most of the first two albums and the EP. Some of my friends thought that they sounded better live than on record. It was a brilliant show. I very much hope I get the chance to see them again.

British doctor killed in Afghanistan

Sad news over the past few days. A young British doctor was killed while doing humanitarian medical work in Afghanistan along with several other doctors of various nationalities. The doctor involved, Dr Karen Woo, used to write a blog. It's fairly well written.

http://explorerkitteninafghanistan.blogspot.com/

RIP