My Year In Concert Photography: Gogol Bordello

I photographed Gogol Bordello on Halloween of 2007 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence KS. I hadn't had the chance to catch them live when they came though the previous year, so I didn't know what to expect. I heard the famous gypsy punks put on a great stage show so I was eager to see them. I would say probably half the audience was dressed up in costumes of some form which helped with the party atmosphere. They had a barrier up which was cool because I was the only photographer that was shooting that night besides someone for the band using a video camera. On a side note I will say that Liberty Hall's security guys were the nicest of the year by far. There were a lot of people crowd surfing and flying over my head, I only got my glasses knocked off twice! Not bad. Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello puts on an amazing show along with the rest of his group. They were all over the stage singing and dancing and provided me with a great opportunity for shots. Afterwards I went to the after-party at The Bottleneck and spoke to Eugene for a few minutes and snapped a couple of photos. Read more about the concert in a review from The Pitch Weekly.

Gogol Bordello Review









Here is a clip from the movie "Everything Is Illuminated" in which Eugene Hutz starred. If you haven't seen it yet, go rent it! One of my favorite movies.



Full Gogol Bordello Set Of Photos

Gogol Bordello-Alcohol

Coolest Video Of The Year

This is the coolest video of the year....and most interesting back story. It is rare when a song and video mesh together so well as they do here, fluid movements mix together with a smooth song.

This is the video for Rjd2's "Work It Out" Added: July 25, 2007 This is the video for Rjd2's "Work It Out" from 'The Third Hand' (XL Recordings). The vid features Bill Shannon who was born with a degenerative hip condition. His legs cannot carry his own weight and so he has lived a life on crutches. He has developed a new way of moving through life on his skateboard and the crutches. Though this may look like a recreational hobby or a debilitation, it is simply how Bill maneuvers throughout the day. In time to Rjd2's song "Work It Out" we follow Bill as he makes his way around. At the slow start, Bill is descending the courthouse steps in downtown Brooklyn. It's difficult, but he makes it down and the rest you'll just have to watch to understand. Rjd2 plays several extras which you can try to spot as well. The video, directed by Joey Garfield, is one continuous single shot for the length of the song.

mp3 "work it out"

Bill Shannon

rjd2

My Year In Concert Photography: Maximo Park

This was a secret Myspace show at The Record Bar in Kansas City MO on July 18th 2007. With not much notice the crowd was pretty sparse, which was fine by me. It was a chance for me to see two great groups--The Cribs and Maximo Park.

Here is a link to an interview/review and some more photos I took of the show.

Maximo Park Interview and Review from The Pitch









Going Missing-Live at Glastonbury 2007 Video


Mp3 Going Missing (acoustic)

Cox Across America!!!

I can't wait to see "Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story"! John C. Reilly played some concerts across America recently in character as Dewey Cox. The man is talented and so damn funny, he has one of those faces that just cracks you up looking at. Here is a trailer from the movie and a clip from his concert in NYC a couple of days ago where a shirtless, fist pumping "Dewey Cox"covers the Beastie Boys song "Sabotage". I like how he says "We learned that one today, for you motherfuckers"





Rocklikecox.com
Check out the hilarious photos on the main page and then click "Dewey Memorabilia"

Flight Of The Conchords

The first season of Flight of the Conchords is available now on dvd at Amazon for $24. I highly recommend picking it up. The New Zealand duo's show on HBO was one of the best this year. HBO has ordered a second year, I can't wait! Here is a vid in which Jermaine tries to cheer up Bret.

Mp3 Jenny-(live)

My Year In Concert Photography: The Veils

My year in concert photography continues with one of my favorite bands of 2007, The Veils.



I saw them twice this year, once on June 19th at The Grand Emporium in Kansas City MO. and on August 1 at The Replay Lounge in Lawrence KS. Their album "Nux Vomica" came out overseas in 2006 and in the U.S. in 2007. Technically I put this down as an 06 release. It is probably in my top 25 records of all time. When I saw them in June it was a low turnout to say the least. Lead singer Finn Andrews actually asked all the audience members their names at one point. I was glad they played as if it was a packed house. Finn said at the end of the set he would be in the back if anyone wanted autographs or an acoustic set, half joking. I took him up on it and with three others went and asked for that acoustic set. He seemed kind of surprised but he grabbed a guitar and we went looking for a suitable room. First we tried a utility closet...to small, we ended up in the ladies bathroom where he sang three songs by himself with Liam and Heine standing in a stall watching. It was cramped in there but I thought it was very nice of him indeed. I took some photos and found out a couple months later it was even brought up in a radio show in Portland Oregon...not bad, I actually created some news. The second time I saw them on August first was not so much fun. Unfortunately for The Veils, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were playing a block away, so they pushed back their set until midnight. Not to many people showed up because of the heat (100 degrees that day) and the YYY concert. The band remembered me and I gave Finn some Tom Waits bootlegs which he said was the best gift he had gotten on the tour. Liam the keyboard player had quit since the last concert due to the pressures of touring. The sound didn't seem the same and they only played seven songs. There was some weird Mexican kid with a semi mohawk and braces jumping around in the front throwing up the devil horns yelling "The Veil". He asked Finn if they would play at his brothers birthday party...it was a bit odd. A very small venue with the stage only a foot off the ground...they seemed annoyed. I wish there would have been a better turnout for them for both shows. I fear they won't want to come back. I will say it was one of my most listened to cds of the year by far. Here are a few photos from both shows.







