Category Archives: photography

November Assignment Round-up: Kristofferson, Shinedown, Maita.

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Kris Kristofferson.

Kris Kristofferson at the Music Center at Strathmore. This was a fun little show, also one of the rare ones where I was probably the youngest person there… the room at Strathmore has great acoustics and it was really cool to see Kristofferson live. He is pretty damn old but was still a strong performer and had plenty of anecdotes about all the songs. It was also cool to see him perform stripped down, just him, no backing band.

See more photos in my Nov. Shows set | Read the Washington Post review

Shinedown @ Warner Theater.

I had honestly never even heard of Shinedown before I shot their show at Warner Theater in DC, they are apparently sort of a arena-style rock band. This was an “acoustic” performance of their material, which apparently is alot heavier normally than this was. They told earnest stories about the writing of each song, and the crowd seemed to love it.

See more photos in my Nov. Shows set | Read the Washington Post review

Luisa Maita @ Bohemian Caverns.

Luisa Maita at the Bohemian Caverns. I love the Bohemian Caverns and am glad I finally got a chance to shoot there! If you’ve never been and you live in DC, find the time to go. Great, intimate venue, and a historical landmark to boot. Luisa Maita’s music isn’t what I’d normally listen too but it was a good performance, she has a great voice and a really good way with the crowd, especially at an intimate venue like this.

View the whole Luisa Maita photo set | Read the Washington Post review

Ruiner, the Spark, Double Dagger, Never Enough @ CCAS.

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the Spark @ CCAS
Double Dagger @ CCAS    Never Enough @ CCAS

I dunno why I didn’t post this before! Last month was a great reunion/last show at CCAS – the Spark and Never Enough, two early-2000s hardcore bands from Baltimore played a reunion show with Ruiner, who is breaking up. Double Dagger played too. It was great, though I got moshed HARD and hurt my neck. I’m better now. Jesse Morgan got stitches too!

I also took official “last band pic” shots of The Spark and Never Enough:

The Spark.    Never Enough.

View the whole photo set | Read the BYT post

Die Antwoord & Rye Rye @ 9:30 Club.

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Die Antwoord @ 930
Die Antwoord @ 930    Die Antwoord @ 930

This show was fun. Die Antwoord, at the very least, can actually rap and perform live – something I wasn’t convinced of going in. Unfortunately, none of their other material is as fresh or good as their two singles… but that can be said for a lot of groups. They had a lot of energy, were stage-diving, spitting water on people, generally jumping around like crazy… it will be interesting to see if they can keep the momentum going or if this is it. Rye Rye opened, and did great – though the stage was crazy dark for her set! I was suprised but I guess they decided to keep it low-key. It’s great to see the arc of her career, she is still going strong and I imagine this time next year will be even bigger.

View the whole Die Antwoord/Rye Rye photo set | Read the BYT review

Roger Waters: the Wall in DC.

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Roger Waters, the Wall
Roger Waters, the Wall    Roger Waters, the Wall
Roger Waters, the Wall

Last month, I got a chance to shoot Roger Water’ the Wall tour for the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. It was quite a spectacle… probably the most complex stage show I’ve ever shot. It was really challenging, with drastic changes in lighting, pyrotechnics, props, animatronics… pretty wild show.

Read the Washington Post review here | Read the Baltimore Sun review here | See the whole photo set here

October Assignment Round-Up.

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Joey & Rory

Joey & Rory @ the Carlysle Club : Read the Washington Post review.

Joshua Redman @ Blues Alley

Joshua Redman at Blues Alley. Read the Washington Post review.

raul malo @ birchmere.
shannon witworth @ birchmere.

Raul Malo & Shannon Whitworth at the Birchmere. Read the Washington Post review.

La Excelensia @ Artisphere.

La Excelensia at Artisphere. Read the Washington Post review here.

You can see more photos from these shows (and many more) here.

Japanther, the Death Set, Puerto Rico Flowers, Screen Vinyl Image, Lower Dens.

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puerto rico flowers.
screen vinyl image.

