The Arcade Fire - St John's Church (2nd night)

Again at St John's Church and lining up for a few hours, but this time I was at the front of the queue and one of the first people into the venue. The band opened the night with an rousing acoustic version of The Clash's Guns of Brixton right in the middle of the crowd, I was too far away to even see it but it sounded amazing. Once they were on stage I spent the gig about 3 feet from Win Butler's rather large army boots but was able to avoid a wrathful stomping by only taking the occasional photo rather than snapping away constantly through their set. Although the set list doesn't show it, they closed it off with Tunnels which is possibly my favourite track from Funeral.

It was an amazing way to end my gig going in London, especially as I'm moving back to Sydney for good this coming Sunday. Bye London!

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The lighting seemed a bit dimmer this evening, it was all very basic indeed. Still, I think I managed to get a few good shots - I'd be embarrassed if I didn't at that range!

The Arcade Fire - St John's Church

I arrived in London just under two years ago and went straight from the airport (and a 24 hour flight from Sydney) to this particular gig. I was exhausted, but it still stands as one of the best shows I've ever seen. I'm flying home to Sydney for good this coming Sunday and was surprised to hear that The Arcade Fire were returning to play a series of shows during my last week in the country, even moreso when I realised that I missed out on tickets to every single show and saw tickets going for up to £500 per pair on eBay. No thanks. Still, I wanted to bookend my stay in London by seeing the most amazing live band in the world...

Luckily, the band decided to release 50 tickets per day at each of their London shows. From 12pm I waited outside the venue for the ticket release (it did have it's benefits though), I was #12 in line. Eight and a half chilly hours later I had my ticket and the band filtered onto the stage and it was all worth it. It was absolutely amazing, the band were in fine form playing songs mostly from their upcoming album Neon Bible, and filling out the set with songs from their first album. Oh and did I mention that they played in a church?

The gig ended with the band carrying their instruments outside through the audience, onto the church's steps and performing Wake Up with the whole crowd as backing vocals. It was definitely worth the wait.

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The venue was seated (no one sat) and I was about six rows from the front, so I spent a fair bit of time trying to shoot over/around/between waving hands and heads, so all of these photos are heavily cropped. There was no photo pit and the professional photographers were relegated to an upper balcony. I'm hoping to get into the first or second row when I do all this again on Wednesday and Thursday...

I'm From Barcelona - ULU

I wasn't too sure about this one before I went in, the album's got some nice pop songs on it but it does tend to get a bit cheesy at times. Luckily, 29 piece band I'm From Barcelona (actually from Sweden, details schmetails) are fantastic fun live. It was more like a big party than a concert with audience members helped onto the stage by the band more than once (including at one stage, a kazoo playing quintet) and the show ending with a dance version of We're From Barcelona playing over the PA, about 150 people from the audience on stage, the band mingling in the crowd and security not quite knowing what to do. Definitely one of the more fun gigs I've been to recently.

They're like The Flaming Lips and The Polyphonic Spree had a low budget baby.

I was an idiot and in my rush to get to the gig left my quick lens at home as I'd spent the morning running around taking pictures of snow (I'm Australian, it's allowed!). So these photos aren't as sharp as I'd like, but the lighting was pretty good, the crowd was friendly and a good time was had.

Jarvis Cocker at the Roundhouse

I've been an enormous Pulp fan for years and years. They only toured Australia once (back in 1998) and I was lucky enough to catch 2 of their 3 shows in Sydney. For this gig, a very lovely friend of mine at Playlouder managed to get a photopass for me, and to say that was deliriously excited would be an extreme understatement. Not that I'm prone to hyperbole or anything.

Jarvis didn't disappoint, playing material exclusively off his brilliant new album and throwing a couple of new songs as well. He's been away for a while, but now he's back and he's still got his amazing signature dance moves, that if performed by anyone else would look positively stupid. He had the crowd eating out of his hand within the first 5 seconds. Absolutely phenomenal. End fanboy rant.

