David Ingham

2009 AMQP Conference

I spent the last 3 days in La Jolla Shores near San Diego for the AMQP Conference. Microsoft joined the AMQP Working Group in October 2008 and I’m our representative in the AMQP Project Management Committee. This was my first opportunity to meet many of the working group members face-to-face; it was good to put faces to the disembodied voices that I’ve been talking with on the phone every week.

The setting for the conference, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, was just perfect; right on the beach with the sun shining and sound of waves crashing in the background. Many thanks to Matthew Arrott and Rita Bauer for making us feel so welcome.

The first day of the conference was open to the public and I’m pleased to say that we were full to capacity. Representatives from a broad range of companies came to hear about AMQP and the details of the upcoming 1.0 version of the specification. John O’Hara (JPMorgan), the originator and Chairman of the AMQP Working Group, began with an introduction to AMQP that covered the motivation and real-world use cases that it’s designed to address. Mark Blair (Credit Suisse) then presented the findings of the User SIG - the features and characteristics deemed necessary by the end-users participating in the working group. Next up was an “AMQP in detail” session presented by Rob Godfrey (JPMorgan) and Rafi Schloming (Red Hat) that covered the new AMQP 1.0 messaging model and wire-level transport. The vendors of the main three AMQP implementations, iMatix, Rabbit Technologies and Red Hat, then described how their products were being used in real-world deployments today. Finally there was a chance for the audience to provide feedback. I’m pleased to say that response was uniformly positive.

The slides from the session are available:

• Introduction to AMQP and User SIG findings
• AMQP technical overview
• AMQP transport overview

The remaining two days were a closed session of the AMQP Working Group. Good progress was made on a range of subjects. I was impressed how a group of people with diverse opinions were able to work together productively and reach consensus on a range of issues.

The next few months are going to be a busy time for the Working Group as we finalize the 1.0 version of the specification. The pressure is on as if this event is anything to go by, there’s a real demand out there.

The Hold Steady are the saviours of rock and roll

If you read The Guardian you’re probably well aware that they love The Hold Steady. A couple of weeks ago they proclaimed their Glastonbury appearance to be “The gig of the festival.” Earlier they gave rave reviews to their records, Separation Sunday and Boys and Girls in America.

For me, The Hold Steady is just the most exciting band around. A month or so ago, Helen and I went down to Portland to see them play at the Crystal Ballroom. They played the Monday of the Memorial Day long weekend. We’d spent the weekend over in Hood River hiking and relaxing and when it came to the evening of the show I’d almost forgotten we were going to see a band. They weren’t playing til late and we sat in the downstairs bar having a few drinks til around 10 or so. We made our way upstairs and jostled for position, still pretty relaxed. When they finally came on stage and started playing, I was overcome by this complete sense of energy, excitement and joy. I was leaping around like an idiot (along with many other idiots!). The show was everything I expected and more; I was 18 again, feeling how I felt when I first heard bootlegs of Bruce’s live shows from the 70s.

Craig Finn, singer with The Hold Steady, understands this feeling too - check him out at the Springsteen tribute show from back in April.

In The Guardian’s latest piece on the band (from where the title to this post comes), Michael Hann shares his experiences:

But in the end, I guess, I love the Hold Steady because they make me feel like I did when I was 18. I don't mean girlfriendless, uncertain about the future, and prone to adolescent moodiness. I mean excited about the possibilities that music can offer, that someone you've never met can sing to your soul.

Don’t miss them if you get the chance.

SXSW 2007

Just back from Austin and another fantastic few days of music at South By Southwest. This was our forth year and it was especially sweet for me this time to be able to catch up with my music-loving chums from Nottingham and Newcastle that I don’t see often enough anymore. We spent a few days in New York on the way (well, on the way for the UK folks anyway) and I managed to catch up with my friends Fiona and Neal there too.

It’s very easy to overdo it at SouthBy; the first couple of years it was like drinking from the fire hose, so much to see and do and you wanted to see and do all of it! This year we took it a bit easier, did slightly less running around but still managed to see some great music. Out of the 1400 or so bands that played Austin last week, here’s the few that I managed to catch:

Tuesday Swollen Circus: Teenage Prayers, Michael Hall, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, The Silos, Carrie Rodriguez, PreNup, Patty Hurst Shifter

Wednesday Pete Townsend keynote, Simple Kid, Barbara Kooyman & The Texamericans (w/ Carrie Rodriguez and Michelle Shocked), Ian McLagan & Bump Band (Ronnie Lane Tribute w/ Pete Townsend), The Scanners, Willowz, Patty Hurst Shifter

Thursday The Storys, Amy Winehouse, Justin Rutledge w/Luke Doucet, Attic Jam (Rachel Fuller, Pete Townsend, Mika, Willy Mason, Joe Purdy, Alexi Murdoch, Martha Wainwright), Stax 50 Revue (Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the MGs (featuring Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn), William Bell, Eddie Floyd and Jimmy McCracklin), Mika

Friday Michelle Shocked, Freedy Johnston, Joe Purdy, The Watson Twins, Buffalo Tom, The Drams, Steve Earle, Hoodoo Gurus, Justin Rutledge

Saturday Patty Hurst Shifter, Buzzcocks, Kings of Leon, Spoon, Iggy Pop & The Stooges

SXSW 2006

For some reason this didn't get posted last year; anyway better late than never here's what I saw at South By in 2006.

• The Resentments (Saxon Pub)
• Steve Wynn (Flipnotics)
• Cordero (Swollen Circus - Hole In The Wall)
• The Silos (Swollen Circus - Hole In The Wall)
• The Herms (IODA Party - Emos)
• Phosphorescent (IODA Party - Emos)
• Magneta Lane (IODA Party - Emos)
• Cordero (Industry of Music Party - Taproom)
• Patty Hurst Shifter (Industry of Music Party - Taproom)
• The Silos (Guitartown Party - Mother Egan's)
• Patty Hurst Shifter (Guitartown Party - Mother Egan's)
• Collin Herring (Exodus)
• Willy Mason (Antones)
• World Party (Exodus)
• The Plimsouls (Exodus)
• The Go! Team (Exodus)
• Newton Faulkner (Radio 2 Party - Brush Square BBQ)
• Marah (Twangfest Party - Jovitas)
• The Guillemots (Eternal)
• The Spinto Band (Eternal)
• Boy Kill Boy (Eternal)
• The Flaming Lips (Eternal)
• Jon Dee Graham (Whisky Bar)
• Ian McLagan (Whisky Bar)
• Willy Mason (NME Party - House Of Mean)
• Phosphorescent (End Of An Ear)
• Patterson Hood (No Depression Party - Cactus Cafe)
• Teddy Thompson (No Depression Party - Cactus Cafe)
• Beth Orton (No Depression Party - Cactus Cafe)
• Tim Fite (Antones)
• Billy Bragg (Cedar Street Courtyard)
• Marah (Antones)
• Brian Jonestown Massacre (Bourbon Rocks)
• IV Thieves (Pop Culture Press Party - Dog & Duck)
• Peter Case (Pop Culture Press Party - Dog & Duck)
• Steve Wynn (Pop Culture Press Party - Dog & Duck)
• Marah (Yep Roc Party - Yard Dog)

There are a few photos with notes here and the full set is over here.