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…
Pearl Jam & friends – Hyde Park, London
At the end of June I was lucky enough to finally photograph my favourite band. Twice!
You may have already seen the photos from Belfast Odyssey Arena and, since then, I’ve had a few messages from people waiting to see the Hyde Park photos. So here they are 
It’s always a bonus when you get great support acts on the bill, and I was delighted to see another of my fave bands added to the bill… The Gaslight Anthem
Always fun and entertaining… The Hives
The main support was Ben Harper, who was joined on stage by Eddie Vedder for a cover of Queen’s Under Pressure.
And then it was time for the main event… And this setlist..
It was good to meet up with a few friends at the gig too. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Friday
And here’s a photo of me doing my thing, taken by Kerrang! photographer, Chris Casey.
Many thanks to Jen at Rock Sound and Ali at LD Communications.
The Naked and Famous – Young Blood
Every now and then a song or band just totally grabs my attention and has me wanting to tell the world about it.
I stumbled across this clip by The Naked & Famous thanks to Jory Cordy on Twitter and the video, combined with the tune, is the best music video I’ve seen in ages. It was directed by Special Problems.
I guarantee it’ll brighten you day….
The Naked And Famous – Young Blood from The Naked And Famous on Vimeo.
Pearl Jam – Belfast Odyssey Arena
People often ask me if there’s one band that I want to photograph more than any other. My answer never changes – Pearl Jam.
Pearl Jam have been my favourite band for almost twenty years now, ever since I first saw the Alive video on MTV. Before that I was a Mother Love Bone fan too.
I was one of around 250 people who saw Pearl Jam’s first ever UK gig at the Esplanade Club in Southend in February 1992. I saw them three times on that tour and have seen them several times since then.
And until a couple of weeks ago I’d never photographed them. But now I have
Thanks to my friend Ramsey Cardy I was lucky enough to shoot them at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 23rd June. Two days later I shot them again in Hyde Park… Those photos will be here soon.
First though, a selection of images of my first ever Pearl Jam shoot
Thanks to Ramsey for helping me arrange the pass.
Here’s the set list from the gig for anyone who’s interested:
- Sometimes
- Do The Evolution
- Animal
- The Fixer
- Tremor Christ
- Low Light
- Even Flow
- Unthought Known
- No Way
- Insignificance
- Present Tense
- Daughter
- Got Some
- Save You
- Given To Fly
- Black
- Rearviewmirror
- Just Breathe
- Amongst The Waves
- State Of Love And Trust
- Wasted Reprise
- Better Man
- Jeremy
- Leash
- Crazy Mary (Victoria Williams cover)
- Alive
- Yellow Ledbetter
Blondie in Wolverhampton
When I was ten years old Debbie Harry was my first ever schoolboy crush.
All these years later she may not look quite like she did in the Heart Of Glass video but she still rocks.
Here are a few pics from last night’s Blondie gig at Wolverhampton Civic Hall….
Jay-Z – Birmingham LG Arena
A couple of weeks ago I was back at the LG Arena to shoot the mighty Jay-Z.
While I was down near the stage Beyoncé walked past me. Bootylicious!
Review on the Birmingham Live site now.
Download Festival – Donington 2010
A couple of weekends ago I was back at the Download Festival at Castle Donington to shoot on behalf of Terrorizer Magazine.
Download is one of my favourite festivals and this year saw some legendary names on the bill.
I had to miss the Saturday to shoot a wedding in London but here are some of my favourite shots from Friday & Sunday…
Unearth
36 Crazyfists
Oh look! It’s a Foo Fighter. Taylor Hawkins, to be precise.
Killswitch Engage
Time for a quick beer with Job For A Cowboy
As I Lay Dying
John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin… and now Them Crooked Vultures
Another Foo Fighter… Mr Dave Grohl
For Those About To Rock….
AC/DC
On to Sunday..
I think you know this man!
A great new band – The Damned Things… You may recognise a few faces here too.
My favourite band of the weekend… The amazing Dillinger Escape Plan.
No introduction needed…
The weekend finished with two legendary bands… Stone Temple Pilots and AEROSMITH!
Even the rain didn’t dampen the atmosphere.
Kirsty & Ned – Wedding @ The Mount Hotel, Wolverhampton
You may remember Kirsty & Neal’s (Ned to his friends) engagement shoot at the West Brom football ground.
I knew when we did that shoot that their wedding was likely to be a fun day and they didn’t let me down. In fact, it got a lot rowdier than I expected
Kirsty looked amazing and the whole day was all about having fun and enjoying the company of friends & family. Exactly as it should be!
Some Fun Booth action (more to come)…
Big thanks again to the always talented and helpful Anna who assisted me on the day.
Huge congrats to Kirsty & Ned. You guys make a great couple and we loved every minute of your wedding. Thanks for having us along
Alexa & Andy – A Rockin’ Wedding
Somewhere along the line, Alexa & Andy looked at the “rules” of how a wedding should be and promptly tore them up and laughed!
We LOVE couples who inject personality, creativeness and uniqueness into their weddings. We also LOVE couples who make their wedding as much fun as possible. Alexa & Andy’s wedding, quite simply, rocked!
Good advice me thinks.
Alexa made the bouquets and the buttonholes. Amazing!
And then there was the dress from our neighbours at The Custard Factory, The Couture Company
Alexa wore these during the day…
..and later on switched to these!
Cute alert!
They were married at Birmingham Register Office
And then headed to Tanworth-In-Arden where they held the reception at The Bell
Told ya!
And then they only went and booked our favourite wedding band… the superb Cartoon Kings
If you’re planning a wedding this cool and this much fun, we want to be your photographers!!! Please!!!
Thanks to Alexa & Andy for having us along for the ride and big thanks to the amazing Bianca Barrett for second-shooting with me
Eric Clapton + Steve Winwood @ Birmingham LG Arena
OK, let’s not kid ourselves here… These aren’t the best live shots I’ve ever taken!
Unfortunately, despite having a photo pass for the Eric Clapton gig, we were only allowed to shoot from half way back in the LG Arena, and only for the first 2 songs! That’s a good few hundred feet from the stage. Not great!
Still, this is Clapton we’re talking about here. I was still honoured to be there. And he had his mate Steve Winwood along for the ride.
Most of my shots were, predictably, very similar, so here are just a few from the gig.
