Showing posts with label rock band. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rock band. Show all posts

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Broken Records Queens Hall Edinburgh

Some gigs are simply so much fun! This was the Edinburgh based band Broken Records at the Queens hall Edinburgh, where I had unlimited shooting. The gig took place during the Edinburgh festival 2009.  I like to get to a good position at the side, if that’s possible. The converted church hall was packed so it wasn’t really possible to move about and I much prefer not to interrupt the gig when shooting.  The 3 song limitation is really so restrictive to getting good images.  It depends – you can get the shot but if you want to get something more than that it is not possible.  I remember feeling exhilarated and exhausted after the gig.

Over the years my eye has changed too. I’ve put a lot into my photography over the years and it means a lot to me following my passions for music and the combining two of my best loved arts is simply perfect for me.  Broken Records have a new EP Toska and play King tuts in April.  http://brokenrecordsband.com/

Broken Records are a six-piece indie folk band from Edinburgh. The band are signed to 4AD and released their debut album, Until the Erath Begins to Part 2009 and Let Me Come Home in 2010.



Tuesday 19 November 2013

Fleetwood Mac SECC


Their music has travelled well over the decades. Fleetwood shone on the SECC stage.  A Revelation. Buckingham still rocks and their songs all these decades later still ring true and relevant - the sign of a classic album! 

Lindsay Buckingham played to the enthusiasm of the crowd and allowed a few at the front to pluck his guitar strings as he came to the edge of the stage - as the sweat dripped off his forehead and he laid into his guitar as if he drew power from it!  He still has what it takes to get an audience rocking!  Stevie changed her dresses several times (from black to burgundy) and she played an danced with her colourful tambourine. She and Buckingham are the centre stage.

It was a delight as they ran through their Rumours songs. There still appears to be this chemistry between Nicks and Buckingham.  The love friction both couples were going through (Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham; Christine McVie and John McVie) led to cutting yet releasing songs - Nick's "Dreams" with 'You say you want your freedom and who am I to keep you down' and Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way" with 'Loving you isn't the right thing to do, If I could I would give you my world, showed their differing reactions after their breakup!

Sadly McVie choose not to continue touring with Fleetwood back in 1987.  I loved her piano songs "Songbird", "You Make Loving Fun", "Don't Stop" and others.  
Uniquely with Fleetwood there was the female/ male mix alongside the British blues and rock and the West coast LA influence. Drummer Mick Fleetwood on their ground breaking Rumours album ' I always imagine us making Rumours a bit like Paris in the 1920s. My all time favourite Stevie song is "Angel" from Tusk - just has that great style and attitude!  And also her song "Rhiannon" (great live version on iTunes)    

Stevie Nicks - is one of my all time favourite female rock stars. I love her style and attitude and the way her voice cracks yet remains strong and true. 
In Q this month she says she was inspired by Janis Joplin's presence on stage even though she was tiny and by the flamboyance yet humility of Jimi Hendrix.  'Buckingham Nicks' came fully formed when they joined Fleetwood Mac -  their album in 1973, folk rock sound was influenced by Cat Stevens and Jimmy page's acoustic guitar playing in Led Zepplin.

In the 70s Fleetwood’s Rumours was one of the biggest ever selling albums. Their music was so often the backdrop to our lives at that time and in a sense truly reflected the times too the way many great artists have and do. Their music has travelled well over the decades.
Some extracted quotes from Songs for Swinging Lovers, Mojo Janaury 2013 -
As soon as we started rehearsing with Fleetwood Mac found this chemistry, Buckingham recalled. Of the 11 songs, Monday Morning, Landslide and Rhiannon had been written for Buckingham Nicks album. 

' It worked right from the start. Chris, Lindsey and Stevie's voices created these wonderful; harmonies, says Fleetwood.' Lindsey had so much every. We needs someone with a vision.'      

THE CHAIN lyric:  "I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain" and recalled Fleetwood, ' the realization that the music we were making together was more powerful than any of us.' 


Saturday 24 August 2013

Viking Galaxy 02 ABC tonight!


Viking Galaxy play the 02 ABC tonight - my son is the bass player. Exciting times!

