Tag Archives: joshsisk

Grant Hart @ the Black Cat

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Grant Hart @ Black Cat.

I went into this show knowing very little about Grant Hart, except that he was the drummer of Husker Du. And honestly, I don’t know a ton about Husker Du. I have met Bob Mould before, but I’m no expert on the band. I was pleasantly surprised by the show, however. Grant Hart’s music is simple, stripped down, dark songs about people who have lived rough lives (and it looks & sounds like Mr Hart has lived one too, based on his appearance and what I read about him), but with a hopeful tinge. Really good show, and I’m going to check out his solo albums.

Read the Washington Post Review | See more in my January 2011 Shows set

BB King @ the Birchmere

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BB King @ the Birchmere
BB King @ the Birchmere

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

Simon Phoenix Bday bash w/ Dave Nada, Stereofaith

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Dave Nada.
Simon Phoenix bday @ Golden West

Simon Phoenix celebrated his birthday saturday night at the Golden West, and it was a blast… the Golden West is turning into a great, multi-faceted place for shows, the new management and the booking staff over there are among the best things to happen to the Baltimore music scene in quite awhile.

See the whole photo set here

Gogol Bordello @ 9:30 Club

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Gogol Bordello @ 9:30
Gogol Bordello @ 9:30   Gogol Bordello @ 9:30

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

2010 Round-Up : SPIN

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I’m posting a series of posts gathering up alot of the stuff I did this year… I was lucky enough to shoot alot of assignments for SPIN.com, mostly with intrepid writer Michael Byrne along for the ride. Here’s a list of stories we did together (and a few I did with other writers):

  • Big Ears Music Festival in Knoxville
  • Best Moments of Virgin Free Fest 2010
  • My Top Ten Live Photos
  • Peter Hook/Unknown Pleasures Tour
  • Wham City Comedy Tour
  • The Vaselines @ 9:30 Club
  • Edward Sharpe @ 9:30 Club
  • Janelle Monae & Of Montreal @ 9:30 Club
  • The Dead Weather & Harlem @ 9:30 Club
  • Of Montreal @ Ram’s Head
  • Deakin, Jason Urick, Dan Higgs @ Ottobar
  • The Cranberries @ Rams Head

    I think that’s all of them, though I may have missed a couple!

    • 2010 Round-Up: all my Washington Post stories

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    One of the best things that happened to me in 2010 was getting the chance to shoot regularly for the Washington Post. I saw so many amazing shows for them this year… many of which, I would never have had a chance or even the knowledge to go to otherwise. Big thanks go out to Chris Richards, David Malitz, Ally Schweitzer, and of course Kyle Gustafson for getting me on board. I decided to make a list of all the shows I shot, and highlight some favorite ones… here we go.

    My Faves:

    The rest after the break, and don’t forget to check out Lists: 2010, the year in concert photos which has some great photos from all of the Washington Post concert shooters, Kyle Gustafson, Brandon Wu, Evy Mages, and myself, too. A great year!
    Continue reading →

    Usher & Trey Songz : OMG Tour.

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    Usher @ OMG Tour.
    Trey Songz @ OMG Tour.
    Trey Songz @ OMG Tour.   Usher @ OMG Tour.   Usher @ OMG Tour.

    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.

    Check out the whole OMG Tour set here.

    Merzbow & Richard Pinhas @ the French Embassy in DC.

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    Merzbow / Richard Pinhas
    Merzbow / Richard Pinhas

    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.)

    Crazy Monkey Clothing Company catalog shots.

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    Crazy Monkey Clothing Company

    I shot a few catalog/promo shots for my friend Joey B’s clothing line, Crazy Monkey Clothing Company. We did these real quick in my studio, he just needed basic shots to throw up on his web store, but I think they came out okay. I’ll link the web store here once they launch it.

    See the whole Crazy Monkey Clothing Company set here.

    The Gift.

