Archive for the 'Gigs' Category

The 69 Eyes Live @ The HiFi Bar, Melbourne Australia

Published on June 19, 2009 in Gigs, Music, My Photography and Photography. 1 Comment Tags: .

The 69 Eyes Live @ The HiFi Bar, Melbourne Australia

I was in a weird headspace all week and it was a last minute decision to attend tonight’s gig. Still, I didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity of photographing an energetic and dynamically visual international rock act – so I tried to psyche myself, get to the gig and get the job done.

Photographing at the HiFi Bar can be one of two things… easy or difficult. I prefer shooting outside of the (sometimes) designated photo-pit. The pit is incredibly deep and more often than not – all you get is shots looking up the performer’s nose and all sorts of weird angles.

Tonight, the pit wasn’t in use and if you get to the show early enough, there is a really sweet spot on either side of the stage which allows for a fantastic vantage point and good angles to work with.

As stated from the outset, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind tonight and I found myself struggling to “get in the zone” as I like to call it.

“Getting in the zone” is when you and the camera are one. It is a time when you know you have captured the money shot just as you are about to press down on the shutter release. It happens rarely, but when it does… it is an amazing feeling and you know you’ve got gold even before chimping it up through the viewfinder.

Alas, tonight… I wasn’t in tune. Usually out of a shoot of over 400 shots, I usually find 60 – 70 that I feel are worthy of uploading. I could probably cull it down further, but on average that is the quota I usually release to the general populace.

Tonight, even though I shot for the duration of the band’s set – I could only come up with a handful to publish.

Still, it was a fun night and even though I was dodging the push and shove, I did come away with some shots that I thought were pretty good.

There was a great crowd in attendance. Most looking like the band themselves… a gothic-post-apocalyptic blackfest that looked like extras from Tarantino’s ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’. Coulda had some fun just shooting the crowd tonight but I planted myself at what I dub the ‘HiFi Bar Sweet Spot’ and waited for the band to hit the stage.

The 69 Eyes attacked the stage like the preverbal bats-outta-hell. Looking lean, mean and certainly out for the kill as they blasted through a surprisingly catchy hard rocking set of the best Vampiric rock the cold climes of Helsinki could spew forth!

The 69 Eyes Live @ The HiFi Bar, Melbourne Australia

The 69 Eyes Live @ The HiFi Bar, Melbourne Australia

View the complete set at the Visceral Industry.

Marilyn Manson To Tour Australia

Published on June 9, 2009 in Gigs and Music. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Marilyn Manson To Tour Australia

I first got to witness Manson back in February of 1997. Pretty much an unknown in Australia but that is still a gig which I have many fond memories of. They’ve toured these shores several times since then and for all the newbie Mansonites, here’s your chance to see them live – albeit a shadow of the greatness they once exuded back in the ‘Antichrist Superstar’ era!

To co-incide with the release of his seventh album ‘The High End of Low’, Manson will return to Australia this October for a run of dates that take in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The tour will see the return of legendary bassist Twiggy Ramirez. Chris Vrenna, Andy Gerold and Ginger Fish will complete the line-up.

Tickets go on sale Friday June 19. Presale starts midday Wednesday June 17, and finishes 5pm Thursday June 18.

  • 5 Oct: Challenge Stadium, WA
  • 7 Oct: Thebarton Theatre, SA
  • 10 Oct: Festival Hall, VIC
  • 14 Oct: Hordern Pavilion, NSW
  • 17 Oct: Brisbane Entertainment Centre,QLD

Morbid Angel Live @ Billboard

Published on June 1, 2009 in Gigs, Music and My Photography. 0 Comments Tags: .

Morbid Angel Live @ Billboard

With a stench of marijuana and beer in the air, I met up with my contact at Billboard as I had been requested to shoot some shots of Death Metal legends Mortal Angel half an hour before they were to hit the stage.

I waited at the foot of a stairwell which led to the band’s dressing-room and took in the sights, sounds and smells around me. Scantily clad young lasses tugged at my ‘Media’ pass around my neck and with my camera hanging over my shoulder, I was mistaken for someone in the band’s entourage several times.

“No, I’m not with the band…”

I wonder if I didn’t have that piece of plastic around my neck, would anyone even bother to talk to me?

After waiting around like some groupie fan-boy for half-an-hour, I was beginning to feel uncomfortable so I texted the venue’s manager to see if the backstage shoot was still on. He rushed back up to the band and they had decided they weren’t going to shoot any shots backstage.

