I shot the CMA Songwriter’s Series at the Library of Congress. It was an intimate show where some top country songwriters – the guys who write the songs for the stars – got a chance to shine, tell stories about their songs, and have the chance to perform them along side stars like Clint Black and Patty Loveless.
Great show the other day at Sonar, courtesy of Unregistered Nurse. Australia’s Total Control (featuring at least one member of Eddy Current Suppression Ring) and California’s Thee Oh Sees.
Shot Ms Lynn for the Washington Post at her show last week at The Birchmere. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she was touring with just her and a guitar, no glitz, no band.
I shot country western artist Chris Young at the Fillmore. Nice room, this was my first time there. Young was certainly a pleasant, fan-oriented artist, even if his music isn’t really my thing.
Tonight Baton Rouge doom metal band THOU is playing at Sonar/the Talking Head, along with Black Tusk and (members of Torche) Monstro. You should go, if you even have a passing interest in metal. Thou is one of the most interesting underground metal bands right now – their music is really dark yet not theatrically so, and they are very accomplished musicians that manage to make doom metal seem very fresh without adding disparate elements into it… they have consistently toured (at generally very affordable prices), made most (all?) of their music available for free on their web site, and strive to make sure all of their physical media is up to high standards of audio quality and visual fidelity. They have released albums both diy and on larger labels like Southern Lord. And tonight, they are in Baltimore! Come out!
I have been a fan for some time, above are some photos I have taken of them over the years…
The other week, I checked out Trans Am playing the entirety of their FUTUREWORLD record, along with local stalwarts Dope Body and the blissfully droney (and foggy) The Psychic Paramount. An all around great show, in the club room at Sonar, but to me the best part of the evening were The Psychic Paramount, who I had somehow never seen before… a great set, a wall of noise, feedback, fog, light, riffs… really good experience. Check them out.
Great show, best night. I stage dove, in fact all the photographers stage dove… wait, EVERYONE stage dove. Denny’s dad held it down at the front for the whole show! So much fun, what a good send off for one of the best bands the city has ever seen. Thanks for the memories, guys.
If you are interested, you can also:
This was a fun show, and pretty packed, in the Backstage of the Black Cat. The popular belief is that DC kids do not dance at shows, but that was proven untrue here… while it was not as wild as Baltimore or NYC, Double Dagger fans got moving and the band worked up a sweat. It was a great time, and a great start to 3 days in a row of me seeing this band.
Last week, Future Islands played a show at Baltimore bar the Depot, a fairly small place, to celebrate the release of their new album, On the Water. The place was PACKED OUT, and they didn’t disappoint, playing a mix of new and old songs… the temperature had to go up like 10 or 15 degrees in that place by the time they were done. They are going on a nationwide tour starting next week, so check the tour dates and don’t miss your chance to see them!
This weekend, I saw one of my favorite metal bands, THOU, who are on Southern Lord and a myriad of other labels, and who hail from my hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (minus the singer Bryan Funck, who is from New Orleans). I have known Bryan for years and he is a stellar dude in the world of diy booking, touring, and all around everything… and the band is pretty incredible. Challenging modern doom that doesn’t fall into the familiar cliches of the genre… recommended. You can find out more about them, and download songs and whatnot, at their website.
This was a really fun show, way moreso than I expected… I only knew Ke$ha’s hits, but all the songs I saw were fun, and well-done live… full of energy. The crowd was also more psyched than almost any crowd I’d ever seen before, cheering and dancing to the music they played between acts… and totally dolled/glittered up, as well.
I’ve seen them a couple of times this year already, but TVOTR are always good live, and they were one of the highlights of this year’s Virgin FreeFest at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Two bands with club in their names that played at virtually the same time at the FreeFest 2011! It took some wrangling, but I managed to get to shoot both bands and even got a aerial view:
Closing out the main stage, and the last rock band of the night, the Black Keys (who I’d never seen before) had the crowd anticipation stoked high before they came on stage… and they didn’t seem to disappoint, though I was way too burnt out to really appreciate their set. I’d like to see them again someday without having to work for 11 hours before they played!
Raver culture was there in full effect at Virgin Fest this year… perhaps fitting, since we are apparently in the midst of a full-fledged rave/dubstep takeover… Deadmau5 brought out a huge throng of kids, who stayed til the very end of FreeFest, the west stage area by the ferris wheel reaching the biggest capacity it had all festival.
There were also a lot of dudes doing Deadmau5 cosplay:
I never expected to see Patti Smith live, but was very pleased to be wrong about that… she put on a great, fiery show at FreeFest, and was one of the only artists I heard speak about politics and other weighty topics (which DID generate a few boos from some people in the audience). Her band was tight, she was full of energy, playful… great show. I’d love to see her again in a setting where she had time for a full set.
Two groups I had never seen before, both put on good live shows, though Okkervil River surprised me more, I didn’t expect them to have as much energy live… they put on a pretty rockin’ performance.
Natural Child are a pretty awesome band from Tennessee, I have seen them twice now (both times brought to Baltimore via Unregistered Nurse Booking), and both times they impressed me. Slowed down, very melodic garage-y punk rock, with funny lyrics and song concepts… good stuff. Check them out when they play your town.
