The other day I was able to see Integrity, a band I have loved for years, play at Sonar with Haymaker, a Canadian band I’ve liked for years, and who apparently have never before played in the States, which seems crazy to me! I also caught the above photo of a gentleman crowdsurfing WHILE eating pizza. Amazing.
This was amazing. Never thought I’d get a chance to see BB King, so I jumped at the chance to shoot this on New Year’s Day. The man is 84 and can still play amazingly, and is extremely cantankerous and charismatic, constantly poking fun at his band – even threatening to pull a knife on one of his players at one point! If you get a chance to see him, it’s worth the money.
Click here to view the whole BB King photo set | Click here to read the Washington Post review
Never saw this band before, but I remember people being blown away by their shows at the Black Cat back in the day… they put on a really good show, and the sold out crowd was seriously into it. Dunno if I would buy their records, but this was a fun show to shoot. Interestingly, they had us wait and shoot the middle of the set… maybe so they would get a little sweaty first?
Click here to see the whole Gogol Bordello photo set | Click here to read the Washington Post review
Awesome show, awesome band. Peter you will be missed. Anyone who missed this show, you missed out!
View All of the Sick Weapons last show photos here!!!
This was an experience. Packed Verizon Center in DC. 30,000 people. Mostly ladies. All of them screaming for Usher and Trey Songz. Crazy. Usher is a total pro… this was a very well done performance. It was almost too well-orchestrated to call it a concert, but it was quite a spectacle… and Usher is definitely a showman.
A couple of months ago, I attended a rare joint performance of Merzbow and Richard Pinhas at the French Embassy in DC. I posted a few pictures from this show, along with my coverage of Sonic Circuits Fest, but I just found out there is going to be a CD released by Cuneiform of the performance, and some of my photos may be included, so I decided to post some more.
Here is the whole Merzbos & Richard Pinhas @ the French Embassy set. Enjoy! (And look forward to the release of the performance.)
Peter Hook recently toured the US playing Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures” with his new band, The Light. Reyan Ali and I were there for SPIN. Check out the SPIN review by Reyan here (with photos by me). Here is the whole photo set.
Sunday I shot the Wu-Tang Clan show at Sonar… awesome time. I wrote a little mini-post for BYT, I’ll update this when that is posted (today, hopefully!) Til then…
Check out the whole Wu-Tang Clan at Sonar photo set
UPDATE: here’s the BYT story
Two shows I shot on assignment. My first time at the Kennedy Center after almost ten years in the DC area… I felt under-dressed. The Kennedy Center show was my first time using my new 70-200 lens. Not the best shooting situation, I could have really used a 300mm… maybe next Christmas.
Read the Wash Post N’Dambi review here
Read the Wash Post Jazz Christmas review here
See more photos from these shows in my December 2010 Shows set
Maff Moffat, co-owner of DC record store SMASH organized a benefit show for Stereofaith, a DC scene stalwart (former hardcore band member, longtime DJ and promoter, all-around cool dude) who had to have some pretty serious surgery. Seminal DC band Government Issue played a reunion show, along with the classic DC-suburbs punk band The Goons. It was a really fun show, sold out but not too crazy, probably because most of the people in attendance were a little older, so it was still fun to be in that room. The Goons set was rowdy, with some circle pitting and stagediving, but things kicked up alot when Government Issue took the stage. John Stabb is a crazy guy, I’d seen YouTubes but it was awesome to see him still getting wild, 30 years later. J Robbins, Tom Lyle, and Pete Moffett got pretty wild themselves… I saw Robbins and Moffett grinning and goofing with Stabb many times, Lyle seemed to remain more serious but was definitely playing hard. All in all, a good show…
View the whole set here | Read the BrightestYoungThings story
Saturday night there was a great show at the Windup Space in Baltimore… Parting Gifts & Hollywood. Parting Gifts is the new band of Greg Cartwright aka Greg Oblivian (of the Oblivians, the Reigning Sound, etc) and they were great! The place was packed and the crowd seemed really appreciative, people kept yelling thanks for them playing in Baltimore. All in all, a good show… brought to you by the talented Unregistered Nurse productions company.
Click here to view the whole set, including photos of Hollywood!
I’ve seen Joanna Newsom a few times now… wouldn’t say I’m a fan, but her music is certainly unique and different. It’s also crazy how INTENSE her fans are about her. I got a chance to shoot her the other day at Rams Head in Baltimore.
I went into this show knowing literally NOTHING about Aloe Blacc. I left a fan… really good performer, really catchy fun songs done in a motown style. I normally am not a big fan of ‘retro’ musical styles, but there was something about this show that just worked for me. A really good time.
Read the Washington Post Review here | See more photos of Aloe Blacc in my November Shows set
This year was the eight Maryland Death Fest, a annual music festival at Sonar in Baltimore that is, without a doubt, the best metal/extreme music festival in the US/North America. It is always a great time and has been getting bigger and more well-organized with each successive year. This time around there were TWO outdoor stages, an indoor stage, a merch room, and dozens of vendors… not to mention thousands of devoted metalheads deposited right into downtown baltimore.
It’s hard for me to go to the WHOLE thing, it’s just overwhelming, but luckily it’s located centrally and close to my house so I usually just dip in to check out the bands I want to see. This year that included EYEHATEGOD, Autopsy, Obituary, Entombed, Pentagram, Deceased, and Converge. I also checked out a few new (to me) bands, my favorite being Captain Cleanoff from Australia. For me, the standout shows of the weekend (besides Captain Cleanoff) were Autopsy and Pentagram…
If you like metal, try to make it to this fest next year!!!
Click here to see more Maryland Death Fest pictures!
See also: My post about Maryland Death Fest 2009