Los Angeles, CA

Bolt upright at 5.30am! I thought I'd broken the back of the jetlag but no such luck. It's obvious that sleep has deserted me so I switch on the blackberry to catch up on emails before breakfast. It almost goes into meltdown. The impact of the volcano on various colleagues and journalist's travel plans is severe. How crazy is this - we were only joking about it mere hours go.

I scroll through in mounting horror. People turfed off planes after waiting on tarmac, bands due to fly to Coachella unable to get to the festival, Johnny Davis who's meant to be flying in tonight to interview Corinne Bailey Rae for Q in Santa Monica having to rebook flights again and again.

I spend hours dealing with the fallout, cancelling hotel rooms, rescheduling interviews and talking to managers in amongst all the other work issues. I grab a quick bite to eat for breakfast whilst glued to the laptop and mobile and soon it's gone midday before I even leave the room.

I walk along Sunset to the Marquis, almost bumping into a tall blond man who's complaining loudly outside Clafoutis restaurant. It's 80's He-Man Dolph Lungren. He seems to have lost the power of Greyskull. I walk around him and get to the Marquis and give Jacqui a call. She comes down in a flurry of hugs and giggles and I introduce her to Lady Antebellum who are all waiting by the pool. Various other artists are wandering round, some staying ahead of their appearances at Coachella. In the far corner are various members of The Specials and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones is wandering past the koi carp pond.

Once Jacqui is safely ensconced interviewing the band I hook up with Emma from EMI and Paul, lining him up for the next chat. Jacqui finishes and is spirited away by Duff Battye, another UK PR in LA covering various interviews, to meet the legend that is Slash, rock star extraordinaire. Paul sits down with Lady A to do an in-depth profile of them and once we've established that the band are happy, watered and fed we leave them to it.

Emma and I grab a spot of lunch in the garden and discuss the unfolding situation regarding air travel. We don't know yet how bad it's going to get. In the corner near the bar is a TV showing CNN and all of a sudden they switch to a report of the volcanic eruption, showing plumes of ash pouring into the atmosphere. They're reporting that all the airports in northern Europe will be shut for at least another 12 hours. Hmmm. This isn't looking good.

After an hour I go back to round up Paul's interview. Lady A have got to head to tonight's venue to soundcheck. Jacqui reappears with Duff, having done a great interview with Slash. And moments later Slash himself appears, sadly devoid of his trademark top hat, sporting a baseball cap instead perched on top of his bouncy curls. Within moments we're greeted by the somewhat surreal sight of Slash and a couple of Specials having a big old chat and expressing mutual admiration.

Duff has just found out his flight home tonight is cancelled. It's actually his birthday today and he was meant to be getting home to spend the weekend celebrating with his wife and kids. To compensate Jacqui and I join him in the bar and drown his sorrows with a couple of chilled Sauvignons. The news just gets worse and worse with emails pouring in and updates saying that the last time the volcano erupted it kept spewing out ash for two months. We could all be stuck here for a looooong time!!

The bar staff overhear us talking about Duff's birthday and bring him a chocolate soufflé with a candle in so we all toast him and decide that there are far worse places to be stuck than LA. Soon Jacqui's friends Tim Burgess, singer of the Charlatans, and his wife Michelle join us. They're heading to Coachella tomorrow and so I offer them Johnny's hotel room if he doesn't make it as they've not had any success booking anywhere. At least that way we'd recoup some of the wasted cost. Duff decides he's going to join us at the festival, especially once he learns that the next available flight to the UK will be on Monday, dependent on the volcano not attempting to beat its previous 60 day record.

After a few drinks I have to race back to my hotel to change in time for the gig. Paul and I then jump in a cab and meet Emma, Chanel and Matthew from EMI for sushi at Katsuya, Chanel's favourite LA restaurant and favoured haunt of the likes of Beyonce and Jay Z. Neither of them are in evidence tonight but I can understand why they come; the food is lovely. Matthew pays the bill, saving me having to pick up the tab. Finally some good news!!

By 8.45 we've managed to get downtown to the fabulously art deco Wiltern Theatre. Last time I was here was 2005 with Jacqui on an Iron Maiden trip. We were watching Rufus Wainwright who was pretty good, but our attention was focussed on Jake Gyllenhall who was stood right next to me. Oooh, fond memories. Sadly my reverie is broken when I buy Matthew and Paul a drink. Three beers = $45!!!

In true record company / journalist fashion we get to our seats just as the house lights die. The crowd's screams are deafening as Lady Antebellum take to the stage and they pump out a really good show. Charles' husky Springsteen-esque vocals really soar while Hilary's harmonising has the ring of Stevie Nicks.

Dave sits behind the grand piano for 'Need You Now', their mega-hit single, which has the kind of chorus that weaves its way into your memory and just won't let go. They encore with John Cougar Mellencamp's 'R.O.C.K in the USA', then introduce Josh Groban to guest on 'Hello World', the highlight of their new album. They finish with a miracle, making 'Hey Jude' sound like a vital and exciting track rather than a hackneyed old piece of musical soppiness.

Paul and I manage to hail a cab outside the theatre (a rare piece of providence in Los Angeles) and hightail it back to the hotel, shattered and in need of sleep. The news is still proving doom and gloom and I'm increasingly worried about the Corinne feature we're meant to be doing for Q in Santa Monica. It's not happening there so I'm trying to reschedule it for Saturday in Coachella but as I hit the sack there's still no news as to whether Johnny Davis will be able to get on his plane. This trip could well have an unhappy ending.