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:
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!
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.
Yesterday, I got the photos back from last month’s photo show at the Windup Space. Before I do anything else with them, I figured I’d give people a chance to buy prints from the show. All are mounted on standout boxes, so are ready for hanging. Here’s what I’ve got left: Continue reading
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
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.
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.
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…
This is a good example of why I have always liked shooting on assignment… I would never have gone to this show on my own, as I don’t really know much about African music, but this was quite a lot of fun, and fun to shoot as well. I had never shot in Lisner Auditorium before, but it’s amusing how basically every college auditorium feels and looks the same… a nice venue though, and really friendly staff.
The other week, I caught King Tuff at the Golden West in Hampden… fun show courtesy of Unregistered Nurse Booking.
Here are a few shots from the hanging of Kyle and I’s photo show, Full Speed Or Nothing. It’s at the Windup Space in Baltimore, and the opening is this friday (4/15)! Come out! For more information, click here, or click over there on the left.
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.
I scored the assignment of shooting the up and coming hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All’s sound check at the U Street Music Hall. This was the same day as the announcement that XL Recordings would be releasing Tyler’s next record. It was pretty funny to watch these guys soundcheck… whatever greater success is coming their way, at this point you can tell the whole thing is just a huge amount of fun for them. They raced around the empty venue goofing off, played almost a full set during sound check, and generally horsed around the whole time. Fun experience, cool kids.
Last week EYEHATEGOD played a blistering set at Sonar. I’ve seen this band a half dozen times but they are always awesome… one of my favorite bands that are still playing. Brutal, dissonant, nihilistic sludge metal. Highly recommended. Weirdly enough, TONS of people were stage diving, I guess because it’s fairly easy to in the club room. Not the kind of music I normally associate with stage diving, but it was a fun show anyway.
Sunday, Dan Deacon and his Ensemble rolled back into the area (along with Future Islands and Teeth Mountain). It was awesome to see so many friends playing on the big stage at the 9:30 Club. It was especially great to see Denny Bowen (of Double Dagger, Smart Growth fame, and part of the Ensemble) up there, as I have known Denny for years, and used to have his high school bands playing in the basement of my old house, the Dirtfarm. Such a good show, so great to see Dan’s songs performed with instrumentation, and to see him work his showmanship magic on such a huge crowd, and a “professional” space.
Future Islands and Teeth Mountain were really good as well, I was especially taken by Teeth Mountain, their set really benefited from the big sound that is possible at a venue like the 9:30.
This month in XLR8R (#125, the March issue), I have a 8-page spread about Dan Deacon, a photo of Dutch dubstep artist Martyn, and then a contributor profile of myself (featuring a photo of me by my Dad!). Should be on newstands now! Pick it up.
Saturday I shot the Experimental Fashion Show, Kegger, at MICA. Not sure I understand the name, though the presenter tried to explain it. You can read more about the event here, look at the flyer here, and of course… Click here to view the full fashion show set!
A week or two ago, I did a photoshoot at my friend JP’s boutique in Baltimore, CULT. It was really fun, we just goofed off for an hour or so, and though it was chaotic, I think I got some good shots. Check out the full set of CULT photos. I will be posting more from this photoshoot tonight or tomorrow, too, so check back.
Also visit the store, it’s on Charles between Madison and Read, in Mount Vernon.
Thursday? Friday? Wednesday? … they all sort of start to blend together, but anyway, SOME DAY LAST WEEK, I went to Sonar to see the MAD DECENT TOUR, featuring Diplo, Boy 8 Bit, Blaqstarr, Rye Rye, and several acts I unfortnately missed. It was fun, they had a pretty creative “booth” setup for Diplo, some great dancing and some pretty awesome pizza and hot dog mascots. We did a group photo to recreate the tour poster, and all in all I had a pretty good time for someone that was basically a sleep zombie… click here for the full Mad Decent Tour set.
A week or so ago, I dropped by the Hirshhorn in DC to see Dan Deacon. I decided to go because I love Dan, and I figured this show, since it was at a Major American Art Museum, would be staid and reserved, with glasses of wine and DEFINITELY NOT with people mobbing Dan or stealing his equipment or stealing his famed green skull. I was wrong on all counts, as you will see if you click here.
