Skinny Genes

Had been looking forward to tonight all week, but had a pretty unpleasant experience. Without going into details, it made me want to never shoot at one of my favourite venues again.

Anyway, here's the ghoulish Eliza Doolittle


And the batty (sorry, couldn't resist) Paloma Faith

Fun to see both artists in the Hallowe'en spirit!

Please Rewind

Nice little in-store at Urban Outfitters last night with I Blame Coco. Not sure if she'd thank me for this, but there were definitely moments in that acoustic set where you could hear a hint of her father in her voice.

Dead

Lousy night at the Apollo for My Chemical Romance. Just wasn't on my game. Onwards and upwards, though.

The Loner

Only just made it to Preston tonight in time for Nils Lofgren. He came on at 7:45 in order to do a two hour set, but that's not very compatible with the Friday night rush hour traffic from Manchester!

Friendly shooting restrictions - basically don't be an idiot - and I hope that I was respectful of the audience and stayed out of their way for my three. From what I heard they were in for a treat.

Suddenly I See

Lighting slightly better than usual at the Ritz for KT Tunstall last night. Turned down for a show Monday, so shooting tonight and Sunday, then we'll see what next week throws up.

Aside from that, I'm looking for some new outlets for my photos. Watch this space.

Paradise City

For those keeping score, I missed blogging about Kate Nash on Saturday at Leeds. Looking very goth these days, gig sounded better than the show I saw in Manchester earlier in the year. Support act still isn't Regina Spektor no matter how much she'd like to be. Lighting better than expected.

Anyway, Guns 'n' Roses at the MEN tonight. Shooting for the mighty Music Fix, it irritates me to have to write a bad review of a band I'm secretly quite fond of, but once again he shows an astounding disrespect for a paying audience. It made me genuinely furious to watch a teenage girl being screamed at by her father for wasting his money, as they left at 10:20 - no sign of the band.

Shooting notes - sound desk, no access to any raised area, surprisingly no contract.

Hard To Make A Stand

Last minute call to shoot Sheryl Crow tonight at Manchester Apollo. Was going to the show anyway, so was glad to be able to get some shots. Decent light, but Apollo seated shooting position again - although felt like we were further forward than usual!

Motorycle Emptiness

Not so great lights again for the Manic Street Preachers at Leeds Academy. Some nice shots marred by the evil red light o'doom. Hey ho. Band sounded terrific, though.

Oxygene

Jean Michel Jarre at the MEN Arena tonight. Wasn't sure what to expect, really, but was quite fun to shoot. It's always hard to shoot discretely when you're six foot at the MEN Arena with a seated audience. Feel bad, but it's only three songs and most people are understanding.

Put Your Records On

I made the mistake of thinking tonight's Corinne Bailey Rae show was at Manchester Academy, not Academy 2, or The Dread Land Of No Light as it's better known. So ambled along late, and found it not only to be next door, but no pit to boot.

Lighting was patchy as usual, but I got some shots I quite like.

Mack The Knife

Michael Buble isn't my thing, musically, but thought he was pretty funny between songs tonight at the MEN Arena. Less funny was shooting from the sond-desk, but that's increasingly the way these days.

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Shot Sting's Symphonicity tour last night at Manchester Apollo, 2 songs and out, unfortunately and from the back of the venue. No complaints about the lighting, or indeed the performance - you usually get a ticket at the Apollo, and based on the songs we heard, I've had liked to have stayed.



Anyway, the gigging week's not over yet - at least 2 more this week, possibly 3.

Stop Me

Nice to be back in the swing of things with October's gigs kicking off in earnest tonight. Headed to the MEN Arena first, to shoot Santana, then onwards to the Academy for the Mark Ronson shows.

Here's a quick shot of ex-Pipette Rose Dougall, one of Mark Ronson's vocalists tonight.