NH 11', the gift of music and...Dispatch

2011. It's here and promises to be a good one. We're all back from New Hampshire, where we partied hard and made a memory. Everyone brought delicious appetizers and different finger foods. What's more, most of it was homemade. My favorite moment of the night came when everyone was in a large circle and took turns stating their best moment of the past year. As expected, the answers varied and everyone got a cheers in response of their moment. Without a doubt, my best moment was moving into an apartment with my girlfriend. It was a special night with special people.

                                       Some of the crew, courtesy of Kevin's iPhone.

In other news, I am giddy over a music overload. January brings new albums from Iron&Wine, Amos Lee and Ben Harper. My girlfriend bought me tickets to see Joshua Radin at the House of Blues in Boston in February for a birthday gift. She knows the way to my heart. Radin is mellow and acoustically driven for the most part. He's becoming mainstream so if you don't know him already, you soon will.

                         Joshua Radin and the cover of his new-ish album: The Rock and the Tide

Lastly, in the most important development of all, DISPATCH is on tour this summer and returning to Boston on June 25 at the Garden. They're also playing Colorado, Illinois, California, New Jersey and Georgia. Dispatch revolutionized music for me and I cannot wait to see them again. Tickets go on sale in three weeks.

Tour logo.

Dispatch. The Best.

Another highlight: The night before we left for New Hampshire a buddy of mine gave me a groupon for a Thai/Tapas bar in Somerville so the girlfriend and I went. It was a tiny place and half the seats used pillows on a bench for comfort. It was tasty and very very fresh. If in the area, check out Ronnarong Thai Tapas Bar in Union Square.

The rest of the weekend has been relaxing and lazy. Some reading, some sports. Speaking of, the Patriots concluded a 14-2 regular season and have a bye week before their postseason starts. You did not see that coming. It's Dallas or bust!

Again, Happy New Year everyone!