Little Birdy @ ANU Bar

Tonight I got to take photos of one of my favorite bands. Last time I saw Little Birdy play was at "The Venue" back in June 2007. They are currently touring to promote their new album; "Confetti". I love this album, the music is a great mixture of their usual style and also has a real soul, 50's, Motown sort of feel to it. They played at the ANU to a full crowd that eagerly awaited hearing the new music being played live.

I really enjoyed the gig, they are always fantastic live, with the band beingfull of energy, especially lead singer/guitarist; Katy Steele.

"The Basics" @ Transit Bar

Tonight I went to see one of my favourite bands; "The Basics", perform at "Transit Bar". It's been almost 2 years since they performed here and it was great to hear some new music from their new album. (Still in the recording process, so hopefully out before the end of the year).

I had spoken to Wally (Drums/Vocals) a few weeks ago about doing a photoshoot after the gig and they were more than happy to muck around for 5 minutes in a stairwell after the show. Thanks heaps Wally, Kris and Tim! - It was a lot of fun.

Wally of "The Basics"

Snow Patrol - Hordern Pavillion

Yesterday I went up to Sydney to see Snow Patrol play at the Hordern Pavillion with my mother and sister. They are my favourite band and have been for a while now. This concert was the 4th time I had seen the band play live. I had tried to arrange a Media pass to get into the photographers pit but unfortunately this didn't happen. Not to worry. As usual we were up the front of the mosh infront of Paul the bass player. I managed to tweak the settings on my Canon IXUX 75 camera to at least get some slightly reasonable photos of the guys.

I can only imagine how good they would have been if I had had my DSLR there.

Had another nice long chat to Paul and Gary (lead singer) after the show and Paul had a look through my shots from the night; "Really! Awesome" was his response.

Here are a couple of the shots from the night. (Please forgive the "noise")

Paul From Snow Patrol. (Taken With IXUX 75)

Paul From Snow Patrol. (Taken With IXUX 75)

Darren Hanlon @ Tilley's

Tonight, Darren Hanlon performed at "Tilley's" for the start of his "Pointing Ray Gun At Pagans" tour. It was a huge crowd with the audience resembling sardines in a can. I managed to squeeze into the small gap at the entrance to the bar.  Lovely and close but unfortunately not much room to move and get varied photos. Tonight I was shooting for FasterLouder.

As usual, (this being the 3rd time I have seen Darren perform) he peformed brilliantly, interacting with the audience between and during songs. He is a talented musician and also very funny.

He played a lot of his hits and came out for the encore and played songs that had been requested during the peformance.

Chris Isaak

Tonight I got to take photos of American legend; "Chris Isaak".

He regularly performs here in Canberra and always seems to draw a good crowd. This time was no exception, with the AIS Arena pretty full by the time I arrived to shoot.

I was allowed the usual; "3 Songs, No Flash", but unfortunately Chris doesn't really like having photographers directly in front of him so myself and the Canberra Times photographer had to shoot from off to one side. Not that big an issue with the 70-200mm but the variety of photos was seriously lacking. Lighting was great and so was the performance.

"Celebrate In The Park - 2009"

Jessica Mauboy

Today I went to "Celebrate In The Park", a free concert event organised to celebrate Canberra's 96th birthday.

Headlining the concert were the "Hoodoo Gurus", "Kate Miller-Heidke" and "Jessica Mauboy".

My primary reason to goto this event was the opportunity to shoot Kate again. She is a fantastic artist and definately one of my favourite singers. She has an amazing voice, great lyrics and is very theatrical with how she performs and dresses. I wasn't dissapointed. She performed brilliantly, the Canberra croud really getting into it.

The day was great fun, with a great turnout and pretty awesome weather. The bands were brilliant and I managed to get some great photos.

It's nice to be able to add the "Hoodoo Guru's" to my list of bands I have photographed. They are a classic Aussie band that still sound great.

Kate Miller-Heidke

Hoodoo Gurus

Corinbank 2009 - Day Three

The Final day of what turned out to be a fantastic weekend. Even better than last years Corinbank in my opinion. I slept in today as I went to a party last night after I left the festival. I arrived just in time to see last years Corinbank favourite, Darren Hanlon. Last year his performance slot was disrupted by Xavier Rudd's crew setting up for his performance later in the evening. So in a spur of the moment thing, he decided to perform his set on the grass in front of the stage. Surrounded by the audience. A truly magical and memorable moment from last years festival.

This year, the organisers promised him a stage and "electricity" as Darren put it. He performed a lot of his popular songs and a few new ones, supported by a lady who decided to take photos of me taking photos of her. Definately something that doesn't happen that often.

