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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The band pounded through their well known hit songs including Run, Chasing Cars, and Chocolate, but included new material from their recent album, Fallen Empires. The first three song certainly whipped the eager audience into excitement. Lead vocalist Gary Lightbody does what he does best, connecting with the crowd in a manner that makes you feel as if he’s conversing with only you. After a few thumping songs, the band caught their breath with a slower beat and started showcasing some of their newer material. Seeing a sign by one of the fans requesting an older song, Gary Lightbody decided to swerve slightly from their setlist. He called for an acoustic guitar, tuned up, telling the fan with the sign “I’m singing this song just for you” and launched into an acoustic version of An Olive Grove Facing The Sea. This, off their second album When Its All Over We Still Have To Clear Up, happens to be one of my favorite songs, so I always welcome a chance to hear it live. They don’t usually play this song here in the USA as its a lesser known tune and not many fans are familiar with it.

The new material was sprinkled in among the usual favorites they sing on most tours, and accompanied by the witty chatter of Gary Lightbody. At one point, he took it upon himself to get a smile out of a young teen who hadn’t smiled the whole show. He sang directly for him. I happen to know this was the first concert experience for this guy, and being 13 or 14 years old, Im not sure he was ready to be the center of attention for 3500 fans. They did a great job of keeping the energy level up tin the venue through the whole concert, even during the slower, calmer songs. Stand out songs were New York from the latest Fallen Empires album, Open Your Eyes with its explosion of guitars, and the sweet simple notes of  An Olive Grove facing The Sea.

Setlist:

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
Olive Grove
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

If you would like to order prints of any of these images, follow this link to the Print Shop

While you’re here, leave a comment. Not only is it nice to hear from you, but I periodically choose a random comment to win a free print.

Be sure t check back later this week as we’re doing a Snow Patrol give away. Details to come soon.

You can also check out some previous articles and photos of Snow Patrol 

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This month’s installment of Fine Art Friday is a piece titled Skin. An abandoned, shedded, snake skin. Apparently I have a rather large slithering resident on the property.

I’m part of a small group of professional female photographers who are committed to exploring and showcasing their own fine art photography. You should hop over to New Hampshire Photographer, Beth of BMP Photography to check out her Fine Art showcase this month, and then complete the circle by clicking through to the link at the end.

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Curren$y.

Um, why am I not a fan of any band or business that uses $$ in their name? Curren$y is a young, energetic, and fun artist. He’s so physically expressive that it almost borders on comical at times, but it works well for stage performance. Unlike some hiphop artists, his lyrics and demeaner are more upbeat, although there is a lot of mention of weed. On that note, I was engulfed in smoke in the photo pit. Seriously, it was thick. I had to move to the other side of the stage.  I’d say that I was won over by this artist. he’s fun.

On a side note: I’m not a fan of artists’ girlfriends, groupies, managers, grandmothers, or tour bus drivers camping out in the press photo pit with their point&shoot cameras or brand new dSLR cameras, trying to figure out how to use them. They usually pick one spot, and sit there, often holding their camera up in the air to take photos. “Hey, its cool to be here!” Yes, it is. but its also my work space, and is very limited. This makes it very difficult for me to do my job, which is to promote the band and document/report on the performance. It would be nice if the entourage of bands would either stay out of the pit, or at least show the same courtesy that we show them and each other. sheesh.

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Cold Cave is the experimental musical project of Wesley Eisold based in New York City. He is accompanied by Dominick Fernow. I have to say, I was impressed? shocked? amazed that they would perform wearing black leather jackets while its about 110 degrees on stage. I dont know how they kept from collapsing with exhaustion. They put on a good show with lots of energy despite the heat. Their sound reminds me of 80′s music, but a bit darker. It has that new wave vibe to it.

You can check out the band, listen to some tracks, and get moe info on tours and releases on the Cold Cave Facebook page

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This month’s installment of Fine Art Friday is a piece titled Heron. I am accustomed to photographing people, musicians, children, families, couples. I like to say I photograph love. I photograph joy. So for me, to sit and have an hour “conversation” with a great blue heron was definitely a unique experience. This guy (or girl? I have no idea) was very curious about me as I sat on a large rock at the water’s edge. He started at one side of the lake and slowly made his way toward me, until he was close enough to touch. Maybe I looked like I had food. or maybe he loves cameras. For me, it was great practice to sit quietly, still, and wait.