I've never seen so many photographers in a photo pit (there must have been at least 20 of us), and as it was only the second time I'd been in one it was a tad intimidating. Many of them had multiple camera slung around their necks with enormous lenses, whilst I had my stub nosed 50mm lens. Once Jarvis was on stage the nerves went away and I just concentrated on trying to get a few decent photos whilst avoiding being in other photographer's shots. It was awesome.

These photos now in use by Playlouder for their review.

Drowned In Sound Xmas Party

Drowned In Sound held their Christmas party at Kings College this year, the line-up included Laura Groves, Jeremy Warmsley, GoodBooks, Guillemots, Courtesy Group, Acoustic Ladyland, and The Bellagios. I stuck around for the first four acts but had to head home after I started feeling more than a bit ill.

Lighting wasn't always ideal, but it was good enough to get a few decent shots. I was told there was a three songs/no flash rule but the other photographers there seemed quite happy to ignore it, security didn't mind either. I'm using some new gallery software too, have a look at the photos!

Hot Puppies - Water Rats

I first caught the Hot Puppies supporting The Grates a couple of months ago, they were pretty damn good then and it led to me tracking down their album, becoming addicted to it and then impatiently waiting for their next gig in London. They didn't disappoint tonight. Incidentally, their guitarist looks exactly like Morrissey. Scarily so.

It was a small and dimly lit venue with very little room to move around, but I think I managed to get a few decent shots. Using my nifty fifty meant that all of the shots are pretty tight, under the lighting conditions my stock 18-55mm just couldn't cut it.

The Flaming Lips - Hammersmith Apollo

No photos taken at this gig due to my laziness in obtaining a photo pass. Got a t-shirt though! The Lips were brilliant as usual, it's the fourth time I've seen them and the first time I haven't been within a few metres of the stage. It was a bit odd watching them perform from up in the balcony area, a bit like watching someone else's birthday party; but even so it was an amazing night.

Gryff Rhys from the Super Furry Animals did a solo spot as the support act which was a nice bonus. Next time I see them I'll make sure I'm right down the front, it's a much better experience.

Calexico

Calexico at Camden Roundhouse was my first time in the photo pit. I was actually there to see Beirut, but to a scheduling mix-up wound up missing them completely. They were OK, they seemed to be part watered down Wilco, part Mexican cantina band.

It was fun being in the pit for the first time, having complete freedom to run around and snap (three songs, no flash) was great. I'm trying to line up a photo pass for Jarvis Cocker's gig there in December. Fingers crossed.

Metric - Kings College

Metric at Kings College marks my very first assignment with a photopass, as provided by the lovely people at Drowned In Sound. First support act was David Sugar playing his guitar along with a backing track provided by his GameBoy. It was kind of fun at first but the novelty wore thin. Scissors for Lefty were second on and were actually pretty good. There was a bit of wait before Metric came on, but they didn't disappoint, fantastic from the get-go.

I thought I'd staked out a great position, but it turned out that I had a keyboard blocking pretty much most of my shots. Emily was pulling off some fantastic moves and I was a bit disappointed that I get what you see here. Hopefully I'll get another chance to shoot them in the future.

The Grates - Blow Up: Metro

The Grates again, this time with my new camera. They played to a sold out London Metro (I overheard someone saying that they were at 150% of capacity) and it was very crowded in there. When you're in a tiny venue you can only hope that people will be at least a little bit considerate of the crap conditions and not turn into jerkholes. Pity that a few people thought moshing and shoving would be a good fun idea. I spent most of the gig with some jerk dry humping my back. Either way The Grates were fantastic as usual, they just need a bigger venue.

I was shooting again with the new camera, it's brilliant so far and I managed to take a few decent photos despite being shoved in the back almost every time I brought my camera to my eye (reminding). All in all it was a fun night, and some jerk behind me went home with an elbow sized bruise in his sternum.

