Converge & Kylesa – Live in Birmingham
Photographing bands can be pretty amazing. It can also be a little dangerous on occasion. And that’s why I love shooting the smaller, rowdier gigs. You never know what might happen next.
Converge are a somewhat legendary hardcore band from Massachusetts who have been a force to be reckoned with for 20 years. Their live shows are intense, so when I set out to shoot them at Birmingham Academy this month i wanted to try and capture some of the energy of the show.
I reckon I managed it…
A couple from support band, Kylesa, too…
KISS at Birmingham LG Arena
Some bands are a bit dull to photograph in concert. They stand there in subdued lighting, staring at their instruments and hardly communicate with the crowd.
KISS are not one of those bands!
Earlier tonight I was at the LG Arena in Birmingham to photograph KISS for the second time and the self-proclaimed “hottest band in the world” are possibly the most fun band you could ever want to have in front of you when you have a camera in hand.
Here are just a few of my fave photos from the gig…
Lamb Of God @ Birmingham Academy
It seems the bands I’ve been shooting recently all fall into the heavier end of the musical spectrum.
This gig was no different.
The mighty Lamb Of God were ably supported by fellow Americans Job For A Cowboy, August Burns Red and Between The Buried & Me. I was shooting the gig for Rock Sound magazine. Here’s a few of my fave images…
Revenant Dead – Band Portraits
This is the second time I’ve done promotional pictures for local metal band Revenant Dead.
Since the last shoot my style has developed and so have my post-processing abilities. I now use better cameras, better lenses and extra lighting on occasion. I knew I wanted to get much better photos this time around and I think we managed it. The band sent me some images from movies such as Inglourious Basterds for inspiration and I tried to give some of the final images that dramatic movie look.
Here are a few of the final images…
Revenant Dead’s new album, Two Evils, is released on 2nd March.
Gypsy Pistoleros – Band Portrait Shoot
Gypsy Pistoleros call themselves “the world’s greatest flamenco rockers”. They list their influences as Motley Crue and Hanoi Rocks but also The Gypsy Kings!
They got in touch with me as they needed some new band portraits so we met up one Friday afternoon at their rehearsal space and, over the course of an hour or two, got some pretty cool shots. Here are a few of my faves…
This last one is probably my favourite from the day.
Kasabian in Wolverhampton
A few weeks ago I got to shoot Kasabian in Wolverhampton at the Civic Hall.
Jeff Ascough was meant to be shooting it (his first live gig I believe) but emailed me to say he’d booked a foreign wedding and couldn’t make it. Jeff’s loss – my gain 
The Ghost Of A Thousand & friends
As great as it is to photograph the huge stars on an arena stage, I have to confess that the place where I get the biggest buzz is when I’m shooting a sweaty little gig in some dive bar. The energy and intimacy of these gigs adds an extra element to the event and you get the feeling that anything could happen.
One such gig happened on Monday night at The Rainbow pub just a couple of minutes walk from our studio in Digbeth. Headlined by Brighton hardcore mob The Ghost Of A Thousand, this was such an amazing gig! The bands could hardly stay on the stage, seemingly preferring to mingle with the audience or climb the rafters. My 24-70 lens gave up on me just as I was about to start shooting (I’ve now bought a brand new one) so I shot the whole gig on my 50mm 1.4 lens but I love the results.
This is Sharks, one of the support bands, taken outside the venue just after their set.
And main support, The Computers, who were extremely entertaining.
And the main event… The Ghost Of A Thousand.
Tom Lacey hits the roof (almost)!
I feel that last image captures the essence of the gig. Energy, passion and interaction. Great gig. Great bands.
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band are probably the biggest band on the planet that most of the UK population have never heard of! Having sold close to 35 million albums they are listed in the Top 100 highest selling music acts of all time.
Last night I was lucky enough to be one of just 3 photographers to shoot their gig in Wolverhampton. I also reviewed the gig for Birmingham Live which you can see HERE
It was my first time seeing the band I I have to say I was exteremely impressed. Here are a few of my fave images from the gig…
AC/DC – Shoot To Thrill
I can hardly believe I’m actually getting to post this… Anyway, let’s start with a little history…
When I was 12 years old I used to go to school parties (usually at somebody’s house) and some kids would bring a few records so that the host had a variety of music to play. I remember plenty of Duran Duran, Adam & The Ants, Human League and quite a lot of The Smiths (who I hated at the time but now love). I would usually turn up with two albums – Highway To Hell and If You Want Blood… both by AC/DC.
Two years later when I was 14 I went to my first ever concert – AC/DC at Manchester Apollo. I counted the days up to the concert and it blew my mind! Since then I have been to hundreds of gigs but I still have that ticket in my bedroom as a souvenir.
Roll forward almost 3 decades (!) and last Thursday I was one of just seven photographers invited to photograph AC/DC on their current Black Ice Tour as they hit the LG Arena in Birmingham. To say it was an honour is such an understatement. This was a dream come true! You can see my friend Toni’s review on the Birmingham Live! site but here are just a few shots from the gig. A million thanks to Marina from Sony Music…
The Lovely Miss Joss Stone
On Monday night I was lucky enough to be invited to photograph Joss Stone playing an intimate gig to around 200 people in the back room of a pub just a couple of minutes walk from our studio.
It’s always great seeing artists perform in tiny venues and Joss put on a great show. The pub was packed out and there was no pit for photographers so I had to squeeze through the crowd whilst apologizing politely in order to get the shots. Here are just a few of the lovely Miss Stone doing her thing…
