Went to the Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park in the morning. This is a HUGE art fair that's held annually in London. It's all contemporary work by modern artists. It was very interesting to walk around, although most of the art on display wasn't my cup of tea -- for me, most of the work was high on concept but low on talent. A lot of new art seems to be all about the idea behind the work, of giving people something that SAYS something, whether it's about society, politics, sex or whatever -- but (in my view) most of it isn't actually any bloody GOOD!!!!! For me, a good work of art involves me and makes me go WOW -- it doesn't just make me nod seriously and think "That's clever." I think artists should always strive to put their talent first, not just come across as being clever. Too much of what I saw today struck me as being of the "Emperor's New Cothes" strand of art-making. Of course, other people will rave about it and claim it's the artistic heart and soul of our modern times -- but I very much doubt if a lot of what I say today will be causing a stir a hundred years from now ...

Having said all that, a few of the pieces DID tickle my fancy or impress me. There were some paintings or sculptures which showed a lot of work and imagination, which made me laugh or ogle. I even bought a couple of pieces, a painting and a sculpture! But, overall, it wasn't for me. Still, to each their own ...

Came back to the flat and sorted through some of my own art pieces -- I have quite a lot of art over here, which I've bought over the last few years, some of which will be staying in the flat, some of which I'm moving back to Ireland. I'd been putting off going through it for ages, but the art fair inspired me into action, so Bas and I spent the afternoon working on it. We even hung a few small pieces up! It's amazing the difference even a minor painting can make to a wall and a room.

Later, we went to see Maximo Park at the Brixton Academy. We arrived only about half an hour before they went on, but we managed to get to the very front! We were off the far left, but it was still a great view. My concert-going tip for people is to always approach the stage from the sides -- you can usually get really close to the front if you're prepared to sacrifice a middle view. The band put on a strong, vibrant set, playing most of the tracks from their two albums. I enjoyed it a lot, though I feel they need at least another album, maybe two, of similar quality to their debut, before they can put on a really great gig -- they have several stand-out songs at the moment, but another several of those they played are just average. The singer, Paul Smith, is a great performer, and he captures the crowd on the better songs. In another couple of years, with 5 or 6 more songs of the claibre of "Under Pressure" and "Graffiti", and they might be one of the best bands around. For now they're still pretenders to the throne. But damn fine pretenders!!!!