Last week I was in Barcelona on holiday. I took some photos but only on my G9 because my SLR is too big to carry about when doing touristy stuff! I don't like wandering about with it in busy unfamiliar places either. We went to a gig in Barcelona and it was so weird not having my camera there. I kept looking at the band thinking, "ah that would make a good photo... that would be a good shot" - bit frustrating but it was good to not have the pressure of getting a good photo or reviewing the band. I really don't enjoy reviewing gigs, but sometimes I have to as the pr companies ask for it... I think they think it's better exposure for the band.
Anyway, we saw The Real McKenzies with support from the Holy Buttons in this tiny old bar called Puerto Hurraco Sisters Bar, which was about ten mins from our hotel. I'm so glad we have a smoking ban in the UK. The place was full of smoke as about 99% of people were smoking - my eyes were stinging and I was coughing... probably one of the reasons I still have a cold after a week. Our clothes stunk so badly after the gig too - we had to try and steam clean them with the help of the shower in our hotel room... it worked to an extent which was surprising! The gig was ok - the support band were good and the Real McKenzies were ok too, though slightly repetitive in terms of the tunes. There was a photographer there who had my shirt from H&M! It was like seeing a smaller spanish version of me. lol. Except she had a Nikon and I only use Canon.
I'm looking forward to the gigs I have planned in the next couple of months. Tomorrow I'm photographing a You Me at Six gig. The last time I saw them was at Fibbers in York and we did an interview for pushtofire.com too (Feb 2008). They were really nice people and down to earth. It's amazing that since then they've been on the cover of Kerrang! and supported Fall Out Boy at Wembley. I like it when people who work hard get results like that. They really deserve it.
Then on Thursday I'm going to see Elliot Minor. I've offered to review their gig and I'm going to have to be honest about their performance. We interviewed them for the zine in April and in my opinion they didn't come across as well as You me at Six, but maybe they were just not in the mood to be interviewed that day. Who knows.
I am already freaking out about next week. I'm interviewing Less Than Jake. So scared! I love their music but I hardly know anything about the band really. I'm gonna have to do some serious preparation!! The day after it's Push to Fire's first ever gig... Take a Worm for a Walk Week plus The Network and Stella Dawes (The Junction, York, Nov 16th). Hopefully TaWFaWW will be well this time as they recently had food poisoning and were throwing up at the side of the stage in Fibbers (gross!!). They are a crazy band and worth seeing at least once. I have some promotion that needs doing as we need people to come to the gig so we can pay the bands. Gig organisation and promo is horrible!
Seeing Imperial Leisure in November too. Then Johnny Truant, The Ghost Frequency, Streetlight Manifesto, Guttermouth and Cherry Poppin' Daddies in December.. hopefully. I really want to get out and take lots and lots of photos and improve my photography. I think this year I've already seen more bands than I did in 2007 which is awesome.
Suzy :o)
Monday, 3 November 2008
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Zebrahead
On Sunday (19/10/2008) I covered the first gig since my final Open University exam. It was Zebrahead at The Cockpit and I'd got a guestlist place. It was meant to be a photo pass, but there's no pit at the venue so I just had to get as close as I could without being crushed or annoying people. Luckily it wasn't packed and I managed to find an OK spot at the side of the front of the stage. I really enjoyed the gig.
More photos online at pushtofire.com/livephotos.html
I prefer photography, but here's the review I did for pushtofire.com:
The night started with a band called Kids Can't Fly. You might have heard of them as Fandangle's ex-trombone player is the singer/guitarist in KCF. Seeing Ryan fronting the band didn't seem out of place though; this dude has a voice and a good one at that. KCF are a typical pop punk band but the ska punk influence is there as there was a hint of brass in a number of the songs. The venue was pretty busy and people from front to back seemed to be enjoying the set. As did I.
Paige from London played next. I'd never heard of this band before and I don't think many other people in the room had either judging the lack of enthusiasm from the audience. Numerous attempts from the singer to get people to clap their hands to the music failed and the band looked slightly disappointed at being ignored. They also had a pop-punk sound, but more commercial - think Fall Out Boy, You Me at Six etc.. I liked them and there was some potential there. And despite the unenthusiastic crowd, the band certainly were enjoying being on the stage, playing their music.
And finally, Zebrahead. Their set was awesome and so much fun to be a part of. And I say this because we were truly part of the show. The usual band-audience divide was dissolved and it made it such an enjoyable gig. Their set had everything... as well as great music (old and new material), there was constant crowd surfing, fans on stage, jokes and banter, skanking, a circle pit attempt and don't forget the drinking, there was lots of drinking. The band declared that it was the best gig they've played on the tour... and yes, I know every band says this at every gig, but for once I did start to believe that the statement could actually be true. They played for over an hour and their encore included a performance of Anthem with help from Ryan of KCF. The atmosphere was great and I went away knowing that everyone had enjoyed it as much as me.
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