Tag Archives: 2011
Rye Rye & Say Wut @ Metro Gallery
A few weeks back, Rye Rye and Say Whut did a video shoot at Metro Gallery in Baltimore for the Baltimore Sun. It was streamed live on the internet by a huge camera crew, as part of the promotions for Rye Rye’s debut full-length, which should be out soon (We’ve been waiting for it to drop for like a year or so!)… it was a great time, and while at first it felt a little weird, with all the lights and cameras, as soon as Rye Rye got going, the crowd loosened up and enjoyed the show… really getting into it and even taking the stage. It’s great to see her career taking off lately, and I am excited to see what happens when the album comes out! Click below to see the rest of the shots!
Steve Ignorant’s CRASS Songs Tour @ Sonar
First show back at the newly reopened (thank god!) Sonar, and, minus booze, it was still a great time. I will admit to being extremely skeptical of the idea of Steve Ignorant doing a “reunion” tour of Crass, but after seeing it and experiencing how genuine Steve seemed about the whole thing, my opinion softened. While I don’t think it was the same as actually seeing Crass play (how could it be), it was still a cool show, the band was extremely tight (perhaps too pro at times), and the crowd was extremely into it. My one issue was that it was weird that they even attempted to do the Eve Libertine and Joy De Vivre songs, since they were not on the tour. The singer who did them NAILED it, and was very good, but it was just odd to me (no reflection on her performance at all). I would have felt more “okay” about it had they just done Steve’s songs, since it’s ostensibly his tour.
That said, glad I went, and glad it managed to happen in Baltimore… and very glad Sonar is back!
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!
White Wires, Deep Sleep, Hollywood @ Ottobar.
This show was REALLY fun. Brought to you by Unregistered Nurse, this was a good time sunday rock and roll show upstairs at the Ottobar, a great venue for punk/rock shows… great bar staff, lots of room, good prices… I love the Ottobar. I imagine it must be a bitch to move all those amps and whatnot up the stairs though…
Anyway, good times, good tunes, friends. Deep Sleep and Hollywood are local Baltimore bands, Hollywood is more on the garage side of things, while Deep Sleep is a fast hardcore band, fronted by Tony from Celebrated Summer records. The White Wires are from Canada, which they kept referencing, and were also REALLY DRUNK. They kept talking about how many centiliters of whiskey they had drink, which was funny since no one in the crowd probably had any idea how many centiliters are in a normal shot… or maybe even what a centiliter is. They were great live though, and tore through a quick set of poppy rock songs.
new video interview with me
Video interview with me by my old friend Denman, on Jesse Tittsworth’s site. I think it came out okay, check it out if you have a free moment.
Wye Oak @ 2640 Space
A couple of weeks back, I caught an assignment from the Sun to shoot Wye Oak’s homecoming show at the 2640 Space in Baltimore. This is a great venue, a retired/decommissioned church in Charles Village… huge, and beautiful, withc great acoustics. I have seen a lot of great shows there over the years, such as Celebration, Future Islands & Arboretum and negativland.
Wye Oak was extremely tight, coming off a month(s?) long US tour in support of their new Merge Records album, Civilian, and the sold out crowd was super receptive… after a weird incident with a drunk guy screaming about how he loved Titus Andronicus ended with crowd members escorting him out, anyway. As Erik Maza from the Sun said to me after the show, “Who gets drunk on Sunday BEFORE going to see Wye Oak at a Church?!” But back to the show… Wye Oak were good, and supplemented with a horn section for a few songs, which I thought was interesting and sounded good, I wonder if that is going to become a normal thing?
Mobb Deep’s Prodigy speaks at Enoch Pratt.
NYC rapper Prodigy, best known as half of the influential hip-hop duo Mobb Deep who created such classic records as …The Infamous and Hell On Earth in the 90s, spoke last night at Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library. On tour supporting the release of his autobiography, My Infamous Life, Prodigy had quite a bit to say during the roughly 60 minute Q&A, hosted by AJ from 92Q’s Rap Attack.
I’ve been a fan of Mobb Deep since 1995, when I moved to NYC and was exposed to their sophomore album, …The Infamous. I still consider this to be one of THE classic records of the 90s and it’s one of my favorite albums of all time. He also has a successful solo career as well with albums such as HNIC and 2007’s underrated Return of the Mac. In recent years though, Prodigy is more well know for a series of beefs, an abortive signing to 50 Cent’s G-unit label, and his 2007 gun possession conviction which led to him being incarcerated for 3 years.
Prodigy talked about this all, and more. Some highlights: Continue reading
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.
TV On The Radio – Philly, Baltimore
I had never seen TV On The Radio before, nor ever been the hugest fan, but after getting the chance to shoot their tour opener in Philly, then a show a day or two later in Baltimore, I am a bit of a convert… they were GREAT live, full of energy, racing around the stage, etc… They seemed to be having a great time. I was surprised to hear that two of the touring line-up was new, thenvery happy to learn that their new drummer was none other than my friend Jahphet Landis from the Death Set! So happy for that dude. Anyway, these shows were great fun and tour opener Celebration also delivered, even though their Philly set was cut short.
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…
King Tuff @ Golden West
The other week, I caught King Tuff at the Golden West in Hampden… fun show courtesy of Unregistered Nurse Booking.
Celebration Weekend Tour with TVOTR.
Celebration went on tour with TV On The Radio, I shot them in both Philly and Baltimore. (Read the SPIN review of the TVOTR Philly show here). The Philly show at Electric Factory was cut a little short, or seemed to be, but the Baltimore show at Rams Head was absolutely great. Packed house, sold out, great sound for Celebration’s set, friendly audience… a great show. Both shows showcased how together they are as a band and how the new “Digital Tarot” material they have been releasing online (and their new record) is really starting to shine live. Go see them!
- View all of the Celebration tour photos here!
- Buy Prints from these shows
- Listen to and purchase Celebration’s excellent new album on Friends Records here.
Also : come to my Photo Show friday 4/15 at the Windup Space in Baltimore. Photos of Celebration and many other artists will be on display.
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.
Celebration, Future Islands, Arboretum @ 2640
Great show. This was organized by Friends Records at the 2640 Space, a retired church in Baltimore. Great venue for a show, it’s a beautiful old building… the show was packed, too, and they did a lot of special decorations and stage setups… huge clouds made out of cotton candy (no joke!) and helium balloons floated around, lots of projectors situated around the room displayed dreamy images on the various walls… it was really impressive. All the bands were excellent, too… Celebration are playing later this month up and down the east coast with TV On The Radio, go if you can get tickets, you won’t regret it…
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.
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.
Noveltyhaus!
Last weekend, Dana and I stopped in at NOVELTYHAUS, the brand new retail space owned by Noel Danger (pictured above). Located at 1036 Light Street in Federal Hill in Baltimore, Noel stocks a variety of cool pop culture goodies, crafty items, imported Japanese toys, records, books… stop in!
B-Eazy studio shots.
Last week, I had Baltimore Club artist B-Eazy in the studio for some promo shots. Get in touch if you need some promo photos.