Leigh Ann Hines Photography

Snow Patrol returned to the 9:30 Club in Washington DC on Friday April 6th to a sold out audience. It has been several years since they’ve played the club, and it was a treat for fans to have such a small venue. I’ve seen several Snow Patrol gigs at the 9:30 club and have never been disappointed. But this night, the band gave a stunner of a show. From the moment they set foot on stage it was apparent we were in for a wild ride. All seemed full of energy and joy. Yes, JOY. Gary Lightbody appeared especially happy on this night and enjoyed himself thoroughly through the set. The Set list was similar if not the same as previos shows on the tour so far. Opening with a pounding version of Hands Open, then straight into Take Back the City and Crack the Shutters before stopping to take a breath and, well, chat. His banter tonight was funny as always, but he seemed to make misstep after misstep, from teasing a couple onl to find out it was mother & son, then talk about babies, secret pregnancies, and such. Ooops. As if his foot wasnt inserted into his mouth far enough, he then dedicates the next song to the very happy, married couple, only to realize the next song is This Inst Everything You Are, which is more about loss and endings. Double oops.  With each verse, it becomes more and more apparent that this is soo very wrong, and it becomes comical. Lightbody refused to sing the line about death, for obvious reasons. All in all, he kept digging himself in deeper, but redeamed himself by dedicating the next song, Run, to them. There were several other instances of banter that didn’t necassarily go as I think Lightbody had intended, but he always seems to make everyone laugh in the end and nobody seems offended.

The fans on the barrier were able to coax Lightbody into performing the alternate ending to Chasing Cars by holding up signs. Lots of interesting mishaps, such as the stage lights blinding everyone in the front row (set for a larger taller stage I think). At one point, Gary Lightbody came down into the crowd only to be slightly molested by fans (ladies, ladies, keep the hands where we can see them). On his way back onto stage he fell but was caught by a fan in the front row. This is his second fall off the stage so far this tour (or mabe more?), as he fell in Atlanta as well, during the same point in the set. He blames his tight trousers. They certainly are snug. For his own safety, someone please get the man some looser trousers!

For me, personally, this show held some significance, as it was a milestone in my concert going. I first saw Snow Patrol in 2004 on what I think was their first tour of USA. It was at The Cotton Club in Atlanta, a small basement venue in the heart of Atlanta, below the Tabernacle. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to enjoy their shows, photograph them, report and write about them for many years, seeing them up and down the east and west coasts of USA, in the UK and throughout Ireland. There have been the “secret gigs” and radio promotions, tiny dive clubs, beautiful old church venues, music festivals, and massive arenas. I’ve met some amazing people. Music lovers in general are a fine group of people who share a passion but the fans I’ve met through Snow Patrol have been especially gorgeous souls and I feel myself fortunate to be able to call them friends. So, a big thank you to Snow Patrol and their crew, each publication/editor that sent me to photograph and review one of heir gigs ovr the past 8 years, and to each and every person who I’ve connected with during the last decade of gigs. And a special shout out to my girls at this gig who made it extra special. Its been a fantastic ride. And to Gary, I forgot to give you the mailing address to send that Golden Ticket, so, well, you know, clickity-click the contact button and I’ll hook you up

So, this show was all about me. Yes, ME ME ME. in other words, I wasn’t working, I was going as a fan, able to spend the whole show listening, dancing, having a great time, with no expectations of photos. I took this opportunity to run a cool little Point&Shoot camera through the low light paces. This is a camera I really would love to own myself. It does have automatic modes, but is set up to run fully manually. its like a digital version of an old range finder film camera. Its solid with a metal casing so it feel heavy in your hands. It does not have a removable lens and is a 30mm fixed focal length. What that means is you are always shooting a wide angle (no zoom). It has pretty high ISO capabilities that seem pretty usable. And since these images weren’t needed for publication, I could be self indulgent and do primarily black&white, as that is my favorite. I find it much more emotional, stripping away the distraction of the colors. Im sure Davey, the lighting designer for Snow Patrol, will be horrified that all his beautiful colors are being discarded, but go back and read the first line of this paragraph. its about me, remember? haha. Anyway, these images were all shot on the Fuji x100. I highly recommend this camera for anyone who has a passion for photography but doesn’t want to lug around their big dSLR everywhere. And if you like to take photos at concerts, this is perfect as it complies with most venue rules of a non professional camera which means no cameras with removable lenses. You wont get the image quality of a $5000 dSLR with a $2000 lens, but you will get some beautiful images if you know how to work a camera. Now I just need to figure out how to persuade someone to give me one of these.

SETLIST

Berlin (Remix)
Hands Open
Take Back The City
Crack the Shutters
This Isn’t Everything You Are
Run
In the End
New York
Set the Fire to the Third Bar
Make This Go On Forever
Shut Your Eyes
Chasing Cars
Chocolate
Called Out in the Dark
Fallen Empires
You’re All I Have
Encore:
Lifening
Open Your Eyes
Just Say Yes

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