By this point in time, with the band about to hit the stage any second, it was going to be incredibly hard for me to squeeze through the crowd to get to the photo-pit. Instead, I was walked through the backstage area, onto the stage which had the curtain drawn.

I could hear the crowd chanting ‘Morbid Angel! Morbid Angel! Morbid Angel!’ over and over. The band had assumed position on-stage and were about to unleash hell. (I shoulda taken a shot right here… but I didn’t think quick enough!)

I was taken to the front of the stage, the curtain drawn slightly so I could jump down into the photo-pit. This was kind of exciting as the crowd cheered loudly when the curtain was drawn but instead of the band… they got me instead! Heh!

I jumped down. Got the gear ready and within seconds, the curtain fell and hell was indeed unleashed!

Again, all I had was three songs and for the duration of those three songs, the band was bathed in that sickly red frontlight which makes taking a decent shot all the more difficult.

Sigh!

Still, there was absolutely nothing I could do about the red lights so I endeavored to take as best a shot as I could under trying conditions.

The stage-divers don’t usually rear their heads and boots till about half-way through a set, but tonight, they were there in earnest – so I tried to dodge them as well.

Morbid Angel Live @ Billboard

Morbid Angel Live @ Billboard

View more here…

The 69 Eyes Australian Tour

Published on May 24, 2009 in Gigs and Music. 5 Comments Tags: , .

The 69 Eyes Australian Tour

Lock up your daughters! Lock up your wives… lock up anything and everything that moves… The 69 Eyes are about to turn Australia to mush!

After a massive petition by the band’s adoring Aussie fan club, demand was so high that it made it impossible to stop one of Europe’s hottest Goth Rock bands from spreading their wings and flying to Australia! Playing hits from their stellar six-album career and tracks from their up-coming new album, The 69 Eyes are set to scorch the stage and possess the souls of Australia’s ghouls and goblins!

Dogmatic will be at the Melbourne show and we’ll report back with a ton of photos and news from the gig.

Seriously guys, this is gonna be a classic performance from a band renowned for taking no prisoners! See you there!

Thursday June 18:
Melbourne: The Hifi Bar

Friday June 19:
Brisbane: The Hifi Bar

Saturday June 20:
Sydney: The Hifi Bar

Formed in Helsinki’s rock clubs back in the early 90s, the five-piece take their influences from far and wide. Elvis Presley, The Misfits, Guns ‘n’ Roses and a hefty dose of The Sisters of Mercy can all be heard throughout their music. From comic books to cult movies, The 69 Eyes capture the rock ‘n’ roll zeitgeist and turn it into the sort of music that makes you want to party. Hard. The 69 Eyes’ formative years scream sex, blood and loud music as they played their way through Helsinki’s underground glam clubs, leaving a trail of broken bottles and women behind them. They were soon snapped up by Finnish underground label Gaga Goodies and released four albums –‘Bump And Grind’, ‘Savage Garden’, ‘Motor City Resurrection’ and ‘Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams.’

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Jane’s Addiction To Tour Australia

Published on April 21, 2009 in Gigs and Music. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Jane's Addiction To Tour Australia

Twenty-one years since they provoked with the masterful ‘Nothing’s Shocking’. Seventeen years since Perry Farrell founded the Alternative Nation. Six years since they warped minds and corrupted souls at the Big Day Out. In 2009, Jane’s Addiction return to Australia for the first time with the original line-up.

The legendary Libertines of cosmic punk rock led the alternative music vanguard throughout the ‘90s and their sound is as thrilling today. They willingly leapt on the rock roller coaster but only a fool could think that Jane’s Addiction would ever die. Back in their complete form, the classic line-up not seen on these shores since 1991: Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins. Jane’s Addiction will work their voodoo across Australia throughout July.

Tickets on sale 9am Friday 1st May

Sunday 26th July Tivoli Brisbane
www.ticketek.com.au 132 849, www.oztix.com.au, www.bluemurder.com.au, Rocking Horse 07 3229 5360

Monday 27th July Hordern Pavilion Sydney
www.ticketek.com.au 132 849

Wednesday 29th July Thebarton Theatre Adelaide
www.venuetix.com.au 08 8225 8888

Thursday 30th July Festival Hall Melbourne
(licensed and unlicensed all age areas)
www.ticketmaster.com.au 136 100, Festival Hall Box Office 288 Rosslyn St West Melbourne

Saturday 1st August Metro City Perth
www.moshtix.com.au 1300 GET TIX, www.bocsticketing.com.au 08 9484 1133, 78’s 08 9322 6384 www.78records.com.au

Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg Live @ The Corner Hotel

Published on April 8, 2009 in Gigs, Music, My Photography and Photography. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Attended the Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg gig last night. Review to follow. For now, here are some pics. Check the rest out over at Flickr.

Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg
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Satyricon Live @ Billboard, Melbourne Australia

Published on March 23, 2009 in Gigs, Music, My Photography and Photography. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Unashamed huge fan of Satyricon and to say I was looking forward to this gig is a massive understatement.

Satyricon are generally dumped in the Black Metal genre but through sheer persistence and the ability to write some amazing extreme Metal tunes that are both intense and heavy as they are groove ridden and full of oomph and bang – they have managed to escape the limited confines of a much-maligned and often ridiculed genre. Let’s get real here, for the most part, Black Metal is downright childish and stupid – unless of course you are the masterful Celtic Frost or Satyricon.

Billboard was crammed to the rafters just before the strains of AC/DC’s ‘Hell’s Bells’ permeated through the PA. Was this Satyricon’s way of a tip of the hat for the enclosed Australian throng or was it the perfect intro into an eve of hellish and infernal Metal that was to pummel us or for the next couple of hours?

The band focussed on material predominantly from their majestic recent releases ‘Now, Diabolical’ and the brilliant ‘The Age Of Nero’. Lead vocalist, the charismatic Satyr and the maniacal Frost on drums are the two main-men of Satyricon. They were joined on-stage by their live set-up of guitars, bass and keyboards and proceeded to play a blistering set that the crowd lapped up from beginning to end.

Witnessing the amazing drumming abilities of Frost up close and personal was indeed a sight to behold. His double-kick work at times seemed too blistering fast to be true but he played his guts out and was the perfect backbeat for the layers of cool-as-hell bonafide intense Metal that overlapped it all.

Lead crooner Satyr struts around on-stage like a devilish Bryan Ferry as the band blast through ‘Repined Bastard Nation’, ‘Now, Diabolical’, Wolfpack’, ‘Commando’ and ‘Black Crow On A Tombstone’ before anyone could possibly catch their collective breath!

Brilliant!

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Death Angel Live @ Billboard, Melbourne Australia

Published on March 11, 2009 in Gigs, Music, My Photography and Photography. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

Death Angel Live @ Billboard, Melbourne Australia

I’m staring at a blank screen trying to think of the words to collate to describe last night’s Death Angel gig at Melbourne’s Billboard. And I am seriously struggling. To say that was a monumental performance is kinda selling it all short. This was one out of the box and I wish one could have properly captured the energy, ferocity and sheer power and force that was pouring from the stage – and on the audience floor.

This was vintage Thrash Metal in its absolute purest form. Unadulterated. Pure. And delivered from a band who were there in the genre’s inception. Death Angel were sublime last night.

The band who formed in San Francisco in the early 80’s delivered some classic albums between the years 1987 and 1990 – but it was 1990’s brilliant and masterful ‘Act III’ which blew me away. (And still does to this day!) Testimony to this album’s greatness is the fact that I borrowed it off my cuz GP and had it in my possession for close to 10 years! (heh!) But I digress. Let’s not focus on the historical aspects of this band but let’s get back on track to last night…

Lead singer Mark Osegueda at several points during the show acknowledged the animalistic crowd. The band were clearly blown away at the reception they were receiving and seemed somewhat bewildered that a city so far away from their home and a city they have never played in – could be so welcoming and utterly crazy. The crowd lapped it up. The pit was ferocious. Crowd surfing was rampant and Death Angel delivered a set that was as tight as I have ever heard from a band, in over 20 years of yours truly going to gigs. This was a well drilled killing machine with magnificent playing that was both powerful and precision tight!

There aren’t many bands on this planet that wouldn’t have been blown away last night. Openers Armored Saint came off rather bland and tame compared to the Death Angel onslaught. Although they put in a fine set of classic tunes from their repertoire, they couldn’t compete with what transpired last night. Not-even-close!


Death Angel Live @ Billboard, Melbourne Australia from JR on Vimeo.

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Gary Numan Canon 5D MKII Video

Published on March 10, 2009 in Gigs, Music, My Photography and Photography. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Small video from the Forum gig. Shot with the Canon 5DmkII. Excuse the audio. If you listen closely, when Gary is right above me, you can hear his raw voice and not what is coming out of the mike…

Gary Numan Live @ The Forum, Melbourne Australia

Published on March 7, 2009 in Gigs, Music, My Photography and Photography. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

Gary Numan Live @ The Forum, Melbourne Australia

It’s unfortunate but when it comes to the career and music of Gary Numan, all that most people know of the man is the sporadic hits he had in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Granted that these hits were absolute classic tunes that helped define a fledgling genre and inspire many ‘Electronic’ and ‘Industrial’ artists. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails proudly wears the Numan influence on his sleeve and has covered the Numan classic ‘Metal’ in the past.

