Ke$ha @ Patriot Center

Ke$ha @ Patriot Center.
Ke$ha @ Patriot Center.

Ke$ha @ Patriot Center. Ke$ha @ Patriot Center. Ke$ha @ Patriot Center.

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.

Ke$ha Wash Post Tearsheet   Ke$ha Wash Post Tearsheet
Ke$ha in the Washington Post

Deadmau5, Teddybears @ Virgin FreeFest 2011

Deadmau5 @ FreeFest 2011
Deadmau5 @ FreeFest 2011
Teddybears @ FreeFest 2011   Teddybears @ FreeFest 2011
@ FreeFest 2011

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:

Deadmau5 fan @ FreeFest 2011

Com Truise @ Black Cat

Com Truise @ Black Cat

Fun little show in the Black Cat backstage… they did a cool layout for the Washington Post story, too:

Wash Post Tearsheet Com Truise Cx2 detail

Nobunny, Scott Reynolds, Milo, Deep Sleep.

Deep Sleep @ GW
Nobunny @ Golden West
Scott Reynolds @ GW   Milo & Friends

2 cool shows at the Golden West, one photo post! Milo from the Descendents even made an appearance at the Scott Reynolds show and was nice enough to pose for a few photos!

Ice Age, Dope Body, Pontiak, Purling Hiss, Roomrunner, Sprayer, True Widow.

Ice Age @ GW
Roomrunner @ Fraziers   Dope Body @ Fraziers
Sprayer @ GW
Purling Hiss @ GW

Shot several shows in Hampden last week… 2 at the Golden West presented by Unregistered Nurse and another at Fraziers. Saw several new bands, including Denny Bowen (of Double Dagger)’s new band Roomrunner, and Ryan Kidwell (Cex) and Jeremy from Ponytail’s new one Sprayer. Great times all around.

Breakdancing In Baltimore.

Breakdancers at Dig.
Breakdancers at Dig.   Breakdancers at Dig.
Breakdancers at 4 Hours of Funk

I worked with Sam Sessa at the Baltimore Sun on a piece about the breakdancing scene in Baltimore. The monthly party 4 Hours of Funk (at Wind Up Space) and the weekly Dig (at Joe Squared) are both hotbeds of breaking, as well as popping and locking. Both parties are fun, even for the uninitiated like myself. It’s pretty impressive just to hang back and watch their moves.

[miniflickr user_id=”50009481@N00” tags=”sunbreaking2011″]

Big Freedia @ DC9

Big Freedia @ DC9
Big Freedia @ DC9   Big Freedia @ DC9
Big Freedia @ DC9

I shot Big Freedia at DC9 for the Washington Post, one of the first shows after their re-opening, I believe. I was worried at first that it might be a low turnout, but DC crowds are expert at showing up JUSSSSST before the artist they want to see plays, and suddenly it was packed! Great show, one of the funniest I have been to this year. So much ass-shaking, which is to be expected. Freedia was really nice too, I managed to get a quick portrait before the show. I’ll always shoot a bounce show if I get a chance!

Ice Age & Give @ Golden West.

ice age @ golden west
ice age @ golden west   ice age @ golden west
ice age @ golden west
ice age @ golden west   katrina ford, cullen stalin
Give @ golden west

Monday night’s Ice Age show with Give and Death Domain at the Golden West (brought to you by Unregistered Nurse Booking)was a lot of fun… cool to see such a buzzed about new band play Baltimore as their 3rd show of their first US tour! Give was also a band I’d heard alot about and really enjoyed… they seem to be part of this current movement of looking back to hardcore and punk’s earlier days, but I like that! They were fun to see. Ice Age (or is it iceage? I’m unsure.) were fun and somber and Danish and VERY YOUNG. They seemed a little awkward at first, but got into it after a few songs… and the crowd certainly responded, there was lots of slamming and dancing going on, at least at the front. Good times.

Quite a night : 3 shows, 3 cities, 1 monday

Ramblin Jack Elliott

The other monday I tackled not one, not two, but THREE shows in one evening. First I shot Ramblin Jack Elliott for the Washington Post in Rockville, MD. He played a church to a music preservation society crowd. Nice people, and a cool setting. The last time I saw him was at a huge political event in San Francisco, years ago… it was cool to check him out, even for a little bit, in a more intimate space.

