Indie Sleaze 3 was a blast! July 6th at the Ottobar, slotting in right after the legendary Lydia’ Lunch’s band played an early show, was a fun combination of old and new heads. Click here for more photos on Flickr or check my Instagram (joshsisk). Probably will post a few more throughout the week on Insta as well.
Category Archives: blog
The Make-Up @ the Ottobar – 2024/07/02
The Make-Up played at the Ottobar, and what a great show! I hadn’t seen the Make-Up since they last played Baltimore (at Lith Hall – check out the photos from that show here) in 2013, I don’t believe. Maybe they haven’t even played since then, I don’t know? They sounded even better this time, I think, and the Sassiest Boy In America still has his stage moves down pat as well, which was heartening. Speaking of that infamous article, that is actually probably how I first heard of the Make-Up, and maybe even NoU, as I remember seeing a copy of that Sassy at at a friend’s house when it came out. In ’91 I would have already have gotten into hardcore like Minor Threat and so forth, I think, but Nation of Ulysses would have probably been too weird for me.
No appearance from The Vortex at the show, at least not in costume, but I hope he is okay whoever he is. (Incidentally, I drunkenly accused Jason Hamacher of being the Vortex once and he told me who it was, but now I forget). Incidentally, it’s really hard to Google the Vortex, so if you have any good Vortex pics or stories, please reply.
Anyway, here is A LINK TO ALL THE PHOTOS
LINKS ROUNDUP
Rewind: Club Mutant @ Paradox, Baltimore 2014-07-19
Club Mutant was an underground party that Door did at America, with noise/electronic/avant artists, but (as I recall) this night was a collaboration with Mark Brown, Schwarz (who is now known as So Drove) and Cex who had done a variety of dance parties in the past. This was at the Paradox, and apparently I photographed this for Noisey, Vice Media’s music vertical which no longer exists. The article doesn’t seem to be online anymore, sadly. Hopefully I got paid!
This was a fun night that I remember pretty well because it was such a cool mix of artists and genres – the kind of genre mixing event that Baltimore has always done so well. Soft Pink Truth (aka Drew Daniel) had just released the Why Do The Heathen Rage? album, which was a Black Metal re-interpolation, so he was in full SPT/Black Metal regalia and some metal friends were here for that. Baltimore Club innovator Blaqstarr DJed along with Shawn Smallwood and some others. Shams performed. Gabber Blood Rave artist Kilbourne DJed along with the Schwarz.
This night was also funny because one of my friends disappeared and we thought he had just caught a taxi home, but then it turns out he fell asleep in the Paradox and woke up when the janitors were cleaning up – at like 9am!
If anyone reading this has any memories, details, flyers, etc to add to this, feel free to comment below, or @ me and I’ll add them. I’m “joshsisk” at IG/Twitter/BlueSky/Threads/whatever dozen other new social media sites have been created in the time it took me to type this.
Black Eyes @ the Dirtfarm, 2002
It’s kind of scary to realize that this was over twenty years ago… anyway, in the dim dark recesses of the past I used to book shows, generally either at the punk house I lived in in Adelphi, MD called THE DIRTFARM, or at Charm City Art Space or Warehouse Next Door.
Since there is an upcoming Black Eyes reunion, I figured I would dig some photos from one Black Eyes show at the Dirtfarm. I want to say they played there twice, but maybe it was just once, and it was a great show as I recall. All these photos are from the basement.
I had moved to the DC suburbs just the year before, and Black Eyes quickly became my favorite local band. I remember buying their seven-inch from them out of the back of a car at Fort Reno and after that, I have no idea how many times I saw them in various basements or group houses around the DC area in those years, and then finally, their last show at the Black Cat. Them breaking up seemed like an end of an era moment for me, along with a few other similar events, and I ended up moving to Baltimore not long after!
In the ensuing years their early 7″ songs and the first album especially have been something I come back to often, they really hold up, as does the second album, and are super evocative and nostalgic for me. Really happy to have booked a show of theirs at my house, and even more excited to be able to see them again soon, again at the Black Cat! Enjoy these photos!
NOTE: If anyone has any other photos from this show, or video, or a flyer, please reach out! I’ll add it here. Would love any other DIRTFARM related ephemera as well.
Photo Galleries: Check out all the BLACK EYES photos from this show on Flickr (remember Flickr?) | Here’s another Flickr gallery from that era that has other show photos from the Dirtfarm
Alms & Murder @ Metro Gallery – 2021/11/12
ALMS
MURDER
Wow, this is my first photo post since the pandemic. And at the first show at the newly opened Metro Gallery. Felt really good to be here. At some point, maybe, I’ll write some sort of bloggy post reflecting on the last year or so, but for now, it’s just cool to post these photos.
SEE ALL THE MURDER / ALMS PHOTOS 2021/11/12 METRO GALLERY PHOTOS HERE
Carly Rae Jepsen @ Fillmore – 2019/07/21
Sunday I photographed the Carly Rae Jepsen show at Fillmore Silver Spring for the Washington Post , and I was super excited for this because, for one, Carly Rae rules, and two I was quite sure she would be a great and photogenic performer. I was right! it was a great time, and she was a pleasure to watch – her and all her band/stage people all seemed to be having a great time, too, which was nice. I am not an expert on her music, so not much to add besides it’s nice to see a pop star that seems to have a great relationship with their fans and really seems to enjoy what they do – that’s surprisingly rare, I’ve found. A really fun night!
There are a bunch more photos in the album below, so check em out!