Voxtrot at state 51

Voxtrot played at state 51 last night, they played in the basement of Play Louder's warehouse/office. It was a pretty good show, the venue was rather full but I managed to get a good position right up the front, maybe a little too close. I was about a metre from their singer, and as there wasn't a stage it felt a bit weird.

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On a brighter note, I've bought myself a shiny new Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D) - I haven't quite got a handle on it just yet and I've got a lot to learn. I did the best I could with it, hopefully there'll be a drastic improvement in my photos over the coming months as I learn how to be a better photographer.

Expatriate - London Metro

Expatriate at Blow Up at London's Metro earlier this evening, it's the first time I've seen them in almost a year and they've just finished recording their album in Seattle (due out on Dew Process at some point in the future), and it was a pretty good show. They had a decent sized crowd for their second ever London gig and it sounded like they've padded out their sound a fair bit too. Am definitely looking forward to the album and seeing them again when I get back to Sydney.

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Lighting wasn't amazing there - it never is, so I opted for classy B&W photos the majority of the time. The rhythm section was pretty much shrouded in darkness for most of their set. I think I'll definitely have to make the move to a digital SLR in the coming months.

Divine Comedy - Somerset House

Divine Comedy were a perfect choice for this years summer series at Somerset House (I had a great time there last year) An absolutely flawless performance, aside from Neil missing his que on Mother Dear of course. Oh and the song dedicated to the wasp that landed on his tuner. Aside from that it was absolutely amazing, the band were superb. It was a perfect night. Also, I caught Neil's pick when he threw it into the audience. Woo!

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The fiance and I got there nice and early and were lucky enough to be on the barrier, just off center. The lighting was awesome for photography about 90% of the time so I managed to get a few shots that I'm really happy with.

The Grates - 93 East

The Grates The Grates! The Grates! I've taken photos of these lovely people many many times, but it's been over a year since I posted anything new, and as it was their UK album launch tonight I thought it was about time I did so again. The venue was absolutely packed, not sure if it was sold out or not though, the band was in great form. Patience (the singer) seems to have eaten about 5 bags of sugar before she went on stage tonight. Every song was greeted with deafening applause.

As it was so crowded I had to bustle my way to the front and some very kind people let me in front of them for a few songs to snap some photos. The lighting wasn't amazing, poor John seemed to spend a lot of time in the dark so there weren't any decent shots of him tonight.

Mates of State - The Garage

Mates of State are husband and wife duo who write some of the catchiest tunes you'll ever hear. If you like great melodies and fun vocal harmony you'd probably quite like them. They were fun and friendly and were flawless performers so I went away rather happy.

I was in the front row RIGHT in front of the drum kit. Being a two piece meant that the drums were right up at the front of the stage. I could literally reach out and grab the bass drum if I wished. Unfortunately from where I was standing the mic was on annoying angle and I had to wait for Kori (on organs) to move her head away from it to get a decent shot!

The Decemberists - Koko

The Decemberists played Koko, and I've never seen more geeks in one crowd. Of course I was one of them, it was just so weird seeing so many of them in one place. At least a place that wasn't a Star Trek convention. Luckily the band were in really good form, Melloy's nasal twang ringing out across the venue with no trouble at all. There were constant requests from the crowd for "The Mariner's Revenge Song", in one quiet moment between songs some poor guy yelled out: I travelled three hours to hear The Mariner!, but the band still didn't play it. Oh well.

I got there a little late and didn't want to push through the crowd of people who'd waited and worked for their spots down the front, and so I've got another few very average shots.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - The Forum

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs came to London on the back of their Show Your Bones album. They had one of the worst support bands I've ever seen in my life. A band where every member seems to be playing a different song and the singer spends most of the gig hunched over screaming into the mic do not a good band make. Anyway, Karen O and co were bouncy and full of energy though not all that talkative. Aside from a "thank you London!" at the end there was absolutely no banter or talking.

I was up in the balcony and didn't really get anything too crash hot, but it's my damn site and I'll post them if I want to.

