Rewind: Club Mutant @ Paradox, Baltimore 2014-07-19

July 21, 2023 by josh

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.

Cocksparrer in Baltimore.

January 21, 2015 by josh

Always amazing – one of my favorite bands of all time. So stoked to get to see them in my city. If you ever get the chance, don’t sleep. I almost skipped their Philly show in 2013 and it ended up being one of the best shows I have ever seen, and I see ALOT of shows. Classic band.

SEE ALL MY COCKSPARRER PHOTOS HERE.

Best Photos of 2014.

January 16, 2015 by josh

As per the tradition, here are my personal favorite photos from 2014, posted in no particular order. I even managed to get them up in January this time! Prints of many of these are available here, contact me if there’s one you would like that is absent.

BEST LIVE MUSIC

INFEST @ A389 Bash X / Soundstage

Pentagram @ Soundstage

Downtown Boys @ U+NFest 3 / Ottobar

FKA Twigs @ 9:30 Club

Gwar crowd @ Soundstage

Putrisect @ Metro Gallery

The Arcade Fire @ Verizon Center

The Soft Pink Truth @ Club Mnenomic / Paradox

Haim crowd @ 9:30 Club

Kevin Gates @ the Fillmore

Future Islands @ Floristree

Chain & the Gang @ Comet Ping Pong

Big Mouth @ Gold Bar

Betty Who @ Rock N Roll Hotel

BROS Concertus Maximus

Post Pink @ U+NFeast 3 / under a bridge

BEST EVERYTHING ELSE

Magrudergrind.

Chase Lisbon.

Satan’s Satyrs.

Old Lines & friends.

John Waters.

Blacksage.

Drew Daniel/Soft Pink Truth.

Last Gold Bar show.

North Dakota.

Ottobar Staff, Tom Malenski memorial.

Pentagram, Bang!, The Pilgrim, Kings Destroy & Radio Moscow @ Soundstage

November 24, 2014 by josh

Pentagram

Bang!

The Pilgrim

Kings Destroy

Radio Moscow

Last month, Doom icons Pentagram played Soundstage (which is really shaping up into a great venue for metal in Baltimore) along with The Pilgrim, Bang!, Kings Destroy and Radio Moscow. Pentagram shows are notoriously hit or miss, as anyone who was at their infamous Black Cat comeback show can attest, but this night they were on their A game. It’s also always great to see them with Victor Griffin, when he is back with the band everything seems to just run more smoothly and Liebling (the famously troubled frontman of the band) seems to hold it together more. They didn’t disappoint, one of the best times I have seen them (though not sure if that first time I saw them at Sonar can be topped).

It was great to see Bang! too, a band I had always heard about but never had the chance to see – they really seemed to have a great time on stage, the first half of their set especially killed. This was apparently one of the last shows for quite some time for The Pilgrim, one of my favorite Baltimore bands. Cool that they managed to get on such a sick bill.

SEE ALL MY PHOTOS FROM PENTAGRAM @ SOUNDSTAGE HERE.

Nadastrom.

November 10, 2014 by josh

The other day I had an extra twenty minutes (literally) between a photo shoot and a train I needed to catch so I shot these photos of my old friends Dave Nada & Matt Nordstrom, who make dance music together as Nadastrom. We shot these close to U Street Music Hall before their monthly residency.

Check out more photos of Nadastrom from over the years here.

Baltimore Rock Opera Society – Electric Pharaoh.

November 9, 2014 by josh

This was a fun assignment. Baltimore Rock Opera Society have been making really ambitious/crazy performances for awhile now, but I’ve never gotten a chance to shoot them. This year director Mason Ross and artistic director Aran Keating invited me to shoot their dress rehearsals and some behind the scenes shots. There was a lot to see, check em out.

See all the Electric Pharaoh dress rehearsal & behind the scenes photos here.

U+N Fest 3.

October 27, 2014 by josh

Downtown Boys

Ed Schrader’s Music Beat

Chain and the Gang

Angel Du$t

GIVE

Ausmuteants

Nothing

Screaming Females

Sex Jams

Iron Reagan

Nightbirds

Quitter

Post Pink

Read the Noisey review here | See all the U+N Fest 3 photos here!

King Diamond @ the Fillmore.

October 17, 2014 by josh

See all my photos from King Diamond at the Fillmore here!

Marked Men 2-day stand @ St Vitus.

October 8, 2014 by josh

Earlier this year, Marked Men played 3 shows in two days at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus. I covered it for Noisey. Great shows, I wish we could have stayed for the third one but no sense being greedy, I suppose. The atmosphere at these shows were great, really intimate, lots of fans from all over there to see one of their favorite bands play with little or no BS. The day show, especially was cool, though less “wild” since people were just waking up/not tipsy, but it gave it a more youthful vibe. Don’t miss a chance to see this band.

See all my Marked Men at St Vitus photos here!

Read the Noisey piece here!

Satan’s Satyrs press photos.

October 8, 2014 by josh

Shot some promo photos for Virginia doom/stoner/70s influenced rock band Satan’s Satyrs. Fun group of guys and I think we came up with some cool stuff. Check them out here.