Mid October was pretty good for shows… starting out with the super rare performance by former Clockcleaner leader Sharkey’s new solo vehicle Puerto Rico Flowers. How rare? This was apparently their first, last, and only live show. Backed by a temporary group of friends, he played with Screen Vinyl Image and the Pfisters at the Talking Head Club in Baltimore, with the help of Fan Death Records and Unregistered Nurse.

View the whole Puerto Rico Flowers/Pfisters/Screen Vinyl Image set here

lower dens.

Then there was the last Lower Dens show of the year… Lower Dens is a Baltimore band, fronted by former solo artist Jana Hunter, they are pretty new and getting a lot of buzz… they just put out a debut record on Devendra Banhart’s record label and are just about to go out on what sounds like a GRUELING tour, starting with 11 shows at CMJ this past weekend. They are great; check them out.

View the whole Lower Dens set here

japanther.
the death set.

Then I snuck out to Arlington, VA to see Japanther and the Death Set play at the new Artisphere space. The staff, and the space, were awesome but somehow virtually no one showed up! Those of us who were there were treated to what amount to a private performance… really odd but a lot of fun! Both bands played new material, much of it related to the passing of Death Set member Beau Velasco, who died sadly last year. Really great performances from both bands. The Death Set has a new mixtape out next month, then a new full length in January and the songs they played off of that sounded good so pick it up when its out!

View the whole Japanther/the Death Set set here

This post also appeared in a different form on BYT.

Urbanite review of Under The Strobe Light (my book).

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Al Shipley over at Urbanite just did a nice little write-up about my book. The thing basically sold out the first run, only a couple left, but I am about to do a second run, with some expansions and some changed design elements, so feel free to purchase one – but if you want the new & improved version, it won’t be out for a bit yet! If you don’t mind the OG edition, go ahead!

Slayer & Anthrax @ 1st Mariner.

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Kerry King of Slayer.
Tom Araya of Slayer.   Kerry King of Slayer.
Joey Belladonna of Anthrax.   Joey Belladonna of Anthrax.
Joey Belladonna of Anthrax.

Last week I got a chance to see (and shoot) the Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax Jagermeister tour. The headliners were playing their 1990-era albums IN FULL (Seasons In The Abyss, Rust In Peace, respectively), plus their other hits… It was a great show and especially fun for me since I was banned from going to see this same tour in 1990 by my parents! Twenty years later, I finally made it…

Before the show, a writer and I showed up to interview Charlie Benante (from Anthrax) and he was great. We also met Joey Belladona and he was nice as well – he asked me if I was shooting the show and I said yes… he said he’d see me out there. I didn’t think much of it at the time but when they played, true to his word, he saw me in the photo pit, waved, and posed for several photos while looking right at my lens. What a great moment! I’ll post the interview as soon as it goes up.

The show itself was great – Anthrax looked like they were having a great time, reunited, and the crowd responded really well. Megadeth were amazing! Dave Mustaine voice seemed a LITTLE strained, but several of the Rust In Peace songs are really vocally challenging and also were never performed live until recently. All in all Megadeth was AWESOME. Then Slayer – who I’ve seen before and generally are always the same live – were Slayer, they slew in their workmanlike way. Nothing ostentatious, but they are a dependably accomplished and always good live.

Click here to view the whole Slayer/Anthrax set.

the Vaselines @ 9:30 Club

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the Vaselines @ 930 Club

Last weekend Michael Byrne and I covered the Vaselines US tour kickoff at the 9:30 Club in DC. Pretty fun show, I had never seen them before, and honestly didn’t know much about them besides that they were Kurt Cobain’s muse… well, pleasant suprise, an engaging poppy band with really foul mouthed (but in an adorable way) stage banter.

Read the review here at SPIN.com | See the photo set here.

Virgin Fest 2010.

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MIA @ Virgin Fest 2010
LCD Soundsystem @ VirginFest 2010

Ludacris @ VirginFest 2010   Pavement @ VirginFest 2010   Joan Jett @ VirginFest 2010

I covered this years’ Virgin Fest for the Baltimore Sun and it was a doozy (and a lot of work). Performances by: MIA, LCD Soundsystem, Pavement, Ludacris, Sleigh Bells, Chromeo, Matt & Kim, Joan Jett, Modeselector, Thievery Corporation, Edward Sharpe, and MANY MANY more. By the end of the day I was delirious, dehydrated and had a blister on my shutter finger! But I also saw some great shows… Pavement was a big highlight, and LCD was great. MIA invited the crowd to join her on stage (a move which I could tell stressed the security guys out to no end, but they handled it well)… Ludacris was also awesome. All in all it was a great time, and much of (maybe all?) the proceeds went to charity, which is great. I think the mood in general was lifted by the fact that most tickets were free or for a good cause.