The Flaming Lips - Royal Albert Hall

The Flaming Lips put on one of the best live shows I've ever seen in my life. There's so much going on you can almost OD on audio/visual stimuli, that being said this is the second time I've seen them play and I was lucky enough to be one of the first into the venue - only queued for 40 minutes! Although the tickets and website said NO CAMERAS, security didn't confiscate my camera and it was an absolutely perfect night. My girlfriend and I were showered in confetti and spent the night jumping around bopping balloons and singing along like idiots to the songs. I heard reports that the gig wasn't quite as good from some of the upper levels, but down on the barrier it was pretty freaking awesome.

If you do want to use any of these photos, go right ahead, but please link back to my site and give me credit. Cheers!

Bloc Party - Somerset House

Sure they're a buzz band at the moment, but if you ignore the NME hype machine there's a pretty damn good band lurking underneath. I was about 7 rows back and slightly off-centre, plus I was on the edge of the mosh-pit/idiot circle so these photos aren't the absolute best as most of them were taken at full zoom. No hassle from the security guys tonight, they were far too busy with the hyperactive bouncing kids. I think I'm getting too old to get shirtless and sweaty and slam my body against other guys.

After the first encore finished and people started leaving the band burst back onto the stage and played another couple of tracks prompting a race for the front. I stayed where I was and got a nice shot of the stage setup.

Sigur Ros - Somerset House

OK Somerset House, get your shit sorted. The same security crew from the previous nights were working, they let me into the courtyard, they let me take photos during the support act, they let me take photos for the first 30 minutes or so, and then they suddenly turn nasty on me and yell at me for photographing the band. They don't yell at the other people using slightly smaller cameras and using flash (which looks horrible and also annoys everyone). Apparently my lens was too big. So err yeah, obviously didn't get a lot of photos of the band. What follows is the best of it.

Oh and yeah, Sigur Ros were absolutely phenomenal. Would have loved to have seen them out in a park somewhere whilst sitting on a blanket, or maybe in an enormous cavern, but Somerset House was a pretty good substitute.

Amina - Somerset House

Wasn't too sure what to make of these four at first, what they did up on stage was interesting, but the vast majority of what they did just felt like ambient music, except for a kicking Casio based track at the end of their set which had them giggling like schoolgirls for some reason. They swapped instruments quite a lot, going from strings to xylaphones and using samples from their iBook. Apparently they've worked with Sigur Ros on their last couple of albums too. I wouldn't mind hearing more of them, but they did seem a little unsuited to a large outdoor event.

Super Furry Animals - Somerset House

Back at Somerset House again, this time with the Super Furry Animals who kicked all sorts of arse this evening. They spent the first 2/3 of their set playing slower songs and a lot of material from their new album. The last third of the concert they played the bouncier, jump-around-like-a-6-year-old-on-a-sugar-high material and I spent most of it being crushed against the barrier and quite possibly fathering children - although I can't be sure about that last bit - but there were a lot of bodies being slammed together, fun though. As you can see they have these lovely fibre optic boiler suit jobbies and they seem to have lost the yeti costumes of years past. Fun times, Sigur Ros is next up this Sunday.

Doves - Somerset House

As part of Somerset House's Summer Sessions the lovely Doves played a great set tonight. It's my second time seeing them (previously saw them in Sydney shortly after Last Broadcast was released) and they didn't disappoint. I would have liked a couple more songs off Lost Souls, but the stuff they played off Some Cities was fantastic, Snowden was a particular highlight for me. I got to the venue nice and early and was got a spot on the second row off the barrier, dead centre. No nasty security guys confiscating my camera either. Super Furry Animals on Friday, Sigur Ros on Sunday, Bloc Party on Tuesday. Oh yeah!

Louis XIV - Somerset House

These guys were the support for Doves and at first I didn't think much of them, another band in suits and wearing eyeliner - just what the world needs. Despite their incredibly tight trousers (or maybe because of them) they won me over, sounding something like a cross between The Darkness and The White Stripes. It's tough guy 70's style glam rock. It's not my usual thing but they were great in the support slot and would be a dmn good festival band.

