Three shows I shot for the Washington Post. Adele was the most packed I have -ever- seen the 930 Club, but all of these were sol out.
Tag Archives: dc
Tune-Yards @ Red Palace
The other week, I shot Tune-Yards (or tUne-YaRdS, or some strange capitalization) and Buke and Bass at the Red Palace. The Red Palace is becoming a favorite place of mine to see shows in DC, decent lighting (LEDs, though), nice beer selection, small room but you can see the artist pretty well regardless… I had never heard Tune-Yards before, which was basically a one-person band with some back-up on some songs from a bassist and a horn section, but it was an interesting show. She makes loops with her voice, right on the spot, and then plays over them… she creates a sound that is reminiscent of African traditional music (to my ears, anyway), mixed with drone/ambient. Pretty interesting stuff.
Arctic Monkeys & The Vaccines @ 9:30 Club
The other week, I shot the Arctic Monkeys and the Vaccines for SPIN… I am not super knowledgeable about either band, but fun show, good lighting, good sound… the Arctic Monkeys were lively, more so than I had been led to believe, and the Vaccines were fun and energetic. I hear they are a band to watch… Read the review, linked below for more details!
Quite a night : 3 shows, 3 cities, 1 monday
The other monday I tackled not one, not two, but THREE shows in one evening. First I shot Ramblin Jack Elliott for the Washington Post in Rockville, MD. He played a church to a music preservation society crowd. Nice people, and a cool setting. The last time I saw him was at a huge political event in San Francisco, years ago… it was cool to check him out, even for a little bit, in a more intimate space.
Next up was Dirty Beaches at the Black Cat in DC. My girlfriend has been telling me to check out his music for quite awhile, but I must admit I had never heard Dirty Beaches until I stepped into the show. The lights were almost totally down, he was light by what looked like a single light… a white-tshirt clad 50s greaser-looking guy freaking out on a guitar, unaccompanied, playing crazy, fuzzy music out of Blue Velvet or something similar. It was pretty great. I’ve since gone back and gotten several of his records and downloads of his earlier tape only releases, and his music is great! Really recommended.
Finally, I limped back to Baltimore, dead tired, to Cullen Stalin’s No Rule party at Metro Gallery, to see DJ Ayres of the Rub and T&A Records. Ayres is an awesome guy, and a great DJ. I usually only see him at big events like SXSW or My Crew Be Unruly, so I really wanted to make it, say hi, shoot a few shots. Glad I did.
Lykke Li & Grimes @ 9:30 Club
Sunday, after a looong weekend, I saw Lykke Li and Grimes play at the 9:30 Club. I had never heard of Grimes before this show was announced, but I have been a pretty large Lykke Li fan for years, since before her debut album Youth Novels came out. Grimes turned out to be a one woman band, who played an odd, eclectic mix of pop/noise/danse music. I’d have to listen to her stuff recorded to really pass judgement, but live it was interesting, if really distorted.
Lykke Li, who I’ve seen before, has upgraded her sound and more than upgraded her stage show. The set was almost like an arena rock performance, with blasting strobes, synchronized lighting, tons of fog, weird cloth strips that hung from the ceiling and swirled around the stage… The new material is also bigger and more bombastic (even as the song thematic material is darker and somber at times), so it’s quite a spectacle. For me, it left me a little unsure if I preferred this new Lykke Li to the one from Youth Novels and before. She got her start with small, intimate songs with a stripped down sound. Part of the reason I loved those early singles and her first album (and her earlier stage show) was how it felt like she was really putting herself out there with little artifice. While this new record and show are way, way more pro and accomplished, I think it loses a little of that feel. Still, it was a super impressive show and she is certainly flexing as an artist.
Diego Garcia @ DC9
Kylie Minogue @ Patriot Center
Last week I was able to shoot Kylie Minogue’s show for the Washington Post… it was a pretty amazing affair. I am not a huge fan, or even a casual fan… in fact I can only think of one Kylie song off the top of my head! But the show was really fun, full of drama and pomp and an INCREDIBLE stage setup and performance… some of the most over the top stage stuff that I have ever seen at a concert. I was told that the tour cost $25 million… and I believe it. Check out photos below:
BIG K.R.I.T. @ U Hall, DC
A little while back, I had a chance to shoot BIG K.R.I.T.’s sound check at the awesome DC venue, the U St Music hall. I love shooting here, the staff is always great. They have a policy that we have to shoot the sound checks, not the show itself, which is real different from most clubs, and has it’s good and bad points. The good is we get to shoot portraits of the artists, if they are down, like the quick one I shot of Big K.R.I.T. above. He was really chill and his soundcheck sounded great. Check the links below to see more photos and read a review of the actual show!
DMV Record Pull – first night.
DJ Excel, DJ Booman and Bmore Original helped organize what I hope becomes a regular event, a record pull at Club Reality in Baltimore City. Labels, artists, DJs, Producers, and media from DC/MD/Va got together and talked, met each other, networked, performed, and had a dialogue. A cool event and very chill, low-stress, very little drama. Follow the record pull on facebook, or check out the new website.
