Live Baby Live

June 14, 2008 @ Bonnaroo - Manchester, TN

I know this is kind of a cop out, but seeing as I recently wrote about Mastodon in my Best of 2008 post, and it neatly summed up everything I feel about this band, I’m just going to copy it here:

Mastodon. Oh man. I’m not the biggest metal fan in the world, but seeing/shooting these guys will melt your face, kick up your adrenaline and then leave you completely exhausted, but in a totally exhilarating way. I LOVE shooting these guys almost more than any other band out there. I’ve never taken speed (or any other upper…or even drank coffee), but if I did, the feeling I get when shooting them is what I imagine it to be like. Even if you don’t really know Mastodon’s music, they are definitely worth seeing live. Run, don’t walk.

For this particular show, we were almost denied entry into the pit, as security feared the crowd was going to get rowdy. It was the middle of the afternoon and the place was full of stinky hippies, so I just kind of laughed and waited patiently. After security realized that people were pretty chill, we were allowed in in small groups for two songs only. It went by crazy fast, so I concentrated most of my shooting time on Troy Sanders (singer/bass). I love watching him. He’s the nicest guy off stage and then unleashes the beast when he’s playing. I can’t get enough.

Mastodon have a new album called Crack The Sky coming out on March 24th, and just released their first video for “Divinations” late last week, which can be seen on their site. But! Best news of all–they’ll be back in Toronto at the Opera House on May 5th. I can’t f’ing wait.

More photos after the break.

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June 14, 2008 @ Bonnaroo - Manchester, TN

I don’t really have much more to add about Ghostland Observatory that wasn’t already said in my Top 10 Live Shows post, aside from the fact that I’ve been waiting very impatiently for them to make their way to Toronto. Do you hear me, Ghostland? STILL WAITING! I’d really like to experience the full show.

Unfortunately, from a photo perspective, while the laser light show was incredibly cool, it didn’t cast very much light on the caped Thomas Turner, who was tucked over to the side behind a keyboard in almost total darkness. So consider this gallery the Aaron Behrens show.

A bit of news:

If you’re on Twitter, you might want consider following @livebabylive. Thanks to this newfangled (to me) Wordpress plugin technology, I have this baby set up to automatically update Twitter with a link to new posts. I will also be posting other stuff on there, such as quick news, contests, etc.

Also, from now on, image galleries will be integrated into each post, with all photos (aside from the top one) being posted after the jump (click ‘read more’).

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June 14, 2008 @ Bonnaroo - Manchester, TN

So I’ve obviously been neglecting this site for the past few months, much of that having to do with being busy with other things in my life. I’ve also been going through quite a spell of not enjoying the editing process, so I’ve done as little of that as possible. This Cat Power set from Bonnaroo is actually the first group of photos I’ve truly enjoyed editing in a very long time.

Chan Marshall is known for being pretty camera-shy, so it was surprising that we were allowed to shoot most (all? I can’t remember) of her Bonnaroo set, and she seemed comfortable with it. She paces back and forth on the stage quite a bit, so that was a bit of a challenge, but we were pretty lucky with the lighting. Bonnaroo’s lighting rigs are some of the best I’ve seen, producing really saturated, rich colours, like the ones seen in this set.

Stay tuned over the next few days for my attempt at a top 10 live show list, like the one I did last year.

Full Cat Power set here.

June 14 2008 @ Bonnaroo - Manchester, TN

I never thought I’d have the opportunity to see/photograph the legendary blues man B.B. King, so when I found out he was playing Bonnaroo this year, I was ecstatic. King’s arrival on stage was greeted with thunderous applause from the crowd and a committee of Manchester officials there to present him with the key to the city. After a few minutes of acknowledging and throwing guitar picks to the crowd, King took a seat and began to play. His 82 years may be evident in his ailing health, but you’d never know it by the way he plays and his jovial sense of humour. The passion he still has is awe-inspiring…and that’s why he’s one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time.

Photo gallery to come.

June 16, 2007 @ Bonnaroo - Manchester, TN

Without a doubt, one of my favourite bands to see and shoot over the past few years has been Gogol Bordello. The first time I ever caught them was a bit of an accident a few years back when I was having drinks upstairs at The Drake. I knew very little about the band, who were playing downstairs, but on my way back from the washroom, I popped my head in the door to check out the show, only to find Eugene Hutz atop his drum in the middle of the crowd. I then quickly ran upstairs to grab my friend and we crashed the show for the last few songs. It only took those few songs, but I was hooked.

Over the past year, I have seen and shot Gogol three times, and they’ve never disappointed. The show doesn’t change all that much, but somehow you don’t really care in the midst of all that energy. They seem to be playing the festival circuit all summer, so I don’t doubt that I’ll end up seeing them a few more times, which will end up being close to the record for seeing a band the most times in one year (U2 has it so far at 6).

Gogol Bordello gallery here.