See all the SATAN’S SATYRS photos here!

Windhand, The Pilgrim, All Of Them Witches @ the Ottobar

September 25, 2014 by josh

Windhand

The Pilgrim

All Of Them Witches

Good show at Ottobar the other day (week? slowly getting my site up to date). Really dug the chance to see Windhand, as this was the first time I had seen them in a non-festival setting. The Pilgrim is always great, one of my favorite heavy Baltimore bands.

See all the WINDHAND, THE PILGRIM, ALL OF THEM WITCHES photos here!

Rat Fist & Ed Schrader’s Music Beat @ Floristree.

September 25, 2014 by josh

Rat Fist

Ed Schrader’s Music Beat

Saw Baltimore’s Best Band, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat awhile ago at venerable DIY venue Floristree along with Rat Fist, a new band made up of members of No Age and Pissed Jeans. Long time homie Sean McGuiness of PJ (and various back-in-the-day DC bands) drums and sings for Rat Fist, so I couldn’t miss it. Great show. ESMB really deserves all the attention they are getting, what a great band. Seeing shows at Floristree is a really good experience because it feels so home-y (after all, it is a home) and the crowd is generally so respectful and into the music. They even have a better sounding PA now, too!

See all the RAT FIST / ED SCHRADER’S MUSIC BEAT photos here!

Roomrunner band photos, 2014 edition.

September 10, 2014 by josh

I’ve known the Roomrunner fellows since they became a band and I’ve known Denny Bowen since he was in high school, back when his early bands Yukon and Economist used to play shows in my basement, usually at the request of Sean Gray, another old friend who runs Accidental Guest, the label that is putting out the new Roomrunner record. I think I have taken almost all of their promo photos, but this was the first time we did it not after a show and a lot of beers. It was still fun. Great fun, actually- rambling around the Copycat building, petting Dan’s cute cat, climbing up on the roof and dodging weird moss and horsecrab corpses (no joke).

Kevin Gates @ the Fillmore Silver Spring.

September 9, 2014 by josh

The other week, I shot Baton Rouge rapper Kevin Gates at Fillmore. I was expecting to be underwhelmed, as most hip-hop shows I go to lately have been fairly disappointing… a lot of the younger artists haven’t been playing shows that long and seem to lack the showmanship you used to see. Not Gates, though. After a slow start, I was pleasantly surprised as he burst into life, stalking back and forth on stage, calm one moment, barely contained energy the next. The crowd ate it up, too. Good show, fun to shoot too, as he kept interacting with crowd members.

See all my Kevin Gates at Fillmore Silver Spring photos here!
Read the Washington Post review here.

Arcade Fire : Reflektor Tour 2014 @ Verizon Center

September 2, 2014 by josh

I shot the Arcade Fire Reflektor Tour at Verizon Center for the Washington Post. Was a little skeptical at first, having not kept up with them in years, but I thought the show was fun, and fun to shoot. The reviewer didn’t seem to like it much, but I had a good time.

See all the Arcade Fire : Reflektor Tour photos here!
See the Dan Deacon photos from Reflektor tour here!

Dan Deacon: Reflektor Tour 2014 @ Verizon Center

September 2, 2014 by josh

Wham City members Robby Rackleff & April Camlin lead the crowd in interpretive dance.

The other day I shot Dan Deacon and Arcade Fire for the Washington Post at their Verizon Center stop of the Reflektor tour. I initially was a little worried that the show would be a little empty, or that the crowd wouldn’t ‘get’ Dan’s typical group-participation antics. I was wrong – though it took a minute for the large venue to fill in, it eventually got packed in there and it seemed like everyone was super happy to join in with Dan.

Some funny moments of the show for me: at these big shows, photographers always have media handlers who take you where you are supposed to be. However, since Dan set up at front of house to play, they were like “wow, I don’t know what’s going on, just do your thing,” which rarely happens. Also, was surprised to find that grindcore legend Scott Hull was in attendance. He asked me what Dan Deacon was all about, I tried to explain it, and assumed it wouldn’t be to his taste… but he loved his show!

See all the Dan Deacon : Reflektor Tour @ Verizon Center photos here!
See all the Arcade Fire photos from Reflektor Tour here!

Adam Savage’s bday w/ Pig Destroyer, Magrudergrind, Cemetery Piss & Putrisect

June 13, 2014 by josh

Pig Destroyer

Magrudergrind

Cemetery Piss (cricketcemetery.bandcamp.com)

Putrisect (putrisect.bandcamp.com)

For his birthday, Baltimore promoter Adam Savage gave us a present – a sick party at the Metro Gallery (a venue that has stepped up it’s game of late with a remodel, new stage as well as way more metal shows). Local newcomers Putrisect are the most promising new band I’ve heard this year- brutal, guttural howling vocals, killer riffs and a “fuck y’all” live performance attitude add up to a band to watch. Black Metal band Cemetery Piss (featuring the birthday boy himself) have been a fave of mine for awhile but they just keep getting better and more consistent. Pick up their new 7″ if you are at all a fan of the genre. I had to slip away at this point to go to LadyFest to see Whore Paint, but Inter Arma’s set was, by all accounts, incredible. Magrudergrind killed, as always – love those guys and the crowd obviously did as well. Finally, it’s great to see Pig Destroyer strutting their stuff as a five-piece – they have been playing a lot of out of town dates, and it shows in how together they are. One of the best times I’ve seen them in awhile (and I’ve seen them a lot). Super secret birthday suprise: A Pig Destroyer Misfits cover set with Adam joining in on vocals!