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    The Gift
    The Gift

    Last month I took some photos for the Washington DC band The Gift. They are a great band, and comprised of three old friends. Henry was in Exosus, who I put out a record for in some mist-shrouded past, Beck was in Turboslut, and Mikey was in one of my favorite hardcore/punk bands from Maryland, Tradition Dies Here (among many other pursuits they’ve all been a part of). It was fun doing these shoots, even though making a “band photo” can sometimes be really ridiculous.

    Speaking of which, we shot the group photos in the Black Cat before they opened, and while there, the most amazing thing happened. Apparently, Henry had told Mikey previously that “nothing he did could shock him”… so Mikey thought about it, came up with something, and revealed it to Henry during the shoot. And that is how I came to be present when Mikey showed Henry that he had gotten a HUGE photo realistic tattoo of Henry’s face on his upper thigh. Wow.

    PS – Their debut record “Mostly In Sickness” comes out in January.

    See the whole The Gift photo set here.

    Wu-Tang Clan @ Sonar

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    Ghostface Killah - Wu-Tang Clan @ Sonar
    Method Man crowd-surfing - Wu-Tang Clan @ Sonar    Method Man crowd-surfing - Wu-Tang Clan @ Sonar
    GZA, Cappadonna, Method Man, Ghostface Killah - Wu-Tang Clan @ Sonar
    GZA - Wu-Tang Clan @ Sonar

    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

    N’Dambi @ Black Cat, Jazz Christmas @ Kennedy Center

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    N'Dambi @ Black Cat
    N'Dambi @ Black Cat   Kennedy Center Jazz Christmas   N'Dambi @ Black Cat

    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

    Government Issue & The Goons reunions @ Black Cat

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    Government Issue.
    Government Issue.   Government Issue.
    Government Issue crowd.   The Goons.

    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

    Dave Nada’s Moombahton Massive

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    Dave Nada's Moombahton Massive

    This was awhile ago, but just now getting to it… my good friend Dave Nada just moved to LA to further his production career, and he threw a big Moombahton dance party at U Street Music Hall in DC to celebrate. They have a no-photo policy there, but I had like 10 minutes between the two sets I was shooting that night to run over and get a few quick snaps of the artists who were performing, including Matt Nordstrom, DJ Ayres, Jesse Tittsworth, Dave Nada himself and more… We literally snapped these on the street in front of U Hall, with people weaving through us on their way to go out to dinner or the clubs, then after 10 minutes I hauled ass back to 930 to shoot Die Antwoord! Fun stuff.

    Good luck in LA Dave, though I know you don’t need it!

    View all the photos from the set here | View all my photos of Dave Nada from over the years here

    Parting Gifts & Hollywood.

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    Parting Gifts
    Parting Gifts    Parting Gifts

    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!

    Wadada Leo Smith @ the Library of Congress

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    Wadada Leo Smith @ Library of Congress
    Wadada Leo Smith @ Library of Congress    Wadada Leo Smith @ Library of Congress

    Wadada Leo Smith recently did a performance with his Golden Quartet, along with a Q&A, and I was there to cover it for the Post. He gave a really interesting talk about improvisational thinking, then performed several pieces. It was a really great night of music and discussion. It’d be interesting if more musicians coupled Q&A session – actual thoughtful ones, not standard PR style ones – with their concerts. You can find out more about Wadada from his label, Cuneiform Records.

    Read the Washington Post review | View more photos of Wadada Leo Smith inside my November shows set

    Ruiner, the Spark, Double Dagger, Never Enough @ CCAS.

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    the Spark @ CCAS
    Double Dagger @ CCAS    Never Enough @ CCAS

    I dunno why I didn’t post this before! Last month was a great reunion/last show at CCAS – the Spark and Never Enough, two early-2000s hardcore bands from Baltimore played a reunion show with Ruiner, who is breaking up. Double Dagger played too. It was great, though I got moshed HARD and hurt my neck. I’m better now. Jesse Morgan got stitches too!

    I also took official “last band pic” shots of The Spark and Never Enough:

    The Spark.    Never Enough.

    View the whole photo set | Read the BYT post