Cut Copy - Trash

After coming straight from Glastonbury (they still had their wristbands on) to Trash I kind of expected a subdued set from Cut Copy, but they didn't disappoint. They were jumping around, punching the air, and there were hand claps ahoy. They manged to get the crowd involved and were pretty well received. It was so crowded that I didn't really get a chance to change position, so all of these were taken from the one vantage point.

The Grates - Buzzard Bar

Another Artrocker event at the Buzzard, and another sweatbox to contend with. It's London, it's summer, you get used to sweating and stinking.

The Grates were supporting Be Your Own Pet (a teenaged band from Nashville). After running around taking photos of The Grates from every vantage point possible I was too tired and sweaty to get anything decent of BYOP. As usual The Grates were amazingly fun and as the Buzzard has absolutely fantastic lighting I was able to get some nice shots.

Tom Vek - Buzzard Bar

An Artrocker event at the newly renamed Buzzard Bar (formerly Purple Turtle) was hot. Real hot. Damn hot. I'm talking a sold out venue literally packed with people and (what seemed like) absolutely no airconditioning or ceiling fans or anything to make it even slightly pleasant for the punters or the bands. Except possibly cold beer. Actually I lie, there were 2 fans towards the back of the room, despite that I think everyone had a good time AND managed to lose a little weight.

The Young Knives opened and provided a fun, frantic, sweaty set. I'd seen their name floating around but hadn't actually heard any of their stuff and quite liked them. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for future gigs.

Tom Vek took to the stage and everyone was pretty damn happy about that, it must have been 45°C in there but it didn't stop the crowd jumping around. I've been meaning to see him perform for ages but kept missing him for various reasons, it was worth the wait though.

Clicky Mr. Vek on the left and The Young Knives on the right.

The Go! Team - Electric Ballroom

I was wary of having my camera confiscated again, so I rang the Electric Ballroom and asked if cameras were permitted blah blah blah. They said they allowed photos during the first few songs but then asked people to put them away. I said "Hooray!".

Of course I turn up to the venue and have my camera immediately confiscated as it looked "too professional" (for the record it's a Konica Minolta Z10). I tried reasoning with the venue staff, but they weren't having it. Luckily I ran into a girl named Jenny inside who was taking photos with her "non-professional" looking camera and she sent me a couple of shots that she took.

The Go! Team were quite fun, probably best described as Cheerleader Rock. They were big on crowd participation which can be good, although it did feel a little forced at times. If I'm going to put my "hands in the air" they're going to be up there because they want to be, not because I'm being told that I "just shouldn't care". Still a fun night though.

One of the support bands was a group called The Research. They were rather bright and bubbly, a bass player, drummer and a keyboardist similar to Mates of State. I think I actually liked them more than The Go! Team, unfortunately they didn't have any merch for sale or I would have picked something up. Luckily, they're playing May 27th at the Brixton Windmill so I'll definitely be going along to that.

Temposhark - Luminaire

I went along to see these guys with a friend of mine who works for Play Louder. It was a pretty small venue and the lighting wasn't amazing so I didn't get too many good shots. One was used (heavily edited) for an article on Play Louder.

Another photo was used on Temposhark's website. Hooray! Anyway, check out their website and give them a listen!

The Arcade Fire - Astoria

My camera was confiscated on the way in to the Astoria, so I decided to go to one of the upper levels and watch the show from the comfort from the balcony rather than squish in to the jam-packed crowd. It turned out to be a good idea as it got SUPER HOT down there and the security guys wound up having to hand cups of water out to the crowd. The band mentioned that this was the largest indoor venue they'd ever played (it'd sold out a couple of months before) and although it lacked the intimacy of the smaller concerts they did not have any trouble commanding a larger stage.

As I mentioned my camera was confiscated on the way in, so here's a shot of the band on Later... With Jules Holland:

And a bonus mp3 of an unreleased Arcade Fire song: Intervention performed live on Santa Monica's KCRW in January.

