Monday I saw the Kills play at the Ottobar. It was my first time seeing them, and I was actually pretty impressed… I didn’t know what to expect but they were good live, though Alison seemed like she was about to collapse towards the end… understandable honestly, given how much she was rocking out. Click here for the full set.
I never saw it. If you happen to have a copy, please take a picture of the spread and email it to me!
On finer newsstands now…
I have two photos (Dan Deacon and the Oxes) in Big Shot magazine this month. In the Whartscape article. Check me out on newstands near you!
Last weekend was the Virgin Fest, and after that was the inevitable afterparty at Sonar… it was a pretty good time, Dave Nada killed it of course… watch out for this guy, he is about to be huge. Which is awesome because he is the most crucially best dude ever… Celebrity DJs Vito from the Rapture and Kele from Bloc Party were also spinning, as were Emily Rabbit and Will Eastman. Check the whole set here.
A week or so ago, still shaken from the amazing Rock the Bells experience, I shot Spank Rock, Amanda Blank, Blaqstarr, Sy Young, Diplo, and friends at Sonar… it was a blast, Blaqstarr killed it as always… Click here for the whole set.
Another photo of mine is on some RIP K-Swift shirt apparently? If you see one for sale, buy it for me and I will pay you back. Size medium.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of shooting and attending the 15th Anniversary Party for Unruly Records, My Crew Be Unruly at Paradox in Baltimore. Scottie B, K-Swift (one of her last performances), Diplo, Blaqstarr, DJ Class, Stretch Armstrong, DJ Sega, Say Whut, Dave Nada, Tittsworth, Mz Streamz, and many more DJs and MCs were there to make it a ridiculously amazing party… Check out the set here.
It was a nice time, they had a pretty cool setup. They interviewed Soulwax and a few other artists as well. Click here for the set, which is just a few of my favorites. I will link to the Dell site if and when they get posted there, too.
Then I go back to Baltimore to shoot at Virgin Fest and then the Toyota afterparty at Sonar w/ the Taxlo guys…
Look for a shot of Blaqstarr I took in next month’s Baltimore magazine…
This sunday I went to Rock the Bells, a big travelling hip-hop festival. It was awesome… I got to see so many of my favorite artists… Nas, Ghostface, Raekwon, A Tribe Called Quest, as well as check out some artists from the old school I had never gotten to see like Mos Def, Dead Prez and Tha Pharcyde. I would say that Nas was the highlight of the night for me… that and seeing my friend Blaqstarr come out on stage during Mos Def’s set! That was amazing.
Last weekend was Whartscape in Baltimore. It’s a music and arts festival held by the collective arts group WHAM CITY every year in Baltimore… it kicked off an insane weekend that also included Artscape, the Unruly Records 15th year anniversary, and some other events too. For me, the Whartscape highlights were Future Islands, which I can only describe as an avant dance band with Meatloaf as singer, Celebration, Dan Deacon, an illegal lecture by Mark Hosler from Negativland, and the Oxes reunion. Click here for the whole set.
I only met her once or twice, but she was a really warm, friendly person who obviously had a ton of talent. It’s a real shame when someone passes away when they have so much ahead of them.
Rest in peace.
Last night, I saw Jay Reatard, Vincent Black Shadow, and Ratsize at Sonar… I loved VBS and Ratsize, VBS was kind of stoner-y and Ratsize was kind of 80s hardcore-y. Never seen either before. Jay Reatard was fun, but I didn’t really see why people are so excited about them/him. Fun pop-punk-esque fast rock. Full set here.
I was tired as all get out, but last week after a fashion shoot, I went and caught the Cool Kids at the Ottobar… they were really fun! Cool old school hip-hop vibe, kind of party rap but without any noticeable gansterism or misogyny! Refreshing show. Check out the whole set here.
Last night, I shot Jamie Liddell at 9:30. He started out strong, the first few Prince-and-MJ-influenced songs were great fun, but after awhile the show just sort of petered out for me… I had never really listened to his music before, though… now I am going to probably check out some of his tracks.
