Robyn, a swedish pop singer gets the crowd dancing. Wow, a fun fun set. Her electro-pop combined with her highly energetic dancing got everyone jumping and dancing, despite the intense heat. She has very catrchy electro beats which I think most would find themselves dancing to.

You can watch her perform Fembots. Occasionally you can glimpse me on stage (on your left) with my goofy white hat.

To learn more about Robyn, go to her website. www.robyn.com

To purchase any of the images as a fine art print, go to the PRINT SHOP

Sharon Van Etten opened the Pitchfork Music Festival 2010. WOW. What a voice and what a great set. I have to hand it to her. Standing up on the massive stage, alone, a girl with a guitar, playing to a large crowd takes some guts. She did an incredible job and I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears out for more from her. She kept a sense of humor when she broke a string and didn’t waiver when handed a replacement loaner guitar whose strap was obviously much too long.

To purchase fine art prints of any of these photos, click HERE FOR THE PRINT SHOP

You can check out the set of images in the slideshow below. Have fun. I sure did!

Frank turner performed a great set at The Fillmore in Charlotte NC Friday night. He was supporting the celtic-punk band Flogging Molly and won the audience over by the end of his set. That’s no small task for a support band but Turner has a way fo connecting with the audience. This was the first time I was able to hear Turner with his full band. Stellar. Incredible musicians and a full band has filled the songs and given them great depth. If you are unfamiliar with Frank Turner, check out his site and his music.
http://www.frank-turner.com/

A rainy wet and cold night after a long rainy and wet day. Everything is damp and soggy and Im ready to be in  nice warm dry venue. Second venue on the Ireland leg of the Snow Patrol Reworked Tour is the INEC in Killarney. As a venue it’s nondescript and generic. There’s no charm or beauty but it gets the job done. There was some confusion with fans about the seating, as some who had bought first and second row center ended up being on the side with almost no videw of the stage. I felt a bit sorry for those fans who obviously were expecting incredible seats but were stuffed in locations where they couldn’t see the stage clearly. The rest of the audience was outstanding. Loud, excited, and enjoying the show. I always love it when the audience provides such energy.

I guess I should say a bit about the Reworked tour. This is not the typical Snow Patrol tour. Snow Patrol Reworked is a celebration of the band’s 15 year career, specially reworked and reinvented. Being a multi-million selling sucess story, selling out massive arenas and headlining the top festivals, this tour gives fans a chance to look back on the early days as well as being able to hear their songs interpreted in a whole new way. Each show is filled with 16 or so musicians on stage plus special guests that join for a song or two for one particular show. So, we see (and hear) a harp, violins, cello, french horn, trumpet, piano, and lots of various percussion instruments. In addition to the regular Snow Patrol lineup, we see Johnny McDaid (Vega4) on guitar, Ian Archer on guitar & slide guitar, Miriam Kaufmann on piano and backup vocals, Colm MacAthlaoich on trumpet, Richard Colburn (Belle & Sebastian) on percussion and drums. In addition, in many of the shows we are treated to special guest appearances, with tonights show featuring Maria Doyle Kennedy

SETLIST

• Finish Line: The show kicks off with a dramitic start , a single light on a solo harpist paying Finish Line. She is shortly joined by Gary Lightbody, then eventually more strings. Perfection.
• Crack the Shutters, arranged as a duet featuring Miriam Kaufman with piano. A lovely arrangement and Miriam Kaufman’s voice brings such emotion and depth to the song.
• Batton Down The Hatch. Lovely. One of the older songs from their first album, Songs For Polar Bears (Jepster, 1998)
• You Could Be Hapy
• An Olive Grove Facing The Sea, accompanied by Colm on trumpet. This is one of my faovorite songs so it’s wonderful to hear it played live.
• The Golden Foor
• Grazed Knees
• Cartwheels
• Take Back The City.

~INTERMISSION~

• Dark Roman Wine: one of the new songs on the Up Til Now compilation CD. This is stunning live, with heavy organs and Gary Lightbody’s vocal, almost feels as though we’re in a church.
• Spitting games
• You Are My Joy, reworked with the addition of slide guitar, which gives it a bit of a country tinge.
• Run, arranged with only strings, french horn, trumpet, and Lightbody’s vocals.
• Set The Fire To The Third bar, featuring special guest Maria Doyle Kennedy.
• One Day LIke This, a stunning cover of Elbows tune and it stands up to the original. Again, slide guitar added. Amazing. Epic.
• Lifeboats
• The Planets bend Betwen Us. This has been my favorite reworking. It starts with Johnny McDaid (Vega4) jamming on guitar and builds from there. It’s now much more  upbeat than the original. It’s fantastic and to my ears, an improvement on an already stellar tune. Bravo. I’d like to see this released in a live CD.
• You Are All I Have
• Chasing Cars, reworked with more bass and beat, building to a climax. A great improvement on a song that I’ve never loved.
• If There’s  Rocket Tie Me To It

~ENCORE~

• Just Say Yes: fun and wonderful all at once. It makes you want to move your body and clap your hands.
• Chocolate
• Shut Your Eyes

One of the highlights of the night was when they played Run. the new arrangement is wonderful, but tonight Lightbody didn’t get a chance to sing but a couple lines. the audience sing along was so loud the Lightbody stepped away from the mic and let everyone sing it for him. It was incredible. As he said, it was the absolute best and loudest any audience has done on the tour. While he always lets the crowd sing part, this time the crowd was so loud singing that he let them sing the whole song, not that he had much choice, as he wouldn’t have been heard over the voices of 1000+ voices singing their hearts out.

