Dan Deacon, Future Islands, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat @ Current Gallery.

Dan Deacon @ Current
Ed Schrader's Music Beat @ Current   Future Islands @ Current
Future Islands @ Current
Dan Deacon @ Current   Future Islands @ Current
Ed Schrader's Music Beat @ Current
Dan Deacon @ Current   Dan Deacon @ Current

What a fun show! A combination “back to school”/”Dan’s birthday” show, 350 or so people packed into the parking lot behind Current Gallery at 6pm sharp and got to see great sets by 3 local acts. What Cheer Brigade also played, and were great! They are a 12+ piece brass band from Rhode Island… really fun to see live. They stressed that everyone should be there on time or they would be sold out, which ruled, show started on time, ended on time. The rain managed to MOSTLY hold off, and we got to see an acapella performance by Future Islands after Garrett’s laptop shorted out from the drizzle… hopefully it’s okay. All fun!

Animal Collective @ Merriweather Post Pavilion

Animal Collective @ MPP
Animal Collective @ MPP   Animal Collective @ MPP
Animal Collective @ MPP   Animal Collective @ MPP
Animal Collective @ MPP

Way late on posting these pictures! In July, Animal Collective finally played Merriweather Post Pavilion, the venue for which they named their breakthrough album. I covered it for the Baltimore Sun and SPIN. It was a great show, with some amazing stage decoration and lighting. They played mostly new material, but the crowd seemed mostly into it.

Darkest Hour @ 9:30 Club.

Darkest Hour @ 9:30 Club
Darkest Hour @ 9:30 Club   Darkest Hour @ 9:30 Club
Darkest Hour @ 9:30 Club

I hadn’t seen Darkest Hour in years… seeing them at the 9:30 Club on the Summer Slaughter tour was a far cry from seeing them play on a friend’s driveway in 99, which was the first time I saw them, but it was still alot of fun. Definitely one of the highlights of the Summer Slaughter 2011, the other of which was Dying Fetus, of which I will post photos in a few days…

Wash Post Darkest Hour Tearsheet Cx1

Mana @ Patriot Center

Mana.
Mana.   Mana.
Mana.

This was a really fun show. I wasn’t super familiar with this band before the show, but they are a total over the top rock band from Mexico, sort of a Latino U2 or something. More lights on stage than I have seen at almost any show ever!

Wash Post Mana Tear Sheet Cx1
Wash Post Mana Tear Sheet Cx2

 

Nobunny, Scott Reynolds, Milo, Deep Sleep.

Deep Sleep @ GW
Nobunny @ Golden West
Scott Reynolds @ GW   Milo & Friends

2 cool shows at the Golden West, one photo post! Milo from the Descendents even made an appearance at the Scott Reynolds show and was nice enough to pose for a few photos!

Ice Age, Dope Body, Pontiak, Purling Hiss, Roomrunner, Sprayer, True Widow.

Ice Age @ GW
Roomrunner @ Fraziers   Dope Body @ Fraziers
Sprayer @ GW
Purling Hiss @ GW

Shot several shows in Hampden last week… 2 at the Golden West presented by Unregistered Nurse and another at Fraziers. Saw several new bands, including Denny Bowen (of Double Dagger)’s new band Roomrunner, and Ryan Kidwell (Cex) and Jeremy from Ponytail’s new one Sprayer. Great times all around.

Ok Go & Pamplamoose @ Kennedy Center.

Pomplamoose @ Kennedy Center
OK Go @ Kennedy Center

Two fun, light-hearted vaguely internet-oriented bands at the Kennedy Center to celebrate a decade of the Millenium Stage, which showcases free bands EVERY DAY, which is crazy when you think about it. Pamplamoose was full of fun stage banter, while Ok Go!’s show was lots of bombast, with a big video screen that didn’t quite work, 3D glasses, confetti cannons firing every few minutes… quite a spectacle!

Continue reading

Sade & John Legend, A Night In Treme.

Sade @ Verizon Center
Sade @ Verizon Center   John Legend @ Verizon Center

Two shows I shot recently for the Washington Post. Sade was interesting… totally packed, yet very chill, a very grown-up crowd (obviously). Beautiful voice and very professional, yet you got the impression that she didn’t really like being on stage, which makes sense considering her famous reticence at being in the spotlight.

A Night In Treme, which closed out the DC Jazz Fest, on the other hand was an unabashed party. Total abandon and fun from all the musicians (and famous actors, and Louisiana Congressmen) on stage. They even did a second line, right through the crowd!