Heron

I’m part of a small group of professional photographers who are committed to exploring and showcasing their own fine art photography. You should hop over to  Tracy Tisdale, Northwest Florida Photographer to view her Fine Art showcase.  In case you missed last month, you can see my January installment entitled Frozen.

Leigh Ann Hines, Professional Photographer, Durham & Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…

In the words of David Bowie

I still don’t know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I’m much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don’t want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time

 Listen to Changes by David Bowie

Over the last couple of years I’ve been exploring a different direction in my work. Its been mostly an extension of what I already felt comfortable doing, but in the last year, I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone. I’ve come to realize that in order to produce art that has meaning, I had to be moved while I was creating the art. All the technical skills and mastery of craft could help me create beautiful images, but for them to be moving, I had to personally be moved while creating them. It seems so simple. So clear, but somehow I missed that memo. Thats not to say I wasnt already doing this, but I hadnt consciously put it into action. maybe that is why I’ve been so drawn to music photography. Music moves me. Musicians and artists reveal a part of their true selves which moves me.

I spent the last week in Las vegas, exploring my own inner creative juices. What moves me. What blocks me. What path I want to follow. Where I want to focus the firehose. I participated in Life {as an artform}, a workshop experience with Jesh DeRox. Unlike most workshops, it had nothing to do with the craft of photography, but instead with the finding of art and voice within myself. it has taken me 2 years to finally jump into the workshop. I had come very close several times to attending but for one reason or another, I shied away. Try to find a review of the workshop and al you’ll see are vague blog posts about love and peace and all sorts of touchy feely fluffiness. But the one thing that every single review will say; “it changed my life”. huh? what does that mean?

I will tell ou the truth about Life {as an artform}. I will be the voice of reason.

It changed my life

Now I get it. The workshop isn’t something that can easily be summed up in a blog post. I spent 3 days with a group of people who will forever be friends. The workshop not only changed the way I will approach my photography and my business, it changed the way I approach life and relationships. I feel more connected to my life. To my family. To my work. All this happened in 3 days, and its only a start. I feel like I’ve discovered my own voice. my own creativity. its exciting and wonderful. So, expect lots of changes over the next year as I start listening more closely to that voice within me.

Thank you Jesh for helping me see that sometimes growth is more about letting go.

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I love my job. I love working and photographing musicians. I love writing about music. I love my portrait work and being able to help my clients see the beauty of themselves and their love. I love documenting everyday life, whether its a rockstar or a family. I love that my photography takes me around the world. I guess I’m just a huge lovefest. but sometimes, I need to create artwork that is just for me. no client. no expectations. I present the first of the monthly series of Fine Art. The last Friday of each month will feature one of my fine art pieces.

FROZEN

I spent a week being trapped by snow in Seattle. Cold, white, wet snow. At first it was fun and exciting. Then it moved to feeling trapped and bored.

I’m part of a small group of professional photographers who are committed to exploring and showcasing their own fine art photography. You should hop over to Holly Christine of The Enchanted Photo | Central Utah Photographer to view her Fine Art showcase.

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Australian dance-rockers Cut Copy got the audience hot and sweaty, or rather, even more sweaty. After a long day of oppressive heat, the well dressed band bound on stage to get the festival-goers bouncing and energized. They gave a high volume, high octane performance.

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What can I say, Deerhunter just keep getting better and better. Their set was one of the best sets of the whole pitchfork Music Festival.

They’ve come a long way from the first time I caught them live several years ago (5, maybe?), when Brandon lost his voice, the sound gear quite working, and it was one of the worst, most painful gigs ever, to a crowd of maybe 50 people (maybe). Fast forward to Pitchfork Music Festival 2011 and I’d say they were one of the highlights of the festival. They killed it. Best I’ve ever heard them. Despite the oppressive heat and the sun glaring in their eyes their whole set.

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