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I am currently displaying 3 pieces in New York Photo Festival’s juried exhibition Audio/Visual, at PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo, Brooklyn. It’s a show about music & photography, which pretty much means photos of musicians, though there were some interesting shots that didn’t quite fit that mold. You can read more about it here. The show is up all month, so if you find yourself in Dumbo, stop in!

Here are the photos that are in the show (Janelle Monae, Monotonix, The Spark):

 

Great show, best night. I stage dove, in fact all the photographers stage dove… wait, EVERYONE stage dove. Denny’s dad held it down at the front for the whole show! So much fun, what a good send off for one of the best bands the city has ever seen. Thanks for the memories, guys.

• See all the photos from Double Dagger’s last show, including a couple of openers Dan Deacon & Future Islands.
• BUY PRINTS of photos from the last Double Dagger shows (CCAS, DC, NYC, Baltimore)

If you are interested, you can also:

• See pictures from Double Dagger’s last show @ CCAS
• See pictures from Double Dagger’s last NYC show @ DBA
• See pictures from Double Dagger’s last DC show @ Black Cat
• Look at my Double Dagger photo retrospective with photos of them over the years.

 

Continuing the Double Dagger last shows train, last Thursday I went to see them at Death By Audio in Brooklyn… the kids there love DD, apparently, and the show was so full of singalongs and stagediving and crowdsurfing, I was nervous the Baltimore true finale might find it hard to top this…

• See all the Double Dagger @ DBA photos on my Flickr.

 

 

This was a fun show, and pretty packed, in the Backstage of the Black Cat. The popular belief is that DC kids do not dance at shows, but that was proven untrue here… while it was not as wild as Baltimore or NYC, Double Dagger fans got moving and the band worked up a sweat. It was a great time, and a great start to 3 days in a row of me seeing this band.

• View all my photos from Double Dagger’s last show in DC, ever.

 

This was a fun little show, put on by Unregistered Nurse booking. Highlight – when the singer/guitarist grabbed an excited girl from the crowd and taught her how to play his guitar part for the current song! (pictured above).

• See the rest of the Ty Segall shots here!

Last week, Future Islands played a show at Baltimore bar the Depot, a fairly small place, to celebrate the release of their new album, On the Water. The place was PACKED OUT, and they didn’t disappoint, playing a mix of new and old songs… the temperature had to go up like 10 or 15 degrees in that place by the time they were done. They are going on a nationwide tour starting next week, so check the tour dates and don’t miss your chance to see them!

• I took tons of photos at this, check the rest of them out here!

Last week marked the beginning of Double Dagger’s last shows. The first was at Baltimore’s Charm City Art Space, a totally DIY-run venue that has existed for the better part of a decade (or maybe more? i lose track). I first met Nolan as a result of this venue, actually I probably met a lot of my friends as a result of this venue, and it’s incredible it is still going strong.

This show was GREAT, the space is small, but with higher ceilings than the old CCAS, so kids were free to crowdsurf, dance like crazy, and basically go wild. Tonight is Double Dagger’s last show in DC, at the Black Cat, so don’t miss out!

• See way more photos from the last Double Dagger show at CCAS here (include pictures of Ed Schrader’s Music Beat!).

As most readers of this site probably know, this week ends with the last 3 Double Dagger shows ever. The band is calling it a day… one of the best punk bands, the best bands in general to ever come out of Baltimore, and all friends of mine as well. I have been seeing their shows for years, photographing them for years. In fact, Double Dagger was one of the first bands I shot after deciding I wanted to pursue concert photography seriously, and the above close-up of Nolen with the microphone was from that very show. It was taken while he was precariously standing on my chair (why were there chairs at Hampden Fest? I’ll never know… obviously they were expecting a different kind of band), singing down at me the words to “Camera Chimera”, their song about the over-whelming presence of the camera eye in our lives. Sorry, Nolen! Right after I took it, the guy next to me turned to me and said “That’ll never come out.” A week later, it made Explore (the top 200 photos on Flickr).

One of the best things about Double Dagger is their sense of humor; their smart/punk sensibility. After a “drums in the crowd” issue the previous year’s Whartscape festival, Dan Deacon told the guys specifically “don’t throw any drums in the crowd this year”. So of course, that was the first thing they did in 2010 – throw plastic inflatable drums! There are about a hundred more examples, too.

They also are a band who managed to write songs about important topics in out lives, and within our communities, but at the same time kept them fun & catchy… something so few punk bands have managed to do. So many of their songs resonate to Baltimoreans (but I imagine, everyone also) as reflecting aspects of the city and community we live in. It’s great to see so many younger kids at their shows… inspired not just by the wild stage hijinx (though there is plenty of that), but by the thoughtful content of the songs.

They are going to be missed. Come out to the last shows, I’ll be there.

Wed, October 19 – Washington, DC – Black Cat – w/ Imperial China, Holy Ghost Party
Thu, Oct. 20 – Brooklyn, NY – Death By Audio – w/ AIDS Wolf, Zomes
Fri Oct. 21 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar – w/ awesome secret guests!!!

See more of my photos of Double Dagger below, or click here to see all of the ones I have up on Flickr.

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The Baltimore City Fire Department responded to a fire in an apartment and pulled a man out of his apartment. I took a photo of the fire fighters trying to help him, but it just doesn’t feel right posting them, so I am refraining. He looked to have some smoke inhalation, I hope he is okay. The BCFD did a great job today, totally stopped it before it got out of control. Massive props go out to them.

• See more photos here.

This weekend, I saw one of my favorite metal bands, THOU, who are on Southern Lord and a myriad of other labels, and who hail from my hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (minus the singer Bryan Funck, who is from New Orleans). I have known Bryan for years and he is a stellar dude in the world of diy booking, touring, and all around everything… and the band is pretty incredible. Challenging modern doom that doesn’t fall into the familiar cliches of the genre… recommended. You can find out more about them, and download songs and whatnot, at their website.

• See all the Thou & Full Of Hell photos here

Baltimore band War On Women stopped into my studio the other day… we didn’t have much time but we had a fun shoot, I think some of these may end up on their new record, but I am not 100% sure. Get in touch if your band needs promo photos or the like.

• Check out all of the War On Women photos here.

This was a really fun show, way moreso than I expected… I only knew Ke$ha’s hits, but all the songs I saw were fun, and well-done live… full of energy. The crowd was also more psyched than almost any crowd I’d ever seen before, cheering and dancing to the music they played between acts… and totally dolled/glittered up, as well.

• See all my shots of Ke$ha from this show here.
• Read the Washington Post Ke$ha review here.

 
Ke$ha in the Washington Post

I’ve seen them a couple of times this year already, but TVOTR are always good live, and they were one of the highlights of this year’s Virgin FreeFest at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

• See more TV On The Radio shots in my Virgin FreeFest 2011 set!
• See photos I’ve taken at other TV On The Radio shows here.

Two bands with club in their names that played at virtually the same time at the FreeFest 2011! It took some wrangling, but I managed to get to shoot both bands and even got a aerial view:

• See more photos of both bands in my Virgin FreeFest 2011 photo set!