Wash Post Sade tearsheet
wash post treme c2 tear sheet crop

Big Freedia @ DC9

Big Freedia @ DC9
Big Freedia @ DC9   Big Freedia @ DC9
Big Freedia @ DC9

I shot Big Freedia at DC9 for the Washington Post, one of the first shows after their re-opening, I believe. I was worried at first that it might be a low turnout, but DC crowds are expert at showing up JUSSSSST before the artist they want to see plays, and suddenly it was packed! Great show, one of the funniest I have been to this year. So much ass-shaking, which is to be expected. Freedia was really nice too, I managed to get a quick portrait before the show. I’ll always shoot a bounce show if I get a chance!

Adele, Paul Simon, Raphael Saadiq.

Raphael Saadiq @ 930 Club
Adele @ 930 Club   Adele @ 930 Club
Paul Simon @ DAR

Three shows I shot for the Washington Post. Adele was the most packed I have -ever- seen the 930 Club, but all of these were sol out.

Ice Age & Give @ Golden West.

ice age @ golden west
ice age @ golden west   ice age @ golden west
ice age @ golden west
ice age @ golden west   katrina ford, cullen stalin
Give @ golden west

Monday night’s Ice Age show with Give and Death Domain at the Golden West (brought to you by Unregistered Nurse Booking)was a lot of fun… cool to see such a buzzed about new band play Baltimore as their 3rd show of their first US tour! Give was also a band I’d heard alot about and really enjoyed… they seem to be part of this current movement of looking back to hardcore and punk’s earlier days, but I like that! They were fun to see. Ice Age (or is it iceage? I’m unsure.) were fun and somber and Danish and VERY YOUNG. They seemed a little awkward at first, but got into it after a few songs… and the crowd certainly responded, there was lots of slamming and dancing going on, at least at the front. Good times.

Dillinger Escape Plan @ Talking Head

Dillinger Escape Plan @ Talking Head
Dillinger Escape Plan @ Talking Head   Dillinger Escape Plan @ Talking Head

Dillinger Escape Plan played a not-quite-secret-but-unpromoted show at the Talking Head, a very small venue behind Sonar after their recent two days opening at Sonar for the Deftones. It was pretty crazy! Everyone that showed up was a devout fan and there was alot of diving, surfing, moshing and other shenanigans. By the end of the show, the ceiling air duct was destroyed and the guitarist’s face was covered in blood. Wild times.

Maryland Death Fest – Day 4 : Coroner, Nuclear Assault, Skinless, Ghost, Citizens Arrest & more

Coroner @ MDF 2011
Gravehill @ MDF 2011   Citizen's Arrest @ MDF 2011
Malignant Tumor @ MDF 2011
Malignant Tumor @ MDF 2011   Ghost @ MDF 2011
Gravehill @ MDF 2011
Coroner @ MDF 2011   Coroner @ MDF 2011   Skinless @ MDF 2011
Skinless @ MDF 2011
Malignant Tumor @ MDF 2011   Nuclear Assault @ MDF 2011
Skinless @ MDF 2011

Finally! The last MDF 2011 post… so many photos to dig through! This final day was pretty fun, though I was dead tired. The surprise of the day for me was probably Skinless’ last show, which was ridiculous, with the singer stagediving and jumping into the crowd constantly. Malignent Tumor, who I’d never heard before, had a circle pit like no other, full of inflatable penises and other assorted insanity. Most fun crowd experience of the fest. Also, Nuclear Assault invited the crowd on stage with them, which was really really fun.

Other notable things were the dude from Exhumed playing in ANOTHER band (Gravehill), Cthulhu showing up for a visit, me saying I’d believe that Ted Leo was going to be playing with Citizens Arrest when I saw it… then realizing I was standing next to Ted Leo.

Another big deal for me was managing to make (with the help of my friend Dustin) this happen:

reunited

Yes, that’s Marel, the woman from the Deathfest City Paper cover, posing with Jason, the security guy in the photo, both standing in the same spot that picture was taken last year. I had tried to connect with her for several days, we finally managed to make it happen on Sunday. She was really nice, and said that she started getting texts about the City Paper cover as soon as her plane landed at BWI and thought people were joking! Too funny. Glad we could get this shot.

Maryland Death Fest – Day 3 : Voivod, Exhorder, Acid Witch, Cretin, Impaled Nazarene

Impaled Nazarene @ MDF 2011
fans @ MDF 2011   Acid Witch crowd @ MDF 2011
Voivod @ MDF 2011
Exhorder @ MDF 2011   Voivod @ MDF 2011
Exhorder crowd @ MDF 2011

Over the halfway mark with my MDF photos! Day 3 was a little more relaxing for me, the highlight was getting to see Exhorder, a New Orleans thrash metal band that I grew up on and hearing about, but never was able to see live (a little before my time), as well as seeing Voivod again… they were excellent and the crowd seemed super stoked. Many people told me their set was their high point of the whole show. My favorite discovery of this day was Acid Witch, who I had never heard before but who I thought were excellent live. Cretin was also good live, playing with Matt Harvey from Exhumed (he seemed to be guesting in at least one band a day at this MDF).

