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Among the passionate public at the John Doe concert with The Sadies on Friday 23 in Barcelona, part of a night of rock music, was New York actor, Viggo Mortensen. As carried away as anyone else, he sang the songs, and applauded enthusiastically. And he didn't hide on the upper floor like Scarlett Johannson did long ago; he sat near the stage and quietly enjoyed the show. Or almost. Because at the beginning, he passed quite unnoticed, but when rumors about his presence began, he had to take pictures, sign autographs and stop some not-so-subtle flirting, all done with saintly patience.

Viggo again proved to be a Hollywood star capable of moving comfortably among us, the mere mortals. And he didn't go to the concert in fancy clothes, just jeans, tennis shoes and the jersey of his favorite soccer team, San Lorenzo de Almagro.

More than just an actor, Mortensen is a Renaissance man: on his resume there is a place for poetry, photography, painting, and yes, music. Many Tolkien fans will remember that he sang Aragorn's coronation song in the soundtrack of The Return of the King, a track on which, by the way, he wrote the music. And also he has been known to collaborate with the adventurous guitarist Buckethead.

That is, Mortensen was not just passing by. According to sources close to the organizers, he had already seen John Doe and the Sadies two nights before in the Sala Heineken in Madrid. He is a fan of both, especially when they play together: in the booth they'd set up there, where he met Jason Groth, guitarist of the group Magnolia Electric, he picked up six copies of their recent joint album Country Club; he also bought a couple of copies of New Seasons (The Sadies) and finally, a Year in the Wilderness (John Doe).

Country Club is an album of country and western renditions essentially, but they also slip in up to four original numbers. One of them, It Just Dawned On Me, is a new collaboration by John Doe and Exene Cervenka, the creative nucleus of the legendary Los Angeles punk group/band X.

"Staying out of jail, the hospital and an early grave. Just getting through 2007. I guess that's an achievement."

Found from Iran Economist and as my friend Casper translated the second piece, Sara Solati is alive and busy working on a 18000-page (Eighteen-thousand-page) novel called 'CJM:Viggo Mortensen'-- 9000 pages complete so far!