Afterwards I went to the Ottobar to catch the Death Set/Po Po/Waaves show, but I was too wiped out to shoot it. Then I somehow ended up at a punk cover band show and my car got towed… but that’s a story for another time…

To see all the photos from VirginFest 2010 (a lot), click here.

Barn Aid (Birdland, Wye Oak, the Pilgrim) @ Golden West.

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birdland @ barn aid
wye oak @ barn aid   wye oak @ barn aid
pilgrim @ barn aid   barn aid

Barn Aid was a one time benefit show at the Golden West for Springfield Farm in Sparks, Maryland, which needs money to pay some legal bills. It was a GREAT night and featured a reunion show for Birdland (which is the band which ultimately became Celebration), Wye Oak, and the Pilgrim.

Check out the whole Barn Aid set here.

Random Notes on a Fall Day…

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deathface @ no rule.   the captain @ no rule.
Deathface / the Captain @ No Rule

the shirks @ dionysus   hollywood @ dionysus
The Shirks / Hollywood

Caught a few random shows last week… dropped in at Cullen Stalin & Scottie B’s always entertaining NO RULE party (every monday at Metro Gallery in Baltimore). They bring in an always rotating assortment of out-of-towners who spin a wide variety of dance music… a great stop on a monday in baltimore.

I also checked out Hollywood & the Shirks at the Dionysus 3rd Floor (aka Jerrod’s Attic). Hollywood needs no introduction – really fun Baltimore rock n roll. Shirks are a DC band that I hadn’t seen before, but who are comprised of a bunch of familiar faces… I couldn’t place everyone in the band, but I think it’s all people who have been playing in bands for awhile. They were good, check them out. You can check the whole set here.

Christian Fennesz, Merzbow, Richard Pinhas @ Sonic Circuits

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Christian Fennesz

I was lucky enough to cover Christian Fennesz’ performance at the Sonic Circuits festival… it was at the Strathmore Mansion, a very intimate (and classy!) location for a concert. Fennesz has only rarely played in the US and the small room was packed with very lucky people… I’m sure there must be footage of this somewhere on youtube, but it’s not a replacement for being in that room and hearing Fennesz perform. A great night.

Read the Washington Post review | See the rest of the Fennesz photos.

Merzbow & Richard Pinhas

I was also able, thanks to the awesome people at Wayside Music (waysidemusic.com) and Cuneiform Records (cuneiformrecords.com), attend a EXTREMELY rare collaborative performance of Merzbow and Richard Pinhas at the French Embassy in DC. This was by far the most SECURE show I’ve ever been too, and in fact when I tried to leave the show, was locked in the super luxurious grounds until an unseen person remotely opened the steel gate. So surreal. We also got to pal around with Richard and his son and discuss America, France, and all sorts of topics. Richard was really funny in person and his son was a trip!

Merzbow & Richard Pinhas     Merzbow & Richard Pinhas

The show itself was pretty great – Merzbow creating sonic textures on his laptop/electronic gear while Richard Pinhas played analog soundscapes with his guitar rig. Great stuff, and again, a packed theater. I’m not sure if this is the first Sonic Circuits festival, but this year was quite an accomplishment and I am already looking forward to 2011’s!

HFStival 2010 (Billy Idol and friends).

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billy idol @ HFStival 2010
billy idol @ HFStival 2010   billy idol @ HFStival 2010

Last weekend, I shot HFStival, which used to be a big deal music festival in Maryland but disappeared for half a decade or so… they are trying to bring it back. It was mostly 90s bands, with one exception… BILLY IDOL, who ruled the main stage (even though he wasn’t officially the headliner). It was awesome seeing him, he is still in great shape… eerily so, actually. Between this and seeing Joan Jett this past weekend, I am in the midst of an early 80s revival.

view the whole HFStival photo set