Other interesting observations: Watching the audience it was obvious that there were many folks who obviously only knew the current hits, or maybe only Chasing Cars and Run. They tend to look rather bored through most of the show, especially the first set. It was also interesting to watch fans try to identify songs. Since most songs has new arrangements, and some were very diferent than the version from the albums, they weren’t always instantly recognizable. It was fun watching fans trying to figure them out until a signiture line or melody became apparent.

Amazing.

Dublin was the first stop for my portion of the Reworked tour. I won’t try to give a complete set list as I was so caught up in the music and the whole night that I didn’t keep track of it carefully, but I’ll give a more detailed account on subsequent show reviews. The show begins with dramatic opening of a solo harpist on a dark stage. She’s eventually joined by Gary Lightbody and they complete a gorgeous rendition of The Finish Line. Starting with the finish, nice touch. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen a rock musician air-harping (think air-guitar, only harp). I think a trend is in the making. The first 50 minutes or so is filled with accoustic and quiet songs, some reworked from the more current albums, with a few past gems thrown in, such as Cartwheels (a Reindeer Section song) and Making Enemies. Following the first set we get an intermission to stretch our legs, use the loo, and stop at the bar.

The second set is about 90 minutes of reworked songs which are louder, getting (and keeping) the audience on their feet. The highlight for me was when Paul Noonan (from Bell X1) joined the band and sang vocals for An Olive Grove Facing The Sea. That made my year. Olive Grove being one of my very favorite songs and Paul Noonan being one of my very favorite singers.

The Planets Bend Between Us was reworked into something beyond amazing. It was already a tremendous song, but the new arrangement and addition of strings and horns took it to a level beyond it’s roots. Johnny McDaid (Frontman from Vega4) jamming on guitar to begin the song is incredible. I have to find a video/recording of this arrangement!

Chasing Cars has never been a favorite of mine. I know, I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t love this song. It did gain some significance to me when my 3-day old baby was hospitalized, but that’s another long drawnout story. I’ve always felt that the song didn’t really go anywhere and I found it boring (sorry guys). The New arrangement changes that, and this song became an incredible piece and finally sounded finished (to my ears).

A few songs we reworked with the new arrangements featuring steel guitar, lending them a bit of a country sound. I’m sure that was somewhat related to Gary LIghtbody’s upcoming side project, Tired Pony, which is said to be country-tinged. Run brought me to tears. It’s always had a special meaning to me and the new arrangement stripped down to strings and horns and vocals was very moving.

The show was heating up, the crowd was bouncing and dancing and singing their hearts out. The balcony was swaying. Swaying? wait, that was me. I hadn’t slept in 24 hours and was exhausted. The whole theatre felt like it was spinning. Maybe it was fatigue, or the Guinness, but I’d like to think it was the whole show that brought me to tears several times and nearly brought me to my knees (literally). Thank you Snow Patrol. Thank You Dubin. Thank you Melissa. Thank you Ireland.

Another stop on the Snow Patrol tour in Atlanta. I like Atlanta. I’ve been here many times, and I think I’ve seen 4 Snow Patrol gigs in Atlanta now, the first being with about 15 people in attendence. They’ve played from the small tiny club to the massive Gweneth Arena, and last night they returned to the Tabernacle, which is a beautiful old church. It has a fantastic intimate feel, hug high ceilings, and great acoustics.. Oh, how their following has grown and it’s always makes me proud to see such  talented band find their well deserved success.

OK, so it was an interesting gig. The audience was fantastic. Really, one of the best crowds I’ve seen for the tour, with most everyone singing along to every song, loud, clapping, having fun. the Tabernacle is a general admission venue, with the floor being standing and both balconies being seated. The place was not sold out despite being fairly small (2600 capacity). The set list was the same as the majority of the tour (a few stops had little additions), opening with If there’s A rocket, Tie Me To It, which is a fantastic opener. So, while the fans were great, the band itself, and Gary Lightbody in particular, was a little off their game. They were all feeling the effects of a good time in Nashville. It was fairly obvious, at least to anyone who had sen them numerous times, and over the previous several stops. They were hurting, but the crowd seemed to pump them up a bit and they were able to put on a great show. If they hadn’t been so utterly hungover, it possibly would have been one of those epic gigs.

Setlist (as has been over most of the TBTC Tour in USA)

1. If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It
2. Chocolate
3. Hands Open
4. How To Be Dead
5. The Golden Floor
6. The Finish Line
7. Make This Go On Forever
8. Run
9. Shut Your Eyes
10. Chasing Cars
11. Crack The Shutters
12. Take Back The City
13. Open Your Eyes
14. Encore:
15. The Lightning Strike
16. You’re All That I Have

So, I hope this will make those who requested Snow Patrol images happy, even if it’s not my ancient Patrol stuff.

Enjoy.

Snow Patrol stop at the Tower theater in Philadelphia. I have to say this was a rockin’ stop. The venue was fantastic, and the crowd was fun, loud, and there to have a good time (and not sit on their hands). This in itself is a bit unusual as this happened to be a seated show, although, I don’t think anyone was actually sitting. As a music photographer I spend a lot of time at shows (obviously) and I rarely attend a seated gig that has the energy this show had. Personally, I don’t like seated shows as a concert goer or photogrpaher, but this crowd didn’t let the seats stop them, and it was clear the band felt that energy. So, we had a bit of fun with video during the end of the show from up back. I thought I’d post the video of my favorite live song of Snow Patrol’s current set. Oh, wait, that’s a lie. My favorite live song of their curent set is The Lightning Strike, but that’s 16 minutes long, so I don’t have the capability to record that. So, this is my second favorite live song of their set, Open Your Eyes.

Snow Patrol rocked Washington DC last night. A great show. A great crowd. The band sounded fantastic. Highlights in include The Golden Floor, which is stunning live, as well as Open Your Eyes. The toper of the night was the full live version of The Lightning Strike. A few photos from the evening.