Destroyer @ the Black Cat
This band was not what I expected… I guess the name and the pedigree made me think this would be some driving, semi-aggressive indie rock, but in actuality they are basically the exact opposite… soft rock, made me think I was at a waterfront restaurant in the 80s or something. Not bad, though, and the crowd certainly enjoyed it…
African Acoustic Tour @ GWU
This is a good example of why I have always liked shooting on assignment… I would never have gone to this show on my own, as I don’t really know much about African music, but this was quite a lot of fun, and fun to shoot as well. I had never shot in Lisner Auditorium before, but it’s amusing how basically every college auditorium feels and looks the same… a nice venue though, and really friendly staff.
SALEM @ RNR Hotel
This show made me realize I am getting old. I didn’t “get” this band. I liked aspects of their set/performance but… as a whole, just didn’t get how they gelled together. But the kids there to see this band seemed STOKED, so whatever. I’m old.
The Ex / DJ /Rupture / S PRCSS @ Black Cat
I love the Ex. I am a late-term fan, I first saw them with the new line-up, so a lot people may think less of them now with their more guitar-oriented sound… but I think they are terrific, and they are always spectacular live… this was definitely one of the best shows of the 60 or so shows I have seen so far this year.
Taylor Momsen / Pretty Reckless
I was supposed to shoot her concerts in DC and Bmore for the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post, but apparently at the last minute her people decided no press coverage. In Baltimore, I just didn’t go, but the DC-area one I showed up, and was even in the club when the word came down, no photos of the show… on my way out I spied a bunch of guys with cameras and was asking them who they shoot for and they were a bit evasive… I realized after a minute they were paparazzis! So I hung out with them for twenty minutes or so and then snapped these, my only examples of paparazzi photos I’ve ever done (and likely ever will do). The paparazzi guys were cool, and had some REALLY funny stories!
These photos aren’t that great, but I’m posting them just because of the story.
Robert Glasper’s RCDC Experiment, Chateau Marmont
Caught Robert Glasper’s RCDC Experiment at the Bohemian Caverns the other day on assignment. Fun place to see music, go here if you haven’t… This group is made out of a bunch of accomplished players more well know for working on other artist’s albums, all jamming together. Fusion jazz/hip-hop type stuff. Not my normal bag, but they sounded good and were obviously having a great time.
I also was assigned to shoot Chateau Marmont, a Parisian band playing as some sort of French Culture Festival in DC… at the Velvet Lounge of all places. Remember when that place was the dive-y-est spot on all of U Street? Weird to rub elbows with a bunch of internationals at this show.
The Pogues / Titus Andronicus @ 9:30 Club
Last week, I was able to go see The Pogues for the first time, along with New Jersey band Titus Andronicus. TA was pretty fun, a really lively, together band. I understand they are about to be big, or so several people are telling me, it’s well-deserved if so.
The Pogues… were good. I’m glad I saw them. But Shane Mcgowan was pretty hard to watch… he sort of shambled onto stage, clutched his mic stand for dear life and sort of mumbled his way through their set. The rest of the band was animated and put on a good show, and Shane did… okay. Just sad to see someone who was once so talented and full of life just sort of be an echo of their former self.
february assignment round-up.
Detroit rapper Black Milk.
Outlaw country star David Allan Coe.
California pop punk band Vanity Theft.
Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys.
Arboretum & Secret Mountains @ the Ottobar.
Odd Future / OFWGKTA / Tyler The Creator
I scored the assignment of shooting the up and coming hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All’s sound check at the U Street Music Hall. This was the same day as the announcement that XL Recordings would be releasing Tyler’s next record. It was pretty funny to watch these guys soundcheck… whatever greater success is coming their way, at this point you can tell the whole thing is just a huge amount of fun for them. They raced around the empty venue goofing off, played almost a full set during sound check, and generally horsed around the whole time. Fun experience, cool kids.
Dismemberment Plan Reunion Kick-Off + Secret Show!
I covered the Dismemberment Plan reunion tour kick-off at the Black Cat for SPIN, and it was a really fun show. Sold out, of course, and they played a stacked set, with a lot of attention to Emergency and I, their most revered album, as well as a lot of other tracks… They were totally together too, without any of the minor technical foibles at their secret preview show the previous week (more on that in a sec). Really cool band Bluebrain opened up, too…
I was also lucky enough to be able to shoot a secret, invitation only show at the Galaxy Hut in Arlington, VA a week before the tour officially started… this was a great experience, 60 or so people crammed into a little cafe area, a feeling similar to what I imagine D-Plan shows in DC were like in the late 90s.
Matthew Dear @ U St Music Hall.
Matthew Dear and his band swung in last week to do a make-up show after their show at DC9 got canceled due to the death that occurred there last year. I got to chat with them a bit, a nice bunch of guys. Matthew is touring with a live band, and the sound is a lot different than what you might expect if you know him from his Audion or False records… more of a dark, new wave, Gary Numan type of vibe… but good. I wish I could have stayed for the whole show!