Bruce Springsteen & the E St Band @ Verizon Center.

Bruce Springsteen & the E St Band
Bruce Springsteen & the E St Band
Bruce Springsteen & the E St Band
Bruce Springsteen & the E St Band
Bruce Springsteen & the E St Band
Bruce Springsteen & the E St Band

This was a pretty great time. No openers, just Bruce & the band. I can’t say I am a deep cuts-style Springsteen fan, but I of course like many of his songs and he is an icon… it was great to get to shoot this for the Post. And the (sold out) crowd loved him, as you would expect.

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Van Halen @ Verizon Center.

Van Halen @ Verizon Center
Van Halen @ Verizon Center
Van Halen @ Verizon Center

This was a fun show. Everyone was in good form, DLR looked and sounded good (maybe a bit less acrobatics than the old days, but what can ya do), Eddie seemed healthy, Alex was a machine and… well, then there’s Wolfgang. He seemed to be having fun, at least.
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SXSW 2012 Day 2: Sleepytime Trio Reunion.

Sleepytime Trio Reunion @ SXSW 2012
Sleepytime Trio Reunion @ SXSW 2012
Sleepytime Trio Reunion @ SXSW 2012
Sleepytime Trio Reunion @ SXSW 2012
Sleepytime Trio Reunion @ SXSW 2012

See many more photos from this show HERE.

This was fucking awesome. One of the few things I said going into this SXSW that I had to be there for and, I think, the only one of those things I made it to (besides the always-amazing bridge party, which was shut down by the cops). Sleepytime Trio was a band I loved in my younger years, but never got to see, not sure if they ever even played Baton Rouge or not.

The show was great, completly chaotic and spastic… in the backyard of a dingy blues bar on the eastside of Austin. So fun. Jason Hamacher threw people around and did wrestling moves, so it felt like old times. Brian Lowit even got on the mic…. One of the most fun times I had this year at SXSW.

SXSW 2012: Day 1 – Mean Jeans, Night Beats, White Mystery.

Mean Jeans @ Trailer Space - SXSW 2012
Mean Jeans @ Trailer Space - SXSW 2012
Mean Jeans @ Trailer Space - SXSW 2012
Mean Jeans @ Trailer Space - SXSW 2012
The Mean Jeans

The Night Beats @ Trailer Space - SXSW 2012
The Night Beats

White Mystery @ Trailer Space - SXSW 2012
White Mystery

See more photos of these bands and more here!

Three fun bands at one of my favorite places to see shows in Austin, Trailer Space Records. Trailer Space is my FAVORITE place to see shows at SXSW – always unofficial, always cool bands, always a chill/fun vibe, always no bullshit. This year I was there for the Burger Records Fest on Wednesday and it was great – flying beer (at one point a store worker/owner/person came up to the mic to declare “we sell records, so do not pour beer on the records”), fireworks, a dancing dog, tons of kids having fun and great music. So awesome.

A sad note is that I spoke to someone from Trailer Space over email and it seems as though they are in some hard times… so buy records there if you are in Austin! I asked if maybe they would have shirts for sale on their site again and they said they would let me know, I’ll post about it if they do… great place, I hope I can go again next year!

Washington Post Mean Jeans tearsheet Washington Post White Mystery tearsheet

Psychic TV & Celebration @ Sonar.

Psychic TV @ Sonar
Celebration @ Sonar.

See the rest of the Psychic TV & Celebration photos here.

This show was a real surprise. I knew what to expect from Celebration, one of the best (and most long-lived, at this point) current band in Baltimore… I have seen them many times, own all their records… so I knew they were gonna be great. But Psychic TV… that’s another matter. Genesis P-Orridge’s project post-Throbbing Gristle has gone through so many manifestations through the years (and I honestly lost track a long time ago), so I didn’t know what to expect. I was honestly expecting some 80s “I.C. Water”-era proto-rave… instead, what I got was 90 minutes of rollicking prog-rock, including at least two Hawkwind covers (but maybe three?) and some great banter by Orridge, include a claim (which I don’t think is true?) of actually having been a member of Hawkwind. Anyway, great, really unexpected show.

Trayvon Martin Protest at Baltimore City Hall (liveblog).

"This is bigger than profiling." - sign at the #trayvonmartin protest at #baltimore city hall.   Occupying the flagpole at #baltimore city hall. #trayvon protest
On the steps at #trayvon protest at #baltimore city hall   #trayvon protest at #baltimore city hall
#baltimore city hall at the #trayvon protest   Skittles at the #trayvon protest in #baltimore

Today I attended the Trayvon Martin rally at the Baltimore City Hall. It was packed full of people, include on the steps, which surprised me. The overall feel was positive, with everyone I interacted with being friendly. There were a few people with sort of wingnuts signs there, and a surprising amount of t-shirt vendors, but in general it felt like a very honest, positive event. I’m glad I went.

See some photos above and some more photos here.

(Posted via Instagram for sake of being able to post them “as it happened”. Follow me on twitter or instagram at @joshsisk to see more liveblogs when I do them.)

My Top 12 Photos of 2011 (non-concert).

In the grand tradition I’ve been following for the last few years (see 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007), every year I try and make a photo set of my favorite shots from the year. It’s a good exercise, I recommend it for all creative types, it lets you see how your work changes and grows over time.

This year, I am doing it a little differently… two posts. I posted my top concert posts yesterday, this is the Top Non-concert ones. Here we go!
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My Top 15 Concert Photos of 2011.

In the grand tradition I’ve been following for the last few years (see 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007), every year I try and make a photo set of my favorite shots from the year. It’s a good exercise, I recommend it for all creative types, it lets you see how your work changes and grows over time.

This year, I am doing it a little differently… I am breaking it up into this post, which is my Top 15 Concert Photos of 2011, and another post of my Top 12 Photos (non-concert) of 2011 (check back tomorrow for that one). Cheating, maybe, but shooting more non-concert stuff is a goal of mine, so I decided to break them up. I’m also going to try and write a little about each… so here goes!
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Dan Deacon portraits for XLR8R Magazine.

Dan Deacon.   Dan Deacon.   Dan Deacon.

I shot these with Dan in his house in… 2009? Wow. Don’t know why I never posted these. These were for XLR8R Magazine, which no longer exists in printed form (RIP). The fabric in the background is the fabric that was used (he had it hand-made) for the tent that is on the cover of Bromst (which was photographed by the lovely & talented Baltimore photographer Frank Hamilton).

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