Maryland Death Fest – Day 2 : Neurosis, Marduk, Corrosion of Conformity, Exhumed

CoC @ MDF 2011
Neurosis Crowd @ MDF 2011   Exhumed @ MDF 2011
CoC @ MDF 2011
Neurosis Crowd @ MDF 2011   Neurosis @ MDF 2011
Marduk @ MDF 2011

Day 2 was pretty epic. I saw several bands that I had never seen before, the standout of which was Exhumed… amazing live, totally over the top, with chainsaws and severed heads and fake blood… just really fun. Marduk were great live, too… but seeing Corrosion of Conformity with the classic line-up was really great, as was meeting Woody from CoC and Steve Von Till of Neurosis. Right before Neurosis played, an epic rain storm loomed which threatened to end or severely delay their show… but hundreds of fans stood in the rain to wait it out, and they cheered and pumped their fists every time there was a flash of lightning. Pretty awesome and totally metal. When they finally came on, they were great and played a barely abridged set. It was slightly less epic on an outdoor stage than the last time I saw them, at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn, but they were still great live and actually played some older songs (Souls At Zero and Through Silver In Blood), which surprised me. This was a great second night of the fest.

Maryland Death Fest – Day 1 : Tragedy, BuzzOv*en, Extortion

BuzzOv*en @ MDF 2011
Tragedy @ MDF 2011
Tragedy @ MDF 2011   BuzzOv*en @ MDF 2011
Tragedy @ MDF 2011

MDF this year was a great success… so many amazing bands, so many good times. Pretty much every aspect was incredible and it went off with only a few small bumps, at least as far as I could tell. I am gonna be posting photos from it over the next few days, with a big megapost scheduled to go out on monday. Click on the link below to see more photos from the first day!

Tune-Yards @ Red Palace

Tune-Yards @ Red Palace
Tune-Yards @ Red Palace   Tune-Yards @ Red Palace

The other week, I shot Tune-Yards (or tUne-YaRdS, or some strange capitalization) and Buke and Bass at the Red Palace. The Red Palace is becoming a favorite place of mine to see shows in DC, decent lighting (LEDs, though), nice beer selection, small room but you can see the artist pretty well regardless… I had never heard Tune-Yards before, which was basically a one-person band with some back-up on some songs from a bassist and a horn section, but it was an interesting show. She makes loops with her voice, right on the spot, and then plays over them… she creates a sound that is reminiscent of African traditional music (to my ears, anyway), mixed with drone/ambient. Pretty interesting stuff.

Arctic Monkeys & The Vaccines @ 9:30 Club

The Vaccines.
The Vaccines.   The Vaccines.

The other week, I shot the Arctic Monkeys and the Vaccines for SPIN… I am not super knowledgeable about either band, but fun show, good lighting, good sound… the Arctic Monkeys were lively, more so than I had been led to believe, and the Vaccines were fun and energetic. I hear they are a band to watch… Read the review, linked below for more details!

Maryland Death Fest – a photo retrospective.

EYEHATEGOD crowd @ MDF2010

For the last near-decade, Maryland Death Fest has been a Baltimore Institution, bringing the best current and historic extreme metal bands to Sonar in Baltimore to play for thousands of fans. It’s literally the best and most interesting metal related event in the US. Spanning over several days (4 this year), dozens of bands play to a crowd of thousands, who travel from all over the world to be there. Because of it’s prominence, many bands choose to reunite to play it, or have their last show there, or play for the first/last/only time in the US there. Basically, it’s an amazing event. And this year’s, the Ninth Annual, starts today and last til sunday. For a list of bands and set times, click here. Chris from DC HeavyMetal posted a great Death Fest Survival Guide here.

Below are some of the favorite photos I have taken at previous Death Fests:

Pentagram @ MDF2010
Bobby Liebling of a reunited Pentagram.

bolt thrower @ maryland death fest 2009
Bolt Thrower, who played two sets in 2009, one a surprise.

maryland death fest 2009

pig destroyer @ maryland death fest 2009
Pig Destroyer.

maryland death fest 2009

Autopsy @ MDF2010
Dan Lillker playing with Autopsy.

wolves in the throne room @ maryland death fest 2009
Wolves In The Throne Room.

Entombed @ MDF2010
Entombed.

maryland death fest 2009

Converge @ MDF2010
Converge.

napalm death @ maryland death fest 2009
Napalm Death.

Deceased @ MDF2010
Deceased.

EYEHATEGOD @ MDF2010
Jimmy Bowers of EYEHATEGOD.

maryland death fest 2009

MARYLAND DEATH FEST 2010 roof view