Sunday 30 June 2013

Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse rocked the SECC



His father was a writer and he told Neil – ‘Write every day, you never know what will come out.’
Young is a kicks ass, no holes barred, tells it like it is singer songwriter. He has travelled along many long highways, sometimes in vintage cars, and he remembers which car he was driving to record each of his albums. Neil left Canada in his early twenties to find that LA sound. He had already met Steven Stills.   

The opening salvo for the SECC concert was full of colour and drama and set a scene that forecast a quality concert; when men in white coats assembled the stage with very large speakers and a solo microphone and finished with pipers playing Flower of Scotland. Young enjoys staging and film and for each of his tours chooses a theatrical scene.
From the start Young, guitarist Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro and bassist Billy Talbot were hunched together in a communal heavy guitar rock. The Crazy Horse players sound is strongly guitar based and they performed some overly long tracks on this Alchemy Tour. 


Young performed new material such as ‘Walk Like a Giant’ from his latest album Psychedelic Pill - which was 20 minutes long and was played like a storm cloud full of charged disturbed energy, along with the added drama of special effects and the song finished with a releasing rain. .
Well received songs were Cinnamon Girl (1969) and long time favourite Heart of Gold, when Young took to the stage with only an acoustic guitar. This went down particularly well with the large SECC audience but was really the first opportunity to sing along or to relive memories. Then he sang a sensitive version of Dylan’s Blowin in the Wind. Young enjoys older instruments of character and he took to a honky tonk piano to sing his lovely new song Singer Without A Song. After this too short interlude it was back to the Crazy Horse rock. The band closed the set with the thunderous guitars of ‘Hey Hey My My’
There was a lot of synergy and energy in the bands playing. I read that when Neil was playing guitar with his band Buffalo Springfield, a reviewer noted his guitar playing had a special charge and flow to it. He took this to heart with his future music and live playing. 
American icon Young has a distinctive tenor voice and his back catalogue of songs includes some of the most memorable songs from the early 70s. I was disappointed not to hear After the Gold Rush and Helpless. For me it is always about the song. When Young has an array of songs to choose from, I’m not sure I understand the one token classic. I guess it depends what we expect of our musicals heroes.
Set List: Love and Only Love, Powderfinger, Walk Like a Giant, Ramada Inn, Hole in the Sky, Heart of Gold, Blowin In the Wind, Singer Without a Song, Mr Soul, Cinnamon Girl, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Fuckin Up, Hey Hey my My.

It is good he is still rocking in the free world, and I understand Neil wants to keep things fresh and moving on, but concerts by other living legend veterans of the 70s have their back catalogue of songs as the back bone of the gig, with newer material interspersed over them. Some of the band’s material was limited and repetitive. Sorry Neil!
Young on his band Crazy Horse – “We want to show our audience who we are. It is a very special thing we have, the way we play off of one another, the real deal. But it all comes from the songs, the images in our minds and hearts, the lyrics and the way they resonate. That is the fuel in the band. That is what will make the music relevant.”  
Some of his best loved songs – Heart of Gold, Helpless, After the Goldrush, Living in the Free World, Old Man.

I have recently been reading Neil Young’s autobiography Waging Heavy Peace which is a great read and he is an engaging and colourful character. 
Some Quotes – ‘In my life I've had various health threats, polio, seizures, a brain aneurism. None of these things has really changed me much, although it is hard to say for sure. These are vents that are part of my life, they make me who I am. I am thankful for them. They are scary.’ 
‘It is lonely job out there performing. I like it when the sound is right and the audience is into it and the music is relevant. If one of those elements is missing you are screwed. You are killing yourself slowly.  You need all three elements.’
 
Young is known for his clawhammer acoustic guitar playing and for music that is sometimes ragged and sometimes melodic.  Best known for folk and country rock and electric hard rock with his band Crazy Horse.  Young is an outspoken advocate for environmental issues and the welfare of small farmers, having co-founded Farm Aid in 1985.