So at tonight’s Forum gig of which I had eagerly been awaiting its arrival since last November when the tickets went on sale – the band hit the stage looking awfully like NIN in their halcyon ‘Downward Spiral’ era. Kind of a case of the master now learning from the apprentice.

Tonight, Numan and is brilliant backing band delivered in spades. Visually, the band had the look down pat and sonically, Numan poured through a lot of his amazing recent catalogue drawing cuts from ‘Exile’ and the masterful, dark, brooding masterpiece that is the ‘Jagged’ album. Seriously kiddies, this album is a phenomenal piece of work, and I for one, was pleased as punch to hear these tracks translated to the live environment.

Numan stomped and strutted across the stage with purpose and poise. Bathed in pure color and lapping up the frenetic adulation from a very, very receptive packed Forum crowd. The hits were met with high energy from the crowd which was highly diverse in its collective. Punks, Goths, Metalheads all mixed in and enjoying themselves to no-end.

Melbourne’s Forum is an incredible music venue. It is such a joy to photograph there. I had secured a photo-pass several months ago and I was keenly waiting for the opportunity to shoot someone of Numan’s ilk. The lighting was absolutely breathtaking and atmospheric and a perfect accompaniment to Numan’s post-apocalyptic sounds. Photographically speaking, looking at it all through the camera’s viewfinder left me speechless as I knew I was gonna capture some great moments tonight. The obligatory 3 song limit stretched to about half the set and I took the opportunity to take as many pics as I could.

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Nine Inch Nails Live @ Festival Hall, Melbourne

Published on February 25, 2009 in Gigs and Music. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Nine Inch Nails Live @ Festival Hall, Melbourne

Let’s not waste anyone’s time here, tonight’s Nine Inch Nails gig at Melbourne’s Festival Hall… was a bona fide classic performance! I have seen NIN live close to six times now in various line-ups and guises – none of these could hold a candle to the stripped back, lean-mean-fighting machine that is the 2009 (and probably final line-up for a while) consisting of main-man Trent Reznor, bassist Justin Meldel-Johnson, guitarist Robin Finck and drummer Ilan Rubin.

Drummer Rubin has had massive shoes to fill. Previous sticksman, Josh Freese is considered one of the best in the business (and he is) but this new kid is either a robot or he’s been born with 4 arms. His playing was phenomenal. Such an amazing back-beat that was rhythmic, concise, mechanical and faultless all round. I see via his Twitter updates, that he cut his hand early in the show and had a left-hand that was bleeding for most of the night, but (and pardon the pun) – he didn’t miss a freaking beat!

Simply put, the band were on fire tonight and for the first time since I have seen them, Reznor was in good spirits – interacting with the crowd on a more regular basis and even coming across as jovial.

And with a very welcome return to the fold, Robin Finck is just the perfect guitarist for NIN. It really never was the same without him to Reznor’s left. His stage presence and blistering guitars are the perfect foil for the dangerous Reznor.


NIN: Burn Live from on stage, Melbourne 2.25.09 [HD] from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.
(View in HD here)

Highlights of the night for me was hearing tracks like ‘The Downward Spiral’ and the all-out insanity and intensity of ‘March of the Pigs’, ‘Wish’ and ‘Gave Up’. Seriously, I challenge any of today’s supposed ‘heavy’ bands to even try and outdo the sonic power of Nine Inch Nails. No contest whatsoever as this was a setlist that was both dynamic and overtly powerful at the same time and coulda blown any other band you care to mention – to hell and back.

The stage featured an amazing apocalyptic light-show. Not quite as impressive as what they had throughout the USA last year, but still brilliantly lit and reflective of the coming-of-the-apocalypse-soundtrack that was delivered. I was bitterly disappointed I couldn’t get a photo-pass for this show after trying so many avenues to score one ‘cos I think there could have been some classic shots captured tonight.

A classic gig. I’m taking this one to the grave and if this is to be the final NIN show I see for a while, so be it. I’m left with memories of an electrified performance of a band that has been such a huge part of my adult life.

Thanks Trent!

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Alkaline Trio Australian Tour

Published on February 16, 2009 in Gigs and Music. 0 Comments Tags: .

