Mon The Biffy!
I’m a big fan of Biffy Clyro, especially their latest album “Puzzle”, so I was pleased to get a call from Rock Sound magazine asking if I could shoot their Birmingham gig on Thursday night at the Academy.
My friend Dave Musson was covering it for Birmingham Live… or so we thought. His pass had been arranged through the support band and, on the night, he was informed he couldn’t shoot the headliners. I felt awful for him but it was lucky that I was there too as it meant we still had some images of Biffy for the review.
The band were spectacularly good and came on all guns blazin’ with some of my favourite tracks played while I was down the front photographing them.
This is almost certainly my last live gig of 2008 and was a great finale. I’ll be posting about my highlights of 2008 here soon but for now here are just some of my pictures of Biffy Clyro…
Anarchy in Birmingham
In one week I have gone from photographing Liza Minelli to shooting the Sex Pistols!! In fact I was the only photographer that got to get photos from last night’s gig at Birmingham Academy. I had to shoot from the balcony but I had a great spot because…. are you ready for this??!!…. I was the warm-up DJ at the gig!
Ok, let’s backtrack 31 years here. When I was at school the first single I ever bought was The Sex Pistols’ “Silly Thing”. I sent my mom into town to buy it cos I was too young. I’m not sure how appropriate my mom thought it was for a little boy to be listening to the Sex Pistols but anyway… I even managed to have my mom deliver me on Sid Vicious’ 10th birthday! That’s commitment!
And here we are in 2008, all somewhat older, and, as there was no support band for the gig, I was asked to DJ before the band. I even managed to get a few singalongs from the crowd when I played The Clash and Sham 69 
It wasn’t all old punk stuff though, I managed to drop in some Cancer Bats, The Bronx, Gallows and a little Jane’s Addiction too. Oh, and Frank Turner.
You can see my review of the gig on BrumLive.com but here are my fave pics from the gig…
This weekend I get to photograph another musical legend when I shoot KISS on Friday night. I’m hoping for a classic Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons image for the studio wall. Wish me luck…
Exile on Sesame Street
Here’s a YouTube video that just HAS to be shared with the world..
Speaking of extreme music, my wednesday evening was spent in the company of the immense Dillinger Escape Plan down at birmingham’s Academy 2. You can see my review on BIRMINGHAM LIVE! but I can honestly say it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever witnessed. And after seeing several hundred gigs over the years, that’s quite a statement. Here’s a few photos from the night…
Last night Evelyne and I enjoyed a rare night off and plonked ourselves down on the couch with a glass of wine and some Mistresses. Not quite as sordid as it sounds but it was a treat to have some down-time after being out every night.
Jimmy Eat World
It’s great being out every night photographing bands but I do miss having a night in front of the telly occasionally. This week I only have Thursday night free and Terrorizer wanted me to go down to London to shoot Mayhem despite the fact they’re playing Birmingham next week! I declined and will be photographing them in Birmingham instead!
Last night I went to the Academy where Jimmy Eat World were playing a sold out show before 3000 people. Surprisingly I was the only photographer there. Also surprisingly I enjoyed the gig far more than I expected to after listening to their new album. I’ve reviewed it for Birmingham Live! HERE
I’ve done a few pre-wed shoots recently and it’s good fun getting pictures of couples as they normally are before photographing them all dressed up on their wedding day. Many couples have never had a professional photograph taken and it’s a great way to show them that it’s not the awkward, scary thing they may have imagined. All couples enjoy the shoot and we get some great images from it. Here are a few of my recent favourites..
Also this week I made the effort to meet up with a group of fellow bloggers from the Midlands. I know how nerdy that sounds and that’s exactly why I nearly never went. I’m happy to report however that it wasn’t nerdy or geeky at all and I got to meet some genuinely nice and interesting people who are all out there making things happen rather than hiding in their bedrooms behind their monitors. A few people were genuinely interested in the Birmingham Live! idea which was great and others had their own forward-thinking projects in the pipeline. Watch this… and their… space!