*I was excited for taking photos at the gig – but these days many American artists are severely limiting access for the photographers. The concert was being filmed also but not with cameras on a moving track. We were limited to the side of the pit behind a red line. On top of this Neil’s face was half shaded with his hat and surprisingly the light was poor quality too. A concern for photography is that filming is taking over and stills are being used yet how creative is the filming. If I look at the best quality photography they far outshine grab stills.
 

Friday 31 May 2013

Haim at SW3 Glasgow



I like Haim - good to see a girl band that really play and look good without tottering about the stage in huge heels! In their video they are even playing basketball! Girls in America play sport much more than here.
I heard the band perform on the BBC Jools Holland show and I thought they had a new refreshing sound. 

Glasgow’s hippest venue SW3 was packed with many female fans joining the front rows. Haim have already  supported Florence and the Machine a few months back, which was certainly a good support slot to achieve!

The three sisters let loose their joyful harmony singing and cool rhythms. Este, the oldest is a talented bass player – as are Danielle who plays guitar with drama and energetic Alana on keys, along with drummer Dash Hutton. They are all equal band members and take turns on lead vocals which makes them a fun live band. . . . 
The crowd enjoyed their Fleetwood Mac cover and new single Falling. A favourite was their song Save Me, which is also a favourite of mine. They finished their encore with the fun full on drama of drums and their song Let Me Go.

They had a relaxed manner and played with subtle and infectious energy. There are shades of Fleetwood Mac. What took my attention was their rather unusual and enjoyable rhythms.

This band is the second Californian girl rock band I’ve taken photos of – the first being Warpaint a few years ago. Not sure where the Scottish girl bands are? 

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Viking Galaxy at King Tuts

Viking Galaxy headlined Glasgow's King Tuts, which could have proved a daunting experience for a band so early in it's career. They met the challenge bravado as the packed crowd where enthralled by their rock 'n' roll theatre! The band have strong stage presence with their leather trousers, capes, catsuits, pan pipes, horned space helmets and an array of plastic weaponry. 

Their songs Call of the Valkyrie, Space Chariot, Raid and Pillage, and Galactic Plunder all went down well. Their catchy melodies give their music broad appeal while their thunderous soaring riffs and vocals won't leave metal fans disappointed!  


The King Tuts gig was the perfect showcase for their brand of theatrical rock!  The band’s shows combine costume, props and comedy with well-written, catchy power metal which all made for a fun night.

The band includes - William Hill (lead vocals), Ross Keightley (bass) and Mike Parkin (guitar), Mathew Brown (keys) and Alasdair Dunn (drums). Three of the band members met at school where they won the school talent show. Watch out for them at a venue near you! More gigs around the UK are to follow, updates are on their facebook and twitter. 'Viking Galaxy' is a space viking metal band based in Glasgow who released their debut album, 'First Contact', at Love Music Glasgow on Record Store day this May. Viking Galaxy's 'First Contact' is available on Amazon.

I go to many fun gigs - yet it is hard to explain quite what its like when it is your son's gig at such an iconic venue as King Tuts Glasgow. On the stairs are painted the lists of top bands who have performed here over the years. Simply ultra cool!
Fun crowd and great tunes. The band have just released their 'First Contact' album. I love King Tuts one of my favourite Glasgow venues!  http://soundcloud.com/viking-galaxy

Thursday 11 April 2013

Viking Galaxy rocked Bannermans


On March 30th VG played their first gig this year for Dougie's birthday. Bannermans is a cloistered stone venue directly down in the Cowgate from Edinburgh’s High Street and proved a intense venue for new bands. 
Lead by the tall and charismatic William Hill on lead vocals, energetic Matt Brown on keys, full of character Mike Parkin on guitar, Ross Keightley providing strong bass lines, and new drummer Alasdair Gunn playing tight thundering drums.
In the summer they recorded their debut album First Contact. They performed songs form the album – Raid & Pillage; Sickle of Hate; Galactic Plunder; Lost Forever’ Shaft of Agony’ Hall the Slain; Space Chariots.

On 20th April Viking Galaxy play their debut Album launch gig at Love Music Glasgow.  http://www.lovemusicglasgow.com/
While Viking Galaxy list themselves as a metal music band they are also influenced by 70s soul and by bands such as Mastodon and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.  https://www.facebook.com/vikinggalaxy