Live Baby Live

June 7, 2007 @ Silver Dollar Room - Toronto, ON

When I walked into the Silver Dollar really late the Thursday night of NxNE last year, I found myself almost stepping right on Cities in Dust singer, Zach Frank, who was writhing all over the floor, screaming into his microphone. Two seconds later he was screaming directly into my face, which I took as a warm welcome. Needless to say, Zach was an excellent subject for the camera, though I had to use my dreaded flash just to catch him.

I’d caught them once the previous summer during Scenefest in St. Catharines, but at the time they didn’t leave much of an impression on me. My next introduction happened when I was sent a copy of Night Creatures, and was immediately floored by the wicked album art, which now ranks as one of my all time favourites. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to bust the disc before ever playing it, so most of what I’ve heard from them has been live.

If you’re looking for some balls-to-the-wall energy, check them out in a small venue (with a low stage)…good stuff.

Cities in Dust gallery here.

If I recall correctly, for the Incubus show, we ended up shooting the third to fifth song of the set, which was a nice change, especially since we could just enjoy the first few songs and get an idea of the lighting, etc. Admittedly, this set is more like the Brandon Boyd show, since a) it was hard to tear the camera away from him, and b) the lighting wasn’t so great on the other band members and I didn’t get anything I was happy with.

Incubus (a.k.a. Brandon Boyd) set here.

On a separate note, if you’re a music photographer or even just a really big music fan, you should check out Henry Diltz’s California Dreamin’ gallery. Start by clicking the first thumbnail to cycle through the images and stories of iconic musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, etc. Too bad that this kind of access is almost next to impossible these days. This is the kind of stuff I’d love to be shooting. It’s an inspiring set. Enjoy!

Last fall, I shot Toronto’s own Holy Fuck for one of CBC’s Radio 3’s Sessions. It was interesting, because the whole time I was shooting them, I could only hear the drum and bass in the studio…everything else was all wired up to the soundboard. It was nice to hear the full sound a few days later when they opened for M.I.A.

Holy Fuck gallery here.

Sri Lankan performer M.I.A. was one of the most well-received artists at Virgin Fest, drawing in a huge crowd in the middle of the afternoon, mostly thanks to the diverse musical influences that appear in her work (hip hop, reggae, etc) and her socially conscious lyrics.

M.I.A.’s a bit of a tough act to follow with a camera, with her almost constant pacing back and forth across the stage, but still fun nonetheless. A few songs after the pit was cleared of the ‘togs, she invited the crowd up on stage to dance with her, and like the obedient hipsters they were, the stage was jammed within minutes. Too bad I was already halfway across the grounds on my way to shoot at another stage by that point, so I didn’t see the whole show, but I was finally able to catch her full set a few months later at the Kool Haus, which I will post eventually.

M.I.A. gallery here.