dansmythPhoto

Biffy Clyro & The Great South Run:

This weekend’s been pretty busy as they go. On Saturday i was shooting the Junior and Mini events of the Great South Run here in Portsmouth, which was fun despite the heavy wind & rain. After drying off i then met some friends and headed over to Southampton for the opening night of Biffy Clyro’s new tour to promote their new album. We got to the venue really early as both the guys i was with had tickets and so had to queue like normal people! haha.

First up on the night were Telison (and not Manchester Orchestra as i had thought). They were actually pretty good, sort of Futureheadsy. Shame the lighting was terrible for both the supports actually, real shame. The next band up were a band i had been looking forward to seeing again for a while, Pulled Apart By Horses. The leeds 4-piece have such amazing stage presence and put on such a show, go see them if you can!

Biffy of course were on top form, opening with “That Golden Rule” which really got the crowd going. Unfortunately yet again the lighting was very hit and miss but didn’t spoil the gig one bit. Really enjoyable, such a shame i had to leave early for Sundays job. While leaving i bumped into the drummer from Pulled Apart by Horses - really really nice guy, said he remembered me from in the photo pit.

Sunday brought much nicer weather and the biggest 10 mile road race in Europe. I headed straight over to the “Historic Dockyard” area of Portsmouth where i was told i would be shooting the runners as they pass the HMS Victory (I had done this the year before with the talented Laura Callan). Unfortunately due to some major mix-ups at the naval base’s security it took me a good 20 mins to even get into the high security area. However, shortly the bases’ PR guy (whom i knew from the previous year) turned up and took me right through to get set up. It wasn’t long before the elite runners were through followed by the 21,000 strong masses. Unfortunately i can’t show you any shots at the moment but should be able to in a few weeks. Overall it was yet again another great event run by great people. Roll on 2010 :)

Sonic Boom Six:

I first shot this band 2 years ago at my first Guilfest and have been wanting to shoot them again for quite a while so was pretty chuffed when i saw they would be coming down to Portsmouth as part of their current tour.

The first act on where a local ska band called “The White Coats” who were alright, but nothing special. Next up were a reggae/punk band from London playing their first ever Portsmouth show. They seemed to go down well with the crowd but again, not my cup of tea. The lighting for both of these bands had been pretty poor so that really didn’t help my appreciation of their music. As did having to share the pit with a “point and shoot” user for the first band. That sort of thing gets really annoying as although i love photography and would encourage anyone to get into it, that is definitely the wrong way. It just means it becomes a real task moving around the pit and getting the right shots when  you have to navigate around a guy who has next to no pit etiquette or knowledge of what’s going on around them.

Sonic Boom Six however played a storming set, the small but dedicated crowd of fans were loving every minute of it. The lighting became a bit nicer too, so even i enjoyed it! This is just a quick shot from early in the bands set, hopefully i’ll get some more up at some point today.

Not sure what gigs i’ve got lined up next. Might have the Twang tonight, might not have anything until next week. Ah well.

Forgot to mention but at the weekend around 60 minis took over Gunwharf Quays shopping centre in celebration of the cars 50th anniversary this year. Of course i had my camera on me and decided to grab a few shots. Some of which are currently up on my flickr so take a look if you get a chance.

NME Radar Tour:

Last night was the Portsmouth leg of the NME Radar Tour (with FLY53 - Whoever they are). It was quite the eventful gig, but really enjoyable and was great seeing some bands i haven’t seen for a while as well as some i’d never seen before.

First up were American band, Yes Giantess. I first saw these guys at Latitude Festival earlier this year which as it turns out was their first ever festival appearance. They didn’t disapoint. Even with the lead singer’s keyboard broken the band soldiered on and played a awesome set.

Next to the stage were another American band by the name of Local Natives. They were the only band on the line up that i had no clue about either musically or photographically, which made it all the better when it turned out they were amazing and really nice guys (Taylor, the lead singer/guitarist gave me their EP for free!)

Then the drama started. 2 songs into Marina and the Diamonds set (which was going great btw) she unfortunately broke down in tears and left the stage. This, we were informed, was apparently due to an illness she is fighting at the moment and that we were lucky to have seen her perform at all. So, thank you Marina for at least managing those 2 for me as you were great fun to shoot and would’ve hated to have missed you.

Now, one would think that when a band finishes their set 2 songs in, the next band could then come on a bit earlier. No. Golden Silvers decided to wait right until their set was due to start at 10:50pm. 40mins after Marina left the stage. Fortunately they were good, can’t say the same about the lighting for them though. On the whole though i was impressed with the lighting NME had brought along with them, so thanks!

Then the real stuff started. I left the pit, grabbed a tour poster from the wall and headed over to the merch stand to pick up the EP Taylor from Local Natives said i could have. Unfortunately he wasn’t around and obviously the other guys at the stand didn’t believe me. It all worked out alright though as the guys behind the stand were none other than the first band: Yes Giantess. I had a good long chat to them and ended up buying their EP too, was a bargain for only £2. While out in the entrance hall by the merch a fuss was being kicked up outside by a guy who had been apparently inappropriately touching female members of bar staff and had been so kicked out of the venue. From the shouts i heard i gathered that he somehow felt that even after what he’d done he had a right to be still in the venue haha. There was still a while before Taylor came out so i ended up chatting to the Tour Manager of Golden Silvers, really nice guy, apparently he’d remembered seeing me before the last time GS played down at the wedgewood rooms (supporting Mystery Jets) so that was pretty cool. While doing so however a guy ran past us and straight out of the venue with a girl’s camera! crazy stuff.

Anyway, i did say it was an eventful gig! 

Loads more photos from the gig will be on the 405 soon and hopefully i’ll get some more onto my flickr as well

Not really sure what’s next up to be honest, it was going to be The Big Pink tonight but the pass didn’t come through so looks like it’ll be something next week. 

The King Blues:

Second gig in 2 days! The King Blues are often called the best live band in Britain but they really upped their game last night to beat off any competition from bands like Pulled Apart by Horses. First up was a band i had been told were amazing live. They weren’t wrong. Imperial Leisure are a ska punk band from London, made of some of the nicest musicians i’ve had the pleasure of chatting to. By the second song, the lead singer was already in the crowd and not soon after spraying the crowd with “champagne” with their logo on it. Next up was Minneapolis based Rapper/Hip Hop artist P.O.S. Opening with the question “who likes Hip-Hop?!” and being blasted with a chorus of boo’s the rapper went on to convert the majority of the audience and had the whole front row bouncing by the end of the first song. I have to say even i was highly impressed by this guy, really good stuff. Check him (and Imperial Leisure) out if you get a mo (links at the end).

Lastly but by no means least were headliners The King Blues. I was fortunate enough to have been given permission to shoot the whole set which was amazing. The stage set up alone was impressive and well thought out. I spoke to the “in-house” before they came on stage and she was saying how the band had come in especially early and worked for 4 hours getting the lighting and stage just right! Unfortunately, pretty as it was, it wasn’t designed for photographers with most of the lights being red. Fortunately enough we’d been given permission to use flash which made dealing with that problem a little easier. The performance itself was amazing. The band played all their recent hits along with a cover of Dizzee Rascal’s “Bonkers” much to the crowds enjoyment. I have to say i did leave with a huge smile on my face.

Next up was due to be Jamie T tonight but obviously he’s now cancelled the first 6 shows i think from his tour. So, i get the weekend off which’ll be nice, before Lectures start on monday and i think i’ve got more gigs come tuesday with hopefully: Enter Shikari, Golden Silvers and the Big Pink.

http://www.myspace.com/imperialleisure

http://www.myspace.com/pos