The Veils-Advice For Young Mothers To Be



Mp3 The Veils-Not Yet


Mp3 The Veils-State Trooper (Bruce Springsteen cover, live lowlands festival '06)

My Year In Concert Photography: Arctic Monkeys

My first in a series of posts of groups I have photographed this year. First up is, Arctic Monkeys. They played on September 13th 2007 at the Uptown Theater, their first trip to Kansas City. I had seen them twice previously on the first American tour, in Chicago at Metro and in Austin at Stubbs. I got to the venue a few hours early to get in line in case my photo pass was not there. I checked at the box office...and of course they didn't have it. A really nice guy from the label finally came out and took me inside to look for the tour manager. While he went backstage he left me on the corner of the stage while Arctic Monkeys were doing soundcheck. It was strange because I was standing there for ten minutes and there was no one else in sight except me and Arctic Monkeys...I was staring at them and all four of them were staring back at me. So after Voxtrot opened up I went to the side of the stage to get ready for my three songs in front of the barrier. The light was pretty low and I had less than ten minutes to shoot but I think I got a few good ones. Once I packed my camera up I got my place back in the front row and watched the rest of a great concert. It seems they have become an even tighter band live and put on a show where everyone around me were singing every single lyric along with the band.






Video for "Fluorescent Adolescent"-----clowns! scary! run!


This House Is A Circus (Live 4.13.07 Astoria)

The Lemonheads-Live Concert Photography

Concert photos of The Lemonheads taken at The Record Bar on December 9th, 2007

The Lemonheads--Evan Dando....Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag) and Karl Alvarez (Descendents), put on a nice short set at the Record Bar on a cold icy Sunday night. I talked to Evan for a few minutes and he told me about the deluxe-reissue of "It's A Shame About Ray",which will include bonus material such as b-sides, demos and dvd footage from the era coming out in March on Rhino Records. A month or two after that, the new Lemonheads album should be out. They are going to start recording in January.







Full Set Of Photos

Here is a song from The "My Drug Buddy" Single.

The Lemonheads--Shaky Ground mp3

thelemonheads.net

A band you should get to know: Glasvegas

Get to know one of my new favorite bands, Glasvegas.

"The Bomp and Brilliance...Of A Glasgow Band"

From:Glasgow, Scotland

Sounds like: Early Jesus and Mary Chain, Fuzzy guitars, Dramatic Orchestral Backdrop, 60's Girl Groups, Agonizing Emotional Lyrics, Velvet Underground, Spector-ish wall of sound.

They are currently unsigned...but don't expect that to last to much longer with fans like Dirty Pretty Things and Ian Brown.

"I won't be the lonely one/sitting on my own and sad/A 50 year old reminiscing what I had/forget your dad/he's gone"

http://www.glasvegas.net/

http://www.myspace.com/glasvegas

Daddy's Gone
mp3

VHS or Beta Live In Concert Kansas City MO.

Great concert from VHS or Beta on Friday, December 7th. Lead vocalist Craig Pfunder told me that the band was a bit sick and had a long drive from Denver. I thought it might not be that good if they were tired and sick, but I was wrong...they played a great set and I think were feeding off the energy of the crowd even though the set was cut short by three songs due to the venue closing. VHS or Beta didn't hit the stage until after midnight. Local bands--Roman Numerals and Lights and Siren opened up the show. Both were impressive, especially lead singer and keyboardist, Anna Cole. (pictured below)




I asked Craig Pfunder for his top three favorite albums of the year. 1. Radiohead-"In Rainbows" 2. Iron & Wine-"The Shepard's Dog" 3. Foreign Born-"On The Wing Now"

http://www.myspace.com/vhsorbeta

Video footage from a fan at the concert...look close and you can see me (my big head and flash) taking photos in the front row.



Full VHS or Beta photo set at my Flickr page.

Cougars With Guns and Brad Pitt Milkshakes

Top 3 Ep's of 2007

I had to add my top 3 EP's of the year,
they didn't fit into the top 20 albums
but all are packed with great songs.
1.Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Is Is" 2.Lightspeed Champion-"Galaxy of the Lost" 3.Arctic Monkeys-"Flourescent Adolescent"
(more of a single..but close enough)
The YYY's really get back to basics and
rip it up on some concert songs finally
put on disc. I love the track "Rockers to
Swallow" , makes me feel like smashing
stuff...much like I was smushed at their concert.

Lightspeed Champion has a really cool
lush acoustic feel to this EP. Interesting take
on ELO's "Xanadu" among others.

Arctic Monkeys can do no wrong. The track
"Too Much To Ask" is just beautiful, as is "The
Bakery"

You can buy the trio at Amazon for
under 10 bucks...so go get them!
Look out for Lightspeed Champion's
debut "Under The Lavender Bridge" in February, he is going to be huge!

Check out the video for his single "Midnight Surprise" --Best 10 minute song out there.