Blink-182 & Lil Wayne @ Jiffy Lube Live – 2019/07/12
Trucked down to scenic Bristow VA for this show, which was the show where Lil Wayne made some controversial statements about quitting the tour, and his place on it (though I believe it all worked out in the end) and only played a few songs, which disappointed some. The show was pretty sparsely attended when Tunechi went on, but I think a lot of that was just the insane rainstorm keeping people from making it on time, because it looked a lot more crowded by the time Blink-182 played.
I accepted this assignment mainly because I had never seen Lil Wayne, so was a bit disappointed that it seemed like he wasn’t really giving it his all, and the reviewer seemed to agree. However, I thought a bit more of the Blink-182 set (though I only saw the first 3 songs, of course). I am not at all a Blink fan, but was struck by the fact that the band seemed to be having fun – poking fun at each other, and just in general enjoying themselves – which is more than you can expect from a LOT of bands tour after 20+ years.
Turnstile Album Release & Damaged City Pre-show 2018
Ottobar Over The Years
Baltimore Free Ball (Vogue Dancing for HIV Awareness).
I recently got a chance to tag along to Baltimore’s annual Free Ball – a vogue dancing event that supports HIV awareness and testing among the city’s LGBT community. It’s a fun event that engages the Vogue community by hosting a free contest, but to enter you have to get tested, and there are a lot of various health resources on site, seems like a great and surprisingly “with it” city-funded event. For more information on Vogue dancing and this event, you can read this article about last year’s event.
Noisem photo shoot.
I love this band. One of the brightest spots on the Maryland heavy music scene, and a bunch of really awesome dudes as well. It’s been super cool to watch their careers rise, and it’s totally deserved as their records rip (and each one is better and more nuanced than the last). Always fun to hang out and take photos for a couple of hours with this crew, and I think this set shows it.
Carcass & Crowbar @ Baltimore Soundstage
Another catch-up post! Two classic metal bands who have been touring a lot lately, it was good to catch them at Soundstage, though, one of my favorite places to see shows these days. Crowbar really put on a good show this evening, was stoked since there were issues with their MDF set the last time I saw them in Baltimore. Great band. Carcass is a band I never expected to be touring again like this, and each time could be the last time seeing them so I was super stoked to catch them again as well… right now feels like the best time to be seeing heavy bands play since the late 90s or early 00s.
If We Shout Loud Enough (Double Dagger documentary) now streaming!
Gabriel Deloach‘s documentary about Double Dagger, one of the all-time great Baltimore punk bands, is finally streaming on Amazon. I am biased since I am friends with everyone involved in this project, and contributed photography which appears in the film (and was even interviewed, though I unsurprisingly did not make the cut), but I truly think this is a great music doc and worth watching even if you are somehow going in not knowing who Double Dagger was. It’s full of insightful moments and plenty of great live footage from the band’s last tour, a tour I also documented:
- Double Dagger’s last CCAS show
- Double Dagger’s last DC show
- Double Dagger’s last NYC show
- Double Dagger’s last show
“An inside look at the Baltimore underground music scene through one of its most pivotal bands, Double Dagger, this intimate and entertaining portrait follows the band as they complete their final tour and album, tracing the history and growth of the band and of Baltimore’s underground music scene.”
Brujeria & Cattle Decapitation @ Baltimore Soundstage.
Another catch-up post. This was a great show, two modern classic bands that I hadn’t ever seen before somehow (or, at least I don’t recall seeing them before, anyway!) Brujeria led the crowd in a Fuck Donal Trump chant and brought out a fake Trump on stage, pretty fun antics for the election season. Cattle Decapitation showed off their ever-broadening sound, they really impressed me live, and their newest record backs those live chops up.
SEE ALL THE PHOTOS HERE
LISTEN: Cattle Decapitation | Brujeria
Pure Junk @ Ottobar (plus a cool GIF)
Digging through the stacks on this Thanksgiving eve and finding lots of old gems I haven’t posted. Here are some photos of my pals PURE JUNK from last year, playing a show at the Ottobar. Perhaps opening for Fred & Toody of Dead Moon? This was a fun night. Look for more posts soon (I always say that, but for real this time).
Best of 2015.
Every year I try and post a “Best Of” the year. It’s a good exercise, looking through all your work for the previous year and can only help you going forward. When I started, I would get them done in late december or early January. The last few years… it’s been more like the middle of the next year. 2015’s list is no exception! I started with a big list of photos I liked, then narrowed it down to a smaller list of photos. Maybe next year these won’t show up until 2018. Here are my final picks for 2015, in no particular order:
Dope Body: 8 years in photos.
Baltimore band Dope Body played their last show this past Saturday. I’ve been following their creative output for years, having met Andrew, the vocalist years ago at Sonar and quickly became a fan of their wild live performances, as well as their sound which developed from album to album. A great group of guys who managed to capture a specific and primal sound with their band and also build a devoted following in the area. Sad to see them go, excited to see what they all come up with next. Here are some of my favorite photos of the band I’ve taken over the years, both live shots as well as band photos. UPDATE: City Paper published these as a gallery!
Dope Body’s Last Show. Floristree. 2016/05/15.
The end of an era. RIP to one of Baltimore’s longest running bands. This was a great show at one of the city’s best DIY venues. Lots of feelings about this, but it was a really nice way for four awesome people to put a cap on eight years of creativity and musical expression. Wonderful to see so many old heads come out for this, what a good night. Go start your own band.
Also: I was going to add them to this post, but it’d be too much so check back tomorrow, when I’ll be posting a retrospective assortment of photos I’ve take over the band over the years.
Big Mouth @ Windup Space
Big Mouth is one of my absolute favorite Baltimore live bands, they hadn’t played a show for awhile before this one, so I was really stoked to go. I’ve been carrying my Fuji x100t lately, a smaller camera, and I took this show as an opportunity to try and shoot a show entirely with it. It was super challenging, but fun, and I think it came out pretty well.