Dirty Beaches @ Black Cat

Next up was Dirty Beaches at the Black Cat in DC. My girlfriend has been telling me to check out his music for quite awhile, but I must admit I had never heard Dirty Beaches until I stepped into the show. The lights were almost totally down, he was light by what looked like a single light… a white-tshirt clad 50s greaser-looking guy freaking out on a guitar, unaccompanied, playing crazy, fuzzy music out of Blue Velvet or something similar. It was pretty great. I’ve since gone back and gotten several of his records and downloads of his earlier tape only releases, and his music is great! Really recommended.

DJ Ayres @ No Rule.

Finally, I limped back to Baltimore, dead tired, to Cullen Stalin’s No Rule party at Metro Gallery, to see DJ Ayres of the Rub and T&A Records. Ayres is an awesome guy, and a great DJ. I usually only see him at big events like SXSW or My Crew Be Unruly, so I really wanted to make it, say hi, shoot a few shots. Glad I did.

Cheap Time & Murder @ Golden West

MURDER @ golden west
MURDER @ golden west   MURDER @ golden west
Cheap Time @ Golden West

Last week, Cheap Time played at the Golden West along with new Baltimore band MURDER (members of Vincent Black Shadow, Triac, Fishnet Stalkers)… it was pretty awesome (as is the norm for Unregistered Nurse shows), though I was dead on my feet from a busy week, I still had a good time. Cheap Time is on tour, check em out. Also, I took some promo photos of MURDER, they will be up in a day or two…

Rye Rye & Say Wut @ Metro Gallery

Rye Rye @ Metro Gallery
Rye Rye @ Metro Gallery   Rye Rye @ Metro Gallery
Rye Rye @ Metro Gallery

A few weeks back, Rye Rye and Say Whut did a video shoot at Metro Gallery in Baltimore for the Baltimore Sun. It was streamed live on the internet by a huge camera crew, as part of the promotions for Rye Rye’s debut full-length, which should be out soon (We’ve been waiting for it to drop for like a year or so!)… it was a great time, and while at first it felt a little weird, with all the lights and cameras, as soon as Rye Rye got going, the crowd loosened up and enjoyed the show… really getting into it and even taking the stage. It’s great to see her career taking off lately, and I am excited to see what happens when the album comes out! Click below to see the rest of the shots!

Kylie Minogue @ Patriot Center

Kylie Minogue @ Patriot Center
Kylie Minogue @ Patriot Center
Kylie Minogue @ Patriot Center   Kylie Minogue @ Patriot Center

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:

  • Read the Washington Post Kylie Minogue review
  • Buy Prints from this Kylie Minogue show
  • See ALL my Kylie Minogue photos
  • BIG K.R.I.T. @ U Hall, DC

    BIG K.R.I.T. @ U Hall
    BIG K.R.I.T. @ U Hall   BIG K.R.I.T. @ U Hall

    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!

    White Wires, Deep Sleep, Hollywood @ Ottobar.

    deep sleep @ ottobar
    hollywood @ ottobar   hollywood @ ottobar
    white wires @ ottobar

    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.

    DMV Record Pull – first night.

    The Future - DMV Record Pull
    Harmony Music - DMV Record Pull   Jimmy Jones / KW Griff - DMV Record Pull

    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.

    Simon Phoenix Bday bash w/ Dave Nada, Stereofaith

    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

    Wu Tang Clan @ Sonar, Baltimore

    the RZA    method man.
    wu tang clan.    the GZA

    They started late, but they seemed in good spirits and like they were having a good time. I was worried that, with all the rumors of strife inside the group, this would be a somber affair, but they were all joking and smiling, Method Man stage dove several times, all in all it was a pretty great New Years present for me!

    And, in the Club and VIP Lounge, Taxlo was holding it down as well… Adam Gonzo, Cullen Stalin, Blaqstarr, Sri Aurobindo and more…pictures of all that in the set as well.

    Full Wu Tang Clan/Wu Year’s Eve set here

    DMBQ & Monotonix @ the Ottobar.

    DMBQ @ the Ottobar
    Monotonix @ the Ottobar

    Monotonix @ the Ottobar    DMBQ @ the Ottobar
    DMBQ @ the Ottobar    DMBQ @ the Ottobar
    DMBQ @ the Ottobar    Monotonix @ the Ottobar

    Two of the most wildly audience interacting live bands around played at the Ottobar monday… it was a great, great time. DMBQ are still one of the best bands I have EVER seen… Monotonix was fun and a spectacle (even taking the show outside before Ottobar staff chased everyone back in), but musically I don’t think they quite compare. Still, it was one of the funniest shows I have been to in a long while… View the full set here.