Detroit rapper Black Milk.
Outlaw country star David Allan Coe.
California pop punk band Vanity Theft.
Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys.
Arboretum & Secret Mountains @ the Ottobar.
Tag Archives: music
Odd Future / OFWGKTA / Tyler The Creator
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.
EYEHATEGOD at Sonar.
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.
Integrity + Haymaker @ Sonar (+ Pizza crowdsurfing)
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.
Deep Sleep.
Promo shot I did for Baltimore band DEEP SLEEP, to promote their new record. Contact me if your band needs promo shots.
Dismemberment Plan Reunion Kick-Off + Secret Show!
I covered the Dismemberment Plan reunion tour kick-off at the Black Cat for SPIN, and it was a really fun show. Sold out, of course, and they played a stacked set, with a lot of attention to Emergency and I, their most revered album, as well as a lot of other tracks… They were totally together too, without any of the minor technical foibles at their secret preview show the previous week (more on that in a sec). Really cool band Bluebrain opened up, too…
I was also lucky enough to be able to shoot a secret, invitation only show at the Galaxy Hut in Arlington, VA a week before the tour officially started… this was a great experience, 60 or so people crammed into a little cafe area, a feeling similar to what I imagine D-Plan shows in DC were like in the late 90s.
Matthew Dear @ U St Music Hall.
Matthew Dear and his band swung in last week to do a make-up show after their show at DC9 got canceled due to the death that occurred there last year. I got to chat with them a bit, a nice bunch of guys. Matthew is touring with a live band, and the sound is a lot different than what you might expect if you know him from his Audion or False records… more of a dark, new wave, Gary Numan type of vibe… but good. I wish I could have stayed for the whole show!
Hume @ the Black Cat
DC band Hume, playing as part of the Sockets Records showcase last week at the Black Cat.
Read the Washington Post review | See more in my January 2011 shows set
Patti Labelle @ the Kennedy Center
Dave Nada’s Moombahton Massive @ U Hall
Last week I had the good pleasure of catching the assignment to shoot Dave Nada and his second Moombahton Massive party at U St Music Hall. It’s not often you get to go hang out with an old friend for work, so I relished the opportunity. I have know Dave since he was a member of Medic, a thrash/metal/hardcore band whose record I put out more years ago than I want to admit. Since those days he has been on a steady rise as an internationally-known DJ and producer, a career arc which this year hit a new high with his creation/discovery of Moombahton, a new genre of dance music that fuses elements of Dutch House and latino culture. It took the dance music world by storm and it’s momentum is still building…
Read the Washington Post Review | See the Moombahton Massive photo set
Grant Hart @ the 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
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
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.
Gogol Bordello @ 9:30 Club
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
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):
I think that’s all of them, though I may have missed a couple!
Sick Weapons Last Show.
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!!!
Usher & Trey Songz : 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.
Merzbow & Richard Pinhas @ the French Embassy in DC.
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 & The Light: Unknown Pleasures @ 9:30
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.
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