Municipal Waste is gonna f**k you up

Look at him dance :D

Whoooooooooooooooo!

Check out the singer's face

And then a dude in a suit turned up and went nuts!

Feeding the masses (with beer that is, who needs food anyway)

What a crazy gig!! Best show i've ever been to! Wasn't there to take pics of the gig but had my camera anyway. Absolute insanity, dudes walking on ceilings upside down, circle pits, a guy in a suit moshing like there's no tomorrow, just nuts! And all of this in Fibbers. Municipal Waste really did F**k you up at this gig. I lost half the pics I took of the gig which sucks cuz I had some really funny ones of the crowd, don't know where they went to on my hard-drive.

All taken with the 350D and Sigma flash bouncing off the ceiling. The place was so heaving and sweaty my lens kept fogging up and the camera was soaked by the end of it, i'm amazed it's still working now!

Wish I had been at the front for it but the camera and me would have got destroyed and covered in beer and God knows what else. The gig gave me a taste of what it must have been like going to an early Metallica or Slayer gig in the early 80's. There was such an energy and a buzz it was just brilliant!

Apocalyptic Masterpiece

The headlining band the night of the Thrust gig was Apocalyptic Masterpiece, a Black/Death Metal band from Ireland. They certainly looked the part with corpse paint and they also played the part with a very good set. Nik from Thrust introduced me to some of the members before their set and they asked me if I wouldn't mind taking a few pics of them too. I was going to be doing this anyway so it was no bother at all at all. By the time they took to the stage I had intaken a number of beverages so i'm amazed I managed to get any decent shots at all :D

The lads were really happy with the shots, so happy in fact they want me to do a shoot with them, which like the Thrust one, i'm really looking forward to, especially as it'll probably be in a cool abandoned building or similiar location, which I love taking pictures of. So add a black metal band to that already cool subject matter and fun times are they to be had. I've bought a nice Interfit umbrella to use with my flash and I can't wait to use it for shoots.

These guys are a great band and I hope to see them do well in the future and if I can help in any way by taking a few pictures i'm more than happy to.

THRUSTing in your general direction.

Thrust are an up and coming Hard Rock band from Dublin. I could try and explain what they're all about but i'll let their official myspace summary do the talking

Thrüst - All You'll Ever Need

Brainchild of Guitarist A.D. Jetz and Bassist Davii Lixx, Thrüst was born on a night of lightning, whiskey and sex. Songs were written and as soon as legendary vocalist Tommy "Motherfucker" Rockit heard them, he came violently and was on board instantly.

Guitarist Lance D'Amour and Drummer Randy Beetz showed up one day covered and blood and reeking of rum and Chanel No.5 and we knew we had our men!

Now with a full line up we are confident we'll be out there pinning you fuckers to the back wall and taking your little sister home very soon!

And if you're a Scientologist, fuck right off!

Now you know what they're all about, on with the show. This was their first ever gig (awww bless) and it took place where else, but Fibbers. I'm good mates with the band and i've followed their progress from early beginnings to where they are now. Debauchery is used a lot in the music industry and it's a word that fits just right with these guys.

The gig went really well and was warmly received by the crowd, and rightly so as they played really well and sounded toight, toight like a toiger. They were rewared for their efforts by being put on the bill for the Wrecking Ball Tour. Hopefully i'll be able to make it to a few of the shows on the tour as I think these lads are going to do really well.

I used my backup 350D, as my first choice 40D is STILL in Camera Care waiting for a part. Getting really quite annoyed about that now but not to worry. The little 350D performed quite well and although high iso noise means needing to stick with ISO 800 max, the shots came out pretty good. I used my shiny new Sigma 30mm F1.4 for the whole gig, it's a great little lens, although on the 350D it looks huge.

I commited a terrible sin by using flash but it's Fibbers and there's little other option really (Sorry Dave). The red gel is just horrible and the other lights are hardly there so flash is a must. It worked out alright though and i'm happy with the shots. It's always nice to see your pics being used by the bands so I was delighted to see my shots being used by the guys for their various profile pics and for the band's page itself.