Cut Copy - Notting Hill Arts Club

Fresh (as they could have been) off the plane from Melbourne, Cut Copy put on a pretty good set and managed to get the crowd moving pretty well. It was great to see them again, I last saw them on New Year's at the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney and that was an amazingly fun night. Here are the photos:

Oliva Tremor Control - Garage

Fun fun fun! After the supports finished up everyone was squished up to the front of the stage waiting for Olivia Tremor Control to come on. And then, the band marched through the crowd from the back of the room and on to the stage playing/banging an assortment of instruments and kitchen appliances. The band swapped instruments willy nilly and joked with the crowd and seemed to be in a pretty good mood. The show finished with their banjo/guitar/drummer/misc kitchen item player climbing on top of one the drum kits (they had two) and hitting a cymbal that was hanging from the roof with his electric banjo. Hooray!

The Arcade Fire - ULU

This gig was even better than the first, it may have been because I hadn't just stepped off a 24 hour flight, but the band seemed to be in a very playful mood. Climbing all over speakers, hitting everything in sight with drumsticks and there was a quite a bit of friendly crowd banter. The crowd was quite mixed too, there was a guy who would have been pushing 50 right at the front in the middle, as well a couple of other older guys who were right up near the front.

After the gig finished I was standing around chatting with friends and happened to see Jarvis Cocker near the back of the crowd and may have freaked out a little bit. I was going to ask for a photo but didn't want to bother him. Jarvis Cocker!

Wilco - Hammersmith Apollo

I wasn't able to take photos at this one as I was too far away and it was a seated (eww) venue, nevertheless it was absolutely amazing. They really impressed and were on for just a bit over 2 hours and played pretty much everything I wanted to hear. Here's the set list. How exciting!

1. Poor Places
2. Less Than You Think
3. Hell Is Chrome
4. Handshake Drugs
5. Muzzle Of Bees
6. At Least That's What You Said
7. Jesus, Etc.
8. Hummingbird
9. She's A Jar
10. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
11. I'm The Man Who Loves You
12. A Shot In The Arm
13. Ashes Of American Flags
14. War On War
15. Reservations
16. Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Encore 1:
17. Political Science
18. Heavy Metal Drummer
19. Theologians
20. I'm A Wheel
21. Kingpin

Encore 2:
22. Misunderstood
23. The Late Greats
24. Be Not So Fearful

The Grates at The Brixton Windmill

A very small venue, The Grates were second on the bill and they really won the crowd over. This was their last gig in London before jetting off to New York, Toronto and SXSW. The Grates look like they're having a stupid amount of fun on stage, I've seen them three times in the last week and wasn't even close to getting bored at any stage. I can't wait for the album.

There's a photo of Patience's shoes because there was an excessively drunk guy who kept screaming out "I LOOOOOOVE YOUR SHOOOOEEEEEESSSSS" and when he saw me taking photos he demanded that I take a photo of these amazing shoes. Also the lighting was terrible so I had to use flash for most of my photos which I do not like doing as it looks like crap!

Sarah Blasko at The Camden Barfly

Thanks to this gig, I now have a minor crush on Sarah Blasko. She was fantastic and the crowd really seemed to like her. The Grates played after Ms Blasko and got a really great response from the crowd too. These photos are pretty terrible and I apologise for them in advance. I got chatting to Ms Blasko after the gig and I think I remember promising to come see her next gig (which was the next night at a venue called Water Rats). So I went! Swoon!

I'm going to apologise for the quality of these photos, the gig had sold out and I couldn't move at all and as I don't really know what I'm doing with my camera most of the time the photos came out like this:

The Arcade Fire at King's College

Hooray! I landed in London without dying and made my way to this gig which I'd been anticipating for a rather long time. The Arcade Fire well and truly lived up to their reputation as having an astounding live act. One of the best I've ever seen. I was stuck in the middle of the crowd nearish the front, wish I could have got a better position, but these photos are the best I could do. Still slightly jet-lagged..