ACE FREHLEY @ HQ 04.02.2010

I had no idea that KISS fans were so full on. Well... no, actually I guess I did. I just never really thought about it when my pass came through to shoot Ace Frehley ex KISS at HQ.

The day of the gig I went online to try and find some details for the venue and noticed that there had not only been regular tickets on sale but also special super deluxe-y meet and greet ones too. When I got down to the pit before the gig I was tapped on the shoulder by a crowd member who insisted I needed to take a photo of her burley friends KISS tattoo. Then the man next to them said he had one too, another photo. And then another, and another. I was going from end to end as men called at me to look at their newly signed KISS tattoos. It was quite funny, and all of them were really nice and very proud of their ink and their new autographs!

As is so often the case when I shoot a gig, the music is completely lost on me. By this I mean that when I leave the venue and someone asks - 'What did it sound like?' I genuinely can't answer, I am so focused on what I am doing, trying to get decent shots, that I don't take in the music beyond the moment. I'll listen for when I think something big is coming in the song - will someone jump? Swing their guitar? Punch the air? So I can't tell you if Ace still has it. Not that I was ever a KISS fan in the first place, so I don't even know if he had it to start with. But I think the people in the crowd were loving it, and that is really what matters!

See more of my Ace Frehley photos @ Metal Obsession

My entire set of Ace Frehley photos @ Flickr

KARNIVOOL @ HQ 28.06.2009

A little slow on the posting, I know, but on Sunday 28th June I shot Karnivool for Metal Obsession at the venue with the disco ball that never stops shining, HQ.

I arrived to hear to the end of the final song by Sugar Army. They sounded fine, nothing amazing, and from the reaction of the crowd, they could also take it or leave it. A friend suggested they just weren't the type of band that get the crowd pumped up with their on stage antics, this was evident.

As the roadies set-up the stage for Karnivool the crowd began to get restless, ready for the main attraction. Having never seen (or really heard) Karnivool before I didn't know what to expect. As a photographer I was a little disappointed by the lack of movement on stage. I know that it is my job to get the shots when they are there, and to get myself in the best position to try and make something out of whatever is happening on stage, but Come On! I ended up with a whole heap of shots that were so similar there was no point posting them all up. Perhaps I was just a little tainted after the amazing amount of energy put out by Trivium a few weeks earlier, but I found that after a while I was standing waiting for something to shoot, rather than trying to keep up with the energy and make the most of my three songs.

As for what is next - definitely booked in for Dappled Cities (very excited as they are one of my fave bands!), and I have my desperately hopeful fingers-crossed for the chance to shoot even one of the following: Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, AC/DC.

More of my Karnivool photos @ Metal Obsession

My entire set of Karnivool photos @ Flickr

TRIVIUM @ HQ 17.05.2009

I was lucky enough to get the chance to shoot Trivium, thanks to metalobsession.net

Is it wrong to say that this was super fun? Is that not hard core enough? Anyway, It was a tight squeeze down front: 4 or 5 photographers, 5 or 6 security guards, and a pretty constant stream of crowd surfers coming over the top of us all. Plus the band were in and out of the pit, or right on the edge of the stage. At one point my camera lens hit the guitar of one of the band members!

It was loud, intense, and I can't wait to do it again. Next gig I am shooting for metalobsession.net is Karnivool at the same venue in a few weeks.

More of my Trivium photos @ Metal Obsession

My entire set of Trivium photos @ Flickr