The mighty Alkaline Trio are headed to our shores! Easily one of this scribes fave bands so it is with great anticipation I am waiting to see this band. The band are scheduled to appear at the Soundwave Festival, but thankfully, they are also doing some sideshows. (Never a fan of the Festival scene, so seeing them somewhere intimate like the Hifi Bar is just too freaking cool!)

The Dates:
Feb 23: Manning Bar, Sydney Uni
Feb 24: The Hifi Bar, Melbourne

Support on these shows will be: Rival Schools, Saves The Day, The Subways

Visit the Soundwave website for more details on the Soundwave Festival dates.

Cult Of Luna Live @ The Hifi Bar

Published on February 15, 2009 in Gigs, Music and My Photography. 1 Comment Tags: , .

Cult Of Luna Live @ The Hifi Bar

I’ve only ever had a passing interest in the music of Cult Of Luna. Never a fan and about the only time I ever really listened to them is when my colleague at work would play them on heavy rotation. I couldn’t get into their Prog Metal/Doom/Sludge histrionics but let me say this, coming home from the gig tonight – I’m converted.

This was a truly magical performance of epic proportions. For a band to play such complex moody soundscapes and to pull it all off without a single friggn bum note anywhere is quite an achievement. With a sublime sound-mix that was as intense as it was loud and crystal clear, the band pulled off a monolith performance that left me with my mouth agape for most of the band’s intricate and highly entertaining set. I guess what I am trying to say is that I was blown away!

Cult of Luna are truly a unique act. Hailing from Sweden and featuring 8 members- (two drummers, keyboards, lead vocalist, 3 guitars and bass) – they sound like a cross between old-school Black Sabbath with hints of Pink Floyd at their esoteric best and a splash of Mogwai thrown in for good measure. What astounded me the most was the intense ferocity and precision these guys delivered their blistering set to a welcoming audience. Such dynamic power and force interspersed with beautiful melodies and songs. Its all as close to classical music as you can get.

I was given the job to photograph the band’s performance by the crew over at Fasterlouder and photographically speaking, it was a chance to put the Canon 5D MkII through its paces. I always find live concert photography to be the most challenging and I gotta say here and now… this is a damn, fine camera. It handled the low light with ease and the sharpness in the pictures was a joy to behold. I ditched the 50mm tonight and just stayed with the 24-105mm all night. Man what a fab lens. Superfast and responsive. I took close to 400 shots and not many were throwaways I can assure you.

An amazing gig and one that has left me clamoring to get a hold of the band’s complete discography. Brilliant!

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St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Backlash Grows

Published on February 11, 2009 in As I Was Saying, Gigs and Music. 0 Comments Tags: .

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Backlash Grows.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is looking into claims that organisers of the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival misled ticket holders.

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Dropkick Murphys Live @ Billboard, Melbourne Australia

Published on January 29, 2009 in Gigs, Music and My Photography. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Dropkick Murphys Live @ Billboard, Melbourne Australia

Geez, I thought the Bleeding Through gig was raucous last Friday night, it didn’t hold a candle to the blistering anthemic mayhem that was the Dropkick Murphys tonight.

With Melbourne in the midst of an intense heat wave that saw the temperature soaring into the 40’s even at 10pm, you can imagine what it was like inside the venue.

I had been instructed to meet up with the band’s tour manager at 10.15pm. Geez, they left it late enough. I went to the Box Office told them the details, got my photo pass and the band had already kicked into the first song. The venue was absolutely packed and with a three song only limit, I hastily made my way to the front and presented my pass to the bouncer.

Three songs was very, very stiff as the songs were short and I barely had time to get it all together. Again, the 17-85mm lens let me down big time. As a street lens it is fantastic, as a live music fast motion lens, it sucks. So damn slow and cumbersome. I quickly switched to the 50mm and started getting some decent shots. I’m seriously going to have to look into a decent live music lens so any suggestions are most welcome. I’m a newbie when it comes to live music shooting.

Within those first three songs, I got kicked in the back of the head twice, fell to the ground once as a body came crashing on me and after just one solitary song, I was drenched in sweat from head to toe! Holy fuck! Now this is rock and roll! This was insanity personified as the band were in fine form and the walls of the Billboard venue were dripping in sweat. You think I’m kidding? It was 40 degrees outside, it must have been 60 in here!

Third song ended and I was quickly ushered out of the pit. Fortunately I was allowed to stay for the entire set. I spent a couple of songs recuperating and then went right up to the pit barrier and parked myself infront of this massive industrial air conditioner. I was close to the stage and able to shoot some more.

All in all, a tremendous gig and one that has encouraged me to check out some of the band’s music of which I haven’t really delved into.

A hot night for rock and roll!

View the complete set of photos here.