Tag Archives: photo

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!

Aloe Blacc @ RNR Hotel

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Aloe Blacc @ RNR Hotel
Aloe Blacc @ RNR Hotel    Aloe Blacc @ RNR Hotel

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

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

Wham City Comedy Tour first night!

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Wham City Comedy Tour.
Wham City Comedy Tour.    Wham City Comedy Tour.
Wham City Comedy Tour.
Wham City Comedy Tour.    Wham City Comedy Tour.

Me and Michael Byrne went to the opening night of the Wham City Comedy Tour, a DIY night of comedy, skits, music, video and performance art by the Wham City Collective (and friends). Wham City is a (mostly) Baltimore-based group of artists in all media, including Dan Deacon, Ed Schrader, Dina Kelberman, Connor Kizer, Adam Endres, and many more.

Since it was the first night (and, as I found out later, the first time the whole program was performed in it’s entirety), there were a few timing issues and a few off beats, but all in all it was really entertaining… the various pieces that were performed managed to change moods, from absurd slapstick, to bleak dark comedy, to wry intellectual wit. For every gag that fell flat, there were several that hit hard and I don’t think anyone there could say they didn’t laugh out loud many times. The first leg of the tour is done, but they are going out on another soon! Check them out!

Read the SPIN review here | See the full photo set here, with NEW stuff I just uploaded!

October Assignment Round-Up.

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Joey & Rory

Joey & Rory @ the Carlysle Club : Read the Washington Post review.

Joshua Redman @ Blues Alley

Joshua Redman at Blues Alley. Read the Washington Post review.

raul malo @ birchmere.
shannon witworth @ birchmere.

Raul Malo & Shannon Whitworth at the Birchmere. Read the Washington Post review.

La Excelensia @ Artisphere.

La Excelensia at Artisphere. Read the Washington Post review here.

You can see more photos from these shows (and many more) here.

Japanther, the Death Set, Puerto Rico Flowers, Screen Vinyl Image, Lower Dens.

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puerto rico flowers.
screen vinyl image.

Mid October was pretty good for shows… starting out with the super rare performance by former Clockcleaner leader Sharkey’s new solo vehicle Puerto Rico Flowers. How rare? This was apparently their first, last, and only live show. Backed by a temporary group of friends, he played with Screen Vinyl Image and the Pfisters at the Talking Head Club in Baltimore, with the help of Fan Death Records and Unregistered Nurse.

View the whole Puerto Rico Flowers/Pfisters/Screen Vinyl Image set here

lower dens.

Then there was the last Lower Dens show of the year… Lower Dens is a Baltimore band, fronted by former solo artist Jana Hunter, they are pretty new and getting a lot of buzz… they just put out a debut record on Devendra Banhart’s record label and are just about to go out on what sounds like a GRUELING tour, starting with 11 shows at CMJ this past weekend. They are great; check them out.

View the whole Lower Dens set here

japanther.
the death set.

Then I snuck out to Arlington, VA to see Japanther and the Death Set play at the new Artisphere space. The staff, and the space, were awesome but somehow virtually no one showed up! Those of us who were there were treated to what amount to a private performance… really odd but a lot of fun! Both bands played new material, much of it related to the passing of Death Set member Beau Velasco, who died sadly last year. Really great performances from both bands. The Death Set has a new mixtape out next month, then a new full length in January and the songs they played off of that sounded good so pick it up when its out!

View the whole Japanther/the Death Set set here

This post also appeared in a different form on BYT.