Hoping to do a photoshoot with the lads which i'm really looking forward to

The Knights of Leon 16th March 2009 PSLC

I know what you're saying, "That's not the Kings of Leon!!" And yes, you're right, it isn't. It's the Knights of Leon, a fine tribute band from South Africa/Portmarnock. The Portmarnock part is the lead singer, James Smith who nails Caleb Followhill's voice perfectly. The other members of the band which consists of Danny Van Rensburg on guitar, Eugne Theron on bass and Marius Appelgryn on drums are very competent musicians, and together they really do the Kings of Leon justice. If you closed your eyes you'd think it was the real thing, they're that good.

The venue for this show was the Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Centre. I was a little apprehensive heading up as I remember The Martello Room being very dark when I was there for a local boxing event. But I needn't have worried as the band had brought in their own lights. And what great lights they were, the brightness was better than many dedicated music venues in town and meant I could happily shoot at F2.8.

The drummer and bassist proved hardest to shoot as both were in relatively dim areas, especially the drummer who was only lit by the leftovers of the stage lights. The bassist's side of the stage was also a little dim and he kept moving fairly quickly and so freezing him proved difficult. I had my flash with me but as I was the only photographer and the lights were fairly static, I felt it would have been too much of a distraction.

The show was similiar to Summerfest as far as freedom of movement goes, and I could sit down between bouts of shooting to have a nice cold beer. Towards the end of the set people started getting up and dancing, and I didn't want to be getting in their way so I called it a night and sat back down with my friends and reviewed the shots. I got to show the lads some of the pics after the gig and they were very happy with them.

Hopefully the Leisure Centre will host more gigs in the future, and have the same lighting as it was one of, if the not the best lit gigs i've ever shot. Except for those in the day, but nobody's going to beat the ole Sun when it comes to illumination are they?

Summerfest 2008: White Sands Hotel Portmarnock

I first heard about Summerfest when an old school friend handed me a flyer in Tamangoes (The nightclub adjacent to the hotel). He knew I was a photographer and asked if i'd take a few pictures of the event. He was studying event management and this was his first big show.

The stage was just like the ones you'd see at a political rally outside the Dail or when a triumphant sports team returns home. It was inside a truck. Now that sounds very bodge job but it was more than adequate and made for a perfect stage with room for equipment and also connections for hooking up generators and lights.

Summerfest was a free outdoor concert that took place in the car park of the White Sands Hotel in Portmarnock over the course of the August Bank Holiday weekend. It was a fantastic little concert and an absolute pleasure to photograph. There was a big marquee set up in front of the stage with tables and chairs so people could shelter when it rained. I could also keep shooting with a telephoto in inclement weather which thankfully was rare. When the sun came out it was really relaxing especially as loads of my friends and local people turned up to watch. Sitting in the sunshine having a beer and shooting a gig is a damn good feeling.

As for the bands playing the organisers really did a great job of getting local talent out to play. Perhaps the most well known band would be The Kinetiks and they headlined the show on the Saturday evening. As you know they're now doing really well for themselves having played Oxygen and received rave reviews from the music media.

The headline band for the finale on Sunday was Day Jantus, a little known band who started out playing gigs in the Canaries before returning home to Ireland. They played a brilliant set that really got the crowd going and were the perfect choice to bring the festivities to an end.

Shooting the gig couldn't have been easier, no barriers, no security, no passes needed. So I could shoot from wherever I wanted, even inside the truck to the side of the stage. During the day I was able to use my standard lens, the not so great 18-55mm kit lens. It still did a good job but as the light faded I had to switch to the nifty fifty 1.8 to keep the shutter speeds up. I didn't have my flash at the time and seeing as there were no ceilings to bounce off, I probably wouldn't have used it anyway. The organiser was really happy with the shots and all in all it was a very enjoyable experience. I really hope they do it again this year.