After a while, Darren kept up the tradition and moved onto the grass to perform his last song. Again, surrounded by the audience. Met with loud applause and the time needed to set up for the next band, he continued to play more songs, much to the delight of the crowd.

Darren Hanlon

After Darren, I heard about an impending "Gorilla Gig" by "The Cashews". A "Gorilla Gig" is something that has become a mainstay of a the band. Performing on the spur of the moment in random places around town. Usually people finding out by means of an SMS just prior.

This "Gorilla Gig" was going to be held in last years, Kitchen/Bar up the other end of the festival grounds. A crowd of about 100 or so gathered around and inside the building to listen to their last performance as a band for the indefinate future.

It was a very emotional performance from the band, with the audience coming along for the ride.

I left just before the end to shoot "The Andi & George Band" but I have been told that they finished by wandering down to the main stage, playing their instruments, with the audience walking behind.

Today was also the end of another band, the ever popular "The Andi & George Band". They have grown to become a hugely popular band in Canberra and indeed all over Australia. It was a fantastic performance, all the band were obviously having a really great time and they were even joined on stage by two girls that stole the audience's and indeed all the photographers hearts by playing percussion and also singing along with Andi and Alice Cottee.

I left just after they finished playing. It was another fantastic festival and I can't wait till next years that I hope will be even better. Part of me wants more people to come to help with finances etc, but another part of me wants it to stay as it is for us lucky people that know about this great festival.

Heaps of photos to come!

Corinbank 2009 - Day Two

Day Two at Corinbank was fantastic.

I got there just after lunch, in time to see Mal Webb on the main stage. That man is an amazingly talented musician. Playing so many instruments, it's crazy.

Today I spent a lot of time at the smaller, "Gibraltar Grove Stage", set deeper into the trees up a hill. I managed to check out a few really talented bands, such as "The Ellis Collective", "The Cashews" (Playing their last gig for what is going to be a long time), "The Beez" from Germany, and "The Fuelers".

I was so impressed by the "The Ellis Collective", "The Cashews" and "The Beez" that I ended up buying CD's from all of them.

"The Beez" were a crazy band from Germany. Playing wacky cover versions of popular music. Their banter in-between songs was also hillarious.

On the main stage I managed to catch "Friendly Yen", joined by members of "Casual Projects", "Blue King Brown", "Resin Dogs Sound System" and "Casual Projects."

Blue King Brown

Part of the day was spent relaxing in the "Chai By The River" tent with Paddy, Lisa and Thommo. We sat and chatted while listening to music, drinking Chai and eating cookies. It is a fantastic spot by the river full of beanbags, pillows and sofas. All contained under a rather large silk parachute. It was a "Shoes Off" venue, as is a few of the other inside venues around Corinbank.

I drove home just at the end of the "Casual Projects" set. Their last before they move down to Melbourne. They will be missed here in the National Capital. Best of luck to the boys!!

It was another great day down in the forrest, the weather was great, the people were friendly and the music was fantastic. Bring on Day Three!

Corinbank 2009 - Day One

I just got home from the first day of Corinbank 2009, and what a fun start to the festival it was. I caught up with Lisa whom I haven't seen in ages, we walked around and checked out the sights then decided to go see Tableaux Vivants production of "Temporal Vivants" which literally translates to "Living Pictures". We put down out cameras for an hour and sat down to do some life drawing of people plucked from the Corinbank crowd who were put into poses/scenes by Tableaux creator, Min Mae.

Dinner followed and consisted of some koftas in a tomato sauce.

We then caught up with Paddy and went to see Le Petit Sideshow's; Petite Freak show. It was great as usual, and I managed to get some good shots I think.

The night ended with a trip to "The Bawdeville Allsorts Burlesque" show. It was fantastic. There were three acts, each one very different. Lisa, Paddy and Myself sat ourselves down on the bench at the back of the tent with all our 70-200mm lenses at the ready.

Just before I left I managed to catch a completly crazy but very cool band called; "Juke Baritone & The Swamp Dogs".

All in all, it was a fantastic start to the weekend. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get hold of a tent in time. (Mine is missing) So I wasn't able to camp which is a shame. Getting to go home every night to a warm bed however, is a plus.

More news tomorrow about Day Two, and If I have time, I'll upload a few photos.

Simply Red @ The Royal Theatre

Mick Hucknall of Simply Red.

(It May not be the sharpest of photos, but this one is the quintessential "Simply Red" pose.)

Tonight I had the opportunity to shoot one of the earliest bands I can remember listening to; "Simply Red". The concert was on at the Royal Theatre.

It was the usual 2 song, no flash rule, however this time I was shooting from "on stage" off to one side. This was a first and provided a great spot to take some great photos. Amazingly I was the only photographer there for some strange reason. I would have at least expected maybe somebody from The Canberra Times to be there.