SEE ALL THE ADAM SAVAGE BIRTHDAY W/ PIG DESTROYER, MAGRUDERGRIND, CEMETERY PISS, PUTRISECT PHOTOS HERE!

Earlier in the day, I shot Pig Destroyer and Magrudergrind band photos, so be on the lookout for those soon…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!

Lady Fest 2014 – Days 1 & 2.

June 12, 2014 by josh

Big Mouth (bigmouthsound.bandcamp.com)

Whore Paint (whorepaint.bandcamp.com)

Coup Sauvage & the Snips (coupsauvage.bandcamp.com)

War On Women (waronwomen.bandcamp.com)

Lizz King (www.ehserecords.com/lizzking)

Dasher (dasher2.bandcamp.com)

Curse (cursebaltimore.bandcamp.com)

Trophy Wife (trophywifetheband.bandcamp.com)

Crimson Wave (crimsonwave.bandcamp.com)

Nervosas (nervosas.bandcamp.com)

This was such a great event. Two days of bands, workshops and community in Station North. Got to see some of Baltimore’s best bands and discover quite a few out of town acts that I had never heard of – Coup Sauvage and Whore Paint in particular impressed me. Baltimore rules.

VIEW ALL THE LADYFEST 2014 PHOTOS HERE

Last night of the Gold Bar with Diarrhea Planet & more.

June 4, 2014 by josh

Saturday night was the last night of The Gold Bar, an amazing local venue started by Dana Murphy of Unregistered Nurse Booking. In the same building as the Crown, it was unfortunately only open for a little less than six months, but in that short time managed to have amazing shows like Skull Defekts, the Death Set, Nothing, Big Mouth, and dozens more that I was too wizened to take pictures at.

A really cool spot and Baltimore is poorer with it gone – but Diarrhea Planet, Cowabunga Pizza Time, Ratboiler and Music Band, along with a packed house of local troublemakers, gave it quite the send-off. Beer, silly string, confetti, champagne and bodies were all flying through the air by the end of the show (sooner, actually), which sold out by 9pm. Everything got a little fuzzy (and messy) there at the end, but it’s safe to say everyone had quite the time.

SEE ALL PHOTOS FROM THE LAST NIGHT OF THE GOLD BAR WITH DIARRHEA PLANET, COWABUNGA PIZZA TIME & RATBOILER + PARTYING PALS

Penultimate Gold Bar show, Big Christ’s last show + Old Lines.

June 4, 2014 by josh

Friday night one of my favorite Baltimore bands, Big Christ, played their last show at the Gold Bar (itself winding down – this was the second to last night of the venue’s existence) with another local favorite, Old Lines. Big Christ has been around for a bit, playing noise rock/punk in the vein of Black Flag or Shellac… clearly enunciated, bold lyrics with pounding, lurching music backing it up. They have a couple release up on their bandcamp, but I don’t think any of them really compare to their live sound. I saw them play recently with Protomartyr and was struck by how good they sounded; Friday they had improved even more. Apparently one or more members are moving away, a shame, was looking forward to them developing further.

The night was capped off (after plenty of nightcaps) by my friends Old Lines, who I’ve been talking with about providing some promo photos for their upcoming release on No Sleep for awhile now. Finally the night seem primed for everyone to be drunk enough for it to happen… with the help of some local lovelies, of course.

SEE ALL THE BIG CHRIST & OLD LINES PHOTOS HERE
All my photos of Old Lines | All my photos of Big Christ

JOSH SISK

Tag Archives: 2014

Rewind: Club Mutant @ Paradox, Baltimore 2014-07-19

Cocksparrer in Baltimore.

Best Photos of 2014.

Pentagram, Bang!, The Pilgrim, Kings Destroy & Radio Moscow @ Soundstage

Baltimore Rock Opera Society – Electric Pharaoh.

U+N Fest 3.

King Diamond @ the Fillmore.

Marked Men 2-day stand @ St Vitus.

Windhand, The Pilgrim, All Of Them Witches @ the Ottobar

Rat Fist & Ed Schrader’s Music Beat @ Floristree.

Roomrunner band photos, 2014 edition.

Kevin Gates @ the Fillmore Silver Spring.

Arcade Fire : Reflektor Tour 2014 @ Verizon Center

Dan Deacon: Reflektor Tour 2014 @ Verizon Center

Adam Savage’s bday w/ Pig Destroyer, Magrudergrind, Cemetery Piss & Putrisect

Lady Fest 2014 – Days 1 & 2.

Last night of the Gold Bar with Diarrhea Planet & more.

Penultimate Gold Bar show, Big Christ’s last show + Old Lines.